[lazy]

What is this incessant rant about Jimny is a failure, both from product standpoint and pricing ??


Let's accept a few points -

- Jimny isn't a comparable product to the Thar,
- It will not be priced at the price point a keyboard expert wants it to be priced because it is small, got thin tyres, got no road presence, isn't fast enough,
- If one is complaining about it's price even after the price drop / discounts, look elsewhere,
- It's target group is not the one who is seeking a high perched, huge ribbed tyres, wedding lights, blinged jeep on joyrides in city,
- For folks looking for a fuss free, reliable, gentlemanly (gentlewomanly, for equal measure), non showy, original styled, 4x4, and that'll outlast everything else in the house (except maybe the Godrej Storwell or it's elder sibling Maruti Gypsy), it is just perfect !!
- Heck, even if one doesn't need a 4x4, is there another such vehicle that satisfies all above attributes (IMO, VW Polo comes close)


Yes, it is not setting sales charts on fire. So, big deal !!

I have purchased 3 such market failures - Honda Jazz, Nano XTA, Safari Storme. If one isn't seeking external validation for own's own choices and decisions, market failure tag means nothing.

cheers
lazy

[PreludeSH]

What is the total numbers manufactured in India including for exports ? That number if good is enough for Maruti. Not sure how Thar is being exported (?).
Hope Maruti keeps building them so people who really need them can continue buying.

[Gupts007]

Maruti is responsible for shooting themselves in their foot with the way they have handled the design, launch and pricing of the Jimny.

Jimny was a 3 door vehicle and that is what the original DNA of the vehicle was. They tampered with nature, so to speak, in their effort to augment it. What they have done instead is corrupt it.
A 3 door Jimny parked next to a 5 door Jimny will stand out on its own. The 5 door looks weird, out of proportions and looks like it is trying to hard to achieve something and failing miserably at it.

Maruti could only lengthen the Jimny to a point without totally losing out on the 4wd prowess of the Jimny. As a result the length is incomplete for someone who really needs a 5 door vehicle and yet
at the same time it messes up for the 3 door variant enthusiast. As a result in their endeavor to achieve one size fits all, they ended up making everyone unhappy. The families ain't happy as the space is
too tight and restricted. There are glaring omissions in the cabin regards to keeping water bottles and other storage items.

Thirdly, Maruti went bonkers pricing the Jimny obscenely at launch. The smugness was plastered all over their pricing/features (or the lack of them). If they had to increase the size of the Jimny, making it 5 door, they had to see that the power/torque figures were enough.

They tried to save their face by offering special yearly discounts but still aren't truly accepting what the market is telling them. I don't expect them to. A market leader usually will not be open to ideas because they think they know it all.
It is always good to be No.2 so you are trying hard to get to that no. 1 spot.

In the end, Jimny is nothing more than a freak variant that has nothing going right for it. Nor the pricing, nor the DNA - nothing. They should have launched the 3 door variant initially but their greed
for numbers made them destroy something that nearly perfect. I don't think Maruti will have the audacity to launch the 3 door version now but if they do, I will be rushing to the Nexa dealership to
book mine.

[kothamasi]

Originally Posted by theAutomaniac

Jimny's biggest hurdle from being accepted by the generic crowd is its size and lack of a powerful engine. Since these two things are the sole basic points behind Jimny's existence, I don't think we'll ever see a high-selling Jimny ever.

Agree with you on this. The puny engine and bare minimum interior comforts are a big let-down for this wonderful car in India. Bear in mind the 3-door Jimny (passenger version now banned) in the UK with same puny engine is still popular because, it is largely a second car for leisure/farm action. The Jimny just about manages to keep up with Motorway speeds but people love it because off-road, where it really belongs, the car comes into its own.

Originally Posted by shortbread

What success? Suzuki discontinued the jiminy in UK, Europe etc because it didn't meet emissions, safety whatever. They stopped selling it for more than two years now if I'm not wrong. They tried to launch it as a commercial vehicle, but that bombed. It's not sold in the US or china. So worlds largest car markets aren't buying the Jimmy.

It is true, Jimny (passenger version) was discontinued in the UK due to safety/emissions. People are side-stepping this by buying the commercial version. That's why Suzuki has not bothered to comply with legislation for its passenger versions. As a resident of UK, I can say that this car is in demand.

A used third generation Jimny's can cost as much as £10000 and used 4th Gen ones can be higher than £30000!

