The folks at AutomagzPro have recently published a rendering of a Ford Bronco with a whiff of Jimny here and there. Misleadingly presented as being the new Suzuki Jimny Sierra, which it certainly isn't, this design study is best described as wishful thinking.
For starters, the Ford Motor Company doesn't intend to share the Bronco's platform with Suzuki. The Japanese automaker isn't really interested in body-on-frame SUVs either, with Suzuki being more concerned about electric vehicle development.
Pictured in two- and four-door guises, the off-road vehicle wouldn't look out of place in a showroom. Be that as it may, remember what kind of vehicles actually sell in Suzuki's home market. Even the European Union is a weird choice for the Bronco, which carries exorbitant price tags. Back in July 2023, the Outer Banks was listed by Ford Deutschland at 74,500 euros. Over in the United States of America, it was priced at $54,715.
74,500 euros is 81,445 freedom eagles at current exchange rates. A helluva lot of money for a four-door SUV with Ranger underpinnings, let alone for a vehicle that's way too wide for European roads. The 2.7-liter EcoBoost isn't exactly fit for Europe, a huge market where Ford wants to switch to EVs by the end of the decade. That plan, however, may have suffered a setback due to pesky lawmakers.
To make a long story short, the European Commission agreed to exempt automobiles running on e-fuels from the 2035 ban on the sale of new fossil-fuel passenger vehicles. If e-fuel automobiles and electric vehicles reach a price parity by 2035, that spells trouble for those who put all their eggs in one basket, including the peeps at Ford Europe.
Photo: AutomagzPro on YouTube
What about Suzuki? The automotive division sells kei cars by the bucketload in the Land of the Rising Sun, while customers in the Old Continent are presented with a choice of hybridized vehicles. The only exception is the Jimny Sierra, which is classified as a commercial vehicle after Suzuki yanked out the rear seats of the small and cutesy off-roader.
Why does the Jimny Sierra come with two seats in this part of the world? The answer is fleet-wide CO2 emissions. By deleting the rear seats, Suzuki wasn't required to give the Euro-spec Jimny Sierra a more frugal engine than the existing 1.5-liter I4.
Available with five doors in India, the Jimny is dubbed Sierra only in combination with the aforementioned 1.5-liter I4. The Japanese automaker also makes a kei version for Japan exclusively, which downgrades from the aforementioned 1.5 to a three-pot turbo. Coincidentally, the smaller engine is shared with the Caterham Seven 170. Also worthy of note, the British automaker from Dartford was acquired by Japanese company VT Holdings Co., Ltd. in 2021.
On an ending note, did you know that Suzuki is currently developing an all-electric Jimny? As for the Ford Motor Company, the Bronco is expected to receive a plug-in hybrid option in the nearest of futures, namely a plug-in setup that's most likely borrowed from the 2025 Ranger PHEV.
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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