[SUVolens]

The Jimny, as was the Gypsy, is a bit ahead of its time for the Indian consumer. This may seem a ridiculous premise for most who feel it’s actually ‘late for our shores, having launched 5 years ago’, but I can expand.

As a whole, in the last decade and a half, Indians have been exposed exponentially to growing disposable income, an appetite for luxury and a commensurate spurt in automotive technology advancement. As a result, aspirations have begun solidifying around the ‘seen’ rather than the ‘unseen’ aspects of a vehicle. Bulk, sheet metal, tech-wizardry, horse-power etc are features that are bandied about wildly and determine the acceptability of a car in the sales wars. The actual applicability, need or reliability of such marketed features, is sometimes questionable, but die an easy death at the alter of aspirations. It’s natural therefore, for solid and adequate engineering, honed to performing the stated mission, to fall through the cracks of perception. Examples galore have floated all over our automotive experiences - the legendary Forester, Yeti, S-cross and now the Jimny. Not discounting of course, some of these failed as a product of poor brand management. But let’s stick to the Jimny for now.

The product first. As evolved, its lightweight and efficient build never really calls for a more powerful powertrain or a set of additional gears - not in the market it’s been successfully playing in. Additional power and speeds wouldn’t bring significant prowess in speed, capability etc without upsetting other mechanical dynamics of its inherent design and transforming those would rob the very thing that lent the Jimny its USP - affordable and simplistic appeal in the domain of far more complex and expensive machinery. Its charm is a sum total greater than its real estate. Out of a hunch, I googled if the Jimny has the makings of a modern classic. Go ahead and try it on the search engine and you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

Next, the India dilemma. As many already guessed, MSIL primarily expect to earn the profits of its reverse engineered 5 door from export markets, even as they hoped to have caught the fancy of Indian enthusiasts. Unfortunately (for them) the local market responded along expected lines - where’s the girth? And of course - what’s that price all about? Someone very correctly surmised that they possibly couldn’t have priced it any lower. It doesn’t have the advantages of platform sharing and is quite unique in the global Suzuki portfolio. And comparing prices with its similarly sized local offerings is just insane. As a business, even if they could afford to shave off lakhs locally, how would they justify other markets where the 3 door itself costs higher than the Jimny here and the 5 door is expectedly going to be pegged even higher since they will co-exist on dealer floors?

The seemingly knee-jerk discounts and offers right now are most likely to be seasonal flavours, in keeping with other manufacturers - a trend that’s prevalent at every year end. Sure, they may well rejig their variant lineup and what not in the MY ‘24. But I doubt they will ‘drop prices’ permanently since that would be suicidal.

Irrespective of what the conventional wisdom says, the Jimny is here to stay, at least as long as MSIL doesn’t initiate and traverse away from fossil burning engines and that timeline is too short to reinvent a product as niche as a 4x4 lifestyle vehicle. My money is on the screws turning inexorably on diesel as India fights with its embarrassing tag of the most polluted place on the planet and the shine dimming permanently on the heavy fuel. In a few years more, that’ll leave you the choice of battery powered SUVs or petrol ones. Where do you think a small, capable and relatively more frugal 4x4 will go then? It’ll remain niche, but with a halo that the Gypsy gained years after inception. As for the early adopters in here - they will learn to gloat quietly.

[rmonie]

Originally Posted by R.Daroga

Interesting. Have you driven a Jimny with a throttle controller installed? Wanted to know the difference between the two. I do understand that the throttle controller does nothing to boost the actual performance but it's the feel and throttle response that I'm talking about.

Have! difference being the throttle controller allows better control on engine revs, whereas this thing changes the engine behaviour & seems to improve low end torque - especially on petrol engines. Auto box kick downs improve.
IMHO both together would be a very interesting combo

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by rmonie

After all the heated discussion on the pricing, a change of topic! I've been using a plug in OBD controller on my Jimny, just drove it back from Goa to Gurgaon! This is a plug in unit to the ODB port. Manufaturer (www.gantuning.com) claims some BHP & Torques increase but the most useful difference is the throttle response & corresponding gear shifts.

