Suzuki Motor Corporation's main shareholder is the Master Trust Bank of Japan with 17.3 percent of the shares. Another bank owns 7.5 percent, and Toyota is listed with 4.9 percent at the moment of writing.
Suzuki's closeness to the largest automaker in the world is extremely obvious in European markets and the United Kingdom. Both the Swace station wagon and Across crossover utility vehicle are badge-engineered cars, namely the Corolla Touring Sports Hybrid and RAV4 Hybrid. But still, why did the lesser of the two partners resort to this trickery?
First and foremost, Suzuki doesn't have Toyota's financial resources. And second, the Hamamatsu-based automaker needed top-level hybrid vehicles in Europe and the United Kingdom as quickly as technically possible because of Euro 6 regulations.
Let's pretend for a minute that Suzuki and Toyota have a closer partnership. A partnership so close that Toyota wouldn't mind producing the 250 series with Jimny design cues on Suzuki's behalf. The result of this ideation comes in the form of the 2024 Suzuki Jumbo, a body-on-frame utility vehicle rendered by Theophilus Chin, a.k.a. Theottle on social media.
From the hood to the round fog lights and body-color skid plate, the Jimny's front end certainly looks good on the 250 series. The oversized flares and larger mirrors are perfectly suited for this fellow, and the same can be said about the green body panels contrasting nicely with the white roof.
Out back, you'll notice a spare wheel affixed to the side-hinged tailgate. The 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser's full-size spare wheel is located under the floor, and its tailgate opens upward, making it a liftgate. The pixel artist further deleted the roof spoiler for a boxier look reminiscent of the Jimny.
But alas, there is no case to be made for the 2024 Suzuki Jumbo in the real world. The 250 series and larger 300 series, together with their GX and LX counterparts from Lexus, have both segments covered. We also have to remember that massive body-on-frame utility vehicles are popular in a handful of markets rather than most of them. With Euro 7 knocking at the door and Suzuki's drawn-out legal battle with Consumer Reports in the United States of America, the Jimny-inspired Jumbo simply isn't feasible.
Even so, remember that Suzuki revealed a five-door version of the Jimny in January 2023. Produced by Maruti Suzuki in India, the largest member of the current generation features the same 1.5-liter I4 of the Sierra version, which is a bit underwhelming.
A turbocharged four-cylinder lump would've been more appropriate, together with a six-speed transmission rather than the five-speed manual and four-speed automatic offered by Suzuki. On the upside, Suzuki did confirm the Jimny is going electric under the FY2024 through FY2030 product plan for Europe. By the end of the decade, the Jimny EV – or whatever it will be called – will be joined by four other BEVs.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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