Having read the entire thread in one go (lol), I observed that there seems to be a lot of contention on engine and transmission options and a direct comparison to the Mahindra Thar. Some observations/rant.
Does it matter if it has a 4 AT or a 6 AT, or K-15 B, or K-15 C?
Do folks really think that a profit-driven company will not do their money's worth of market research and just randomly mash together engine and transmission options and call it a day?
People who really want a Gypsy/Jimny will get it, they don't care enough if they have to use a stick shift or suffer through a 4 AT. There are people who want a Jimny and nothing else will satisfy their needs.
Going off topic here-
This might be a little controversial but I don't think that Jimny and the Thar are direct competitors, although they belong to roughly the same league.
Anyone experienced in driving through difficult terrain will know the importance of weight.
The Jimny is about 1190 Kgs whereas the Thar is close to 1750 Kgs.
The Thar has more power and more importantly torque but the Jimny is significantly lighter and will probably have a tighter turning radius.
Thar has IFS and a solid axle in the rear while the Jimny has a solid axle both in the front and rear, coming to the differences between IFS and a solid axle, IFS is more civilized but has more parts and therefore is less durable than solid axles, meanwhile solid axles are tougher than what most people can throw at them but have poor on-road manners. Solid axles are better for tough offroading situations (which I guess only 5% of the buyers of both these models will do) whereas IFS is better for being road queens with an occasional trip to the "road" lesser traveled.
The Jimny has a simple Naturally Aspirated engine and being a Maruti is easily more reliable and reparable, while both the petrol and diesel models of the Thar are turbocharged, although I do not question the reliability of Mahindra Diesels they are naturally more susceptible to breakdowns due to increased parts and complexity.
Jimny will come with a Brake Lock Differential (BLD) meanwhile the Thar has Manual Locking Differential on specific models (Or at least used to have) and a BLD on other models, an interesting point to note is, that the true Thar competitor, the Gurkha has an MLD on both front and rear axles.
Coming to "Features", if a car has seats that work, an AC, Charging ports, and a decent speaker system then it is enough for most enthusiasts. The lowest variant of the Jimny may come without an AC and that's alright since those models would be purchased by peeps who will heavily modify the car anyways and that model will be priced accordingly.
Remember cars like Jimny and Thar serve a different "purpose" and are different from other mind-numbing models of compact/full-size "SUVs" like the Brezza, Creta, Nexon, Harrier, Sonet, Seltos, etc. (No offense to the owners). You cannot reasonably expect them to have the same set of features as the cars mentioned above or be ready to pay some heavy bucks if you want them.
Although looks are subjective most will concur that the Thar looks more "macho" meanwhile the Jimny looks more "cute".
Jimny will be cheaper than the Thar, it's highly unlikely that Maruti will make the blunder of pricing it in the same range as Thar when it is smaller and makes less power. The 3-door Thar lower models may be in the same range as the higher end of the 5-door Jimny and the 5-door Thar will be much more expensive that the equivalent Jimny counterpart.
Many buyers will try to cross-shop between Jimny and Thar, but there exists a significant number of hardcore Jimny enthusiasts who will gladly take whatever Suzuki hands down to them and make it their own, in their own ways.
My controversial opinion - If you want a true hardcore offroader, have the time/money then purchase a Gurkha/Jimny and build it according to your needs, either buy a base model Jimny and give it a lift kit, MLDs and etc. or customize it like- Asterix (built by @Manuuj
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...re-begins.html (Asterix, my 2021 Force Gurkha | The adventure begins)) are a prime example of excellent work and showcase the passion one has for his automotive endeavors.