[Thyag]

Our people and their mindset is never going to change,

* When the car was not available in India and being exported only, they were whining like anything

* When the car is released in here - they all say various reasons like puny engine, pricing is not apt, etc;

Once in a blue moon maruti releases some good cars (Scross & Jimny) and people want the sales chart to be blazed by them. Altos, Wagonrs are not going to be substituted by Jimnys !

Disclaimer : I hate Maruti the most of all the brands, explanation will lead to unnecessary arguments anyway. Liked only Scross (specially 1.6 D ) from them in the past but jimny is interesting !

[shortbread]

Originally Posted by kothamasi

It is true, Jimny (passenger version) was discontinued in the UK due to safety/emissions. People are side-stepping this by buying the commercial version. That's why Suzuki has not bothered to comply with legislation for its passenger versions. As a resident of UK, I can say that this car is in demand.

A used third generation Jimny's can cost as much as £10000 and used 4th Gen ones can be higher than £30000!

I'm in the UK as well and please check the annual sales figures before saying it's in demand, link in my previous post. Also scroll through auto trader and the prices for used Jimnys are a lot lower than what you're claiming.

[th2]

Jimmy is a niche product. The Indian market is just not ready for niche products. Paisa Vasool attitude, kitna deti hai, overrules anything else. We have a Jimny - very happy with it. We also have a Forester that didn’t do too well in the Indian market - very happy with it - still maintaining it. I have also owned a Figo which was good fun to drive - still remember its almost perfect steering and handling. Ford shut shop. Mass market cars will be mass market for a reason - they will strategically tick just right amount of boxes. Niche cars will be niche for a reason - they will do that few things that are very important to the buyer well. And most of the times will not be VFM. Maybe the Indian market will support non-VFM but niche vehicles in a couple of decades. Maybe not.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Originally Posted by Carma2017

322. .

That's a disgrace. I actually sold off my Jimny 3 door here in Japan at appx same price as my purchase price. The Jeep Wrangler is of course way more expensive in Japan and does not sell and has a poor reputation for service. So, Jimny has no threats except for some similar mini Pajero type vehicles. But the Indian sales run has been so disappointing...

A 3 Door Jimny is something I would love to by at 8-10 lakhs

If its a lifestyle vehilce, it has to ooze impracticality like the Thar Petrol AT

[kvamshi04]

Jimny !!

Last Saturday visited the Nexa showroom at Hyderabad scouting for a budget friendly option for replacing my Altroz. Went there to check Grand Vitara and did come across Jimny, the showroom is offering around 3lakhs plus discount on the base 2023 model. I was sold at the discount being offered and tried negotiating with my family 😅. Needless to say they didn't agree, as it's a little difficult for them to get into and doesn't have a large cabin and almost zero storage. But if someone is looking forward to buy a Jimny, this is the right time. !!

[buntee90]

I hope Jimny goes the Ignis way. It shouldn't be axed. Both are excellent cars in their own way.

Jimny is the only car in Maruti's portfolio which is a proper rugged/4X4 vehicle and will find more takers sooner than later.

[Bhokal]

Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

• Thar and Jimny, both compete in the same niche segment
• Majority of the buyers in this segment want a macho looking vehicle
• Jimny looks toyish, has lesser street presence and specs
• They priced it too optimistically
• It has still not created any recall value

[4x4master]

Originally Posted by lazy

What is this incessant rant about Jimny is a failure, both from product standpoint and pricing ??

+ 1 to this. I was part of Maruti 4x4 masters event last weekend. Vehicle was pushed a lot. Even with my limited expertise in off roading , vehicle made up for my deficiencies. We do off roading almost every week end. Most of us beginners. Puts a smile in our face every single time.

[kothamasi]

My friend I guessed by your login name (shortbread) that you are probably in the UK and perhaps in Scotland. I didn't do all the minute checks you did. I have been searching on Autotrader for a used Jimny and I quoted these prices from there. Maybe you found lesser prices. I have been on the lookout for a good used Jimny in a reasonable price range since 2021, but still no success. The good ones that I did find were £10K and above. As I mentioned in my previous post used 4th_Gen examples are £30K and above. If I am not mistaken new ones retailed at £25K or so...maybe prices have gone up and I am happy to be corrected.

Originally Posted by shortbread

I'm in the UK as well and please check the annual sales figures before saying it's in demand, link in my previous post. Also scroll through auto trader and the prices for used Jimnys are a lot lower than what you're claiming.

