ATTENTION SEEKER

WHEN YOU’RE A NEW, SMALL PLAYER UP AGAINST THE ESTABLISHED BIG BOYS IT PAYS TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD, WHICH IS PRECISELY WHAT THIS LITTLE JIMNY HAS BEEN BUILT TO DO.

- Dean Mellor

IT MIGHT be small, but this Suzuki makes a huge visual impact. And it’s not just the wild wrap – the Jimny has been lifted, widened and protected, and over the past few months it’s grown on its owner so much that it’s morphed from mere a promotional tool to an almost-daily driver.

The Jimny’s owner is Gavin Duffield, the man behind AFN 4x4 Australia. Chances are you’ve heard of AFN 4x4, despite the fact the accessory manufacturer has only been active in the Aussie market for the past four years or so. That’s because Gavin has thrown plenty of resources and marketing nous behind AFN 4x4 to offer four-wheel drivers an alternative to the traditional manufacturers of bullbars and other vehicle protection equipment.

“It’s been a really tough market for AFN 4x4,” says Gavin. “Trying to grow the brand name and get publicity… we don’t have a budget like the big boys, we’re small fry, but we do believe that our approach and what we’ve been doing is pretty good.” And the Jimny gracing these pages is just a small part of getting the word out on the street.

Gavin picked up the Jimny at the start of 2019, not long after the model had been launched on the Aussie market. Due to strong initial demand for the little Zook, Gavin was unable to source a brand-new vehicle, but he managed to find this second-hand Kinetic Yellow example with just 1000km showing on the odo.

“We bought it as a promotional vehicle, just to promote our business and our product, but now that we’ve had it for a while it’s quite a lot of fun; it’s a great little car to drive around in the city and to take off-road,” says Gavin.