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Presenting our 2023 Maruti Jimny Alpha MT

Index

Why Jimny?

Dealership Experience

Pros & Cons

Exterior

Interior

Lights, wipers & defoggers

Driving the Jimny

Taking the Jimny off the road

Living with the Jimny

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Why a new car?

We were more than happy with our Duster AWD.



But then a few factors made us reconsider retaining our Duster.

If I list a few-

• The frequent diesel bans on NCR. This made me think about the future of BS4 diesel cars.
• The fuel injectors in the Duster were already very sensitive, but especially when the BS6 diesel came into the picture, I was not very sure how they would hold up in the long run.
• The car was out of warranty, and any parts replacement in the Duster was pretty costly.
• The availability of spare parts off the shelf was not always the case. For a few spares, we had to place an order and wait for a few days. This made me think about what would happen if something went wrong while on a trip. We can be stuck for a few days.
• Especially after the launch of so many new 4wds, the resale value of the Duster was declining fast.

Plus the discounts Maruti offered on the Jimny were one of the major deciding factors too.

Which cars did we consider?

The budget we fixed was roughly Rs 20L.
A few things that were non-negotiable-

• It had to be an AWD/4x4
• Manual transmission
• We were strictly looking for

petrol

These ruled out the ScorpioN & the Gurkha. The XUV7oo AWD was not in my consideration. It was too sophisticated for my liking! I wanted something that would be more raw & abuse-friendly.

Though diesel, I still loved the Compass AWD, but at that price, we could have grabbed the Hilux with all the discounts Toyota was offering! I have always drooled on a red Hilux! If the above cars were available in petrol with an AWD/4x4, this ownership review could have been for a different car!

So the options left for us were the Maruti Jimny, Toyota Hyryder AWD/Maruti Grand Vitara AWD & the Thar Petrol MT.

Toyota Hyryder AWD/ Maruti Grand Vitara AWD -



Checked the Hyryder AWD & the Grand Vitara AWD. But I couldn't justify paying Rs 20L for a car that will have better features than the Duster but will be a downgrade in terms of performance and capability. I am not even bothered about some of the features these cars offer. Had the manufacturers given the Grand Vitara AWD in Sigma or Zeta trim, or the Hyryder AWD in 'J' or 'G' trim, I would have considered any of these. I was not ready to shell out Rs 20L for a car providing 103 Bhp and 137NM torque! If I let go of the AWD, at Rs 20L cars like Kushaq/Taigun 1.5 are available!

Mahindra Thar Petrol MT HT



I checked out the petrol Thar. I loved the car.
But it was not a practical choice for me. The lack of rear doors made accessing the rear seats a cumbersome affair for elderly people. The boot space was surprisingly much less. The ride quality felt a bit bouncy.
Finally, after some quick math, I let it go.
With the current price of petrol, and considering the low mileage of the Thar, it turned out to be less economical & impractical for my purpose.

Maruti Jimny MT



I was eyeing the Jimny for a long time. There was no immediate plan to get the Jimny. I casually took a few test drives and drove it off the road too. I liked the car, though, I was well aware of the shortcomings of the Jimny.
But I always felt paying 16L+ for the Jimny was not worth it. It felt overpriced by a couple of lac rupees'.

In December 2023 when Maruti came up with a good discount, then it was no barrier for me to pick up the Jimny. I got a good deal for my Duster from Cars24 and I let the Duster go, and bring in the Jimny.

Why do I opt for the Alpha variant over the Zeta?

1. Cruise control
2. Tinted glass
3. Fog lamps
4. Alloy wheels

What do I like in the Zeta variant over the Alpha?

It has got a key to start the car! I hate this push-button switch!
The yellow halogen bulbs can be upgraded in the Zeta, whereas I can't do much to the stock-led lights of the Alpha!
The stock rims on the Zeta look cool.

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Dealership experience

We bought the car from Machino Techno, BT Road, Kolkata. The deal they gave was fantastic and the lowest we could get in Kolkata.

