[Pikachu77]

This might sound cliche but I always believe that a product should be conceived, designed, developed and put on sale while keeping the customers in mind at every step. The size of our feet should determine the size of the footwear rather than the other way around.

Let us not say that a Jimny is a Jimny and the people don't understand the product and the use cases. Our market has shown that a life style product can be a mass market car (Mahindra Thar). The only need is that you should design a life style product that still meets the aspirations and requirements of the people in the ever changing times. If Mahindra decided to update the thar just by sticking to the old values of the brand, there is no way Thar would be selling in the numbers that it does today. Mahindra factored in the car buying sensibilities of the people in the present age and built the newer version of the thar around that rather than allowing the brand to be the center stage and let the people to fit in if they need to. That might work if you are ok with being niche but Mass market Car cannot be built like that

I believe Suzuki didn't do enough homework at all for the Jimny in our market. If Suzuki wanted to sell in thousands per month, they would have run market surveys of what the people expect in a lifestyle car having a particular sticker price.In the process of surveys, they would have easily found out that Jimny is not meeting the mass market expectations even in a 5 door avatar. A sub 10 lakh car can get away with lesser features but a 12 lakh car can get flopped just because of that. they would have done surveys but they never tried to change anything in jimny except making it a 5 door. I understand that you can't do anything that alters the legacy of the jimny and it needs to be respected hence the minimal number of changes. Then the truth is also that jimny is not going to be a mass market car exactly because of this since jimny wants to be a jimny and want the crowd to sing to its tune.
If I were in the place of Suzuki, I would have skipped Jimny altogether for the Indian market and either develop a new lifestyle vehicle by factoring in the present requirements from the people or would just keep the jimny being niche by not giving much discounts and be happy with three digit sales.

We are living in the era where even the mighty Volkswagen group started developing products on a dedicated MQB platform specially for India. Tata is known for great designs in the past 5 years. Still they are showcasing the curvv 3-4 times in public to know the reception and acceptance of the design among the public.Harrier Ev underwent design changes after the debut showcase. These are all the examples of how the companies are putting in the customers in loop through out the product journey and making sure the footwear fits as perfect as possible to the foot. In this aspect, Suzuki failed big time.

Don't blame the people asking for bigger road presence, more power and torque, more features for the price etc. keep in mind that the general rule nowadays is that a car should look one or two sizes up above its class ( love it or hate it but majority of us wants the car to be as big as possible ) and that's how the cars are being designed .Want to become a mass market one? be close to the people, follow the trend and price accordingly as per the expectation. Want to be a niche one? Don't care about anything, bring a successful and a heritage product from abroad and just sell in 100s.
The jimny is a neither as it is now resorting to a niche just because it didn't do well in being a mass market one. Suzuki only have themselves to blame.

[Asoon]

It was bound to happen, This car looks Malnourished on the road. Baleno, Brezza even the Ignis has much stronger road presence and the premium appeal.

It was a big miss from Suzuki. 90% of Thar owners do not do proper off roading, 95% of Fortuner owners never take their cars in Slush, River, Rock Climbing. SUVs are all about muscular look, road presence and power projection. Jimny looks like a tiny boy in the dressing room of weightlifters

It has its own set of qualities capable 4x4 coupled with light weight and a petrol engines solves a lot of things, but the audience size which can understand & appreciate this very small.

Brezza special edition (black edition, wider tyres, more GC) with the 4x4 offerings and a little more power / torque will do wonders for Suzuki

[Zanskar]

It is clear from most of the comments here that majority bashing the Jimny have never driven the Jimny. The same engine and a further underpowered version of the same engine is being plonked in the Baleno, grand Vitara and many other Maruti vehicles and its selling in numbers.
It's not like Maruti never tried selling powerful engines, the turbo petrol when launched in Baleno never sold in numbers. Even now the 1 litre turbo petrol is not selling in great numbers.
There is a reason the Swift Sport is not sold in India, once announced social media will go gaga over it and when prices will be announced the same social media will announce its death because in that price they can buy a TSi.
For a Maruti to sell in India it has to be cheapest in its segment and even then it might not sell because of the perception that a 4x4 SUV has to be butch.

Only few realise that every Butch Cassidy needs a Sundance Kid. This Sundance Kid accompanies the Butch Thar from Sam Dunes to Spiti snow drives without a problem. Looks be dammed this Kid packs a punch where it matters.

[007maverick]

Jimny is a great offroader with 4x4, high GC. However the technical features alone will not attract the customers' attention. To achieve marketing success you need to project key product characteristics in such a way that they quick resonate with customers needs and aspirations. As an example from a completely different segment. Take Maggi Noodles. It was only "2 minutes" which has done a wonder for the brand.

