Suzuki Celebrates 55 Years of AllGrip – From Tonka Toys to Tech-Savvy Trail Tacklers
Suzuki is throwing a party – and it’s not for a new Swift colour option or another mild-hybrid sticker pack. Nope. This year marks 55 years of AllGrip – the Japanese brand’s no-nonsense four-wheel-drive philosophy that’s been powering everything from farm hacks to cult classics since 1970…and what a ride it’s been!
The LJ10 - The Little Tonka That Could…Cast your mind back to 1970. Bell bottoms were in, The Beatles were out, and Suzuki launched the LJ10 – a 360cc, three-cylinder two-stroke that looked like a toddler’s drawing of a Jeep. It had the road manners of a chainsaw on roller skates but off-road? Unstoppable. Farmers adored it. Forestry crews trusted it. And because it weighed less than the average wheelie bin, it just skipped across the mud where even Land Rovers sank.
Fast-forward to 1979 and Britain got its first taste with the LJ80 – now sporting a whopping 797cc four-pot petrol lump. Power? 41bhp. Price? £3,200 back in the day (about the cost of a fancy sofa now). Basic doesn’t cover it – hose-out vinyl seats, a rumour of a heater – but the thing could climb a muddy bank like a mountain goat in wellies.
By the ’80s, Suzuki gave us the SJ series, the SJ410 and the SJ413. Think fridge-freezer dimensions, leaf-sprung ride, and a transfer lever that felt like it was nicked from a tractor. Prices started around £4,500 new, and they became the first “affordable fun 4x4” in the UK.
If you grew up in this era, you either:
owned one
crashed one
or tried to tip one over outside McDonald’s!
Utterly lovable. Utterly unstoppable.
1988 rolled in the Vitara – coil springs, rounded edges, and suddenly Suzuki wasn’t just for farmers and green-laners. It came as a three-door ragtop, with two-tone paint and enough off-road cred to shame bigger rivals. Price? £8,995 at launch – half what you’d spend on a Land Rover Discovery. It wasn’t pretending to be posh – but for the first time, Suzuki 4x4s felt like they could handle both Chelsea and Cheshire.
In 1998, Suzuki upped the ante with the Grand Vitara. Bigger engines (up to 2.5-litre V6!), proper low-range still on tap, but more refinement inside. Prices crept into the £15k–£20k bracket, making it the favourite of rural vets, horsey folk, and anyone who fancied a Discovery without the dealer bills.
Ah, the Jimny – a true Cult Hero. Launched in ’98, still a legend today. Solid axles, ladder frame, and a proper low-range lever – like a Defender but shrunk in the wash. Off-road? Unbelievable. On-road? More character than comfort.
When the latest model arrived in 2018, demand went berserk. It was £15,499 new – and second-hand ones now fetch more than they cost new. UK emissions rules mean it’s sold only as a commercial now, but it’s still the plucky little off-roader everyone wants.
By 2013, Suzuki realised that saying “part-time 4WD with low range” didn’t look sexy in a glossy brochure. Enter AllGrip – Suzuki’s Secret Sauce? – it’s the branding that bundles their traction wizardry into three flavours:
AllGrip Auto – found in cars like the Ignis. FWD most of the time, sends power rearwards when things get slippy. Brilliant for snowy mornings and soggy campsites.
AllGrip Select – in the Vitara and S-Cross. Four modes: Auto, Sport, Snow, Lock. Think adaptable, clever, and great for a Yorkshire snowdrift.
AllGrip Pro – the hardcore stuff. Only in the Jimny. Low range, transfer box, no nonsense. Break it, and it’s on you.
Prices today?
The Ignis SZ5 with AllGrip: priced just under £20,000 you will have hunt around for one now, as all new dealer stock has been snapped up.
Vitara MHEV with AllGrip: from £30,799.00
S-Cross MHEV with AllGrip: from £28,299.00
Jimny Commercial AllGrip Pro: priced around the £32,000 mark – if you can get one, that is!
Here’s the thing: Suzuki 4x4s have always been honest. Affordable. Light. Usable. They don’t drown you in tech. They don’t shout about “Falcon Ice Talon Mode” or whatever nonsense rivals invent. They just get on with it.
You can chuck a muddy animals in the back, drag a caravan out of a soggy field, or green-lane until the cows come home – and your Suzuki will just laugh it off. 55 years in, AllGrip isn’t just a badge. It’s a promise: small, scrappy, affordable off-roaders that refuse to die. So here’s to the LJ10, the SJ, the Vitara, the Jimny, and everything in between. Proof that you don’t need to be big to be bold.
Now, Suzuki – about that five-door Jimny with a 1.4 BoosterJet and a six-speed auto… can we put that on the birthday list?
Thank you all, and enjoy!
Annabelle 😊