[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

The Jimny, the original Jimny was created by Suzuki as a better cheaper alternative to the Land Rover’s, land cruisers, FJs, Broncos, and the Hummers. It was truly the epitome of value proposition, and stood true to the kei car concept. People bought it because it was affordable, small, gave great economy and easy to fix. These are the hallmarks of an everyday Japanese car. Plus they added the go anywhere trait.

But to take this all and present it as a way of out pricing the car out of the reach of most people or enthusiasts, whatever name tickles your fancy, by saying that because we designed a smaller car we…

Here is the original. The Hope Star ON and the SJ and the Samurai and all. And these books pictured here are really superb. They trace the origins and the history really well. You must have seen I am a lifelong Suzuki Gypsy / Jimny fanatic.

The thing is, to your second point about hyping things up with the imagery and pricing the Jimny very high, I couldn’t agree more. But the saddest thing is, as many many seasoned journos and users and enthusiasts alike have remarked, this is a common and highly prevalent malaise - vehicles like the Jeep and Land Rover and Range Rover and Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux and Ford Bronco, all of which began life as utilitarian machines meant for the military, farming people, adventurers, explorers and workmen whose work took them to remote places and difficult terrain, have all morphed into some kind of ‘lifestyle toys’ for the well-heeled people. The same can be said of the Mini Cooper and VW Beetle and Fiat 500 too. What began as a budget car has now become a lifestyle toy. Looks that Jimny, in India at least, is trying to do the same thing. I am not really a happy camper when it comes to this ‘outpriced lifestyle’ thingy.

[Mystic]

My take on Jimny projected as niche and a lifestyle vehicle:

My yellow dual tone alpha automatic yellow Jimny in Visakhapatnam is creating a lot of attention wherever I go especially on the beach road. People are stopping and take selfies and even going to the extent of putting their kids on the bonnet. It looks like mine is one of the rare vehicles in Visakhapatnam. I have not seen another Jimny in Visakhapatnam so far on road.

The questions asked by all is what is on road price, the car looks very stylish and the yellow colour is fantastic and is it comfortable ( it’s more comfortable than Crysta if the tyre pressure in front is 26 and back 29 in stock tyres. Don’t forget to do this after delivery as the factory puts 42 in all tyres by default) in back seat. The valet parking guys are having a hard time in protecting the Jimny and they are saying that they need to put a barricade around the vehicle.

I personally don't like this unnecessary attention and that is the reason why I bought my previous car Crysta Z automatic super white so as to sneak through without getting any attention like a Taxi.

Now coming to the actual usage of the so called niche features sold by automobile companies like sun roof, 4 wheel drive , AWD hardwares, 3 rd row seats etc are not actually utilised 90% of the time. These so called life style automobiles are actually bought by Indians as status symbols and to show off their wealth. I am also part of the crime as in my ownership of Scorpio and Crysta for more than 14 years, I never used the third row.

I hear all sorts of opinions about on how to bring down the Jimny price to less than 10 lakhs, even suggesting soft top and comparing with Thar numbers ( Thar has many variants and we should compare only petrol hard top thar to petrol jimny hard top numbers). Why we donot discuss on how to bring down Land Cruiser price to under 1 crore. In my personal opinion, the actual buyers donot care about the price if one is obsessed with the charm the vehicle brings.

If for whatever reasons Maruti pulls the plug on Jimny sales in India totally, I would be the happiest person as I can sell my Jimny after using it for 2 years for more than invoice price ( I sold my automatic diesel crysta recently for more than invoice price after 2 years because Toyota has pulled plug on diesel automatic).

[solamarpreet]

However Maruti definitely did miss the mark here. Thar for all its shortcomings, even years after launch sells for near invoice price in the 2nd hand market. I know for a fact that people who bought it near launch sold theirs for profits after 2 years of use. They are doing something right.
Jimmy however failed to provide basic features in an overpriced car. No rear seat sensors for searbelts. Uncountable number of buyers on Youtube mention this pain point. That sensor is dirt cheap and should have been included in the first place. No TPMS. As an enthusiast when I come to this forum, do my research and find out the issue of brakes at high altitude it kind of put me off. That and the inherent limitation of NA engine whose effects have been noted at the high altitude passes of the himalayas. When Jimny was about to be launched I thought well here is a machine that will not fail me in the himalayas. Thar had the DPF issues at high altitude so Jimny was a very good product for my usecase. But now its a matter of pick your poison.
Also with there being talks of this being a niche and enthusiast product. I have seen many comments of Team BHPians saying they wont even go for a tyre upgrade because MSIL had made it clear that doing such changes will void warranty. Sending such signals to their niche base whom they wanted to target in first place is in my opinion not a good strategy. Soft enthusiasts like me are more inclined to shy away from the Jimny because of niggles and issues such as these.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

