Traded My Montero for a Jimny — No Regrets

Reading time: 7 min

1. Intro — “Wait… You Did WHAT?”

I sold my 2022 Mitsubishi Montero Sport for a 2020 Suzuki Jimny.
Now don’t get me the wrong way — on paper, swapping out a 2022 Mitsubishi Montero Sport for a 2020 Suzuki Jimny looks like a mental breakdown. My family and friends, though, I was either a brokey, bored as hell, or just going through some weird minimalist phase.
“You exchanged THAT for THIS????”
Yup! I freaking did.
And I would do it again!
Let me tell you why.

2. TANK vs. Box

Let’s get this out of the way — the Montero Sport is a gorgeous machine. Power, smoothness, full to the brim with tech, looks like a damn bulldozer off-road, and can go straight through a concrete wall without any issues. You sit in it, and you feel you are already there.
Big comfy leather seats, a dashboard straight out of a Boeing 747, there is a button for everything, literally, and you have enough power to tow your neighbor’s van as a prank just because you feel like laughing.
Then there is the Jimny — the total opposite.
A charming little car, bouncy, tiny, angry, but charming nonetheless.
It looks like a toy at first glance. People usually have 2 reactions when seeing the Jimny: they either laugh and give you a thumbs up, or they just think you lost your damn mind driving something like that. In my opinion, that’s half the fun!
The Jimny as a car doesn’t take itself too damn seriously, and honestly, it taught me this, so I don’t take myself too damn seriously either.
It just isn’t about making a statement; it’s about enjoying the ride, and the simplicity of it.

So yeah, I went from TANK to Box.
From “Now that’s a big car!” to “Wait…is that even a car?”
But let me tell you — I’m having an absolute blast with the box.

3. The Turning Point

At some point, I started realizing that owning and driving the Montero was something out of habit more than love. I was feeling nothing driving it; it was just a ride, it was like a nice couch or a bathtub on wheels. It did what it was supposed to do: drive, haul stuff, your typical mule for the job at hand. Yet, I always asked myself — “Why am I driving a little 2-bedroom apartment around every day?”
Parking became a hassle. Traffic made me feel like I was driving an RV through a mall. Fuel bills? Those made me start an Excel sheet for my finances…and for what? I wasn’t towing trailers and taking a bus-worth of passengers up and down a mountain every day. Most of the time, it’s either me solo-driving to work and back home or my wife doing some light shopping from that store that’s like 2 km away.
Then, as I drive, I see it, every single day, a Jimny passing by, and something in my head just tells me, “Hey, remember the Jimny?”
I always loved the way it looks, something out of the 1950s, it’s something about that boxy shape, the tiny footprint, the capabilities, the potential.
I always thought about what I would do if I had one.
And one day I saw it, parked in a local dealer, used, with 70,000 km mileage on the dash, and I thought, “Screw it, I’m buyin’ it!”.
And just like that, the Montero was gone, out of the picture.

4. Real Life Wins with the Jimny

Traffic? No Problemo.

Driving the Montero in traffic felt like trying to sail a ship through a dangerous rock formation. It’s big, and wide, and everyone hates you when you try to squeeze into a lane or make a turn or try to change lanes during traffic. The Jimny? That this slips easily, no problem.
Suddenly, all the gaps between the cars are so big and wide for the Jimny, no need for planning your way, or thinking too much about how to squeeze in, you just go, and pass, and because you are driving a Jimny, everyone is probably laughing to death, just by the idea of you overtaking and just squeezing through with a Jimny.

Parking? EASY!

Parking with the Montero used to be a pain in the A**, mostly felt like shopping for clothes, “nah that’s too tight”, “nope, that won’t fit”.
Circle the lot, and pray you find a spot that is wide enough and big enough, and double pray everyone around you parks correctly within their designated lines, then you park, and then you go into your apartment and make sure that you don’t leave until the next day, so you don’t have to go through all that again.
Jimny parking? Can you fit a shoe in that little spot? If you can, then you can probably park your Jimny there, no issues.
I park that thing, upside-down, sideways, in the tightest spots possible; it makes you feel like a rebellious teen who is trying to hide the car that they stole from their parents, so they won’t figure out you hit it by accident.

Fuel: The cheap stuff, Full, please.

The Montero used to drink fuel like no other. I swear there was a hole in that tank somewhere. Premium 95 fuel only, of course, unless you feel really rich, and go Premium 98 — the “rocket fuel” as I tend to call it.
The tank? 70 liters… That is a tank of a small private jet.
The Jimny? Tiny 45-liter tank, sips Regular 91 fuel, like it’s “My precious”. I fuel that thing with my pocket change. I started seeing savings from day one on that thing.
And the best part? It Drives THE SAME MILEAGE with half the tank.

Maintenance? Super Chill.

The Montero’s service appointments felt like doctor visits — first, diagnostics, tests, then you schedule for the day you leave the car for the surgery, and then you sell your kidney and pay the bills.
The Jimny is such a refreshing experience when it comes to maintenance, because it’s just a lawnmower with attitude issues. Parts are dirt-cheap, and the mechanics usually laugh when I bring it in, as if it needs any maintenance to begin with.
As my russian grandfather used to say:

“Less electric parts, less problems”.

That sums up the Jimny; there is nothing to break, the damn battery is an accessory at this point. And the parts? You can find them ANYWHERE!
Amazon, your local shop, the back of your cousin’s shed — someone has Jimny parts. You’re covered.

No More Leather Sauna Seats!

Let’s talk heat. I live in the Middle East. Leather seats in the summer? 3rd degree burns!
Let’s talk cold. I lived previously in Belarus. Leather seats in the winter? Your butt will stick to the seat like putting your tongue on an icicle.
The Jimny? Simple cloth seats. No fake luxury, no burns, no sticking. Get it, start the car, drive. Simple as that.

5. Final Thoughts

I didn’t “downgrade” my car. I just changed my direction.
I just traded a TANK for a car, which makes me smile and happy every time I get to drive it.
Sometimes simplicity is king, and that is what I feel when I drive the Jimny.
The Montero was great, no doubt about that, but at the end of the day, the Jimny brought fun back to driving.
No stressing about scratches. No guilt about gas. No more fighting for parking spots.
The car actually feels mine. It fits me perfectly, it fits my driving style, my attitude, and my needs to not take everything so damn seriously.
So yeah, I sold the Montero and bought a Jimny.
Best. Decision. Ever.

What about you?
Would you ever ditch the “big SUV life” for something small and full of character? Drop a comment below — I wanna know.

Hey, Check this out: Suzuki Jimny Mods – Turning the Box into a Beast