The Suzuki Jimny is a mini-SUV people are really familiar with all around the world. It is a 3-door vehicle that has been around in the automotive industry for 50 years now and is not showing any signs of slowing down.
Many changes and modifications have been done to the 50-year old mini-SUV, but have you heard about the rebadged Suzuki Jimny made by Mazda called the AZ-Offroad?
The 1998 Mazda AZ-Offroad
The Mazda AZ-Offroad was first introduced in 1998 and was made available only in Japan. The Japanese carmaker classified the AZ-Offroad as a micro-mini passenger vehicle.
The AZ in the name refers to Autozam, a marque of Japanese automaker Mazda, specializing in small cars and Kei cars. Autozam mostly rebadged Suzuki vehicles such as the Alto, Carry, and Cara, and its dealership channel is still operational in some Japanese locations.
The 2008 Mazda AZ-Offroad
Looking at the AZ-Offroad, it is clear that there are no significant changes made other than the front bumper design made available to some AZ-Offroad options.
Under the hood, however, the Mazda AZ-Offroad used a smaller 660cc 3-cylinder DOHC Suzuki K6A gasoline engine capable of producing 64 hp while the Suzuki Jimny used a 1.3-liter Inline-4 gasoline engine capable of producing 80 hp.
A rebadged Suzuki Alto called the Mazda Carol
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The Mazda AZ-Offroad’s engine is coupled with 5-speed manual transmission and has a top speed rated at 125 km/h. Manually operated four-wheel-drive is standard with autolocking front hubs and low range. A 4-speed automatic transmission was also available as an option.
Mazda’s rebadged Jimny may be an amusing tiny vehicle, but Mazda decided to end its production in 2013. Fun fact, Mazda Japan currently is offering a similar-looking Jimny called the Flair Crossover.
However, this is not a rebadged Jimny. The Flair Crossover is also sold by Suzuki and is called the Hustler through an OEM agreement.
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Know more about Suzuki Jimny 2024
The Suzuki Jimny 2023 is a 4x4, ladder-frame mini-SUV. In the local market, this model is available in three different variants. There’s the GL 1.5 MT, the GLX 1.5 AT (Monotone), and the GLX 1.5 AT (Two-tone). Their prices range from Php 1,258,000 to Php 1,330,000.
Under the hood, the Suzuki Jimny uses a 1.5-liter inline-4 gasoline engine capable of producing up to 101 horsepower and 130 Nm of torque. The entry-level GL variant may come with a five-speed manual gearbox, while the GLX exclusively uses a four-speed automatic transmission. All then come with the Suzuki 4x4 All Grip Pro drivetrain.
Size-wise, the Suzuki Jimny has a length of 3,480mm, a width of 1,645mm, and a height of 1,725mm. It then has a wheelbase length of 2,250mm, and a ground clearance of 210mm.
Locally, the Suzuki Jimny technically doesn’t have direct competitors. Then again, the closest off-road-focused recreational vehicles available locally are the Toyota FJ Cruise and the Jeep Wrangler. Size-wise though, the Jimny is more in line with the Hyundai Kona, MG ZS, Geely Coolray, Kia Seltos, Chery Tiggo 2 Pro, and Mazda CX-3, among others.
₱ 1,258,000 - ₱ 1,330,000
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