The final OTR price was Rs 14.42L.
This included the following-
Comprehensive B2B insurance with RTI.
5 years extended warranty
2 years CCP
Life Time Tax
Thunder Kit

However, the dealership experience was strictly subpar.

They promised me an OCT/NOV manufactured car, but when I did the PDI, it turned out to be manufactured in July. Overall the car passed all the parameters during the PDI, so I went ahead with the purchase.

A couple of pics from the PDI day-





I asked them to get the insurance from Tata AIG, Go Digit, or ICICI Lombard, and they agreed on that, but without my permission they got it done from Iffco Tokio. I had a bad experience with Iffco Tokio with my Ford Figo earlier, so I wanted to avoid it.
I asked them for a registration number which ends with an odd number. As my other car ends with an even number. So by any chance, if the odd/even rules come into the picture in West Bengal, I can have one car at my disposal anytime. They ended up giving me an even number.
The good part is, though I got an even number, the number looks fancy.
On the delivery day, the cleanup was shoddy and I could see a lot of swirl marks on the black paint.

A couple of pics from the delivery day-

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Pros & cons

Pros-

Peace of mind. Be it the mechanicals of the car, after-sales service, or the rough roads, one does not have to worry about it.

This car can easily cruise between 90-110 km/hr on the highways for the whole day. I have pushed the car to higher speeds too, it can reach high speeds, but that is pointless in a Jimny. It's not meant for that.

The body-roll & ride quality are quite sorted for a body-on-frame car. I will not compare it with the Duster, but it is quite sorted if I look at this car individually.

The small footprint with high ground clearance is just tailor-made for rough hilly terrain. This car is very easy to drive under any circumstances.

In 2WD itself this car is highly capable. At places where local drivers suggested 4WD will be required, with the ESP off in 2WD mode this car easily crossed those sections.
This car is a mighty capable off-roader even in its stock form. During off-roading, the Allgrip-Pro with all the electronic aids works like a charm.

The ESP is very aggressive. Even before the tires screech on fast turns, the ESP gets activated and cuts off the power.

The AC is a chiller, & the heater works like a charm.

The 1.5L NA engine is super tractable for perfect throttle modulation on steep inclines or bad roads. I felt the throttle input to be perfect too. I won't be going for an additional throttle controller.

Regarding the stock tires, all I can say is, that it's adequate for touring. For serious off-roading, it's better to upgrade.

Fuel economy. This might come as a surprise, but the manual easily delivers a mileage of 11+ in bumper-to-bumper city traffic, and on the highways, it is possible to get a mileage of 14-15 km/L. No other body-on-frame petrol SUV with a 4WD delivers this kind of mileage!

Cons-

This is not a fast car. If you want to keep pace with the turbo diesel/petrol SUVs, one has to work a lot on downshifting and revving the engine to higher rpm. Still, you will lose them most of the time, if they get an open stretch of road!

The brakes are strictly average. It's best to rely on engine braking while driving fast. Avoid late braking with this car. Better tires might improve the braking a bit.

The rear suspension tune-up is not to my liking. Sometimes it feels a bit too bouncy and with load, it sags down a lot!

Maruti made the 5-door Jimny to fit more people in comfortably, but they forgot to look at the modularity part. Simple yet functional parts like an armrest, a dead pedal, a few more bottle holders, and some storage spaces are sorely missed.

The 3-door Jimny has a turning radius of 4.9M. With an increase in wheelbase of 300+ mm, the turning radius of the 5-door Jimny came to 5.7 meters which is cumbersome at times. This shows Maruti has made no changes to the front suspension/steering components to improve the turning radius.

40L fuel tank capacity is quite less. On highways, the sweet spot is to refuel after every 400 km, and on the hills, refueling after every 300 km is safer.

Space. The rear seat lacks under-thigh support and it won't be comfortable for a tall person during long distance travels.
Though the boot space is adequate to accommodate a couple of medium to large suitcases vertically, it's still quite small when compared to other SUVs. Though it's bigger than a Thar 3 door.