[vprao]

Originally Posted by theAutomaniac

What do you mean that the Thar is a "true off-roader"?? Last I remember, the Thar's bestselling variant was the diesel manual and petrol automatic, both in their RWD versions!

So you came to the conclusion that Thar is not a "true off roader" from the sales figures? Very interesting!

BTW, when one of my friends decided to buy the RWD Thar Diesel (for budget reasons), we decided to take my Petrol Manual 4WD Thar to a nearby trail (Kyatanamakki) to see if my Thar can go to the top without engaging the 4WD. While it didn't surprise me, my friend was, when it did reach the top effortlessly without any wheel slip whatsoever at any place! To sum it up, the RWD Thar has the capacity to go to 99% of the places that the 4WD Thar can go.

Originally Posted by theAutomaniac

If we use the "4x4 last used in xxx kms" data of all the Thars of India, the results will be embarrassing!

You'll be even more surprised to know that this result is not just limited to the Thars but in fact all 4WD lifestyle vehicles, unless off course one is fortunate enough to have a off-road trail in their backyard.

Originally Posted by theAutomaniac

There's a simple reason why Jimny doesn't sell, and that is because it is small and slow. People of India buy the Thar mostly to satiate their ego and bully others.

You must blame Mahindra for that! They made the Thar in such a way that it attracts every sort of buyer.

Originally Posted by theAutomaniac

Heck if we are talking about off-roading, most of the experienced folks say that the Jimny with All-Terrain tires is way superior than Thar.

Please enlighten me with the names of these "experienced folks".

The Mahindra Jeeps and the Gypsies have a very different approach to off-roading. While the torquey diesels of the Mahindra jeeps tackle most terrains effortlessly, the high revving and light weight Gypsies have an edge over the Jeeps at certain obstacles.

While some like to bash around the trails at high speeds, others (including me), prefer to take it slow and easy.

Differences aside, historically, the Mahindra Jeeps have always outnumbered the Gypsies (Wild-life safaris aside).

Originally Posted by theAutomaniac

And if Maruti wanted to market the Jimny as a car for the regular folks, they would've gone the Mahindra way and offered a RWD Jimny with a tax-friendly engine 1.2L engine like Mahindra did with the RWD Thar 1.5 diesel.

Maruti has enough cars to cater to the generic crowd. They don't need to make the Jimny big to cater to a bigger crowd. It's Mahindra who needed to make the Thar 'people-friendly' and they did the same by giving it creature comforts and a RWD version with a tax-friendly' engine!

So it's again Mahindra's fault that their genius team introduced the RWD Thar and make it their best selling version of Thar.

While Maruti definitely didn't want to market the Jimny as a car for regular folks, it definitely wanted a share of the Thar success. If that was not the case, it would have sold the 3 door version long back here.

However, instead, they decided to focus on the shortcomings of the Thar (3 door, boot space, ride quality and fuel efficiency) and thought that if they could somehow stretch the 3 door Jimny a bit, make it a 5 door, give more boot space than the Thar, give a superior ride, a slightly better fuel efficiency, and bank on the Jimny legacy, they would have a killer!

However, this strategy bombed big time. They had no clue as to what made the Thar so popular. Like @kothamasi said, Maruti makes cars that are practical and boring.

Originally Posted by theAutomaniac

As far as my memory goes, Evo India is an independent media agency and has nothing to do with Maruti. This is, if my memory serves me correct. Now if it does serve me correct, how does Evo India's views on the Alto makes you think that Maruti is confused?

Apologies for the oversight. I must admit I got carried away.

Originally Posted by lazy

I have purchased 3 such market failures - Honda Jazz, Nano XTA, Safari Storme. If one isn't seeking external validation for own's own choices and decisions, market failure tag means nothing.

This logic will hold well if you know exactly what you are buying, the company is strong and provides service for the discontinued vehicles and you are going to keep the vehicle for it's EOL (either for the ownership experience or sentimental value or for the lack of resale value).

Most of us do not have such strong commitments to our vehicles and often get swayed by the ever changing variety the industry offers.

[Vinod_nair]

I still remember the smug face and smile of Shashank Srivastava (CEO) Maruti, before the launch of Jimny, and smugly mentioned it being a premium product with premium pricing.

Look who's talking, with cake on his face for Jimny's disaster.