Suzuki Samurai Essential History The Roots of the Samurai

The Samurai was the first four-wheeled vehicle Suzuki sold in the U.S ., but its history begins virtually 20 times before the plucky little 4×4 impelled its nature across the Pacific. In 1968, Japan’s Hope Motor Company established a small kei-class 4×4 with a 359 cc Mitsubishi engine called the ON3 60. Suzuki bought Hope and developed the ON360 into the 1970 LJ10( “Light Jeep” ), also known as the Jimny.

Suzuki introduced the second-generation Jimny in 1981, and in 1985 it began exporting the Jimny to the U.S. as a 1986 example. Badged as the Samurai, the U.S. edition had a carbureted 1.3 -liter overhead-cam four-cylinder delivering 63 horsepower and 74 -lb-ft of torque. It was noisy and slow–MotorTrend clocked it to 60 mph in 16.9 seconds, with a quarter-mile time of 20.47 seconds at 64.5 mph–but good entertaining around municipality, and off-road it was nearly unstoppable, with its primary shortcoming being its street-spec tires. Manual-locking front hubs were standard, with auto-lockers accessible as a dealer-installed option.

Suzuki Samurai Success

With a cornerstone expenditure of $6,550, the Suzuki Samurai was two-thirds of the price of the new-for-1 987 Jeep Wrangler. Aided by cute “Beep, beep, hi! ” business, it was an instant stumbled. Suzuki originally planned to import 1,200 Samurais per month in its first year, but wound up selling 47,000 for its first year, contributing the Samurai the best first-year sales of any Japanese vehicle to that appointment. It took just more than a year and half for sale to punch the 100,000 assessment, and by mid-1 988 Americans were buying 8,000 Samurais per month.

Suzuki pioneered an updated Samurai in 1988 as a “1 9881/2 ” model. Softer springtimes, revamped shock absorbers, and a thicker front anti-roll bar helped to ease the Samurai’s rough trip, while a somewhat shorter fifth-gear ratio improved street recital. Mindful of the Volkswagen Beetle’s success through revision rather than redesign, styling deepens be restricted to a new grille and rotations on the outside and brand-new estimates, steering wheel, and benches for the interior. That same time, Suzuki introduced the slightly larger 1989 Sidekick 4×4, also sold by General Motor as the Geo Tracker, to sell alongside the Samurai.

The Consumer Reports Samurai Rollover Debacle

But 1988 was to be the Samurai’s annus horribilis. A strong yen compelled Suzuki to raise the toll to $8,495, which cooled sales, but the effect of price was nothing compared to the Consumer Reports debacle. After an employee of CR owner Consumers Union rolled a test car in normal driving, the favourite magazine granted the Samurai an “unacceptable” rating, saying it “easily flattens over in turns.” The busines presented reporters a video of the Samurai tipping onto outriggers fitted by CU in a 40 -mph crash-avoidance test and counselled NHTSA to issue a recollection. NHTSA refused.

Regardless, as a consequence of the CR report and its extended media coverage, Samurai marketings slumped, and Suzuki for the first time had to offer cash rebates to keep the Samurai selling. The little 4×4 became the buttock of jokes: “Have you examine the 1989 Samurai? It has a sunroof on the floor.” Suzuki litigated Consumers Union in 1996, alleging the problem occurred when the test was modified to induce a rollover, though Suzuki’s own internal correspondence discovered concern about the Samurai’s propensity to tip-off. The lawsuit was ended out of court in 2004.

Samurai Dies Here, Lives Elsewhere

Despite those mortal weaves, the Suzuki Samurai soldiered on with few alterations. The 1990 Samurai got throttle-body fuel injection, with a corresponding hump to 68 hp, and Suzuki offered a two-wheel-drive version between 1991 and 1993. The company removed the buttock sit after 1994, an stopgap room to conform to a requirement for rear-seat shoulder loops, which the Samurai paucity. The last pattern year for the Samurai in the U.S. was 1995.

Despite its fatality in the American market, the Suzuki Jimny carried on elsewhere. Suzuki pioneered a third-generation simulate in 1998, and after a 20 -year run, the fourth-gen Jimny debuted in 2018; it remains on sale in all regions of the world to this day.

Suzuki Samurai Highlights

Suzuki was one of the first importers to recognize the importance of customization to American buyers. Before the Samurai went on sale in 1985, Suzuki introduced a list full of supplementaries, which were to be displayed at the dealerships in a “personalization center”.

