[Samba]

My take from a short ride on the Jimny's rear seat.



I have not driven the car, but got an opportunity to sit in the rear for about 4 km.

My observations-

The not-so-good part-

With a 6-feet-tall guy (Bhpian Hikersoul) on the driving seat, the rear leg-room for me (5'9) was clearly inadequate.



While Bhpian DogNDamsel12 was driving, the leg-room for me was absolutely fine. As everyone has said previously, the under-thigh support is definitely inadequate in the rear seats.



The output of the music system at most can be termed as average.

The good part-

On bad roads, the ride quality is quite good & absorbent. I am used to the ride quality of a Duster & an Etios, and for me I found the Jimny ride quality to be good. The suspension absorbed the rough patches like any other comfortable hatchback. It clearly dumps the Thar in this aspect.

Body-roll is well sorted. I was expecting quite a bit of body-roll, but I was surprised the way it handled the curves or the quick maneuvers. It again beats the Thar or the ScorpioN in this aspect. My friend who was driving the Jimny owns a TUV300, & he commented, Jimny has much less body-roll than his TUV.

With 4 people on board the AC cooled well.

From the rear seat I felt the pickup to be okay, but definitely it can't be compared with the Thar petrol! Still I will refrain commenting until I drive it.

For an adult the rear seat can be just comfortable for a max 4 to 5 hours/ 200-300 km drive. It will be best suited to use with in the city.
For the long drives this car is best suited for a couple of persons.

Took few pics with the Duster and the TUV300.
The only aspect where the road presence of the Jimny gets hampered is due to it's narrow width. Else I felt the height and length to be perfect.











In nutshell I liked this car. Will definitely take a longer TD later on.

[shankar.balan]

Today was a day where I actually drove all my cars and this proved helpful from a ‘back to back’ perspective, for the Jimny test drive. There was a cars and coffee meet in the morning to which I went in my Gypsy along with Dad. Then I did a light joyride with Dad in the Cooper and got it washed and all. And I took the Thar along over the useless back roads of HSR and Kudlu to the Jimny test drive just now.

My simple first impressions are below. This is only about the driving and the useability. There is enough written about the lack of gizmos and water bottle holders and mobile holders and all that. I won’t talk about any of that stuff.

The Nexa chaps in Surakshaa Hosur Road Electronic city were most obliging. They had promised to call when TD vehicles arrived and they did so today.

So I went there at 2pm and immediately was given the keys to the Bluish Black Jimny. It was the Zeta AT variant. My dad and Shree from Nexa and I went on the test drive for about 12 odd kms. We went up and down the Hosur Road for a bit just to see how the vehicle performs under acceleration.

We took the ramp to the Nice road and went up to the toll booth and did an U Turn into a construction yard and a small rutted track with stagnant water and an uneven surface. There was also some rubble strewn about and plenty of muck.We took the vehicle through all that a few times. And then drove back up the ramp and back to the showroom. One the way I knew a place which is inside a small shanty farmyard. Very narrow track through some trees and all. I wanted to see how the Jimny would behave there so I threaded it through those trees and reached a point of no return and then reversed, turned to full lock, manoeuvred the vehicle out and then threaded my way back through the gaps. It’s narrowness, lightness and all, certainly helps! The Thar would simply not have been able to do this.

I returned the vehicle to the showroom at 3pm sharp.

This is an accomplished vehicle. Its ride quality is excellent. The seats are supportive and one doesn’t get thrown about from side to side, like one does in the Thar. It is actually more comfy than my Thar on uneven and rutted roads. Despite my Thar having AVO suspension and all. The 5 door configuration and the slightly longer proportions undoubtedly help a lot in the ride quality and the way it takes rutted tracks and uneven surfaces. The Thar SWB leaps over our mountainous speed breakers if taken at 30 kmph. You feel it. The Jimny glides over the same speed breakers at the same speed. You don’t feel it like you do in the Thar.