It is that this car wasn’t launched as a value proposition in the first place. And therein lies the problem. You try and sell hype and hope the hype is bought. Some do. Many don’t....But to take this all and present it as a way of out pricing the car out of the reach of most people or enthusiasts, whatever name tickles your fancy, by saying that because we designed a smaller car we can charge you more, because we put in a terrifically anemic engine, and so we can charge you more, and because we have you an interior that screams cheap bear in mind not Utility like the Toyota pickup, and then expect everyone to continue drinking their cool aid…

If anything, I would say we Indians got a good deal. The only place that gets the Jimny cheaper is its home market, Japan. That too the 660cc kei car model at ~10-11 lakhs. The Jimny Sierra in Japan costs the same as our ex showroom price of ~12-13 lakhs, though I am not sure if it includes all the annual taxes and other taxes in Japan. The GCC market gets the Jimny at ~15-20 lakhs. and those are more bare than the Indian Jimny.

I was one of the naive ones who believed the rumours that the Jimny would be launched at 9.99 lakhs, but over the years when a decent specced Alto has become 6-7 lakhs OTR and top variants of sub 4m models are 17-18 lakhs OTR, the Jimny Zeta at ~15 lakhs OTR looks good enough. Cheapest Thar 4X4 costs 2 lakhs more, Gurkha 3 lakhs more and the Grand Vitara AWD 5 lakhs more. Not justifying today's car prices, but it is the hard reality.

If the size: price ratio is bothersome and that interior feels like a rip off, then guess the essence of the Jimny is being lost here. Though I agree on the engine performance in the automatic variant being less than ideal.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

The Jimny, the original Jimny was created by Suzuki as a better cheaper alternative to the Land Rover’s, land cruisers, FJs, Broncos, and the Hummers. It was truly the epitome of value proposition, and stood true to the kei car concept. People bought it because it was affordable, small, gave great economy and easy to fix. These are the hallmarks of an everyday Japanese car. Plus they added the go anywhere trait.

Well, the above said attributes stand true today also. Then again, most models has not stayed true to its original form over 2-3 generations. The Jimny still is cheaper, small, more fuel efficient and easy to fix compared to the above mentioned bigger models. Just that the Indian market has the Thar to play more VFM card. Also, the Jimny has stopped being a utilitarian model, and more of a lifestlye off-roader since the previous generation launched in the late 90s.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

That would have been the right approach before this 5D approach

Agree! The Jimny (Gypsy for Indians) legacy has always been about 2-door SWB 4x4s! MSIL should have cashed in on the same and launched the 2-door version here (in the range of 10-12 lac) to set the stage. It is anyways being manufactured here for exports to RHD markets. That being the real icon would have been lapped up by enthusiasts like there is no tomorrow. Once the brand Jimny had established itself, launching the 4-door would have made sense because people would already know what the Jimny is all about and what additional value is being provided to them with the 2 extra doors at an extra cost. This is precisely what Mahindra did with the Thar! Brand "Thar" is rock solid at this point and the 4-door Thar, when launched, will only complement the 2-door model, not compete with it. However, now there is no going back for MSIL and they can only hope that Jimny sales do not dwindle further.

[SlowDough]

Originally Posted by arjab

First, is the price. Apart from a select niche of customers, who know what the Jimny is all about, Maruti is finding a hard time to pull in, let me put it this way: "non-Jimny-aware-prospects" .

This segment of buyers, who would get in the volumes & thus drive the economies of scale, are getting put off.
Apart from pricing, the narrow rear bench has come in for a lot of criticism. People understand that this is an off road focused vehicle but to get to the "adventure destination" potential folks do not seem to be favouring perching themselves on a sliver of fabric masquerading as a rear bench.
Surprisingly, these same people seem to.be gravitating towards the Grand Vitara AWD which is not very far in pricing from the top end Jimny and is pretty capable in the rough stuff & at the same time offer higher levels of comfort.

Exactly my experience. We are buying a car for Delhi, majorly to be driven by my mother inside the city, and by myself on roadtrips. I had never thought that she would be fascinated by the Jimny, even though we had gone to check out the Fronx! But the rear seats dissolved the deal instantly and we decided to consider Grand Vitara in the farther future whenever we actually need an AWD. This is inspite of the fact that we don't imagine using the rear seats often.