On the side - Is this available for the Gypsy? I see 1.3i/85hp listed as an engine option for the older Jimny but not sure if that is the G13BB engine and it’s OBD unit.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Ragul

On the side - Is this available for the Gypsy? I see 1.3i/85hp listed as an engine option for the older Jimny but not sure if that is the G13BB engine and it’s OBD unit.

Throttle controllers are compatible with only the newer drive by wire vehicles.

[Jaggu]

Almost 80% says yes now! Wow.

I had the opportunity to use a friends Jimny Auto for few days last month, primarily I drove to work for few days, so use is purely urban drives. I commute off peak hours so I do get some stretches where one can drive at decent speeds but well under 80 Kmph ie. Anyhow the experience just reinforced my belief, it indeed is overpriced for what it offers. No offence, unless one needs an Offroad use, there is no point spending so much money for the ground clearance it offers. Its cousin Brezza would be a better money spend in all aspects and from utility perspective. And for Offroad also if one has to travel few 100 kms on an highway, Thar would be my choice coz of the adequate power and high speed cruising capability it offers. I have not driven either of them on Offroad so can't say how they perform.

To me Jimny make sense only if it comes at on the road price of 12-14 lakhs tops, for the top end model. 14 is a stretch if you ask me. But having said that this would be a terrific second hand buy in a year or two, especially if you find a low run piece from the city folks.

Sounds repetitive but what Maruti could and should do is get the base model marketed at 10-12 Lakhs on the road in hilly region and make it a hit. Just give great buy backs to those aging Altos for which Jimny would be a great upgrade (minus the Fuel efficiency).

While on fuel efficiency, interesting fact.. Jimny in automatic variant gave (7.5 to 8 Kmpl) about 2 Kmpl more than my 2.4 Liter Grand Vitara AT in the urban commute. Both have 4 wheel drive and AT box And I was very gentle with the Jimny and trying best to keep it in FE territory most of the time. And to be honest, the grin that GV brings was missing since the engine is so underpowered. Sorry! people who claim the power to be "adequate"?! are just being nice. It is very much underpowered, the 4 speed AT cant be blamed here GV also runs similar 4 speed and is a prancing horse in comparison. More over while driving I was worried about the bullying by larger vehicles, which is missing when I drive the GV. The fact that Jimny was brand new and GV is the old war horse also added to the tension.

[rmonie]

Originally Posted by Ragul

On the side - Is this available for the Gypsy? I see 1.3i/85hp listed as an engine option for the older Jimny but not sure if that is the G13BB engine and it’s OBD unit.

Should be. G13B / BB are OBD2. Will get hold of a Gypsy & try it & revert.

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Anyhow the experience just reinforced my belief, it indeed is overpriced for what it offers.

To me Jimny make sense only if it comes at on the road price of 12-14 lakhs tops, for the top end model. 14 is a stretch if you ask me.

Sorry! people who claim the power to be "adequate"?! are just being nice. It is very much underpowered, the 4 speed AT cant be blamed here GV also runs similar 4 speed and is a prancing horse in comparison.

More over while driving I was worried about the bullying by larger vehicles, which is missing when I drive the GV. The fact that Jimny was brand new and GV is the old war horse also added to the tension.

Very aptly put. I had the exact same feeling when I test drive the Jimny a few months ago and the feeling reinforced when I TD'd the Thar yesterday!

The mighty presence of Thar is such that people simply don't cut you in anyway. You always have the right of way and at times I saw people stopping to make way for you (also admiring the Thar). On the other hand, the Jimny simply gets lost in the crowd.

And the lesser we talk about the sad NA engine of the Jimny, the better it is. It's best driven sedately and yet it delivers such poor FE. The Thar has so much power under it's hood. I didn't TD the m-stallion, but the m-hawk just moves man!

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

While on fuel efficiency, interesting fact.. Jimny in automatic variant gave (7.5 to 8 Kmpl) about 2 Kmpl more than my 2.4 Liter Grand Vitara AT in the urban commute. Both have 4 wheel drive and AT box And I was very gentle with the Jimny and trying best to keep it in FE territory most of the time. And to be honest, the grin that GV brings was missing since the engine is so underpowered. Sorry! people who claim the power to be "adequate"?! are just being nice. It is very much underpowered, the 4 speed AT cant be blamed here GV also runs similar 4 speed and is a prancing horse in comparison. More over while driving I was worried about the bullying by larger vehicles, which is missing when I drive the GV. The fact that Jimny was brand new and GV is the old war horse also added to the tension.