The driving position is great. Good visibility across the board. No A Pillar blindness. Unlike the Thar whose A Pillar is like an opaque tree trunk. The ride is NOT Busy, unlike the Thar where every single bump and undulation and uneven surface and stone, can be felt in the seat and in the steering. There is no skittering in the Jimny. It takes all sorts of bumps and broken surfaces with aplomb, of course when driven over such things at sensible speeds. The suspension is well sprung. The vehicle seats are comfortable and grippy. Remember this was a stock vehicle and no tyre upgrade and all that. The air pressure seemed fine, there was no typical over filled feeling or under filled feeling. The 4H and 4L and all are very easy to slot, unlike the Gypsy.

I accelerated the vehicle a reasonable bit and took the Nice road up-ramp at 60 kmph along that curve. The vehicle remained perfectly composed.
Yes, with the small engine and 3 passengers in it, it can never be like the powerful Thar, in terms of acceleration, but it didn’t run out of breath today.

However it may run out of breath on a very steep incline like the Sigur Ghats for example, with a full load of passengers and luggage.
This is where the Manual Transmission will likely score because one can row through the gears and help keep up the momentum up those hairpin bends. The 3 door Jimny may well be better in such circumstances because it is shorter and lighter.

On the straight, I did accelerate a bit in order to see and feel how the much criticised 4 speed AT behaves. And I am telling everyone here, that for most normal people and normal applications this will work perfectly well. It may not kick down the way the Thar does, and it may not deliver that kind of acceleration, but that doesn’t matter, because it is off set by a really comfy ride and decent on road behaviour.

The Thar will always score in terms of the “legs” for a long distance drive in the plains. The Jimny will tend to struggle a bit after 100-120Kmph. It won’t have the same ‘top end’. But that’s fine. It’s not meant to be a speed demon. It has more than enough low end grunt to take on most normal obstacles. And believe you me, it is very well engineered. It has finesse. It feels strong and solid, and well put together, not flimsy. My Gypsy, which is its great grand father, feels tinny and light in comparison to the Jimny.

The point about turning radius is illustrated in the above test I did, threading it through the trees. The Jimny’s Turning radius has been theorised and criticised a lot here. My Gypsy also has a high turning radius and no power steering means a lot more effort. My Thar would not have been able to pass through that set of trees but the Jimny did it perfectly as described above.

I did not find any problem with seat comfort in front. Headroom is more than adequate. I am big built and tall person 6feet 2inches and broad too. So is my Dad a big broad guy. We didn’t ‘rub shoulders or arms during the drive in the Jimny. We didn’t bump into each other either, when on the rutted track when we were going in and out of the undulations and dips in the surface.

Thing is, one has to drive the Jimny the way it is supposed to be driven. It is not a sports car. Nor is it a big bully on the road. But it is really quite excellently put together and a real pleasure to drive. It is as I have always been maintaining, a very nice vehicle for the hilly regions and places where the roads are narrow. It won’t leak water. It doesn’t have any wind noise problem. The NVH is good. The engine is soft and silent most of the time, even in 4H and 4L when negotiating ruts and bumps and bad surfaces and only changes note under stronger acceleration on the straights. It is a good little off roader and can be a very good all rounder too. It just needs to be driven sensibly and with perspective. Jimny is a great modern updated take on the Samurai, Gypsy etc!

I like it a lot. That’s the bottomline.
Will I sell Thar and buy Jimny? Most probably not now. Need to enjoy the Thar for a longer time.
Will I buy a Jimny later as the only vehicle? Very possibly can be considered.

[John316_WRC]

Originally Posted by himalyan_ice

A 4x4 for daily use is rare enough, that selling the vehicle purely on that ability is yield...what is this talk about “people don’t buy good vehicles when they are introduced”? People buy what they see value in.

Did you know the Thar sold 5004 units(Feb), 5008 (Mar), 5302 (April) and 4,296(May) in 2023. This number is more than the total cars sold by Renault India (Kiger, Kwid & Triber combined), and similar to Honda's City+Amaze monthly numbers. I must ask, is the Thar a rare case by any means? This simply means there is a market & Mahindra did their homework. Maruti are late to the party, but I'll stretch my neck and say the Jimny will be a success even though it is overpriced.

No auto manufacturer is doing us a favour by bringing us a “performance” vehicle...brands don’t make money on flagship products. They make them on mass products.

