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Catalogue

1. What car
2. Why the Jimny
3. Interior - Front
4. Interior - Rear
5. Interior - Boot
6. Exterior
7. Infotainment & MID
8. Driving the Jimny
9. My plans with the Jimny
10. Pricing

My criteria for a new car were that, it should be:

• Interesting
• Value for money
• Light(er) on the wallet
• ICE

Bonus points for it being uncommon and rare.
I was not pedantic about body style, transmission box or fuel type.

Options considered

Used cars

1. 2017/18 Toyota Camry (P)
   Pros:

   • Efficient for city drives
   • Comfortable ride & good NVH
   • Safety
   • Reliable automatic transmission

   Cons:

   • No Apple car play - can't be added to stock infotainment system either
   • Needs a longer parking spot
   • Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery replacement around 8 year mark
   • Hard to come across a reasonably priced, cared for example. I tried for a year and gave it up with a heavy heart.

   Price: ~15L for a 60-70K run, 2017 manufactured, clean car in Delhi
   
   
2. 2017 VW Jetta TSI (P)
   Pros:

   • International spares support
   • Comfortable ride & good NVH
   • Apple Car play could be enabled in the MIB2 stock infotainment system (Rs ~25k cost)
   • Safety

   Cons:

   • German saloon niggles
   • OEM spares are on the expensive side

   Price: ~5.5L for a 70K run, 2017 manufactured, clean car in Mumbai. Compared to other sellers, overpriced by Rs. 1L
   
   
3. Skoda Yeti - any clean example (D)
   Pros:

   • Interesting and cool car to have
   • Efficiency

   Cons:

   • Clean stock examples are never on the market for sale. I'm not sure if they even exist.
   • Long downtime for any spares
   • Usable life in NCR is hardly a few years

   Price: Market so small, difficult to put a reliable number next to it. Sellers ask Rs. ~8-10L for a 2015/16 manufactured well-kept examples
   
   
4. 2020 or newer Honda CR-V (P)
   Pros:

   • Global Honda product + Reliability
   • Apple car play & Android Auto
   • Comfortable ride & good NVH
   • Manufacturer warranty still in force

   Cons:

   • Model is still new, not many examples in the used car market
   • 7-8 kmpl mileage in the city

   Price: Rs. ~20L for a 40k run, 2020 manufactured, clean car in Mumbai.

New cars

1. MG Astor CVT (P) - 2023 SMART variant (Renamed as SELECT variant in 2024)
   Pros:

   • Has all new tech - Apple car play & Android Auto, panoramic sunroof
   • No AI bot in this variant
   • Creep function in the CVT gearbox can be turned off/on
   • Soft and luxurious materials used inside - door pads, dashboard, seats, front and back arm rests
   • Very good NVH (better than 3rd gen Skoda Octavia)

   Cons:

   • Apprehension about how the car quality will age post warranty. Neither the Chinese, nor the British are known for quality products.
   • 7-8 kmpl mileage in the city

   Price: Rs. ~15.5L OTR Noida. (MY-2023 stock clearance prices)
   
   
2. Skoda Slavia 1.0AT (P) - Ambition variant
   Pros:

   • Apple car play & Android Auto
   • Sleek looking interior - Analog speedometer with digital information screen
   • 1.0 engine is mated nicely with the TC gearbox and paddle shifters. Shifts are imperceptible and well timed.
   • Spacious boot & passenger cabin
   • Driving dynamics are sharp & confidence inspiring at highway speeds
   • Front & rear armrests with good storage space

   Cons:

   • The VW Virtus has a 10" touch screen infotainment system in the same variant (Slavia has a 7" system)
   • Central console and transmission tunnel plastic components are beige
     

   Price: ~16.1L OTR Noida (MY-2023 stock clearance prices)
   