This is a car for 2 people if considered for long tours. The available space is at a premium. Families with kids will have a tough time accommodating their luggage for a long road trip.

Maruti is yet to solve a few niggles reported by the owners.

Do I dare to say road presence?

Can a Jimny be used as a primary car?

Yes, if the number of people on board will be limited to 2-3. This car officially is a 4-seater.

Who should buy the Jimny?

Serious off-roaders will enjoy this car. The scope for modification is endless.
People who frequently participate in car rallies.
A family of two or max three people can use this car for their daily drive, as well as road trips, plus fun weekend off-road drives.
As a second fun car for a bigger family.
This car is ideal for people who live on hills.
People who know the shortcomings of this car.

Who should not buy the Jimny?

People whose machismo depends on the size of a car!
Jokes apart, this is not a car for any regular person who puts his/her car into normal usage like going to the office and a few highway drives.
It's a strict no for families having more than 3 people. Going for more than a 500 km drive with 4 people on board won't be comfortable.
People who do not need a 4WD. A 4WD is not at all required for 99.9% of the people. And if the 4wd part is taken off from the Jimny the rest of the car is a compromise! Cars like Tata Punch or Ignis can serve the purpose of a 2WD Jimny at half of its price! At the price point of the Jimny, one can get much more accomplished cars. At Rs15-16L buying cars like the Honda City, Virtus/Slavia, Nexon, 3XO, Grand Vitara, Creta/Seltos, and many more makes much more sense than buying a Jimny.

Why the Jimny's market share is minuscule?

Firstly I will blame it on Maruti's greedy pricing at the time of its launch. It was way too close to the much bigger, more powerful & accomplished Thar.
People in India love butch and powerful SUVs. Jimny is nowhere close to it!
If you want to make a style statement or some show-off, the Jimny will not suffice in any of it, whereas an RWD Thar will suffice these needs with aplomb!
It does not have a 2WD version or a diesel version. Though I appreciate Maruti for this.
This car offers nothing special to a regular family man who needs a car for his/her daily purpose and these buyers dominate the majority of the market.
Jimny as an individual product is pretty unique & well-engineered, but Maruti failed to market it properly.

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Exterior

If a kid is asked to draw a Jeep, the closest the kid will come up with will be looking very similar to the Jimny!

Personally, I love the boxy design of the Jimny. This design has that retro feel. The dimensions are ideal for any kind of usage.



I love keeping my cars stock, so I have not changed the stock grille to the Sierra grille. The chromes do look odd. But as of now, I have not thought of any modifications.







There is nothing to write about the side profile of this car. If asked about the proportions, I find the 5-door Jimny to be quite proportionate. It does not look like a forcefully stretched version of the 3 door Jimny.





I find the rear design to be cute! The Jimny may be the only SUV, on which one can use the term cute!





It has a ribbed roof for additional strength.



The underbelly lacks protection. People who are into regular/serious off-roading can get the aftermarket underbelly protection installed. There are a lot of options available aftermarket for Jimny.
The most vulnerable part while off-roading is the radial arm guards.
The sump, oil filter, and front radiator are securely placed. It is hard to damage other components like the transfer case, silencer box, differentials, etc, unless one is too careless or abusing the vehicle beyond the limit.
For regular touring in hills or bad roads, no underbelly protection is required.





Safety and Build quality

The build quality seems to be better than the other Marutis. This car feels solid & well-built. The build quality of the Jimny can be compared to the S-Cross. The interior is well put together. The bonnet is heavy, the door closing sound is reassuring, and the boot door also feels heavy (that may be due to the spare wheel). Plus the boot door comes with a hydraulic strut, which ensures the door opens slowly on its own.
The overall build quality does not feel flimsy or light from any angle. But then again, it can't be compared with the Germans/Italians or our own desh ka Loha Tata & Mahindra!

The bonnet hood lacks an insulation material from the inside. The lid feels heavy to lift. I miss the hydraulic struts which was there in my previous Duster AWD.



