Here in The Good Oil offices, we have a lengthy list of vehicles we would like to buy one day. The list is headed with the phrase, “No, but all joking aside, we really, honestly, truly would like to buy a ... ”
There are hot hatches and luxury SUVs and, naturally, plenty of German performance metal on the list. But possibly at the top would be the Suzuki Jimny.
It’s an amazing wee truck. Unassuming, practical and impressively cheap to buy.
It also feels like a bit of a throwback, in a good way. There’s an undeniable coolness to the Jimny that is hard to pinpoint but it’s just cult enough to engender nods of appreciation from surprising corners. (It’s not fast after all, nor is it especially attractive to look at.)
Well, then. Suzuki has just shown off the next-generation Jimny ahead of its official launch at the start of 2019. And we’re smitten. Baby G-Wagen, anyone?
Rather than softening its edges — as has been done with the bigger Vitara — the new Jimny is even boxier than before.
There are bigger guards around the wheel arches and contrasting roof colours, giving it a modern demeanour, but it’s still a rugged looking thing; still essentially a sturdy little box with a wheel at each corner.
Apparently, Suzuki made a special point of seeking out the opinions of rabid fans in redesigning the Jimny for this fourth generation.
Existing owners rank the wee truck’s offroad prowess and its knockabout robustness well ahead of on-road performance. (Lucky that; it’s out of puff surprisingly early in the motorway cruise.)
Needless to say, although Suzuki has said its on-road comfort will be improved — and it will even feature modern technology such as a — gasp! — infotainment system with a touchscreen — the Jimny will remain true to its heritage.
It will feature three-link rigid axle suspension, part-time four-wheel-drive and a manually-selectable low-range transfer box.
Suzuki hasn’t given much away as to what will be powering the new Jimny, although a 1-litre three-cylinder Boosterjet turbo is likely.
Or the 1.2-litre unit as used in its equally retro-cool Ignis.
Either way, we’re anticipating good things will, in this instance, come in small boxes.
Mercedes brings in the big guns
Maybe it’s the fever dream of platitudes that followed the introduction of the X-Class ute to our shores, but Mercedes-Benz is doubling down on this commercial vehicle thing. So much so, it has now revealed its intentions to bring the daddy of all commercial vehicles to New Zealand: the Unimog.
Buoyed by the sale of eight Unimogs to an unnamed recipient within the tourism industry, the distributor took the chance at National Fieldays this month to announce it would sell the hefty go-anywhere trucks here. Customers? Anyone needing to go somewhere in a straight line, presumably.
Unimogs aren’t unknown here, of course. But generally — private imports aside — they’re the green-and-brown reserve of the New Zealand Defence Force.
Now Mercedes-Benz NZ is set to target search and rescue, the energy sector and primary industries with two models; a heavy-duty off-roader (the UGE), and an even more heavy-duty version, the UHE.
Expect your local tramping club’s committee to be rubbing their hands with glee once those bad boys hit the second-hand market.
Have GoPro, will fast-track travel
From the “When fan hacks go well” file comes news of an official tie-up between two worthy brands: diminutive camera company GoPro and miniature machine maker Hot Wheels.
Corporate giant Mattel (which owns Hot Wheels) clearly saw a video a fan made last year, which went viral, showing an epic POV-shot Hot Wheels journey, filmed entirely with a GoPro mounted to a model car.
An official collaboration has now emerged, with Hot Wheels engineering a cool wheeled contraption specifically for the GoPro Hero 5.
It’s called the Zoom In GoPro mount and it’s essentially an elaborate skateboard on which to whiz your camera-in-a-tiny-box around.
The weight of the camera (i.e. not much) enables the “car” to hug the plastic track, ensuring it won’t go flying off ... well, not until you want it to anyway. Good luck, however, with the motion sickness while reviewimg the footage.