A Jimny AT with larger 215/75R15 AT tyre driven fast still returns around 9.75kmpl on the current crap 2 lane Kerala highway. On multilane divided highway the same spec Jimny will cruise comfortably at 100plus on GPS and still return decent fuel economy (for the brick it is). The MT should be even better on both counts.

The performance of the Jimny is adequate on the highway and the highway is not its forte. This is coming from someone who has done 91xxxKms in modified Crysta 2.8AT which had 2 times the BHP and 4 times the NM compared to the Jimny. Those who cry hoarse about Jimny's performance either has not driven it properly or has weird expectations from the Kei class offroader.



Jimny 1.5 MT with its 1500cc engine is just 2.89 seconds slower than GV MT with its 2400cc engine? Wow! I wouldn't call Jimny's performance to lack lustre. And it seems the underpowered Jimny 1.5MT is ONLY 0.59 secs slower than GV 2.0MT? Double wow!! (Comparing Jimny MT with GV MT as found on Autocar india)

If Suzuki did not go bust elsewhere and still had the Grand Vitara (not the crossover) in its line-up in India along with the Jimny how much would they be charging for the Grand Vitara 2.4? In 2009 GV2.4 was 16.5L exshowroom according to that autocar page and in 2009 Fortuner starting ~ 20.5L exshowroom in 2009. For reference in 2009 Gypsy was ~ 5.5L exshowroom. Jimny's price make even more sense now.

https://web.archive.org/web/20231121...295/tech-specs

https://web.archive.org/web/20231121...tara-24-269246

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Sankar

A Jimny AT with larger 215/75R15 AT tyre driven fast still returns around 9.75kmpl on the current crap 2 lane Kerala highway

I drive 10 days every month in Kerala and let me assure you even the crappy 2 lane of Kerala is better than so called brilliant roads of trafficked Bangalore these days. So yes maybe it will give better FE here.

This is coming from someone who has done 91xxxKms in modified Crysta 2.8AT which had 2 times the BHP and 4 times the NM compared to the Jimny. Those who cry hoarse about Jimny's performance either has not driven it properly or has weird expectations from the Kei class offroader.

Lol that's me like I said you are being very kind.

For reference sake last few years I am used to vehicles ranging from a 3.2 Endy, 2.4 GV auto, Polo TSI, Ritz and Ignis. The last two are termed adequate for my reasoning and Jimny is lesser than that. Am I wrong? I am not speaking about NM or BHP or Power:Weight, rather the way the vehicle can respond to driver inputs. Egs in a tight gap in Bangalore traffic, one has to really commit to in a Jimny and be rabid about it.

I love the cute thing and have posted on my Insta with "My Stupid Heart" sound track, BUT Let us call a 'spade a spade' and not get carried over coz we are in love or spent our hard earned money on it.

Jimny 1.5 MT with its 1500cc engine is just 2.89 seconds slower than GV MT with its 2400cc engine? Wow! I wouldn't call Jimny's performance to lack lustre.

Yes that would not be lack lustre, 2.89 seconds is E T E R N I T Y for 0-60 folks. But then am not even speaking about the 0-60 kind of 'drag' performance. Yes it is a very 'sedate driver' friendly car, if someone wants decent peppiness then look elsewhere.

Hey I used to drive a Gypsy 1000 and then 1300 one and I never dared to call it powerful. Even while fitting AC to the 1300 I had to find the smallest compressor, so that it wont zap power or overheat. It was fun car in other ways but not for peppiness or top speed. Have I overtaken much faster and capable cars with it?? Have I ripped on road side runaway to clear all the dragging traffic on a ghat section??? Hell yea! but not coz of the 0-60 kph capability of the vehicle.

for the Grand Vitara 2.4? In 2009 GV2.4 was 16.5L exshowroom according to that autocar page

CBU car ^^ and last ones sold in 2011 were 24L OTR!! What do you get for 24 these days, right? Oh wait Seltos.

But I do get your point and completely agree vehicles are overpriced anything from 30-60% these days. Off topic: Just today someone said he picked up a preowned Fortuner auto 2019 for 37 lakhs and I was scratching my head.