   
3. VW Virtus 1.0AT (P) - Highline Variant
   Pros:

   • Apple car play & Android Auto
   • Sleek looking interior - Analog speedometer with digital information screen
   • 1.0 engine is mated nicely with the TC gearbox and paddle shifters. I felt the 1L + TC box are better mated than the 1.5L + DSG.
   • Spacious boot & passenger cabin
   • Driving dynamics are sharp & confidence inspiring at highway speeds
   • Front & rear armrests with good storage space
   • 10" touchscreen infotainment screen in this variant
   • Central console and transmission tunnel plastic components are Black
   • Very sharp silver and Deep red colour

   Cons:

   • More expensive than the equivalent Skoda Slavia by Rs. ~80K
     

   Price: ~16.9L OTR Noida (MY-2024 prices)
   
   
4. Maruti Jimny MT (P) - Zeta variant
   Pros:

   • Interesting and un-common. Nice to know that the car's ability offroad exceeds mine.
   • Apple car play & Android Auto
   • Retro looks & convenient small size
   • No stereotype associated with the Jimny (yet - fingers crossed)

   Cons:

   • Storage space inside the cabin is poor. No rear parcel shelf cover.
   • Safety - Don't think this would be a 5* rated car.
   • Comfortable highway speed is only 80-90 kmph
   • Poor noise insulation
     

   Price: ~12.2L OTR Noida (MY-2023 stock clearance prices)

When the Jimny 3 door was announced in 2018, I had made up my mind to get one - if they ever launched the 3 door in India.
It was small (3.4m long), I suspected a vast majority of people wouldn't get one - so it'd be rare. And I'd just use mine as a town car - for the ease of parking and not be worried about the Jimny's safety ratings.

The Jimny did come to our shores, but alas in the 5 door format. Well, at least something is better than nothing.

The 5 door Jimny too met all my core criteria in a new car

1. Interesting
2. Value for money
3. Light(er) on the wallet
4. ICE
5. Un-common / rare.

I had planned to get the car in FY-25. But a combination of factors pushed me to pick up the Jimny right away:

• The dipping factory dispatch figures in 2024 - I didn't want to risk the car being pulled out of production
• Absence of meaningful discounts for MY-2024 models
• My base location shifting from NCR to BLR (NCR dealers seemed to be more liberal with discounts)
• Sweet discount of Rs. 2.75L off Ex-showroom price

Multiple dealers in NCR have a healthy stock of MY-2023 Jimny. More so for the MT variants than the AT ones.

The choice between Zeta and Alpha was not a difficult one to make


Alpha did not feel worth the Rs. 1L premium over the Zeta, for just the UV cut green glass which I valued.
Fog lamps have been installed from the Nexa showroom for Rs 4,800 (with 1yr MSIL warranty)

The colour:

1. The Kinetic Yellow and Sizzling Red were a straight No.
2. Nexa blue didn't look great in their brochure, but was fine in person. My apprehension about other Nexa blue coloured cars (non Jimny) aging poorly put it out of contention.
3. The white looked good. Felt it'd age the best. But I wanted a colour I'd enjoy more now - was shortlisted
4. Bluish Black looked great on the brochure but a bit too black & shiny in person - was shortlisted
5. Granite Gray looked fabulous - seemed like the best option - but alas - no stock. Seems like more folks thought along the same lines.

I couldn't choose between the White and the Bluish black. Picked the Bluish black because the dealer offered a better price.

Before purchasing the Jimny, I couldn't find a source of good quality interior images of the Zeta variant. Hope this can help someone.
This interior is still bone stock from the factory.

Centre dashboard

• The switches are all tactile and functional. There are no soft materials any where in the car. Its all function over luxury.

Front seats

• Seats have good range of adjustment for fore-aft movement and recline (reclines flat)
• Neither driver, not passenger seats are height adjustable. That being said the current height is fine for people in the 5'7" to 6'1" range.
• Front seat belts are not height adjustable

Front position

• The front seats move all the way forward. Possibly a carryover from the 3 door Jimny, to allow passengers to access the rear seats

Zeta Steering wheel

• The steering wheel has audio controls & controls for handsfree calling. Leather wrap is conspicuous by its absence.

