Old Man Emu BP51 bypass shocks on a Hilux — 12 months and 30,000km honest review
Running the Suzuki Jimny for 18 months now, 36631km on the clock including 5 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the off-road capability straight from factory surprised me. I have done Sani Pass, Kgalagadi and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 2.8L turbodiesel is 10L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: the dealer experience left something to be desired. Also the dealer here in Cape Town could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: ARB Summit bull bar (R9k fitted), OME BP51 shocks (R12k fitted), MaxTrax recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R81k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my Cape Town dealer was R680,000 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
5 Replies
The fuel consumption figures you mention match what I see. The AT35 diesel is fine on tar if you stay under 120. The issue for me is long-range touring — I fitted a Brown Davis 119L long-range tank to solve the range anxiety completely.
— boetie_botha
On the mod budget — R85k sounds like a lot but if you are amortising it over 7 years of serious use, it works out to less than R1,000 per month. And the safety improvement in a real recovery situation is not something you can put a price on.
The fuel consumption figures you mention match what I see. The AT35 diesel is fine on tar if you stay under 120. The issue for me is long-range touring — I fitted a Brown Davis 119L long-range tank to solve the range anxiety completely.
> The fuel consumption figures you mention match what I see. The AT35 diesel is fine on tar if you stay under 120. The issue for me is long-range touring — I fitted a Brown Davis 119L long-range tank to solve the range anxiety completely.
> — boetie_botha
On the mod budget — R85k sounds like a lot but if you are amortising it over 7 years of serious use, it works out to less than R1,000 per month. And the safety improvement in a real recovery situation is not something you can put a price on.
— surika_hugo
Have you tried it in high-speed gravel? That is where these bakkies differ most. The Raptor on its Fox shocks is a different vehicle at 100km/h on corrugated gravel compared to the base model.
The fuel consumption figures you mention match what I see. The AT35 diesel is fine on tar if you stay under 120. The issue for me is long-range touring — I fitted a Brown Davis 119L long-range tank to solve the range anxiety completely.
Running the Suzuki Jimny for 18 months now, 36631km on the clock including 5 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the off-road capability straight from factory surprised me. I have done Sani Pass, Kgalagadi and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 2.8L turbodiesel is 10L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: the dealer experience left something to be desired. Also the dealer here in Cape Town could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: ARB Summit bull bar (R9k fitted), OME BP51 shocks (R12k fitted), MaxTrax recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R81k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my Cape Town dealer was R680,000 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
— tayla_ferreira
Interesting points on the dealer experience. I had the same in Gqeberha — 9 week wait for a service part that should have been in stock. This is why I budget for a proper extended warranty and use an independent workshop that specialises in 4x4s rather than the franchise dealer.