Greylene the Suzuki Jimny Hits the Road

2Summers | 14 November 2023
johannesburg driving cars the blogitects

For those of you who didn’t see on social media already, I bought a car. Her name is Greylene and she is a 2022 Suzuki Jimny.

Greylene and me in front of a weird boat in Deneysville (more on Deneysville in a minute). Thorsten threw out the name as a joke but I immediately decided it’s perfect – a grey version of Jolene. (Photo: Thorsten Deckler)

I have never been a “car person”. I have never thought much about cars and never understood why people spend such insanely large amounts of money, time, and brain space on cars. My previous car, Henrike – named for the very dear, now-departed friend who sold her to me – was a tiny, no-frills, 2007 Hyundai Atos, and she suited my needs perfectly for a decade.

Henrike in Golden Gate National Park, soon after I bought her in 2013. The "Change lane Egoli" stickers were part of a 2013 art exhibition called Taxi Poetry.

But I’ve known for a while that the time was coming for me to buy a new car. I wanted to explore South Africa more by road, and Henrike, with her doughnut-sized wheels, could no longer take me to all the places I wanted to go. I also wanted a car that felt a little safer and stronger – a car that could hold its own on Joburg’s pothole-riddled streets and stand up to the city’s aggressive taxi drivers.

I kept putting it off though. I was so attached to Henrike, still an incredibly trusty little car, and finding a new car seemed like such an unpleasant chore…until the Suzuki Jimny wormed its way into my subconscious.

I started seeing Jimnys all over the place. They are everywhere and they are cute. I hate using the word cute to describe a car – I know it makes me sound like such a stereotypical girl – but I defy you to come up with a better descriptor. This car seems to have been designed specifically for Instagram.

Greylene the Blogmobile driving to the Vaal
First picture of Greylene in action (pulled over on the side of the road because we were lost). I mean it’s cute, right? There’s no denying it.

Jimnys are small but sturdy, utilitarian and elegant at the same time. They’re great for driving on dirt roads but also great for navigating busy city streets. I started talking to people I know who own Jimnys, many of whom are women (although lots of men drive them too), and everyone who has one loves it. Many of them have bought multiple, consecutive Jimnys.

Jimny people are cultish – the kind of people who wave to other Jimny people on the road. They love their cars, and their cars are part of their identity. Jimny people are car people.

Suddenly, to my own great shock, I wanted to become a Jimny car person. Very soon afterward, in a matter of weeks, I did.

Heather and Jimny
Greylene and me on the day I bought her, outside Bev’s Burgers. (Photo: Thorsten Deckler)

Last weekend Thorsten and I took Greylene on her first road trip (with us at least) to a holiday home on the Vaal River, about an hour outside of Joburg near the weird town of Deneysville. I need to write a longer post about why I decided to buy a Jimny and my future plans for this cultish car. (I have big plans!) But in the meantime, here are a few pictures of Greylene on the trip.

Sketch of driving the Suzuki
Thorsten’s sketch of me driving Greylene. She’s a manual (still much cheaper than an automatic in South Africa, and more fun to drive), in case you’re wondering.
Greylene at the house on the Vaal River
Greylene parked at the holiday house on the Vaal River. Incidentally, Thorsten is an architect and his practice, 26'10 south, designed this house several years ago. We’re lucky to have the opportunity to stay there every now and then.
House at the Vaal
Another shot of the Vaal house with Greylene tucked underneath.
Jimny at the fishing tackle shop
Greylene in front of Deneysville’s quirky fishing tackle shop.
Not directly car-related but here is Thorsten buying us jaffels for breakfast in Deneysville. Jaffels are kind of like Afrikaans paninis, for lack of a better description, and this stand sells the best I’ve ever tasted.
Heather and jaffel
Enjoying my jaffel, which was filled with curry mince (ground beef cooked in a spicy-sweet curry sauce), with Greylene. (Photo: Thorsten Deckler)

What Happened to Henrike?

Even before I decided to buy a Jimny, I’d been thinking about what I would do with Henrike if I got a new car. I couldn’t just trade her in at a dealership. So I decided to give Henrike to Lucky.

Lucky is one of my oldest friends in South Africa and he lives at my old house in Melville, so Henrike is just a short drive away whenever I want to visit. Lucky loves cars – a true car person, in the best sense of the word – but he’d never owned one. Now he does, and that makes both Lucky and me very happy. I know Henrike (the person) would be happy too.

Lucky and me with Henrike
Lucky and me with Henrike on the day I handed her over. (Photo: Horst Meyer)

There will be much more of Greylene to come in future posts.