Sun visor and Front cabin lights

• Both driver and passenger get vanity mirror in the sun visor (non illuminated). Both sun visors get ticket holders as well.
• There is a gap between the IRVM and the sun visor - evening sun tends to catch the driver in the eye.
• Interior cabin lights are yellow coloured.

Centre fascia

• The HVAC controls are lifted straight out of an Alto. Functional, but look a tad too old-school. The AC is a chiller though.
• The front door power windows are controlled from the switches here. No power window switches on either of the front doors

Central AC vents & Hazard light switch

• The central vents can't be turned off. The adjustment levers do feel quite sturdy and durable.

Charger & phone holder in the central fascia

• The buttons are backlit & Drivers side window gets one-touch up down functionality
• USB-B port is not for supporting Apple car play / Android auto (both are wireless only)

Phone holder

• The place to park the phone is abysmal in size (Car key for reference)
• My 6.1-inch phone can't fit neither vertically nor horizontally. The opening to the holder should have been sloping towards the gear lever.

Glove box

• Glove box is not lockable. It is also tiny, can hardly accommodate vehicle papers and Owner's manual (got it printed separately - Maruti provides only a PDF owner's manual for the Jimny)

Cup holders

• These are the only 2 cupholders in the whole car. The base is not rubberised, so metal bottles do rattle.
• They are deep and can hold 1L water bottles easily

Instrument cluster

• The orange colour is a nice throwback to the Gypsy King, which had similar Binnacle shaped gauges
• The gauges are easy to read on the go

Wiper stalk controls

• The Jimny comes equipped with both front and rear wipers along with front and rear washers
• The stalk is hard plastic. and the action is not damped

Light stalk controls

• The Alpha variants stalk looks different - It has the functionality to switch on Auto headlamps and Fog lamps.
• Indicators make a louder than expected ticking sound. The Lane change indicator blinks thrice when activated.

Headlamp leveller and auxiliary switches

• The auto start-stop functionality is enabled every time the car is started. A single press of this switch turns it off
• The Fog lamp switch is NOT standard on the Zeta variant. I had this fitted from Nexa before delivery
• Push start button slot is a blank on the Zeta variant
• ORVMs are electrically adjustable, but not foldable on the Zeta variant

Transmission central tunnel

• Maruti has reused the same seats from Swift (fabric & size) - they are comfortable enough

Gear lever

• The gear lever is placed at a convenient height and the knob falls easily in hand
• The gear lever visually vibrates on startup while in Neutral. In gear the lever doesn't sway, but vibrations can be felt on the knob

Manual dimming IRVM

• The roof liner and the IRVM are beige in colour
• There is enough space behind the IRVM to comfortably mount a dashcam.

View for the driver from IRVM

• The thick D pillar, along with the door mounted spare tyre restrict visibility out the back.

Key ring



Keys

• Very Alto-esque keys. Both the keys are enabled with central locking

Front door panel

• Storage space is a joke. I'm not sure why Maruti decided to provide a door pocket which can't be accessed without difficulty

ABC pedals

• Space in the driver footwell is limited. No space for a dead pedal in the manual.
• Bonnet release switch is at a weird angle. The OBD port is exposed.

My biggest ergonomic gripe with the Jimny is a slight slope at the part where the central transmission tunnels merges with the driver footwell.

• This slope makes it uncomfortable to place the foot on it. Forcing me to rest my left leg slightly to the right side, than I normally do.
  I'm sure on highway drives with fewer gear changes, the left leg is going to complain

Accessory mounting points at the base of center fascia

• To make up for the unusable phone holder next to the Charging ports, Jimny offers accessory mounting points nearby. A fish-net type holder can be affixed on either side of the transmission tunnel to park the phone.
• Amazon Japan sells this much needed accessory

Accessory mounting points on the dashboard

Jimny is practically & legally a 4-seater. The car can seat only 2 passengers in the rear seat.


