2023 Suzuki Jimny five-door confirmed in new spy photos

While Suzuki engineers have been seen testing Jimny prototypes with longer wheelbases repeatedly over the last 12 months, all have been three-doors – making this test car snapped by Drive’s spy photo partners overnight the first with five.

Compared to a standard three-door Jimny, the five-door model rides on a longer wheelbase – rumoured to extend 300mm further, for a total of 2550mm – enabling the inclusion of two full-size rear openings.

While difficult to make out at first, the front door windows of the five-door prototype do not appear to be as long as those on today’s three-door – indicating the five-door has smaller front doors, in turn creating space for larger rear doors that improve ingress and egress.

Whether this will compromise front passenger space remains to be seen. Unsurprisingly, the fuel filler cap has been moved from behind the front right door, to behind the rear right door.

This five-door test car seems to ride on the same floorpan as the long-wheelbase three-door test car – suggesting it was a ‘mule’ for the more practical body style after all, disguising its intentions with the standard Jimny’s longer front doors, and longer rear-side window openings.

According to the spy photographer, the five-door Jimny test vehicle “[drove] away without any engine noise” – pointing to the fitment of a hybrid powertrain.

Overseas rumours suggest the five-door Jimny may feature a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, fitted to either the current Jimny’s 75kW/130Nm 1.5-litre non-turbo four-cylinder engine, or a turbocharged engine of some description.

However, most mild-hybrid systems – including those offered by Suzuki – cannot power the wheels on electricity alone, instead requiring the petrol engine to be switched on and, at minimum, sit at idle speed.

Instead, if the photographer’s report of no engine noise is accurate, the five-door Jimny could be equipped with the ‘closed-loop’ powertrain from Europe’s Suzuki Vitara Full Hybrid, based around the Jimny’s 1.5-litre four-cylinder.

Running at 140 volts – more than a mild-hybrid (48V), but less than an entry-level Toyota hybrid (200V) – the system combines an 85kW version of the 1.5-litre engine with a 25kW electric motor, for a system capable of fully-electric driving at low speeds.