The safety features provided by Maruti are- 3-point seatbelts (for both front & rear passengers), 6 airbags, BLD, ESP, ABS, EBD, HDC, hill-hold, ISOFIX child seat mounts, reversing camera, and rear parking sensors.
The HDC works only when the 4wd is engaged (10km/hr in 4H & 5 km/hr in 4L).
After giving all these, I have no idea why Maruti missed out on providing a TPMS for an off-road vehicle! Also giving an inclinometer & a 360-degree camera would have been a good addition!

Paint and fit & finish

The fit and finish are typical Japanese. The panel gaps are consistent all over.
From the initial days, the paint quality seems to be good, but it's too early to comment now. Let's see how the shine and the paint hold on for long-term usage.

Tires

The Jimny came with Bridgestone Dueller HL 195/80/R15 tires. The recommended tire pressure is 26 psi in all four tires, but when the car is fully loaded then it's recommended to fill 26 psi in front and 29 psi in the rear.
The Alpha came with all 5 alloy wheels. The alloys look good in a gun metal finish. I like the design and the look of the alloys.



Regarding the stock tires, all I can say is, that it's adequate for touring. For serious off-roading, it's better to upgrade. I have driven on slush, steep gravelly inclines in 2WD itself, and the tires never gave up. But they do not aid much confidence either!
On fast corners, the ESP kicks in a bit early, but maybe with a better tire, that will improve.
I will be happy if any company comes up with an AT tire with the stock size. I am not too keen to upgrade to a fatter tire on a 5.5J rim. The most common upgrade is the 215/75/R15, whereas 225/70/R15 is another good choice. I won't recommend anything beyond 225 on the stock rims. Anything beyond that must come with a new set of rims and a lift kit.

When I bought the car, everyone recommended I upgrade the tires. At that time the tyre shops were hardly giving something between Rs2000 to 3000 per stock tyre. The max I could get from the 5 tires was Rs15,000. So I was like, let's use the stock tires, and if I need to upgrade, the loss won't be much. Hence I kept the stock tyres and till now am okay with it. If anyone is not taking this car for regular OTRs the stock tires can be used.
To date, I have encountered a couple of punctures in this 7,500 km.

The jack mounting point to change a tire-

To mount on a hydraulic lift, the jacking point will be below the radial arm guard.
And when a single tire needs to be replaced the stock jack can also be mounted at the same place.



Ground Clearance

The ground clearance is 210 mm. Which is more than adequate for most of the situations. The approach angle is 36 degrees, the break-over angle is 24 degrees and the departure angle is a whopping 50 degrees. This makes the stock Jimny itself a go-anywhere vehicle!
At 2590 mm the wheelbase of the Jimny is longer than the Thar 3 door. But the 210 mm ground clearance managed to give this car a decent break-over angle.
The above specs are good enough to keep one safe during touring or some weekend off-roading. For serious off-roaders getting a lift kit is suggested!

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Interior

The interior looks funky, yet it's rugged. The fit and finish is quite good.
But there are quite a few very basic misses.

The main gear lever and the 4WD lever remind me of the vehicles from the 80s or 90s!

Lack of storage space.

Driving position & ergonomics

Like all Japanese cars, this car is no exception. It is ergonomically spot on. Finding the perfect seating position is not at all a problem. The only ergonomic disaster is the odd placement of the front power window switches!
The view from the driver's seat is commanding, which makes this car very easy to drive, backed up by its small dimensions and high seating position. Just a word of caution. While taking right turns the 'A' pillar sometimes causes a blind spot.

The A B & C pedals are places quite close. Heel-toe is easily doable.
A dead pedal is missing.



Seats

The front seats are supportive and comfortable for long journeys. The driver's seat lacks seat height adjustment & lumbar support, which are bad misses from Maruti.

These seat covers came with the Thunder edition pack, which is compatible with the front seat airbags.





Though Maruti claims, that one can sleep by aligning the front seat like this, it is not that comfortable. Best to be avoided. At most one can sit on the rear seat and stretch his/her legs over the front seat.



