[katoom]

He came home on the Sunday, May 19th 2024.

The air was buzzing with excitement as we haven't had a new car experience in ages. We thought Milo and Sasha would also be curious to see their new 4X4 and hence, took them along to the NEXA showroom while most of Bangalore was still sleeping or just lazing around. Tashi, the accomplished Polo GT, though a bit miffed with this whole idea, loyally tagged along. I repeatedly told him that the new boy is nothing like him and not a replacement either (I hope so!).
Milo's first comment was - too tall for a pug but I will take it, it's a 4X4, just like me.. Sasha grumbled something in the lines of - such a tiny car for a lab girl.. I gotta again make space for that arrogant old pug or face heat from parents..

I had asked for a very discreet and simple delivery of handing over the key with a couple of pictures and get on the road right away.
Wife had to sign couple of papers as she's the owner via company car leasing. We gifted Kumar, the sales advisor, with a token of our appreciation for all the hard work and persistence (you will know more on this later) and the seamless paperwork. With all of that done and a prayer in the lips, started Limo towards home. Kumar had kindly agreed to drive back Tashi behind us.

Delivery - Limo is born!





I overheard the wife telling someone over the phone that I was not to be found for a couple of days after this and was mostly in the basement. That was not entirely false

Well, all of the content assimilated over the Team BHP logs, ownerships, photos and YouTube videos had to be verified, applied and enjoyed!
Plus, I did have some toys ordered well in advance to the delivery. Hence, I can shamelessly admit of having an extremely itchy finger to mess around the car.

The very first thing I did once we got back home is changing the grill. Being half grease-monkey (thanks to the Bullet days), did this myself and to be honest, it's a fairly simple task. Spent about 30 mins but was mostly to ensure not over tightening the screws and breaking the plastic grooves. Was very disappointed to just use one crosshead screwdriver and a smaller flat head for the whole task from my pretty capable toolkit.



The Jimny looks so much natural and handsome with the new grill! This is how it should have been shipped from the factory - not with that chrome laden abomination.

Next was the defogger wire shroud. Cheap exclusion but added to an equally cheap thrill of installing this accessory.
Both the above items were from Swastik Fabs - was lucky to have found one last piece of the grill and the owner was extremely prompt and professional in explaining the details and coordinating with the delivery boy.

Enough has been explained about the ridiculous rear seat belt warning beeps. Despite the hatred, had to buy seat belt plugs to shut them off.



Another immediate, low hanging fruit was the dome lamp bulbs. Although am an ardent advocate of warm white lamps (home, cars, everywhere!), had to go with the white LEDs for these just because there was no availability of warm white ones here. Perhaps will switch when I find a reasonably priced on or have someone get it from abroad. The focus here was to improve the visibility in the cabin and the change did bring a unmistakable change.





I have come to appreciate the armrest a lot since I got it for the Polo - makes a huge difference in the long distance driving comfort. Hence, did not waste much time in deliberating if it's needed, just went with the available option from Amazon. I do really want the individual armrests from Street track but considering the steep sticker price, will be a future upgrade.




For now, this one does the job, just about!
Wife and me had a giggle talking about possible fights for the armrest leading to it's quick disintegration..
Made a mental note: Make the not-so-liked folks by making them peer over it when I press the lid opening switch. The stiff spring action of the lid can possibly damage the nose or dent a tooth!

Never got the chance to use the Team BHP stickers on Tashi but had ordered it this time. Stuck it on the boot door.

Lowered the tire pressure to 28psi from around 43 in each tire. I feel 26 is too low although it's the recommended pressure - open to hear from others on this.

GFX floor mats were delayed by Zapcart and reached only a week later - I expected soft plastic but these are harder ones. Not a fan of these but will use them. I believe in giving business to local folks in the country but it's so hard to deal with folks who are not professional - I had to keep asking for an update. Delay is acceptable but not the bad communication.