Maruti thought they will re create the magic of Gypsy with Jimny Without making a proper effort and investment on Brand promotion.

If they drop prices further, the sales would get to Zero as no one likes to be associated with a cheaper product. Tata Nano case they worth study.

[arunedwin]

Honestly speaking, Im ok with the sales dip.All I wish is that maruti shouldnt end up stopping the car in India.
Im a guy who initially wanted to wait for the new version with better engine and equipments,but then decided to buy being attracted by the discounts maruti offered in december 2023.I got the Alpha manual for 14.6 on road in Feb 2024.If I had decided in december, on road could have been better
The reasons for owning one are
1) The exclusivity it offers
2) The short foot print and easy use in city and narrow roads
3) The go anywhere capability.
Yes, couple of my friends and family members are shocked at the decision, but I can understand them as the majority of car buyers mentality is different, comfort oriented, smooth,powerful etc etc.Its not love at first sight with regards to drive and performance.But slowly the vehicle grows on you I guess, have added a throttle tuner and Im happy with the engine now.
Things which could have made better are
1) better crash safety
2) lighter steering
3) better turning radius
4) better auto box
I believe even if maruti sells it at 9.99 lacs, still there will be less crowd to buy it; only those who really wanted to buy but stood away bcoz of the high price.
Dont make it mass market product and lose its character of being the mountain goat.

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by 007maverick

Maruti thought they will re create the magic of Gypsy with Jimny Without making a proper effort and investment on Brand promotion.

Gypsy and Jimny both have the same magic IMHO. Gypsy was low in sales numbers too, Always delivering less than 500 units every month and sometimes stooping to less than 100. This happened for years. Only respite were the irregular govt orders making the sales numbers to 2.5k - 3k in some fortunate month.

There were people in Gypsy era too who loathed it for the same drawbacks that they see in the Jimny. Low mileage, underpowered etc, NA petrol etc.

As several other members have quite succinctly pointed out, there has been nothing that has been said about the Jimny over and over again in the almost 50 threads so far on the forum.

I wish there was an official version by Maruti itself on the curious case of low numbers of Gypsy and Jimny in India one day.

[amol4184]

Is it gathering at least those numbers because it has 5 doors? In tiny world of legit 4x4 vehicles in India, that must count for something. I wonder how it will cope once 5 door Thar is launched.

[993turbo]

Much has been said about the pricing "fiasco". The early-bird buyers, including myself, who knew exactly what they were getting, were also unpleasantly surprised with the, frankly, avaricious prices for what was meant to be a simple, no-frills 4x4 vehicle. We all thought 1.5 to 2 Lakhs less would have been ideal. Many of this group also preferred the 3 door to the 5 door. c'est la vie.

Now, after 6+ months of ownership and interaction with owners, prospective buyers and naysayers, I have come to a contrarian view: No price is good enough. The Jimny was never meant to see success like the Mahindra Thar even if the prices were lower by 2 Lakhs across variants. The reasons are manifold.

In my humble view, there are 3 categories of prospective Jimny buyers.

• The "Jimny-or-bust" category, who are the hardcore fans who not only waited since the 3 door was first showcased in 2020 Auto Expo, but also followed the 4th Gen Jimny in the international markets since its launch.
  https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...i-stand-415874
  Even though some of them would have preferred the 3 door, the 5 door is just as good, if not better, all things considered. Some of them were owners and fans of erstwhile Gypsy. This category have already picked up their Jimnys and put many miles in them. They did not wait until the price reveal to decide. Price was never a factor to them (but they knew the ballpark, given that it's a Maruti). Naturally, this category is small and are no longer going to contribute to future sales.

• The showboating category, who do not necessarily know the history of Jimny or what it stands for, but they do assume that it is Maruti's answer for Thar. But as soon as they see it in person, they conclude that it is merely the awkward adolescent child of Thar. One can not blame them because the Jimny, especially the 5 door, falls in the uncanny valley of SUVs currently sold in India. How so? It is, indeed, a boxy, B-O-F, proper 4x4 vehicle but it is diminutive and almost toy-like. It doesn't help that the 5 door is ever so slightly disproportionate, unlike the perfectly poised 3 door. No "self-respecting proud Indian SUV owner" can accept their choice being ridiculed or, heaven forbid, pitied; they want their vehicle to be feared and respected. This category is not only never buying Jimny, but will discourage anyone they can influence from buying it.

• The broader category, who are looking for a do-it-all practical and reliable SUV which is more than just a raised hatchback. These prospective buyers weighed pros and cons and concluded the Jimny is cramped, underpowered and barebones (by today's equipment standards). At current price, this category is looking at mid variants of Grand Vitara, Hyryder, Creta, Seltos or Elevate. At 2 Lakhs less, some of them might buy it, but majority have already moved on from the novelty of Jimny.