No, Flagship products always have a fatter profit margins. Maruti will probably have to sell a lot more Altos to reach the same profits gained by selling eg.1000 units of the Jimny. Mass products=cheaper=greater numbers. Simple business tactics.

Jimny doesn’t do what is absolutely NEEDED by most people, that other cars can’t do already(And in comfort)...Once you have the car being used for daily life, the 17 - 19 lacs spent on a chassis with 4x4 capability will seem incredibly foolhardy.

What do 5000 people NEED that they que up Mahindra showrooms with their money every month? The Thar has successfully blurred the lines between WANTS vs NEEDS, HEART vs BRAIN. I could go on...

Simply because that is the power of emotion.

Agree 100% with you. This is why the Thar sells, you have solved the conundrum yourself.

Enough rambling. That behaviour absolutely influenced my decision to exclude their cars from the consideration set for this replacement.

I feel your frustration. Honestly Maruti or for that fact any large manufacturer doesn't care about our views. Look at the ScorpioN Z4 Diesel 4x4, should fit ur requirements and all round should be a better buy for your expectations. Good to know you're staying true to your values. May the Force/ScorpioN be with you!

Originally Posted by veedub89

The practicality added in by adding 5 doors is a myth. The size of the vehicle hasn't changed. Neither has the amount of space inside changed.

No, the size has changed about 340mm in length and in wheelbase. Mythbuster: ask anyone in your family/relatives to sit in the Thar and then in the Jimny. Adding 2 doors means you just open the door and get in. Simple & practical for all.

The Zen 3 door was the same car as the 5 door. But it flopped. Because Indians don't like the 3 door concept

We Indians didn't like it because entry and egress was not easy. Another reason being we Indians want our 4 doors, just cause we paid for the full car.

[swami69]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I like it a lot. That’s the bottomline.
Will I sell Thar and buy Jimny? Most probably not now. Need to enjoy the Thar for a longer time.
Will I buy a Jimny later as the only vehicle? Very possibly can be considered.

Thanks for all the inputs. Very well written covering all the important aspects. There is no TD available in Chennai yet, but I think I have a very good idea about the vehicle from these type of TBHPians reviews. (There are few more TD reviews above by others) Thanks all of you

Swami

[volkman10]

Customized Jimny gets the olive-green body wrap!

Mods include:

1) ENKEI Japan RPT1 16x6J, Zero inset wheels wrapped around Continental cross contact AT 235/70 R16

2) TANABE Japan adjustable suspension kit — height and damping adjustable . It raises the car but you can adjust the height range and also the stiffness of the shocks and struts via 14 click adjustment dial

3) TANABE Japan front and rear adjustable lateral rods

4) TANABE Japan steering damper

5) TANABE Japan front strut brace

6) FUJITSUBO Japan axle back exhaust muffler

7) INOZETEK body wrap , black roof paint & gloss black grill paint with dechrome.









Link

[androdev]

That olive-green looks amazing. I wish Jimny came as 3-door and Thar as 5-door version. When you see the side profile of Jimny, you'd wish it had the classic short wheel base. Similarly when you see the Thar side profile, you'd wish it had the Wrangler proportions instead of abruptly truncated look. Basically, both side profiles look "compromised".

[condor]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Today was a day where I actually drove all my cars and this proved helpful from a ‘back to back’ perspective, for the Jimny test drive..

Thanks, Shankar. Nice little review there, from someone who is able to compare the Jimny with it's "peers".

That fuel consumption numbers - 6.9 km/litre ?? Any comments on that ?

[omar]

Test drove the AT Jimny today.

Some impressions:

- The Ride quality for the front passengers felt really good. You don't feel like stopping at most bumps/ undulations, as a driver. As a rear passenger, it felt a little jumpy at the back.

- There is quite less space at the back, if the front seat is reclined fully.

- The steering feel was satisfactory. Not Honda level good, but quite weighted. Much better than the vague Hyundai steering feedback.

- The pickup did not feel good. Had to stamp on the pedal to go past 60.

