The 41-year-old Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series has beaten the Suzuki Jimny to adding a simple dashboard convenience fitted to most new cars, as part of a safety update that brings a price hike of up to 16 per cent in Japan.
The basic modern convenience of a digital speedometer has finally come to the pint-sized Suzuki Jimny four-wheel-drive as part of a technology and safety update in Japan.
It is likely to come to Australia when the three-door Jimny is updated early next year, with new driver-assistance features allowing it to comply with the latest mandatory safety standards for new vehicles locally.
It may come at a hefty cost, however, with RRPs in Japan rising by 8 to 16 per cent, depending on the model grade.
The current Jimny is priced from $34,990 to $41,990 drive-away in Australia; even an 8 per cent price rise on the popular three-door GLX auto ($38,990) would push it to $42,100 drive-away.
An update announced in Japan this week – as reported by Creative Trend – introduces a new, full-colour 4.2-inch display between the analogue instrument dials, replacing the monochrome unit currently fitted.
It has enabled the introduction of a digital speedometer – augmenting the analogue speedo – plus power, torque and 'motion' readouts, and revised fuel economy, cruise control, and odometer information.
Only a handful of new cars remain on sale in Australia without a digital speedometer.
Even the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series – a vehicle dating back to 1984, or 41 years ago – gained a digital speedometer two years ago, while the Suzuki Swift received the feature in 2020.
The change currently applies only to the Japanese-built Jimny range sold in the brand's home market, though the five-door body – branded as the Nomade in Japan, and built in India – is likely to follow.
Other new Jimny interior features in Japan for 2026 include the five-door's 9.0-inch touchscreen newly introduced to the three-door, running updated software from the new Swift hatch, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but no in-built navigation.
There are now also heated door mirrors, LED interior lights, and support for the Suzuki Connect phone app.
Climate control and a tilt-adjustable steering wheel, which were already available on certain models in Japan, are now standard across the line-up.
The most significant changes come in the form of safety features, adding more advanced 'dual-sensor' autonomous emergency braking (AEB), and a 'pause' function for the traffic sign recognition.
Automatic grades gain adaptive cruise control, low-speed autonomous emergency braking in reverse, and a 'false start' prevention system in reverse.
Prices of the updated Jimny three-door in Japan have risen by 13.5 to 16 per cent for manual versions, and 7.9 to 10.2 per cent for automatics, as the transmissions are now the same price.
The line-up starts from 1,918,400 Japanese yen ($AU19,500), up 264,000 yen ($AU2680), and tops out at 2,385,900 yen ($AU24,300) with three doors, or 2,750,000 ($AU28,000) for the yet-to-be-updated five-door.
More details of the 2026 Suzuki Jimny three-door for Australia are due closer to its local launch in the New Year.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