• All the remaining Jimny buyers are simply outliers such as "Never-Thar" folks, "Maruti Jeep" folks, hipsters, and so on.

Much has also been said about why the Jimny is so popular in some circles. Its prominent attributes of charming, old school looks, genuine off-roading ability combined with simple and reliable construction are impossible to ignore. These are the tangibles. Apart from these, there are some things about the Jimny that makes it seem more than the sum of its parts. They are the intangibles, or, as I think of them as "soul of Jimny".
In my own experience, after driving it for 3000 kms, these are some of "my" intangibles of Jimny:

• When I am in the driver's seat, I immediately feel absorbed into the vehicle. I feel that the Jimny is a mechanical extension of my person, something akin to "wearing the machine", rather than sitting in it. Never happened with my previous two cars.
• When I am driving Jimny around in Bangalore's trenches and craters (commonly known as backroads of the IT corridor), I don't brace for underbody impact, and I am surprised at how much it frees my mind.
• Driving in the slopes and switchbacks of western ghats is an experience well worth the price of admission of Jimny. I am not even referring to the off-the-road part.
• Manoeuvring Jimny off-the-road was surprisingly natural for a complete newb like me. Maybe not a good comparison, but I did not find it so easy with my friend's 1st gen Thar.
• I never refer to it as "the car" unlike my other vehicles and previous cars; it's always "Jimny" (as in, let's take Jimny instead of the scooter, I'll go get Jimny washed, we'll be getting there in my brother's car and my Jimny, etc.)

Below are some pictures of my Jimny to conclude my diatribe. The last one with the new grille.

PS: I wanted to start my Jimny related posting with a purchase and ownership experience, however I was somewhat triggered by this thread .

[vivekgk]

Hopefully they will now launch the 3 door version at a lower price point. As things stand they have ZERO R&D or other expenses to do. All they would need to stock is a shorter rear prop shaft. Every other part is common to the 5 door and already in inventory. What do they have to lose other than Ego?

A 3 door would make sense for anyone who wants to get it as a 2nd car, and it would be better at off roading, have better performance due to lighter weight, better mileage and be more competitive in pricing. Not everyone want s to go off roading with their main daily driver.

[Red Liner]

Fuel efficiency or the lack of it is another huge downer. I did read reports on forums from South Africa where probably road and traffic conditions mirror closer to India . Anything more than 10 for the litre seems like a huge bonus.

Personally I think Maruti got so caught up themselves with the hype train that they simply failed to read the market. I wonder if every product in Maruti has its own marketing and strategy team? How are they dealing with this with corporate?

For all those wishing for the 3 door, not a soul in Maruti will even be breathing in the direction of anything Jimny for a good while lol!

And why does the Jimny cost so much less in Japan than in India where its made??

https://www.rushlane.com/jimny-costs...-12472423.html

Just because its 5 doors cant equate almost 5 lakhs more. Doesnt make sense at all.

[sunbaj]

Not sure what the designers were thinking when they designed Jimmy. It is not at all appealing to me.

To me Jimmy is more like a malnourished Thar.

In no way does it look like an off-roading machine.

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

Hopefully they will now launch the 3 door version at a lower price point. As things stand they have ZERO R&D or other expenses to do. All they would need to stock is a shorter rear prop shaft. Every other part is common to the 5 door and already in inventory. What do they have to lose other than Ego?

A 3 door would make sense for anyone who wants to get it as a 2nd car, and it would be better at off roading, have better performance due to lighter weight, better mileage and be more competitive in pricing. Not everyone want s to go off roading with their main daily driver.

IMHO Maruti is already making the 3 door for exports, with a better engine and transmission.

All they need to do is, plonk the slouch engine and transmission from the 5 doors, and market it in Arena showrooms. Starting under 9L.

And they will have a winner.

[jomyboy]

Originally Posted by 007maverick

If they drop prices further, the sales would get to Zero as no one likes to be associated with a cheaper product.

They have managed to still sell some because they have dropped their prices. Jimny is clearly a Swarovski in a world of real diamonds and should be priced like one too.

[The Pianist]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Fuel efficiency or the lack of it is another huge downer. I did read reports on forums from South Africa where probably road and traffic conditions mirror closer to India . Anything more than 10 for the litre seems like a huge bonus.

Just because its 5 doors cant equate almost 5 lakhs more. Doesnt make sense at all.

More than pricing, i think Maruti misread the enthusiasts and the market.
Customers do look for value even in their enthusiastic purchases.

Electrification or Hybridization may solve the fuel economy/ power issues, and Maruti is highly likely looking into it as it may allow refreshing/keeping alive the product without much unforeseen investments.

Till then exports zindabad!

[ashlil]

Story of Jimny in India :