Team-BHP - Maruti Jimny 4-door @ Auto Expo 2023

Quote:

Originally Posted by carZest (Post 5531820)

I strongly echo RijuC in that a capable petrol AWD AT SUV is what we actually need. Not necessarily a great off-roader, but capable one when needed. We cannot afford the ScorpioN AT 4*4 which seems an ideal vehicle for the above use case. We can afford a XUV 300 AWD 6AT GDi petrol, or a XUV 300 AWD 6AT turbo petrol, or worst case a XUV 300 AWD AMT; but sadly such a vehicle doesn't exist. Also, the Duster AWD also isn't sold anymore. So it looks like it will be the Jimny!

This is the point I wanted to highlight. A considerably large sub-set of prospective buyers of Jimny who are not 4x4 or off-roading enthusiasts, or not buying it for show-off actually need a worry free simple AWD within a tight budget. At some point of time, they felt the requirement of the AWD capability. Just a little more push in selective wheels would suffice for them. I give you some examples:

1. I had difficulty and wheel spin while climbing the hairpins with sand and gravel filled broken tarmac. I could tackle the situation patiently, with few drops of sweat on my forehead.

2. Drove on thin layer of fresh snow in Fagu, Theog area. Since it was on good tarmac and almost had no considerable change in elevation except one place near Fagu market/ HPTDC. I was just lucky. Also, at the entry of HPTDC Fagu, the ramp of 50-60 meters was under hard black ice. Could cover that small distance with full race on first gear. Slight change of pedal pressure could lead to sliding off the ramp and free fall from the cliff.

3. Had to return from Taradevi temple road during a torrential rain. It was perhaps due to tire condition or loosing momentum on flooded road and water gushing down. It was scary since visibility was zero.

A couple of such minor incidents happened with me.

The video and screenshots shared by Volkman10 are from Gurgaon near my place. The broken road conditions can be clearly seen. A good travel of suspension would help us immensely in this locality. We are getting excellent expressways in India. But the local roads beyond the expressways and Highways are in same bad broken condition. Absolutely no improvement of the road and drainage infrastructure of this locality could be seen in last 10 years. And heavy vehicle load of this Industrial belt increased many folds.

What I could understand from the discussions I had with prospective buyers at NEXA that they also experienced similar incidents and they felt a little more capable SUV is needed. And since the Thar is not suitable for them, they are on Jimny counter.

If the Jimny is priced extraordinarily high, this Aam-junta category will vanish.

I have had the opportunity to drive this last year while spending some time in Australia where it is marketed as a 'single's' outback vehicle. The steering and interiors felt quite comfortable and insulated from the dust and unpaved roads outside, something I have never felt in a Mahindra jeep (I refer to the MM550 version used in the forces). I agree it is not designed for serious off-roading but in India we do not really have a serious off-road vehicle (as illustrated by the Hilux).

This is much better value for money than anything Mahindra has at the moment though slightly less premium than a Pajero or any of the premium 'urban' SUVs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RijuC (Post 5531963)

If the Jimny is priced extraordinarily high, this Aam-junta category will vanish.

Very true, in my neck of the woods which gets a few feet of snow, which is 50kms north of Theog in the Kotgarh region of HP, almost everyone who has the old gypsy and was holding on to it as there was no real replacement for an affordable 4x4, has booked the new Jimny. I am aware of at least 7 to 10 bookings in our area itself, and that's about the number of old functional Gypsies in the area. I hope they keep the pricing sensible, as this is the core audience of the Jimny, who drive it as intended, without making too much of a fuss about it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vikram9193 (Post 5532271)

Any guesses if the Jimny will be less prone to sideways movement of the kind that causes travel sickness, compared to the Thar? Looking at the specs it seems like it should be very similar? Anyone here who’s driven both?

Asking because today I finally sat in a Thar for the first time - a test drive with my mother driving - and found it much too prone to sideways lurching about on a pretty smooth road.

Jimny has solid axles front and rear whereas the Thar has IFS in the front. Just going by the nature architecture, plus the recirculating ball and gear steering system, you can expect more lateral movement in the Jimny. You might find the Thar to be a bit more comfortable, but that's just speculative. Best to wait for a few objective road tests to come out for the 4 door variant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanoguy (Post 5531551)

Agreed, that it is not a family car but then people are talking about democratizing off-roading with Jimny.

What I meant is that MSIL has "democraized" or "aam admified" it is as much as possible compared to the 3-Door. Beyond this I don't think anyone should expect anything more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carma2017 (Post 5531756)

After reading through most of the reviews of Jimny here and the Thar reviews in its thread, I am convinced of one fact. Most Team BHP members and "aam junta" are looking at these vehicles like "Cars".

Amen brother. As a sole vehicle, Jimny will work only for a handful of people, fore the majority, it will have to be a second vehicle at best.

Coming to the 4AT vs MT question for those who can manage with either, I came across the below from Top Gear team. It is dated and many would have seen it.

“As standard you get a manual gearbox with five speeds, and a low-range transfer box for 4x4 scrambling. You can spec a four-speed auto, but it’s even more sluggish than the manual and fewer than 10 per cent of Jimny-folk bother.”

Source

On a side note,

“The Jimny’s ultra-honest unpretentiousness is the antidote to every beige crossover. Don’t expect sophistication, and you’ll adore it‘

Quote:

Originally Posted by HillyThar (Post 5532421)

Very true, in my neck of the woods which gets a few feet of snow, which is 50kms north of Theog in the Kotgarh region of HP

What a coincidence! We visited Theog region last month and were bowled over by the (still) unspoilt vistas and lovely people. A few pictures here:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post5510772

Went for a few casual hikes and kept salivating at the thought of a compact light AWD going along it like a mountain goat.

Full size vehicles like the Thar is just too wide for many of the trails and/or internal residential roads as well.

Some random trail pictures:

Quote:

Originally Posted by itwasntme (Post 5532553)

What a coincidence! We visited Theog region last month and were bowled over by the (still) unspoilt vistas and lovely people. A few pictures here:....

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Quote:

Originally Posted by HillyThar (Post 5532421)

Delighted to see some people who're interested in (or are from nearby) Theog region as I have a second home in Theog (thanks to granddad). This would be prime Jimny operating area. It's an important city with many apple orchards and town which serves as junction to travel go either towards Narkanda/ Kotgarh (and onwards to Kinnaur, Pooh area) or Kotkhai, Jubbal, Rohru (which is a prime apple belt). Here's some more eye candy from near the Devi Mod area near Theog. Please take note that there are some places where cars aren't meant to reach ;)
For the junta who like to experience Theog in more luxury, there is also a Taj hotel which has been operating for some years now in Theog (and this NOT a promotion)