Perhaps if the Jimny was priced better, we would have actually gone for it, because we both felt that it was cool, perfectly sized and easy to drive.

Regarding the argument about its 4WD capabilities, I am in awe, as much as my spirit is in alignment with it. I've offroaded much humbler vehicles and gotten stuck. But at the similar price, a Grand Vitara AWD would allow me to do get out of those situations on my roadtrips with 2 elderly family members comfortably sleeping in the backseat. The Jimny then is good only for someone who absolutely needs to climb broken trails - for which the 2 wheeler hobbyists buy the Xpluse - but the Jimny is priced like the KTM instead.

[Neil Roy]

The fundamental problem with the Jimny itself is whether it was meant for the Indian market or was it designed for the Indian market? The answer is a resounding NO. Just by adding two doors, Maruti thought that the market will lap it up. But that was not the case. The list of areas where the Jimny has to be indianised is few but fundamental.
1. The N.A engine just does not cut it. It is neither here nor there.
2. The 4 speed AT is definitely missing a cog or 2.
3. There is absolutely no storage space inside to be used as a family car.

So basically what I'm saying is that the Burger which is sold in the US cannot be sold in India but has to be spiced up or even better, changed into a completely different product but still called a burger cos it's cool. That is what the Indian market wants. Is Maruti going to do it to the Jimny? I sincerely hope not as the Jimny has a legacy to live up to and butchering it's identity to sell more is unthinkable.
A very well engineered proven engine, gearbox, bulletproof reliable SUV that can go anywhere is what the Jimny is about. All over the world, the waiting period for Jimny is insane and the resale value is even better than the Innova here. Diluting that identity is a huge risk for it's brand internationally.
The goof up occurred because of the stupidity of the marketing team in Maruti. They thought that they could get away with the pricing using emotions alone and without substance in the Indian context. It is better to accept defeat and make it a niche product which is just going to increase your portfolio or price it lower and hope that it will sell. Even that will not have many takers as the damage has been done.

[gsferrari]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

MSIL should have cashed in on the same and launched the 2-door version here (in the range of 10-12 lac) to set the stage.

We got the 5-door for the same price of a 3-door sold internationally. What more do you expect from MSIL? If a 5-door has no takers, what hope would a 3-door have? There are people here cribbing about interiors / space. Are they fence sitters or owners? I own a Jimny and I love it and I can tell you now that a 3-door would not have worked for me at all and I wouldn't have bought one. So one one side you claim the 3-door would have had better sales success and on the other side, I am living proof of a Jimny owner who would not have bought the 3-door model.

We have a tendency to talk big game but when the time comes to put our money where our mouth is, it all ends with a whimper. So many enthusiast cars have failed in this market and only a handful of genuine enthusiasts own these cars. We are bulletin board shoppers.

Now there is no going back for MSIL and they can only hope that Jimny sales do not dwindle further.

I don't think they care about domestic sales. They may be liquidating stocks that they cannot export and then produce only in limited quantities for the Indian market to keep the hype going through long waiting times.

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by gsferrari

We got the 5-door for the same price of a 3-door sold internationally. What more do you expect from MSIL? If a 5-door has no takers, what hope would a 3-door have?

The 3-door version would have sold in even lesser numbers. People have certain expectations from MSIL - cheap, efficient, and reliable cars. Whenever they deviate from this in the Indian market in terms of price, perceived value, or fuel efficiency, the products have failed to sell in large numbers without significant discounts. Cases in point: the original Baleno (sedan and station wagon), the original Grand Vitara, Kizashi, and S-Cross 1.6.

I don’t know whether it’s feasible from a compliance and logistics standpoint, but if I were MSIL, I would buy back the unsold inventory from dealers and export it to markets where there is a high demand for the Jimny. Or do a Zen Carbon/Steel, i.e. move the unsold inventory to a new market and sell it as a limited edition.

Anyway, I like that this car wouldn’t be as widely popular as other Maruti Suzuki cars. So, both the cars in my garage (Linea T-jet and Jimny) will enjoy their exclusive status.

[Vikram9193]

As an owner I think it’s pretty obvious that Indians can’t connect with the small and retro appearance of the car. The exact thing that makes it stand out on a European street has the opposite effect here. Developing country problems! And I strongly agree that Suzuki should do away with the flat bed functionality in favour of a longer seat squab and armrests front and back.

[Sherlocked]

Majority of the people who feel that the Jimny's pricing is justified happen to be the owners who have possibly bought the car at the launch prices. Of course, your mind will convince you to believe that you have bought the right car at the right price.