Rear seats

• Arm rest is conspicuous by its absence
• The middle part of the seat is a single & continuous piece of cushion. In case a rear passenger wants to sit in the middle for a good view ahead - it's comfortable enough. But the centre portion of the seat has no dedicated seat belt.
• Rear seats are equipped with ISOFIX anchors
• Rear seat belts are also not height adjustable

Most Jimnys on the road will have rear seats looking like this

• There are no load sensors in the rear seats. The Seat belt reminder alarms chimes for 90 seconds after every engine switch on if the rear seat belts are not belted in.
• The rear cabin lights are also yellow colour

Rear seat belt buckles are housed in a recess

• Buckle can be tucked inside when rear seats are folded - giving a flat seat bottom

Rear seat legroom, having set the front seat for a 6-footer

• Two 6 footers can sit one behind the other. The rear 6-footer passenger will have 1 inch clearance between their knees and the front seat back
• Notice the front seat back pockets on both seats

Max leg room in rear seats

• Front seat has been set to the maximum forward position (seat base touches the dashboard)

Rear seat recline angles

• The rear seats can be set at 2 angles of recline.

• The reclined position is comfortable, most passengers would prefer this setting
• The upright position is a bit too upright. Passengers with lower back pain will prefer this position.

Rear seats can be folded 50:50

• Rear ISOFIX anchors for the rear seat are visible

The recline angles are set using this hard mounting points

• The mounting points are integrated with the C pillar. It feels strong and robust

Space in rear footwell

• After the rear seats are folded down, there is space in the rear footwell to store a couple of duffel bags

Rear door pad

• There are no storage options in the rear door pads
• The handrail has an accessory mounting point where a cupholder could be mounted

Rear power window switch

• Quirky power window switch for the Jimny's rear window (like the Honda Brio)
• Only 2/3rds of the rear window are openable. This is because of the shape of the door, over which the latter 1/3rd of the window sits.

Child lock on rear doors

Maruti claims the boot is 211L in size.
To my untrained eye, the boot looks to be larger. Possibly because Maruti is measuring the size till where the parcel tray should have been, and my eyes are imagining loading up to the top of the rear seats.


Rear boot door and opening

• Boot door opens 90 degrees. Need to be careful when parked at tight spaces

Boot space with rear seats up

• Rear parcel shelf is conspicuous by its absence. Outsiders can see what is inside the boot - big security risk
• Notice the 2 level rear seat recline settings - each seat can recline to either setting individually
• Hazard warning reflective sign (triangle) for size reference

Boot space with rear seats down

• Rear seats do not fit in flush with the floor when folded.
  The loading region is also not smooth - there is a step up when luggage encounters the folded rear seat.
• 3-door Jimny has a claimed 377L of boot space with rear seats down (albeit the seats fit flush with the floor in the 3 door version).
  Unsure how much luggage space the 5-door version has with the rear seats down

Boot door inside cladding & hydraulic strut

• Boot door is hydraulically assisted for opening. The hydraulic strength feels weak - unsure how long this will hold up.

Rear defogger connections

• Rear defogger connections are exposed on the Jimny and are an eyesore.
• Amazon Japan sells a protective cover for the Defogger electrical connectors

Boot light & auxiliary 12V/120W power socket

• Boot light is also yellow colour and can be turned off

Accessory holes in the Boot

• These accessory holes look like they were meant for a rear parcel tray.
  Strongly feel Maruti should have provided this as standard from the factory.
• Rear seats are locked in the upright position in this image. The lock position for the reclined setting is visible.

Puncture tool kit

• Notice the absence of any locking lug nut key. Maruti uses the same standard lug nuts throughout the car.
  Need to get locking nuts installed on all 5 tyres

Front

• The Jimny is very square. The round headlamps compliment the retro theme well. A throwback to the Gypsy's headlamps.

Yellow lights on the Zeta variant

• Fog lamps are not standard on the Zeta variant. They have been added from Nexa
• I prefer the yellow lights to the white ones - they perform better in the rain and fog.

