Why Dacia should be the brand to revive the Suzuki Jimny

Small off road cars used to be hugely popular in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. You could choose between the Suzuki Jimny, the Toyota RAV4, the Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin and the Daihatsu Terios – to name a few.

But in 2026, almost all of these cars have vanished from showrooms in the UK. Yes you can still buy a RAV4, but it’s not the small mud-plugger it once was. This got us thinking – imagine if Dacia made a small off-roader?

It’s not a daft idea when you think about it. Dacia has a history of making cheap 4x4s – just look at the current Duster. It kept up with a Toyota Land Cruiser when we pitted them against each other in a quarry, but it’s a third of the price.

So what would a dinky Dacia off-road SUV look like? We’ve imagined a car called the Dacia Scout to give you an idea.

The Dacia Scout: what could this car look like?

The current Dacia Duster is already a pretty rugged-looking thing, but a full-blown, go-anywhere SUV would need to look a bit more extreme.

We reckon it would almost look like a mini Land Rover Defender, with a steep windscreen and square front end. The chunky black plastic cladding is more than just show, it’s there to shrug off the worst that an off-road trail can throw at it.

The Duster’s taillights fit in quite well with this car’s aesthetic, and parts sharing would also keep costs down. A tailgate-mounted spare wheel is a given on a rufty-tufty SUV, as is the massive roof rack.

Inside we’d envisage a robust, hard-wearing dashboard made of hard plastics which are easy to wipe down. Big buttons and knobs would make it easier to use everything while covered in mud or wearing gloves after winching lesser 4x4s out of a hole, and rubber flooring would make cleanup afterwards as easy as hosing it down.

Why would the Dacia Scout be a sales hit?

We reckon a Dacia Scout would plug the gap in the market left by the Suzuki Jimny. That car was discontinued in the UK because its petrol engine didn’t comply with the latest emissions regulations, but Dacia offers four-wheel drive SUVs which do.

It could use the 1.2-litre petrol engine from the Duster, driving all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. We’ve seen that the Duster can handle itself very well off road, so with a higher ride height and proper tyres this Dacia Scout could be incredible.

So the Dacia Scout would be for people who actually want to tackle green lanes at the weekend, but don’t want to spend a fortune to do it, making it a spiritual successor to the Suzuki Jimny.

Will this car ever be made?

Chances are, no it won’t. We’re just fantasising here about a budget-friendly off-roader to take off into the wilderness and have some fun.

But if you’re looking for an off-road car on a budget, why not check out a used Dacia Duster? The previous generation can be found for around £5,000 these days, and a four-wheel drive version with some chunky tyres and a roof tent would make a great car for exploring.

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