Let's wait for 6 more months and gauge the market response.

Also, if anyone is comparing International Jimny's pricing with that in India, then kindly compare Suzuki's other model pricing that are similarly specced as the Indian cars sold in the same country with that of Indian cars pricing.

[gsferrari]

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

Majority of the people who feel that the Jimny's pricing is justified happen to be the owners who have possibly bought the car at the launch prices. Of course your mind will convince you to believe that you have bought the right car at the right price.

This is like saying you want to eat a subway sandwich for lunch so you went out, paid and bought a subway sandwich and ate it. Meanwhile the bulletin boards are debating the actual value and notional value of that sandwich and whether they would be interested in the sandwich you just consumed at any price.

Some of us just had to have it. I've waited over a decade for it after selling my Gypsy. In my review I do address the price and state that it is overpriced. There is no doubt it is overpriced but that is not the same as saying it is not worth it.

In the 3 months and 5000 Km that I have owned the Jimny I have been on off-road adventures at least a dozen times, visited two wildlife sanctuaries and had a smile from ear to ear plastered on my face.

Let's wait for 6 more months and gauge the market response.

See this is the fundamental issue here. Why do you care what the market thinks? Are you investing in stocks here? You are buying a car which is not mainstream, which is targeted at a specific set of use-case scenarios that you will either appreciate or not. What is the need to follow trends?

God bless the mad ones among us who give a damn about what others think.

if anyone is comparing International Jimny's pricing with that in India, then kindly compare Suzuki's other model pricing that are similarly specced as the Indian cars sold in the same country with that of Indian cars pricing.

I am comparing and my statement is accurate. Why do I care about the other cars? I am not here to discuss other cars. I am here to talk about the Jimny

[satan]

Folks here who feel the Jimny offered in India is overpriced should really think again. Yes there has to be some price benefit passed on to Indian customers considering it is being produced locally. However when you start to consider the Jimny models available overseas and their pricing suddenly the pricing on this little car starts to make a lot of sense.

In the UK, the Jimny is only available as a commercial vehicle in 2 seater format (cargo rear) with none of the bells and whistles that the base version in India gets. Even those are sold for nothing less than the equivalent of INR 23L going up all the way to INR 40L. Link to autotrader.uk attached for ref below

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-sea...&transmission=

Just my two cents and i am aware of all the counter arguments that will come flying down regarding emmision norms, demand and supply, indian car market, choces available in India etc etc.

So the objective to my post above is not to start a debate but simply an FYI

[SUVolens]

I don’t get this ceaseless ‘debate’ on the value proposition of the Jimny. Or maybe I do.
Most of the brickbats at the Jimmy’s price vs product seem to be chucked by those who wanted to get one but never did. Or those who never would, but are happy to throw pebbles anyway. As many owners here have already pointed out - there’s barely any buyers-remorse even when we knew the car to be not exactly a typical Maruti VFM. That’s because it never was supposed to be it. It is a lifestyle vehicle abroad, in more affluent markets and Maruti’s self-acknowledged statement pre-launch also pegged it as such. Would higher sales have hurt? I guess not. Does tepid sales make it a dud? In your envious dreams!
Those of us who’ve driven it over various geographies, stand testament to its versatility, be it in urban crawl or out in the wilderness. People don’t spend upwards of 15 lacs to gain a vehicle to spite another. Thrashing the Thar was not part of the Jimny’s brief. Personally, I bought it due to its unique design and a fondness for a generationally progressed Gypsy, like many here. A lot of others will find other merits, including, as a perfectly cheerful city transport for a small family. People buy a Mini Cooper too, remember? So really, why the doomsday prophecies without actually having acted on the lure of its charm? It’s a polarising design - you love it or you hate it. That’s good, isn’t it? At least it’s a conversation piece, unlike the Baleno, Creta or Thar. And trust me - the Jimny being less common on our roads than the ones it’s being compared with, only make me a happier owner. Three months on, I still catch the heads swivel. Try and get that in another sub-crore vehicle.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by gsferrari

I don't think they care about domestic sales. They may be liquidating stocks that they cannot export and then produce only in limited quantities for the Indian market to keep the hype going through long waiting times.

According to this Link - Autopunditz they dispatched ~9200 units in FY 2023, none for the local market - all export. For a company like Maruti it may not be a good number to run a production line, even if you look at ~ 2000 units a month this year for domestic market or a bit less too, Its a lot better than only exports I think.