The rear seats are just okay. A better recline angle with more under-thigh support would have made it a perfect place to be. But sadly it lacks in both.
The legroom and headroom are good even for a tall person.
Ingress and outgress are easy, but I found elderly people or people with knee problems, find it difficult to get in the Jimny's rear seat due to its high GC and narrow rear entry passage. A footboard might have made things easier for them.



During monsoons, one needs to be watchful while going inside or coming out from the rear seat, or else the dress can get spoilt from the rear tire.



Due to cost-cutting from Maruti, they have not even put a load sensor in the rear seats. So irrespective of the passengers, the seat belt alarm will disturb you for 90 seconds. So to stop that nuisance, I had to put these dummy seat belt buckles.



Door pads

The door pads have a few creases which enhances the look, but at the end of the day, it is made of hard plastic.
When the power windows go up/down, one can feel the flex on the door pads!

The door pockets in the front door pad cannot even hold a 500 ml water bottle. At best, I can keep a microfiber cloth in it. This door pocket cover and the grab handle covers came with the Thunder edition pack, else the original ones are plain black & look boring.
The 4 speakers are mounted on the door pads.



There is no storage place/bottle holder provided on the rear door pad. The power window switch looks from the previous decade!



The boot door pad looks bland. The boot door has a hydraulic strut.



Maruti left the rear defogger wires exposed so had to put these covers to protect them.





UV-cut tinted glasses

The glass area is quite big. This gives an airy feel to the cabin. The Alpha comes with a UV cut tinted glass which is quite effective during the summers.

Dashboard

The dashboard layout looks modern and it's quite functional and ergonomically sorted. Everything has been placed where it should have been.



From left to right- Left power window switch, ESP on/off switch, HDC switch, right power window switch



From top left to right- The auto start/stop switch, Headlight washer, Headlight leveler

From down left to right- Engine start/stop button, Orvm adjustment switches



The storage space inside the glove box is small and it neither has a light nor does it have a cooling option.



Maruti has given a 12v socket and a USB port but on today's date, a type 'C' port should have been present along with these. A mobile can be hardly placed inside the below cubicle while charging.



ORVM and IRVMS

The IRVM is not an auto-dimming one. Even the Baleno gets an auto-dimming IRVM! It's a basic day/night mirror. The coverage area is pretty low due to the small rear windshield & the spare tire.



The ORVMS are electrically adjustable & retractable. The coverage area is good for a 4-lane highway. On 6-lane highways, it misses out on covering the 3rd lane.

Steering

The leather-wrapped steering is nice to hold.



The steering control buttons are easy to use too. The cruise control, music system, and taking and disconnecting calls can be seamlessly operated from the steering.
The steering has a height adjustment option but misses out on the telescopic adjustment.

Instrument cluster

I just love the retro look of this instrument cluster! These analog dials from the Gypsy era look perfect to me.

Though this looks retro, it still gives all the basic pieces of information like-

• Trip meters A & B along with the permanent ODO reading.
• Distance to empty
• Average fuel economy
• Instantaneous fuel economy
• Average driving speed
• Total driving time (This needs to be reset after every 99 hours 59 mins & 59 secs)
• A clock
• Gear indicator

A few settings can be tweaked from the instrument cluster too. For example, I have turned off the beep alarm while locking and unlocking the car.

Storage place or the lack of it

The lack of storage place had to be compensated by buying this aftermarket tray. This console can accommodate only a couple of 1L bottles. Otherwise, there are no bottle holders given in the entire car.



ICE & rear camera

The Alpha came with a 9-inch touchscreen unit with wireless Apple car play and Android Auto. In the initial days, I faced a few bugs while connecting the Apple car play, but now it has sorted on its own.
This screen shares a lot of interesting information. There is an option to play music through a USB port too.
The sound can be termed as okay for non-music buffs. Music lovers need to upgrade the speakers. For me the sound is okay, I do not have any plans to go for an upgrade.





The clarity of the rear camera is good. The extended yellow line just after the number plate is marked for the spare wheel. This indeed is helpful while reversing in tight spots.