I had asked for ZERO stickers on the car from the showroom - but there was one sneaky NEXA sticker on the rear windshield that asked for removal.

After using the Jimny within the city, felt that the small tray around the 4X4 lever is actually a necessity. The quality is fair enough. Again, not the softer material of the Japanese version.

Even a entry level car from VW spoils you with the quality and features. The Jimny's key fob is cheap. Hence, ordered a good looking cover.
This one was expensive but it's a gift to the wife and I don't usually splurge.


The amount of money being spent on stuff which should have been part of the factory spec car (18+ L!!!) makes me upset (bordering on outrage).

On the pricing:
Since we opted for the car leasing, the discount offered on the Alpha AT was only 50K and 15K worth free accessories for the MY2024 Jimny.
The official accessories list was hardly appealing for me but I eventually went with this:

• Mud flaps.
• Seat covers.
• Illuminated sill plates (I have come to love these because of the subtle, useful light it throws in pitch dark conditions).
• Sun shades.
• Luggage hooks (asked for these to be installed on the boot tray mounts with M6 bolts).
• Brown cladding on the hand grips (not a fan of the color or texture but thought it adds a bit of comfort).

Also asked Kumar to get the spare wheel cover removed. Unfortunately the hub cap was out of stock. Another day's shopping I suppose.

Features:
Seat belt alarm for the navigator seat is one my precious joys. I am tired of folks (my father, father in law, wife) all snubbing me and looking down upon me as if I have committed a serious crime by asking them to buckle up. While we were on the short highway run, the alarm started blaring and wife hurriedly buckled up and I had a long, uncontrollable hearty laugh and mentioned that Maruti did what I failed to do these many years Revenge is indeed sweet!

Driving impressions:
We have only managed to do two short runs of 100kms each towards the airport. As of June 2, the odometer stands at 250 odd kms. Not too bad considering the overwhelming work days for both of us.



This is wife's primary car and I intend to get her back to the driving mindset so that my driver duty is reduced and I can also catch few breaks during the highway runs.






Nandi Hills in the backdrop..


Cant not appreciate a view of the rear!





Night view of the central console

The Rationale (or the lack of it!):
My mind, heart and soul is of a biker - been doing that for more than 16 years so that would explain a lot of things with the perspective here. But after the Trans-Siberian Odyssey in 2017, I got couple of disc bulges, thanks to the crazy river crossings in deep Siberia and pulling the bikes took a toll. So, the rehab period meant little or no riding for a couple of years. That's how Tashi, the Polo GT (born 2017 Nov) came in. He's the closest I could think of as a replacement for riding and the mode S does lift the spirits on any given day!
We got Tashi as a pre-owned route back in October 2020 with hardly 16K on the odo. Thanks Minkle, for keeping this boy in top shape! He now stands at around 38K and has been phenomenally well behaved with enjoyable trips.

But for the love of god, my wife doesn't like driving the Polo and kept saying that she's not comfortable driving an automatic after we sold her priced Alto K10 in 2022.

Both of us loved the Jimny and it's compact for her taste considering the city drives which made me call up the NEXA showroom for a first look in flesh. My first impression is that it's tiny! And then I kind of found the interior plastic quality mediocre. As I mentioned earlier, the simple Polo's buttons/dials/door handles are all so well built, confidence inspiring and tactile. I could sit in the back seat with ample leg room - am 6' and athletic build. That was good, although we mostly had Milo and Sasha with us in the back seat unless our parents were in town, which is rare.

Next logical step was to ask for a test drive - this was in Jan 2024. So, it was Kumar who came with a Jimny Alpha AT as requested and we went for a nice, long 30 odd kms test drive, part of it on the highway. For a guy who drives a turbo petrol, I didn't find the Jimny SLOW or the acceleration inadequate.

What blew my mind was the fantastic suspension which soaked up all the (naturally terrible Bangalore) roads threw at it. I even gave a heads up to the folks inside the cabin about the rough ride test and at the end everyone seemed rattled but there were no complaints about broken bones or aching muscles. Jimny was a clear winner here.