Having said that, apart from the 4x4 capability, why would anyone choose Jimny over the regular Maruti Brezza? at similar price??

The initial hype is over, fans and clueless folks are done with contributing to sales number of Jimny. Now why did Maruti so overconfidently stocked up the vehicles across the country if not for their messed up marketing and market research team?? Running helter skelter and still unable to sell and offering 50-150k discounts? Did their export plan got delayed? Even after discount how many did they sell?

One more thing.. I will buy a Jimny today! if they trade my GV and I need to pay only 8-9 lakhs White AT is what I want. But I won't say it has adequate power and will start looking at a throttle controller and some remaps right after delivery. Only downside I will loose my highway car... damn it! choices!!

Fun fact: even an imported from India Jimny is sold in South Africa at ~ 19 Lakh INR, so Maruti can definitely sell at much lesser price here in India where it is manufactured.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

For reference sake last few years I am used to vehicles ranging from a 3.2 Endy, 2.4 GV auto, Polo TSI, Ritz and Ignis. The last two are termed adequate for my reasoning and Jimny is lesser than that. Am I wrong?
=------

Fun fact: even an imported from India Jimny is sold in South Africa at ~ 19 Lakh INR, so Maruti can definitely sell at much lesser price here in India where it is manufactured.

Having been on the forum including the D section to know some if not all of the vehicles you have owned so I know where the comparison comes from and that is exactly why I stated in my post the my coming from part. I also know about the Gypsy and the Thar.

2.89 or lets call it 3 seconds is eternity for 0 to 100 folks I agree, we both know (each other to know) that. The point I wish to make is that Jimny is not that bad compared to even the GV, its not "wait, it will get there" kind of slow or "don't ask, its a solid axle 4x4" kind of slow. It can keep pace with the traffic. Are there are any other options in the market at this price which can do what a Jimny can do, on the highway and off it? None. What it cannot do is return the fuel economy of a Brezza or seat 5 people comfortably. (The latter is a plus for me coming from an 8 seater LoL)

If you buy the Jimny a lot of things you did on the Gypsy to make it comfortable already comes from the factory. It is also faster, and more comfortable. The speeds and fuel economy I mentioned in my post is with AC on climate control set at 24C.

I don't know the current condition of Bangalore roads but at present the road condition between Tvm and Ekm is poor. Its not due to the number of lanes but due to under construction road work, road blocks and traffic density.

The retail price of the South African Jimny GLX AT (Alpha AT equivalent) given on the Suzuki ZA website is Rs.21.74lakhs INR converted from ZA Rand. I have no idea if that is drive away price or excluding other taxes. Anyway, that is approximately 4Lakhs more than the on-road price of a Alpha AT in Kerala.

And to why would anyone select the Jimny over Brezza question, I will have to counter that with why would anyone buy a 4x4 three row BOF SUV for highway use? A Crysta is much much more comfortable and can take on the rough as much as a BOF three row SUV can except go mud plugging. Its also cheaper.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Sankar

And to why would anyone select the Jimny over Brezza question, I will have to counter that with why would anyone buy a 4x4 three row BOF SUV for highway use? A Crysta is much much more comfortable and can take on the rough as much as a BOF three row SUV can except go mud plugging. Its also cheaper.

Innova satisfies your highway use and so does Jimny, so all is good then.

But neither of them work for a lot of people for highway use, it does not have much to do with the engine itself , but some vehicles are set up in a way that they don't like to get pushed around, they won't respond to your inputs properly beyond certain speeds, even the brakes or the tires or the suspension aren't adequate to 'handle' all those forces and I have experienced first hand what would happen with Crysta, a fortuner would handle such situations better despite sitting higher off the ground and sharing many components. As they say a car is more than the sum of it's parts , it does not mean Fortuner is better than Crysta overall but for highway driving - it is.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Innova satisfies your highway use and so does Jimny, so all is good then.

Yes

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

But neither of them work for a lot of people for highway use, does not have much to do with the engine itself, but some vehicles are set up in a way that they don't like to get pushed around, they won't respond to your inputs properly beyond certain speeds,

That is why we have choices, Scorpio old or new or Thar wouldn't work for me, A Crysta or Jimny would.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

it does not mean Fortuner is better than Crysta overall but for highway driving - it is.