Front three-quarter view

• My favourite viewing angle of the Jimny. The car looks purposeful but not intimidating.
• Notice the bluish black colour under the sun. A tinge of blue can be seen in the paint

Under the shade, the paint job looks black

• Note the absence of fog lamps - with a blank slot. This is the standard front bumper for the Zeta variant

Wiper & washer

• Old school washer nozzle mounted on the bonnet.
• Wipers feel very old school and relatively flimsy. The wiper sweep area is good.

Side profile

• Jimny is very square and boxy. Helps with better space inside the car.

Rear three-quarter view



Front door

• Front door opens wide. Access inside is easy - thought it is a step up inside the cabin & a strain for elderly passengers

Front window

• Front window rolls down almost all the way

Rear door

• Rear doors opens decently wide. But not as much as the front doors.
• The space between the seat and the B pillar is limited, and a hand grab rail is missing. Elderly passengers will find it a chore to get inside the cabin.

Rear window

• Rear widows roll down all the way
• Note only 2/3rds of the window rolls down. The latter third of the rear window is fixed.

Front doors open wider than the rear doors


Fuel cap

• The Fuel filler cap is on the right side of the car
• The Jimny is up to E20 petrol compliant

Rear

• Again a very square design. Spare tyre is mounted on the boot door and partially blocks the view out of the IRVM
• Rear wiper and washer are seen in this picture
• The rear tyre juts out ~20cm from the end of the rear door

Rear bumper

• All lights are placed low on the bumper. Heightened damage risk to the lights from unruly bikers.
• Notice the rear view camera mounted just above the number plate. The Camera is mounted too far down to see what is 10ft behind the car. It also accumulates grime very fast.

Roof

• The roof is corrugated / ribbed for added structural stability
  There are no roof rails or a Sunroof
• The antenna is short and Stubby - in character with the Jimny
• The water conduits are old school - reminds me of Ashok Leyland buses of the 1990s. It also collects a lot of dust.

Engine bay

• The Engine is longitudinally mounted in the Jimny
• The air intake is placed behind the right headlamp. This does not mean that the Jimny has ~3ft water wading ability.
  Max water wading limit is 300mm (1ft), as prescribed by Maruti. This is due to the risk of water entry into the differentials.

Wheels

• The Zeta variant comes with Black steel wheels from the factory.
• Tyre size - 195/80/R15 on 5.5J rims
• No locking lug nuts on any of the wheels

Tyre Pressure

• Recommended tyre pressures are 26psi both front and rear without luggage and 29psi for the rear with passengers and luggage.
• I'll be maintaining 26psi for all tyres at all times in the interest of a more compliant ride

Zeta variant gets a 7" infotainment system, shared with other models in the Maruti stable. This is an old and tested unit.
The Alpha variant comes with a 10" screen, which juts out above the dashboard and blocks view of the front left of the vehicle for shorter drivers. There are also reports of the 10" screen freezing up occasionally.

Infotainment screen on startup

• Touchscreen is smooth to use and I've not encountered any lag yet.
  Steering mounted buttons also instantly refresh content on the infotainment screen
• Audio notifications on startup and other warnings can be turned off from the infotainment screen. I abhor vehicles which talk to me. I'm happy to be shown a warning light on the dashboard to point to what is not working right.

Infotainment screen under the sun

• Split screen for maps & music. This will be the view I use the most
• I'm no audiophile and listen to music at a low volume. The audio quality is satisfactory for me.
• Audio & microphone quality on phone calls are poor. Both sides of the call hear a low and boomy voice.

Maps via Apple car play

• On startup, the phone instantly pairs with the car. There is no lag or fiddling needed with the settings.
• The screen is sharp and easy to read while driving too

Trip data on infotainment screen

• Vehicle automatically logs trip info for each trip.
• The system is smart enough to identify if a vehicle has been turned off for a few minutes and restarted. It considers the whole trip as one.
• I saw claimed efficiency figures of 14.5 kmpl for a 50km drive inside the city, which took me 2hrs.
  If this number is +-10%, I'm elated. Any 2-digit fuel economy will keep me satisfied.

