Sweet 17
first featured in 4x4 magazine, spetember 2017
Over the course of a decade and more, KAP’s Landmaster conversion has become an increasingly popular option in the side-by-side sector. Based on a Suzuki Jimny, it’s much more civilised than a traditional UTV – and now the company has built a demonstrator based on a brand new 17-plate vehicle, it’s looking like a more appealing choice than ever.
Fashions change. Twenty years ago, hybrid Land Rovers were in their heyday. Move on a decade, and everybody was falling over themselves to build Suzuki Jimnys. Now, we’re seeing the irresistible rise of the pick-up truck.
Pick-up trucks are very much the opposite of Jimnys, of course. They’re big, long and heavy, with dire breakover angles and rear overhangs you can see from space. But there’s a breed of pick-up that manages to span the generations of changing off-road fashion – and while it’s not new, it has recently reached a level of maturity that puts it firmly in the big league.
It’s about a dozen years since Yorkshire-based Suzuki specialist KAP first hit on the idea of converting Jimnys into pick-ups. That’s not pick-ups in the Hi-Lux and Navara sense, of course: that would be a classic case of trying to convert a vehicle into something it’s not, but KAP’s Landmaster, as it’s called, is still a Jimny at heart. Which means, of course, that it’s still small, light and agile.
The Landmaster was conceived as an alternative to UTVs like the Kawasaki Mule and John Deere Gator. Compared to these vehicles, however, it’s very high on creature comforts, with air-con, a stereo and even leather seats available depending on the spec of the original Jimny on which it’s based.
Typically, this will be a used vehicle, meaning a Landmaster also makes for a cheaper all-terrain solution than a traditional side-by-side. But just recently, KAP has taken the unprecedented step of doing the conversion on a brand new vehicle – demonstrating that if you’ve got the budget, you can have a Jimny in full pick-up trim and yours will be the only name on its log book.
‘Demonstrating’ is a good word, because the vehicle you’re looking at here is KAP’s own Landmaster – and if you show up at the company’s premises asking to be shown around one, it’s what you’ll find yourself sitting in. As such, it’s based on a range-topping 17-plate Jimny – though while KAP also sells a range of kit for modding Suzuki’s best into a hardcore off-road machine, the company has been commendably restrained with that side of the build.
Obviously, the pick-up bed KAP instals instead of Suzuki’s original bodywork adds a great deal of ground clearance around the edges of the vehicle. To lift the rest of it, the company’s +2” suspension package is installed, using its own Prospec springs and Pro-Comp shocks as well as extended flexis for the brakes, and the standard 15” alloys are wrapped in 215/75R15 BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains.
KAP could have adorned the vehicle with CDS high-droop radius arms, adjustable panhard rods and heavy-duty mounts for the transfer case and rear shock absorbers. But by doing that, it would have been demonstrating what it can do for people building extreme Jimnys for off-road competition, playdays and green laning – and while that’s been a strong market for the company down the years, it’s one whose crossover with the utility side is slim.
You can get a vehicle built with all that on it if you want, at any rate – KAP calls it the Landmaster Max. But what matters most to customers is that they’re getting a vehicle that’s fit for purpose as a working tool. And it’s here that KAP’s experience in bodywork and paint prep is invaluable, because a professional finish plays a crucial role in convincing buyers who have every right to be cautious with their cash.
Not to put too fine a point on it, turning an everyday Jimny into what is basically a small pick-up truck is largely about being able to do stuff with bodywork that most 4x4 specialists, however good, wouldn’t know where to start with. KAP’s bodies are digitally formed and mounted on laser-cut brackets, meaning the results are both consistent and free of flaws, and a state-of-the-art spray booth gives its vehicles a tip-top finish.
Obviously, being a Jimny specialist helps too – meaning KAP is in a unique position to serve the market it has created for itself. ‘It’s an ideal alternative to a traditional utility vehicle,’ says company boss Darren Wilson. ‘They’re cheaper to run, more user-friendly and much more comfortable to ride in, with a heater, power steering and electric windows.
‘And being based on a road-going 4x4, you can use one as your everyday road car.’
Looking at this latest example of the Landmaster, you certainly couldn’t argue with that. It’s immaculate inside – and while you wouldn’t expect it to remain so perfectly immaculate for very long in the hands of a typical user, the thought of being able to buy something brand new that’s so strongly focused on a primarily off-road role will come as a culture shock to many of you reading this.
Fact is, this is a beautiful vehicle. Whether you see it as a Jimny, or a pick-up, or a work tool, or an off-roader, it’s picture perfect. With a dozen years of sales under its belt, KAP is well on the way to proving that a perfectly focused vehicle can ride out whatever changes in off-road fashion may come along. Maybe pick-up trucks aren’t the opposite of Suzuki Jimnys after all…
