its what the jimmy is based off... anyway you look at it, 4wds are piss weak from where they came from.
actually, it's the other way around
jimny has been around since 1970, vitara developed to be the next step up from the jimny in 1988:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Jimny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Vitara
in any case, part of the issue is that people buy for a variety of reasons (looks , practicality, budget, etc...) and everyone has a valid reason.
just because we don't like it, doesn't necessarily make it a bad vehicle...
the Y62 is a perfect case in point... very underrated as a vehicle, but some people don't like the looks (like the BT50 also), so it is discarded as a potential option...