Reverse camera

• Reverse camera is mounted very low on the rear bumper - just above the number plate. This makes the spare wheel & cover just out behind the camera
• The guide lines are static
• When an obstacle reaches the red line - the spare wheel is 4 inches from the obstacle. At this point, the reverse sensors make a single continuous beep.

Multi information drivers display (MID)

The MID is informative and shows data including:

• Range (Distance to empty) - This fluctuates wildly and is difficult to trust.
• Average speed
• Driving Time
• Instantaneous fuel economy
• Average fuel economy
• Which door is open

Driving impressions

• The Jimny has good low-end torque, it pulls cleanly from a gear higher than I'd expect. Decent torque to pull the car with the engine speeds above 1250rpm
• The resting engine speed is ~750rpm, which seems to be a little on the lower side for a petrol engine.
• When in the 5th gear, 1750rpm brings up 60kmph, 2000rpm brings up 70kmph. This is the most relaxed cruising speed for the Jimny.
  The Jimny is quite efficient in cruising speeds of around 60-70kmph. Indicated mileage was 17kmpl over a 60km stretch.
• On the highways, 80-90kmph would be the comfortable steady state speed - without too much engine noise.
  80kmph chime isn't intrusive. Wind noise filters into the cabin post 80kmph.
• There is enough pep in the engine for any city driving & the for the hills.
• On the highway, the engine runs out of breath. Boxy shape of the car doesn't help with the aerodynamics either.
  I do not intend to use this as a highway car, unless to reach a hill station, so it doesn't bother me.
• If the Jimny encounters expansion joints / a rumble strip mid-corner, at speeds greater than 50kmph, the rear is unsettled and tries to step out.
• I have not done any off-road trails with the Jimny yet - so can't comment how it drives there.
• Lots of engine & ambient noise filters into the cabin. It is annoyingly loud when in crowded situations. I'm considering whether to get an under-bonnet insulation and sound dampening materials installed in the doors.

View from the driver's seat

• The glass area in the Jimny is expansive - so cabin feels airy. Visibility all around is good.
• Taller drivers will find the seat set a touch too high. The roof eats into the visibility of the sky above. Conversely the high seats would be a boon in off-road situations.
• The taller cabin means, I no longer have to be annoyed about following a SUV where I cant see thru their windscreen to see what is ahead of them (to anticipate road conditions ahead better).

Gear lever vibrates on startup. (click on the image to see the gif)

• I was expecting the Jimny to be raw & mechanical, but this intensity of vibration in the gear lever was unexpected.
  It is not a bother though. When in gear, the lever doesn't vibrate, but has a slight buzz when held.
• The 4wd lever has no vibrations, in any of the 3 modes

Gear lever is buzzy when in gear and in motion - but it does not vibrate (click on the image to see the gif)



Driver side ORVM

• The ORVMs are large and electrically adjustable in the Zeta variants, but not electrically foldable
• There is a large blind spot missed in these ORVMs. Anything next to the cars C pillar in the adjacent lane are not visible.
  As a safety feature, will need to add a smaller convex mirror on the ORVMs

Passenger side ORVM

• The ORVMs are matte black, with colour similar to the door handle. Alpha variants get a glossy black ORVM

View out of the IRVM

• Poor visibility via of the IRVM, due to the thick D pillar and the rear mounted spare tyre

Headlamps - Low beam

• Low beam lights are sufficient in cities, where there is reasonable ambient light from other cars / street lights

Headlamps - Low beam + Fog lights



Headlamps - High beam

• High beam lights are sufficiently bright for use on the highway, especially at the comfortable cruising speeds of 80-90 kmph.
  Drive any faster and an upgrade would be meaningful

Headlamps - High beam + Fog lights

Realistically, this Jimny is going to see 65% city roads, 30% highways, 4% hilly roads and 1% off-tarmac.
I prefer not to make any electrical or mechanical changes to any vehicle we have. Factory fit and warranties are highly valued.