Except for the braking in a straight line which Fortuner due to larger brakes, the Crysta trumps Fortuner in high speed handling, because of lower weight and lower CoG. Been there done that. More comfortable also with larger cabin (more vertical space inside for better leg position).

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

...

Having said that, apart from the 4x4 capability, why would anyone choose Jimny over the regular Maruti Brezza? at similar price?? ...

The Jimny in most cases is the second car and hence there will already be a Brezza kind of vehicle in the garage. A Brezza buyer will never buy a Jimny and vice versa !

This is validated in the fact that even after the discounts, Jimny's are not flying off the shelves, so pricing is not a factor according to me and this vehicle will remain a niche for those that want a fun second vehicle that can do urban + adventure duties.

When I drive my Jimny, I do not feel like driving fast, hence the power issue isn't such a big deal for me. I find it pretty decent till 50-60kmph actually which is relevant in the city. On the other hand, when I drive my Ecosport, my driving style changes and I enjoy the torque and acceleration.

Fun fact: even an imported from India Jimny is sold in South Africa at ~ 19 Lakh INR, so Maruti can definitely sell at much lesser price here in India where it is manufactured.

Do factor in that the India prices have a tax component of almost 45% (GST+Cess) keeping aside road tax after this, while a quick search says South Africa has a 25% import tax on vehicles. This should give more perspective.

The invoice price from Maruti to the dealer for an Alpha AT is 10.26 Lakh.

[Mystic]

My personal experience with my new Jimny on a long drive today. Justification for the price I paid to myself even though my wife does not know the exact price I paid for the top end variant.

Mileage of more than 11kmpl for automatic with full AC on, fully loaded car, comfortable and stable ride at continuous cruise control speed of 120 kmph speed for a large part of journey, boot space to carry decent luggage.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Jimny can do, on the highway and off it? None.

Eh what about direct competitor Thar? and comes in diesel also, or you mean 4 doors? I guess 2024 will solve that too, till then yes.

If you buy the Jimny a lot of things you did on the Gypsy to make it comfortable already comes from the factory. It is also faster, and more comfortable. The speeds and fuel economy I mentioned in my post is with AC on climate control set at 24C.

Absolutely, that is why I said, I can go upto 14 on a stretch as OTR price for a top spec auto as realistic price. But that lack of highway sprinting is a concern from a purchase perspective for me. Already I burn hardly a tankful on GV in a month and with that kind of running, keeping it along with Jimny for rare highway runs may not make sense.

I don't know the current condition of Bangalore roads but at present the road condition between Tvm and Ekm is poor. Its not due to the number of lanes but due to under construction road work, road blocks and traffic density.

Haven't taken NH for a while, always take MC road, last I did main NH was on bike, beginning of last year.. and early morning sprint. It was peaceful except small broken patch towards kayamkulam. Rest the big Beemer just munched through and clocked silly times.

And to why would anyone select the Jimny over Brezza question, I will have to counter that with why would anyone buy a 4x4 three row BOF SUV for highway use?

Only reason is the looks and want to be niche. Otherwise does not make sense.

I was thinking about describing the power of the Jimny better and "Jimny is little underpowered Vs Adequate" is what comes to mind now. Oh and the owner of the Jimny that I drove mentioned that the power delivery seems to have improved with some kms he has clocked. Even FE seems to be better. Will definitely try to catch up with Jimiky soon and report back.

Anyway, that is approximately 4Lakhs more than the on-road price of an Alpha AT in Kerala.

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Do factor in that the India prices have a tax component of almost 45% (GST+Cess) keeping aside road tax after this, while a quick search says South Africa has a 25% import tax on vehicles. This should give more perspective.

The invoice price from Maruti to the dealer for an Alpha AT is 10.26 Lakh.

So getting back to the pricing which is the core topic of this thread, where is the 50,000 to 15,0000 discount coming from? Every step from factory to road money is being minted with this pricing. Am not sure if they are reducing the base price and helping with lower road tax, insurance etc when they say discount. A real price correction from Maruti is what is needed and existing owners should get a good deal with lifetime service labor free and warranties.