The reason why the Jimny (Samurai) was discontinued in the US was due to Consumer Reports corrupting their testing procedures due to corporate pressure.
The fact that a Jimny will not survive being hit by an oversized Truck reflects more poorly on the society that is normalising driving oversized Trucks than on the Jimny.
I’m thinking the same thing but maybe not that small. I really liked the Honda Element for this, but it wasn’t right for me at the time. Maybe soon Rivian R2S or R3S, or if that’s too big, Slate?
I want to own one of these one day. Rented an old beater in Albania recently. No AC and bits falling off. Had an absolute blast and learned a few lessons about 4WD.