WHAT IS IT?
The Suzuki Jimny (known as the Samurai in North America) is a pint-sized cheap Jeep and while underpowered is immensely capable off-road. It’s still in production and sold virtually everywhere but here. The Samurai started off red-hot in the U.S. until its propensity to (allegedly) roll over during sudden maneuvers at highway speed became well publicized via Consumer Reports. Even in dry climates, the survival rate is miniscule, especially among the soft tops which rusted into oblivion.
WHY THIS ONE HAS BEST ONE ON THE PLANET CHOPS
Samurais were the essence of disposable 4X4s. Nobody saved them, or even thought to give them decent care. Most lived out their days as beat-to-hell trail rigs, or in hunting camps where they were simply abandoned in the woods when they quit. And then there’s this one: Gorgeous metallic blue paint, an as-new soft top, an interior that appears original, and it’s beautifully presented under the hood. It looks like something straight out of a publicity shot from the 1980s. Simply incredible.
Nobody saved them, or even thought to give them decent care.
When I was a kid my grandfather (who I admired greatly!) subscribed to Consumer Reports. This was the only area where I diverged with his opinions, as a young car kid I found their relentless focus on reliability and safety as almost heretical. Literally every car I lusted after they would decimate in their reviews… I recall their crushing safety review on the Samurai…
To this day I have always wanted a late tin top version.. It would be hard to give this a BOTP award with a scant 6 pictures but from what I see it looks seriously compelling. Sorry Consumer Reports, you haven’t dampened my desires 40 years later!
Brilliant addition here. This car has always been on my watchlist and I near wrenched my neck last summer watching one zip by. A true classic and boy is this one near perfect!
This little Samurai just screams honesty. The engine compartment presentation is exactly what you want to see, complete with the jack still in place. Everything looks exactly right, nothing overdone or obviously refurbished. Honest. If there’s a better one out there, I’d be shocked.
This little nugget is so clean it almost hurts. Usually, these 7UP cans, as I lovingly called them as a teen in the late 80s, come with all their stories and the requisite rust of age. I love the interior on this and that’s an engine bay you could eat off of. I won’t crow about their off-road driving chops because that requires a lot of trust and a great sports bra, but as far as how this one looks, it’s got showroom appeal. Would be tough to find a better one, but if you’ve got it, share it! These old littles are special.
This is an astonishingly good little Jimny, I mean Samurai. If there’s a nicer one anywhere, it’s probably in the Consumer Reports Museum.