Air condition

The AC is a chiller. Even at 40+ degrees, the cabin was quite cool by keeping the climate control at 25. I generally keep the temperature between 25 to 28.
I have tested the heater at 5 degrees too. It did a wonderful job of keeping the cabin warm.

The climate control unit looks cool and easy to use.



Boot space

The boot space is small. It's just 211L. But still, it can vertically accommodate two big suitcases.
There is a boot light and a 12v socket placed in the boot. The tool kit is placed under the carpet. No rear parcel tray has been provided.



Space with the seats folded



Cabin lights

There are two cabin lights, one in the front and one in the rear. Changing the bulbs to LEDs will be a good upgrade! The stock lights do not light up the cabin very well.

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Lights, Wipers & Defoggers

Lights

The headlight stalk has quite a few options- Off, Auto, parking lights, headlights on. The quality of the stalks feels good and durable.
It's best to keep it in auto. In auto mode, the sensor is quite sensitive. Even if I enter an underpass the headlights get on automatically.



The Alpha comes with LED headlights. The throw is nice & it illuminates the road pretty well.

The low beam spread is good for both city usage & undivided highways.
On 4/6-Lane highways, the high beam provides more than satisfactory light.
The spread and reach of both the high and low beams is good, but at times I felt a brighter LED would have been better.
The performance of the LEDs is average while driving through rain.

During rain drives, the headlight washer is a nifty feature. It can only be used when the headlights are on.



I once had a hard time driving through dense fog at night. These white LEDs were creating a wall and I had to turn them off and only rely on the fog lights.

The spread and reach of the fog lights are too low. So if anyone is frequently driving in fog during the night, it's best to upgrade the fog lamps.

The illumination of the fog lamps.



The illumination of the low beam.



The illumination of the high beam.



Only side-lights on



With the fog lamps on



With low beam and fog lamps on



With high beam and fog lamps on



Maruti missed out on providing a rear fog lamp!
Plus the placement of the tail lamps on the rear bumper is pretty low, which I feel a truck or bus driver can easily miss out on. Even in bumper-to-bumper traffic, if an SUV with a high bonnet follows the Jimny closely, the driver might miss out on noticing the indicators or the brake light.



Wipers & Defoggers

I have driven the Jimny in torrential rains. The wiper speed and the wipe area are more than adequate for the front windshield. The quality of the wiper stalk feels durable.



However, I won't say the same about the rear wiper. The wipe area of the rear windshield is on the lower side. It could have been better.

The rear wiper coverage area for reference.



During rain, the defoggers work well. I had to use them on a few occasions and they never disappointed me. In fact, they did a very good job.

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Driving the Jimny

There has been a lot of debate on the performance of this car. Going by the specs it's a 1,500 cc naturally aspirated, 4-cylinder engine that produces 103 Bhp at 6,000 rpm and 134 NM torque at 4,000 rpm. When compared with its rivals Jimny is the lowest in power figure. On the other hand, it's the lightest too, so if we see the power-to-weight ratio, it comes to a decent 86 Bhp/ton.

Jimny has got a longitudinally mounted engine. The engine bay has lots of free space and is quite easy to work on. The air intake pipe is placed quite high. So water wading till the level of the front grille should be okay.



How does this car drive?

Firstly, I find the auto start/stop to be very irritating, so the first thing I do is, switch it off.

In the city, the power is more than adequate. In bumper-to-bumper stop/go traffic, the car comes into motion just by leaving the clutch, without tapping the accelerator in 1st gear. Road humps can be crossed in 2nd gear itself, shifting to 1st is not always required.
To keep up with the city traffic, shifting at 2200-2500 rpm is the sweet spot. While driving fast, I shift between 3,500 to 4500 rpm. That keeps the car well ahead of the traffic. The k15B in the Jimny is a rev-happy engine, with good low-end and mid-range drivability. The top-end performance is lacking.
This car can be driven at 40 km/hr in 5th gear, but I do not prefer that. I prefer to put 5th after crossing 60 km/hr. If we follow the gear indicator, the mileage will improve but the car will lag in performance.