The Samurai’s success took Suzuki by surprise. The companionship had planned a sluggish rollout, setting up dealerships in California in November 1985, Florida and Georgia in December, and then staging a slow roll-out to other regimes during the course of its next three years. But initial marketings was just so strong that Suzuki raced to expand its auctions network throughout the country.

The Samurai is one of the few vehicles offered for sale in the American market without an automatic transmission.

Though the Samurai came to the U.S. in 1985 as a 1986 representation, exportations to Canada and Puerto Rico began earlier. Canadians likewise could buy a long-wheelbase version not available in the U.S.

In 2007, Chileans Gonzalo Bravo and Eduardo Canales determined the record for the highest altitude achieved by a four-wheel vehicle when they drove their qualified 1986 Suzuki Samurai up the Ojos del Salado volcano to an altitude of 21,942 paws. The previous record of 21,804 hoofs was set by a Jeep Wrangler; the Jeep team left a signed that said “Jeep parking only–all others don’t make it up now, anyway.” Bravo and Canales introduced the sign back down with them. A Unimog broke the record again in 2020 when it climbed 21,962 paws up the same volcano.

Suzuki Samurai Buying Tips

Thanks chiefly to its insanely-good off-road cleverness, the Suzuki Samurai is now a prized collectible, though countless precedents ought to have modified, so finding one in as-delivered condition can be difficult. If possible, opt for a non-modified Samurai, as they are less likely to have been subjected to off-road abuse.

Buying a previously modified Samurai, on the other hand, can be a huge cost-saver compared to stimulating the modifications yourself, but you are then subject to the quality of revisions to be undertaken by others. Check carefully for indicates of shoddy work.

Inspect the underbody carefully. Besides rust, you should look for dents, rubs, or mud in hard-to-reach regions, all proof that the truck did hard off-road time.

Some Samurai owners swapped out the 1.3 -liter engine for the more powerful 1.6 -liter fuel-injected engine from the Sidekick. Though the exchange does not require alterations to enclose or form, it is not a simple bolt-in substitution and compels several modifications; a poor-quality exchange can cause questions down( or off) the road. Too, a Samurai with a non-stock engine may not be emissions-legal in some states, so check regulations carefully.

If you encounter a Samurai with an automatic transmission, it’s a barter. All US-market Samurais came with manual transmissions.

Among the known trouble spots: Oil holes at the distributor, leaky brake ruler cylinders, bad transfer-case bushings that fasten the instance in neutral, brittle plastic interior components, fiddly carburetors, and faulty engine-control modules( ECMs) on fuel-injected engines.

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Suzuki Samurai Quick Facts

First year of U.S. auctions: 1985( 1986 simulation time) Last year of U.S. marketings: 1995 Total sold in U.S .: 206,419 Original cost( locate ): $6,550 Engine: 1.3 L SOHC I-4/ 63 -6 8 hp Usual auctioneer expenditure assortment( 2020 ): $7,500 – $10,000 Characteristic peculiarity: Tiny size, durable and ability 4×4

Suzuki Samurai FAQ Does Suzuki still obligate the Samurai?

Yes, kind of. Suzuki still sells the Jimny( the Samurai’s name outside of North America) in various markets, and the 4×4 is now in its fourth generation. The Samurai name has been retired.

Is the Suzuki Samurai a good gondola?

The Samurai is an exceptionally capable off-roader that is both durable and reliable, hence its continued vogue and high resale evaluates. However, as a daily move it’s slow , noisy, and not specially cozy, with 1986 -8 8 patterns having a firmer ride. Though Samurai supporters will disagree about the merits of the Consumer Reports case, the Samurai is more prone to tipping over in sudden strays than most 4x4s.

What years did Suzuki originate the Samurai?

Suzuki sold the Samurai in North America between late 1985 and 1995, with marketings beginning earlier in Canada and Puerto Rico. The Jimny on which the Samurai was based was originally introduced in Japan in 1970, and continues in production to this day.

Why did Suzuki stop meeting the Samurai?

The Samurai was singularly popular when it firstly came to the U.S ., but a 1988 story by Consumer Reports quoting an suspect inclination to roll over killed its sales, which slackened to a trickle and had contributed to a 1995 withdrawal from the U.S. grocery. Suzuki sued in 1996, accusing CR of influencing the test to persuade a rollover; the suit was eventually set out of court. By that time, Suzuki had generated the larger and wider Sidekick to sell, and it effectively supplanted the Samurai.

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