- I was sold on the Jimny, even at the premium demanded, initially. However, on driving it, it did not feel worth the money other than the wow factor of the external looks. This wow factor will obviously reduce as more cars are delivered and seen on the road. The interiors are quite basic for the price commanded.

Picture of the car:

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by condor

Thanks, Shankar. Nice little review there, from someone who is able to compare the Jimny with it's "peers".

That fuel consumption numbers - 6.9 km/litre ?? Any comments on that ?

Thats the MID. This is a TD car. Plenty of fellows ready to drive it harshly. Am just glad I got my paws on it when it has done relatively less number of kms.
I have no idea what the real life FE will be, but my Gypsy gives me 12-13 and my Thar 10-11.
This can’t be much different really.

[VivekWalia1986]

https://youtu.be/VHd9y5gCFoQ

Jimny with 235/75 R15 tyres vs Thar 4*4 at an off-road obstacle! Brief comparison!

[Himalayan_Ice]

Originally Posted by John316_WRC

Did you know the Thar sold…May the Force/ScorpioN be with you!

I’d sure want to debate all these, but I do not see myself spending an extra 2.5 lacs (15 OTR for top spec AT is what I saw as fair value) and time on the Jimny.
I already bought the 1.0 turbo Sonet, have had it delivered and am enjoying the value it’s adding to my life.
Reiterating, the JIMNY at this price point, for what it offers, did not make any sense to ME. Which, in no way invalidates the opinion and purchase decision of anyone else.
Heck, I own a liter class bike in India. What sense does THAT make?
Cheers and enjoy your Jimnys guys!

[Biraj]

And, it's finally here!

My Suzuki Jimny Alpha AT

A slight turn of events led to a change in my original choice of both colour (Bluish Black) and dealer (Rohan Motors), as both were seemingly stuck in the slow lane.

Fortunately, I had another booking with Vipul Motors. They were prompt, far more attentive, and customer-oriented than Rohan. The Nexa Blue turned out to be better than what I anticipated and not too far from the Oceanic Blue Punto I very fondly remember.

I haven't had the chance to take the Jimny for a proper spin. So, I'll wait for a long drive over the weekend to share a comprehensive review. As a benchmark, my loyal steed for the past 11 years has been a Linea T-jet. It's a gem, with possibly the best steering in a reasonably priced car and a turbocharged petrol engine that's a delight. Thus, it may be a difficult act to follow for Jimny on the performance front.

Initial impressions:

• The Jimny, despite being a compact car, has already made a good impression with its ride quality.
  
• It was a particularly hot and humid day in Noida today. I was pleasantly surprised by the AC's efficiency as the cabin was chilled in no time. The blower is noticeably stronger than the Linea.
  
• Jimny attracts a lot of attention. Perhaps this will change as more Jimnys hit the road.

Upgrades planned:

• Tyres – Most likely 215/75/R15 AT as that seems to be a decent upgrade with minimal impact on the current setup.
  
• Seats – will explore the possibility of adding under-thigh support for all four seats.
  
• Armrest – this is essential for me, particularly, in an automatic car. The ones I found online are designed for the international variant, which doesn't accommodate the rear power window switches. Thus, I'm currently searching for a suitable solution.

Will share a more detailed update, perhaps, an ownership review once I clock more miles.

[volkman10]

More of the olive green Jimny, from stock to the modified Jimny.

Originally Posted by volkman10

Customized Jimny gets the olive-green body wrap!
---

Link

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I like it a lot. That’s the bottomline.
Will I sell Thar and buy Jimny? Most probably not now. Need to enjoy the Thar for a longer time.
Will I buy a Jimny later as the only vehicle? Very possibly can be considered.

Thanks for the review, that too from someone who knows what one is saying. What you mentioned in one thread was so much more informative!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Thanks for the review, that too from someone who knows what one is saying. What you mentioned in one thread was so much more informative!

Thank you so much Ajmat!
Coming from a proper, highly knowledgeable, well travelled expert like you, such a compliment really means a great deal to me!
I was simply wishing to make a simple utilitarian and blunt assessment of this vehicle, in an attempt to cut out all the fluff and just get to the nub of the matter.
I hope it helps others who are considering this vehicle.