On the highways, one can cruise between 90-110k/hr comfortably. 100 km/hr comes at 3,000 rpm and 120 km/hr comes at around 3,600 rpm. I do not push this car beyond 120 km/hr on the highways. My cruising speed is generally between 90-100 km/hr. On 6-lane expressways maintaining a cruising speed of 120km/hr is possible.
0-100 km/hr can be achieved in roughly 15 seconds, which is pretty slow by today's standard. Unless one is racing with other cars this car is quite capable on the highways. Car enthusiasts generally say 'Drop a gear & disappear', with the Jimny this needs a little change, it will be 'Drop a gear and complete the overtake'!
For a 700 km drive, I was able to beat the GPS by at least 2 hrs, that too by cruising steadily at a decent speed, say between 100-110 km/hr.

It's fun to drive on the hills. This car can crawl like a mountain goat at low speeds without getting stalled. One just needs to modulate the accelerator in the right way & if required it's best to turn off the ESP. Take this car to any steep inclines, this car will not disappoint. There is enough power on the tap. On stops go hill traffic on a very steep upward incline, I find the sweet spot is to rev the car around 2000 rpm. Once in motion, it can crawl at 1,500 rpm.
Now if you want to have fun or race with the bigger and more powerful SUVs, they will dump the Jimny on outright acceleration. If you compare it with the power figures and the pick-up of the modern-day turbo petrol and diesel cars then this car will lack in performance.
But again this being a naturally aspirated petrol, it can be revved easily till 5,000+ rpm and can be driven reasonably fast!

Clutch & Gear Box

The clutch is neither heavy nor it is feather-light. The clutch travel is perfect for an off-road car, it is not that long or very short. I find it to be perfect for my liking.

The gear lever reminds me of the old Gypsy. It shakes while cranking the car! In the beginning, the slotting was pretty hard, & it felt notchy, (Especially the 1st gear & the reverse gear) but with time it eased out. The gearshift throw is on the longer side. It's nowhere close to those sleek Japanese gearboxes. This gives a feel as if I am driving a car from the 80s or 90s.

Suspension and comfort

The Jimny is a comfortable car. I have driven it for more than 14 hours and 700+ km in a day. The fatigue level was fine. I had the energy left to drive for a few more hours or another 300-400 km. Driving 1,000+ km in a day is easily possible in the Jimny.
Being a body-on-frame, light car, I expected it to be quite bouncy like the Thar. But the ride quality surprised me. It can't be termed as plush. But it's good on the bad roads. We must keep in mind that the Jimny is one of those rare vehicles in today’s date which has got solid-beam axles both at the front and rear.

Seating in the front is much more comfortable than in the rear. Maruti has somehow messed up the correct tune for the rear suspension. It feels too soft when fully loaded. Plus the vertical movements are felt prominently while crossing a road hump, an uneven joint, or any undulation. If the car crosses a rumble strip at a higher speed, the rear tends to have a sidewise movement.

Having said the above, the positive part is, that during off-road drives, this car has got fantastic articulation.

Steering & handling

The steering is on the heavier side and gives decent feedback. On fast turns the steering returns to the center pretty well, though it could have been a tad faster, but still, it's not a deal breaker. Now if one expects the steering to be as precise as we are used to in the hatchbacks, sedans, or crossovers, it is not. One will take time to get used to it.

The handling is pretty well sorted. The body roll is lesser than most of the body-on-frame SUVs. This car can carry speed through the corners. I am quite happy with the way this car can be driven on the curvy hill roads. Maruti has set up the ESP quite aggressively. When I tried to take a few turns at a higher speed, much before the tires screeched the ESP kicked in and cut off the power.