At the end of this test drive, we were undecided. When the car leasing company came up with the EMI figures, we both felt it was an unnecessary expenditure which had no real use case. Hence, to make the plan financially sane, I suggested her to go for the Ignis Alpha MT which is almost half the price. This was one car I really like in the Suzuki stable. She agreed and I made a booking for Alpha MT after a test drive. Again, Kumar was the guy who handled the test drive.
This was around mid March. The leasing ball was set rolling, I went for the PDI of the car which was a MY '23 (nice 1L discount on it) - found quite a few faded paint patches and was a big turn off. Rejected the car and came home dejected. Since the leasing company had a freeze period until mid of April, we parked the whole idea and focused on other things.

Early April, wife comes back and says that she finds the Ignis funny and that she doesn't like it. I was speechless - sheepishly messaged Kumar about the offers on Jimny MT because the woman didn't want to drive AT. He took it well and we again did a test drive to be sure of our choice.

But I had asked the sales advisor to get the AT and try brainwashing my wife about what a pain a MT can be in the city. I am a convert after owning the GT and will never go back to a manual tranny unless it's for short joy rides. There's just no point in burning energy and undue stress factor with working the clutch so often. Plus, I LOVE cruise control on the highways (sometimes, even in the city when the roads are free, doing a nice 30-50 kmph cruise).
After a lot of unwarranted backlash and trauma for suggesting the AT and explaining about how it's gonna make life easy for her, she said, "Okay, let's go with the AT". Finally, we decided that a dark grey Jimny Alpha AT is the one we would like to get. I do love the fluorescent yellow but it gathers a lot of attention.

That was the end of the drama - did a thorough PDI on May 12th and found there were no red flags. Car was manufactured in Jan 2024 and had about 70kms on the odo as the new yard was quite far out from the showroom.

Some pics from PDI:








Saying bye and take care until the delivery!





In the future!:

• Throttle controller for sure (Oct 28: I am not so sure, perhaps the GAN chip).
• Better speakers.
• Aux lamp (this is an old infection from the riding days but also a necessity now)
• Thinking if I should get the Farad antitheft nuts.
• Aluminum pedal covers (mostly greed).
• Iridium spark plugs.
• After decades of messing around with FF air filters, I believe the cheap, stock filters are in the best interest of longevity and maintenance.
• Would love to get an awning but there's no reasonable options here - do suggest if you know of any.
• Not planning any tire upgrades until the current set are worn out. The stock ones would suffice for our use cases.

[katoom]

Oct 28, 2024:
Odometer: 4289kms.

Limo has done quite well so far, the service is scheduled for tomorrow. I haven't had the time to take him for the 1K inspection but wasn't really worried since I usually keep a tab on the vitals. We managed to do few highway runs to a farm in Kodagu and I did a solo run to visit my parents in Ujire. My parents were very impressed with the Jimny and fell in love instantly! Wife's parents like it too. But I did notice that elderly folks struggle to climb on to the rear seat.

Few pictures from the drives so far:

The most monstrous and enthusiastic driver in the family - Milo!



Sasha is done for the day.
Pet parents in Bangalore - do take the kids out to Neralu Organics near Kanakapura. Wonderful place for humans and the fur babies.



Charmady Ghat


Charmady Ghat


Loaded!
Decent boot space if you use the space well. This is one of my haphazard days.