• That being said, the only electrical addition to this car are the Fog lamps (though it is the same unit in the Alpha variant & fitted by the Nexa dealer - I do not consider it a factory installation)

I intend to keep this Jimny mechanically and electrically stock. The car will be serviced only at Maruti service centres, even after warranty period ends. I do not see the value in going to FNGs for routine maintenance when authorised showrooms are not that much more expensive.

• However, if any specialist attention is required (say for the differential) - I'll be visiting non-ASS specialists.

Since the cabin is devoid of creature comforts, I have a few functional modifications planned. I'm firm on not wanting to drill any holes to install accessories. The Jimny has been sold from 2018 in Japan, many aftermarket parts are available on Amazon Japan.

These accessories below, I intend to get them affixed.

Arm rest - from Amazon Japan. It fits in the existing centre cup holder

• Pros - An armrest + closed storage under the armrest. Rear passengers get 1 cup holder.
• Cons - Lose 1 of the 2 cupholders. The 2nd cup holder now can't hold tall bottles.
• Price - INR 3,800

Cup holder + phone holder

• Pros - Additional cup holder
• Cons - Restricts air flow from the side vent when mounted on drivers side
• Price - INR 1,400

Rear defogger cover

• Pros - Covers the eyesore
• Price -INR 700

For the set of accessories below, I'm yet to take a call on whether I'd go ahead.

Cupholder next to low range gear lever

• Pros - Empty space converted to a cup holder & a slot to park a wallet
• Cons - The space there is carpeted already and I use it to park my wallet. Enclosed from 4 sides, so wallet doesn't slip away.
  Why add a piece of plastic when it doesn't add functionality
• Price - INR 1,500

Dashboard Tray

• Pros - Place to park wallet & phone
• Cons - Phone & wallet would be directly under the sun
• Price - INR 2,000

Damping material in the doors

• Pros - Quieter cabin
• Cons - Possible rattle from the doors after opening factory fit door pads
• Price - Unaware, need to enquire

Under bonnet damping

• Pros - Quieter cabin & bonnet won't get too hot
• Cons - Engine bay might get too hot. Would it affect the engine temperature & the plastic components in the engine bay?
• Price - INR 3,000

A lot has been discussed about the launch pricing of the Jimny.
My take is that - I do not think that the Jimny represents VFM at 15.4L for Zeta MT.

• I've paid a price of 10.85L for the Zeta MT (11.15L lifetime considering BH registration & reducing value of money with time)

BH series registration:

• BH series registration is helping me save ~1L Rs over 15 years. Though this helps the wallet, it isn't my biggest benefit. I'd happily pay Rs 1L over the local RTO charges, If it meant I could choose BH registration.
• I work in a transferable job and not having to deal with the local cops & escaping potential attacks by some elements of the local population (Like the recent incidents at Bangalore) are worth paying extra for.

BH series - tax calculation

• Road tax for BH series is calculated on Ex-showroom price (-) GST.
• For petrol cars with this number < 10L Rs, 8% is the road tax (for 15 years).
• Only 2/15 of the tax is payable every alternate year (Note - this number is fixed for the subsequent payments (for now))

Very detailed information of the Jimny. It’s quite interesting from the choices you started with. It feels like more of acquired taste owning the Jimny.
I found it very helpful as someone who is on a lookout for a boxy car / SUV.
From much of the description the car feels like utility wagon, minimal or adequate on comfort, little abuse friendly, good ground clearance.
Since it’s a compact vehicle on a ladder frame chassis it’s something of an individual thing to like.
Though this review of yours definitely pushes me to take a test drive.
Thanks again for exhaustive details.

Lovely write up with exceptional details captured in the photos, the narration just flowed with the images.
The Zeta variant seems like what the Jimny has always been intended for - a value for money, unpretentious, functional (cheerful!) off roader. The price you acquired it for, makes hatchbacks in the vicinity look bloated, let alone CSUVs.

You're spot on with this. Its got no pretensions about being sporty or any business being a family daily car.
Its a great weekend car with acceptable levels of comfort and a large dollop of joy.