Land Rover Defender VS Suzuki Jimny - pulling power _ Fifth Gear

**4x4 Smackdown: Land Rover Defender vs. Suzuki Jimny**

Welcome back to our 4x4 smackdown, where we’re figuring out what to do if you’ve got £20,000 lying around and need an affordable off-roader that can handle some serious grunt work alongside the school run. Today, we’re pitting two iconic vehicles against each other: the Land Rover Defender and the brand-new Suzuki Jimny.

### The Benchmark: Land Rover Defender

The Land Rover Defender is no stranger to tough terrains. It’s a global veteran, proven in war zones, jungles, and deserts. Known for its brute strength and reliability, the Defender has been setting the standard for off-roaders for decades. With 359 Newton meters of torque, it’s clear that this vehicle is all about pulling power.

The test today involves maneuvering a rig filled with cones through a slalom course, reversing into a tight space, and making a mad dash to the finish line. The Defender’s strength shines in these tasks. Its torque advantage—359 Nm compared to the Suzuki Jimny’s 130 Nm—is undeniable. The Defender accelerates quickly, even if its turning circle isn’t the best. Once you get used to maneuvering this beast, it becomes clear why it’s a force to be reckoned with.

### The Underdog: Suzuki Jimny

While the Defender is the established leader, the Suzuki Jimny is making waves as a smaller but formidable contender. With a one-year waiting list, the Jimny is in high demand. Despite its compact size, it offers sharper brakes and more comfort, feeling like a modern vehicle for today’s roads.

The Jimny may not have the raw power of the Defender, but it compensates with nimbleness and agility. Its narrower and shorter design—15 centimeters narrower and half a meter shorter than the Defender—gives it an edge in tight spaces. Rear visibility is also a plus, making it easier to navigate in tricky situations.

### The Test: Towing and Maneuverability

To determine which vehicle comes out on top, we set up a series of tests focusing on towing and maneuverability. The first challenge involves slaloming through cones on expansive tarmac, then reversing into a tight area filled with cones (dubbed the “foe Garrosh” area), and finally making a dash for the finish line.

The Defender proved its brute strength from the start, effortlessly accelerating and handling the heavy rig. Its torque advantage allowed it to dominate the slalom course, even if its turning circle wasn’t ideal. The Jimny, on the other hand, showed its agility, zipping through the cones with ease. However, when it came to reversing into the tight space, things got tricky.

### Reversing Challenge: Stress and Panic

Both vehicles faced a daunting reversing challenge. For the Defender, it was a matter of precision and brute strength. The Jimny relied on its nimbleness and visibility.

The Jimny’s narrower design should have been an advantage, but in practice, it struggled to maneuver into the tight space. panic set in as seconds ticked away. The process took over 1 minute and 37 seconds—a stark contrast to the Defender’s more efficient approach.

In the end, while the Jimny showed promise with its agility and modern features, the Defender’s raw power and reliability couldn’t be matched. It proved that when it comes to essential pulling power, the Land Rover Defender reigns supreme.

### Conclusion

So, if you’ve got £20,000 to spend on an off-roader, the choice is clear: the Land Rover Defender delivers unmatched performance for serious work, while the Suzuki Jimny offers a compact and nimble alternative. Both vehicles have their strengths, but in this smackdown, the Defender came out on top.