Latest impression (in no specific order):

• Very happy little jeep, easy to drive around anywhere.
• Surprisingly decent interior space but not so great rear seat for longer runs.
• Great air conditioner and UV cut glass helps a lot too.
• Great suspension but sometimes this is a weakness during spirited runs.
• Audio system just suffices (I love music but holding off from spending on upgrade yet).
• Highway runs are manageable until 110 kmph. The drone after that is way too annoying for my liking. It's almost similar to the Bat mobile's whiz noise and kind of drives me crazy with the sustained noise.
• But you can do 120kmph all day if you can ignore this drone.
• Braking is not to my liking - it's way too spongy and lacks the bite.
• Absolute crowd puller and attention grabber, anywhere and everywhere!
• Very few vehicles can take off road/bad road and no roads as this jeep. Unmatched comfort and confidence after using 4x4 high quite a few times (as others have already mentioned, quite capable in 2WD mode too).
• LED headlamps are quite good to maintain a 90 - 100kmph cruise at night.
• Turning radius in the city is a massive pain in the rear.
• Peace of mind considering the Japanese engine and tranny. Simple electronics compared to most current vehicles but most essential features and comfort are part of the package.

Things that annoy me to no end:

• Wiper speed - just not able to set it to a good speed for moderate rains to keep the windshield clear.
• Infotainment unit - I don't know what the engineers at Suzuki were thinking, but it gives a horrible glare on a sunny day and I am forced to lean forward and peep at it every now and then. Unpardonable.
• Loud alert sounds - does anyone know the location of the buzzer? I have already turned off the ones I can using the infotainment unit.
• The stupid auto-start stop feature. I got to get the coupler to turn this off as I do not like my vehicles turning off unless it's intentionally done.
• Useless boot lamp.
• The need to explicitly unlock the door first using the latch if I have to open my door from the inside.
• The speedo console doesn't show the total kms driven so far or total drive time but only shows a consolidated drive time.
• Fuel efficiency is below par - Limo hovers around 12.5kmpl.
• Gear shifter doesn't have an illuminated display to show the mode.

My honest opinion now is that unless you have a specific use case, the Jimny will be an absolute bore in the highway runs for folks who are a bit on the enthusiastic side of driving, like me. I love effortlessly cruising between 110-120 kmph with occasional bursts and accelerations. But, in my case, I can digest that compromise by using Limo in places where he thrives and goes with the confidence of not getting stuck!

I am looking forward to install the GAN chip soon and see how that improves this already good package of a jeep. Any owners who have done this, please do share your thoughts.

Ending this post with my favorite pic:



Updates to follow..

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Red Liner]

Dear dear Katoom, my lovely lively friend!

What a wonderful surprise and update this is! Wishing you, the wife and your kids s wonderful time with the newest addition to the growing family!

Does this mean we finally get to meet again after Covid? I might have someone to introduce as well...

[the.dogfather]

Congratulations on the Jimny.
For the rear seat belt reminder , you can get two pet seat belts for your dogs and leave it plugged in instead of the seat belt plug. That will take care of the alarm and you have a seat belt to latch on to the dog harness when Milo and Sasha are in the rear seats.

[Lone Ranger]

Originally Posted by katoom

[b]
Loaded!
Decent boot space if you use the space well. This is one of my haphazard days.

Very well written ! May I suggest a cargo net - with the variety of mounting points the Jimny offers you can pretty much get the net set up any which way you want.

And if you haven't already, try Amazon Japan for accessories, the quality difference is palpable, and at least for me, fitting the higher priced stuff in the car right from the get go works out okay if you keep the car for a long time.

P.S - the best carseat is the one that comes with dog hair

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by katoom

• The stupid auto-start stop feature. I got to get the coupler to turn this off as I do not like my vehicles turning off unless it's intentionally done

I am looking forward to install the GAN chip soon and see how that improves this already good package of a jeep. Any owners who have done this, please do share your thoughts.

Get the coupler from Simply Jimny forum. Solves the start stop problem.

I have transferred the Gan chip from my 2007 Grand Vitara to my Jimny AT. I have driven about 400 kms since. The dynamic mode does make the Jimny more fun to drive. And it improves mileage also.

My initial take - the OE sparks do result in quite a lot of misfiring. Iridium spark plugs are not available for the Jimny. But a lot of people have fitted Rhomedium sparks and are happy with them. A dear friend of mine has fitted them on friday. His initial reaction is positive.