SUZUKI JIMNY EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Jason Dodd
Owner, Jason Dodd Photography, covering Automotive, Commercial, Editorial photography across UK and Europe.
After waiting eighteen months for a Suzuki Jimny, mid covid and the SZ4 model I was after turned up. Just as Canterbury Suzuki opened up in June it was one of the first cars they sold after the first lockdown.
Must admit I had written off the chances of acquiring the Suzuki Jimny, especially the base model SZ4 which have been harder to get hold of, the black steel pepper pot wheels and base spec suited me fine and in silver it sets off the wheels and big black bumpers perfectly. The demand for the Jimny has been worldwide, when the car was introduced it was on the back of Land Rover discontinuing the legendary Defender and cheekily Suzuki had their design almost replicate the car to a tee, just a bit more compact.
The SZ4 and SZ5 are four wheel drive as well, so this is a real world car that can work as a city car, load lugger for camera gear or go off road and compete against cars treble its price (look on you tube for the comparison tests). Unfortunately the Jimny doesn't make the current euro emission regulations and each one imported from Japan has a hefty bill on it for the manufacturer, hence no kore now coming in to the UK. This has made the car even more desirable and registered cars and early ones are at a premium, either at dealers or on auto trader.
In six months i've covered 8500 miles and its a great run around, 42 mpg, comfy due to the high seating position and the 5 speed manual gearbox is a joy. The biggest advantage is its flexibility in terms of going off road for that ideal location for a shoot and also its compact design means it can go anywhere for commercial shoots as well. It has also appeared in quiet a few shoots on it's travels around the UK.