Welcome back next time for more thrilling comparisons!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome back to our 4x4 smackdown where Jimmy and I are finding out what to do if you've got 20 grand lying around and need an affordable off-roader that can actually do some grunt work along with the school run I reckon the Land Rover is the benchmark a global veteran for war zones jungles and deserts while I'm on the side of the smaller but brand-new Suzuki Jimny which is proving so popular there's a one-year waiting list and so far it's the Japanese contender which has the edge as it's the better car on the road with sharper brakes more comfort and it feels like it was designed this century but now we're moving firmly into proper 4x4 territory and testing one of the key skills towing no room for Chelsea tractors here they must be capable of real work in order to be a good towing car yes you might need grunt but you also need maneuverability and visibility and that's why I've bought a whole box just on the back of the defender and I've devised yes is known as an auto test expansive tarmac many cones you're gonna start there where those cones are slalom in and out of those cones onto the four cones together two revolutions you're gonna reverse the rig into the foe Garrosh area and then make a mad dash for the finish line which is that line there Johnny you may think it's all about agility but I'm convinced that my defenders brute strength is gonna clinch me a well easy victory this test is all about pulling power or torque I've got 359 Newton meters of the stuff compared to Johnny Smith we D 130 this test is over before it's begun come on in Johnny he by now accelerated nine already in second gear not the greatest turning circle even so it doesn't take long to get used to maneuvering this big old beast another revolution and then he's going to go on to the virtual garage parking it in a garage party in a garage you need to seek medical help now this is gonna be tricky for Jimmy I hope because it's my only way I might win the satisfaction to be fair he's working well under pressure dammit you ex-soldier you me in the garbage to the line let's have some sort second gear come on all the way what's he got what's he got the 80s stopwatch never lies one minute 14 seconds not too shabby courage is not fair you did better than I thought actually one minute 14 that sounds a bit good this is a good car Jonny I'll be trying to tell you it's got character and it goes yeah it does go actually the grunt is there now it's time to see how my Jimny compared it might not be all talk but it does have some good things going for it the chimney is narrower and shorter 15 centimetres narrower and the defender and half a meter shorter oh I've also got pretty good rear visibility so that's a good thing right preparing yourself serious boredom because that is going to take him a very long time come on Jim you can do this which I kill manual in order of shimmy it out I'm clearly much more nimble around the turns time for a quick reverse Park and I'll have this all sewn up he's jackknife it absolute horrible to see that is horrible to see all that visibility this is panic setting in now it's not working why is this not maneuvering it's like it's got no weight if the seconds just painfully just stripped away there 114 to beat he's barking I was stressful and probably not very successful got that reversing Singh totally launched 1 minute 37 second 37 that's 1/4 defender so when it comes to essential pulling power the land rover reign supreme and means the stores Mouse panda one all youwelcome back to our 4x4 smackdown where Jimmy and I are finding out what to do if you've got 20 grand lying around and need an affordable off-roader that can actually do some grunt work along with the school run I reckon the Land Rover is the benchmark a global veteran for war zones jungles and deserts while I'm on the side of the smaller but brand-new Suzuki Jimny which is proving so popular there's a one-year waiting list and so far it's the Japanese contender which has the edge as it's the better car on the road with sharper brakes more comfort and it feels like it was designed this century but now we're moving firmly into proper 4x4 territory and testing one of the key skills towing no room for Chelsea tractors here they must be capable of real work in order to be a good towing car yes you might need grunt but you also need maneuverability and visibility and that's why I've bought a whole box just on the back of the defender and I've devised yes is known as an auto test expansive tarmac many cones you're gonna start there where those cones are slalom in and out of those cones onto the four cones together two revolutions you're gonna reverse the rig into the foe Garrosh area and then make a mad dash for the finish line which is that line there Johnny you may think it's all about agility but I'm convinced that my defenders brute strength is gonna clinch me a well easy victory this test is all about pulling power or torque I've got 359 Newton meters of the stuff compared to Johnny Smith we D 130 this test is over before it's begun come on in Johnny he by now accelerated nine already in second gear not the greatest turning circle even so it doesn't take long to get used to maneuvering this big old beast another revolution and then he's going to go on to the virtual garage parking it in a garage party in a garage you need to seek medical help now this is gonna be tricky for Jimmy I hope because it's my only way I might win the satisfaction to be fair he's working well under pressure dammit you ex-soldier you me in the garbage to the line let's have some sort second gear come on all the way what's he got what's he got the 80s stopwatch never lies one minute 14 seconds not too shabby courage is not fair you did better than I thought actually one minute 14 that sounds a bit good this is a good car Jonny I'll be trying to tell you it's got character and it goes yeah it does go actually the grunt is there now it's time to see how my Jimny compared it might not be all talk but it does have some good things going for it the chimney is narrower and shorter 15 centimetres narrower and the defender and half a meter shorter oh I've also got pretty good rear visibility so that's a good thing right preparing yourself serious boredom because that is going to take him a very long time come on Jim you can do this which I kill manual in order of shimmy it out I'm clearly much more nimble around the turns time for a quick reverse Park and I'll have this all sewn up he's jackknife it absolute horrible to see that is horrible to see all that visibility this is panic setting in now it's not working why is this not maneuvering it's like it's got no weight if the seconds just painfully just stripped away there 114 to beat he's barking I was stressful and probably not very successful got that reversing Singh totally launched 1 minute 37 second 37 that's 1/4 defender so when it comes to essential pulling power the land rover reign supreme and means the stores Mouse panda one all you\n"