The acutely brief brief from editor Tisshaw arrived in August. “Christmas tree road trip, v2.0. Different car, different tree, different route. Will leave you to sort.”
Last year’s festive foliage was delivered from a hillside in Argyll to the Autocar office in Twickenham atop Aston Martin’s athletic bruiser of a GT, the Aston Martin DB11 V12, which devoured its task as does a local council woodchipper on the 13th day of Christmas. Choosing a different route would be easy, and a different tree was a given because 2017’s might well have become pages of Autocar magazine.
But what could trump the Aston? This time, off-road skills would be helpful so we could source our tree from a wilder spot, and 2018 had delivered some fascinating new high-riding, all-paw contenders: Lamborghini Urus, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, new Mercedes-AMG G 63 and Jaguar I-Pace, to name a few. Ultimately, the choice was simple, and it didn’t hail from Sant’Agata, Goodwood, Affalterbach or Whitley, but from Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture, which has produced a budget car to draw more affection than any of those pricey and aspirational machines. Yes, our hero’s name is Jimny.
The fourth generation of Suzuki’s min pin of a 4x4 has united motoring journos in lustfulness more than would the prospect of a complimentary branded fleece. It’s a genuine performer on the rough stuff and brings enough visual charm and value for money for most to overlook its inevitable on-road compromises. But how would it fare over more than 500 miles of mud, rock and Tarmac – and with its own length in Christmas tree strapped to its roof?
Join the debate
Add your comment
i agree
Typical lovely Scottish and English weather for this time of year,what do you expect! next year should be in an Ariel Nomad!! or the new Carrera 4!
Nice pictures,love those old narrow streets of York,lovely old city, like so many in UK,where anything as large or larger than an E Class is no good!
i agree
Typical lovely Scottish and English weather for this time of year,what do you expect! next year should be in an Ariel Nomad!! or the new Carrera 4!
Nice pictures,love those old narrow streets of York,lovely old city, like so many in UK,where anything as large or larger than an E Class is no good!
An off roader that doesn't like bad weather..