Braking

The braking is strictly very average when compared to my earlier cars. The front gets disc brakes, while the rear gets drum brakes. No late braking is recommended for this car. The brakes feel as if they lack the bite. Keep a safe distance from the car moving ahead and anticipate early. On highways or hills or even in the city, I always downshift while applying the brakes. The braking of the Jimny is nowhere close to the brakes we are used to from the sedans or Hatchbacks or the crossovers. The stopping distance is more in the Jimny.
However, people who are coming from the old gen body-on-frame SUVs won't find the braking to be inadequate!

The hand brake is quite efficient. Even on steep inclines, the handbrake can hold the car well.

NVH

The engine is smooth. But the engine sound protrudes inside the cabin once the rpm goes above 3,000 rpm. The noise insulation is very average.
The gear shift shakes while cranking the car!
But once the engine is on, there are no unwanted vibrations felt on the steering, door pads, or gear lever.

Mileage

I am more than happy with the mileage. A body-on-frame SUV, with a 1500cc petrol engine and whose design is far from what can be termed as aerodynamic, the mileage this car returns is actually good.

In the city, the lowest I got was 9 km/L. I was stuck in a nasty traffic jam. Else it returns somewhere between 11 km/L to 13 km/L in city traffic.

On the highways, if the car is driven between 80-100 km/hr, a mileage of 15 km/L can be expected. If driven over 110-120 km/hr the mileage will drop to around 11-12 km/L.

Even on the hills, this car returned me around 12 km/L.

[Samba]

Off the road

Sharing a few of my observations-

Slotting 4H is pretty easy and effortless, for slotting the 4L one needs to press the lever & push it. This needs a bit of a firm push.



It is best to keep the traction control off, even on 4-high, unless one is driving on a surface where there are chances to dig in if more power is applied to the wheels.

With the traction control off, the car practically does not stall. When it's on, the chances of stalling increases. This is because whenever the car detects a wheel spin, the power to the slipping wheel gets cut.

It will be even better to disable the HHC by pressing the traction control switch for a few seconds in 4L. Once it is disabled, the message will be shown in the MlD. This prevents unnecessary delay while rocking the vehicle on an incline or slush.

During offroading, this car does not lack power. We have tested it on inclines, slush, and sand and it performed beautifully. To fail a Jimny, one has to get the vehicle beached or the tires need to give up. Else, I can't imagine any obstacle that this car won't complete due to the much-hyped 'lack of power'. A Jimny with a lift kit & AT/MT tires can do wonders!

The BLD in front and rear works flawlessly. Just hold on to the revs, the BLD kicks in seamlessly.
This backed up by the excellent articulation makes the Jimny a very good off-road vehicle.



The official water wading capacity is 300 mm which is low when compared with other SUVs.

On sideway tilts, the Jimny subjectively felt a bit more tilted due to its narrower width when compared with other wide-bodied SUVs like the Thar.





The most vulnerable part during offroading is the radial arm guard. It's among the lowest point in the underbelly which can get damaged/bent while off-roading. Getting a Radial Arm guard is suggested.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5710118 (Maruti Jimny Review)

Maruti got this car spot on for off-road drives. The stock Jimny in itself is damn capable off the road.

Sharing a couple of videos from a sandy incline.

Here the descent was done in 4L, 1st gear with the HDC off. The speeds went to 9 km/hr. The Ascent was done in 4L 2nd gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn4DoL9f2fM

Here the descent was done in 4L, 1st gear with the HDC on. The speed was limited to 6 km/hr. The Ascent was done in 4H 1st gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6u_0lrOkoQ

Sharing a couple of pics from off the road-

[Samba]

Living with the Jimny

For the last 20+ years, I have driven hatchbacks, sedans & crossovers, the Jimny is the first body-on-frame SUV in my garage. It took me some time to get used to this car, but once I got used to it, I loved it thoroughly. If I had owned the Jimny after owning an SUV like the Thar, Scorpio, Safari (old gen), Bolero, or any similar vehicle, my perspective on the Jimny could have been a bit different. I would have felt much more at home from day one of my ownership & complained a bit less on a few aspects!
I could have written this ownership review earlier, but I took my own sweet time to know the vehicle better.

Issues faced

During the 7,500 km I have driven, a few times the Jimny took a 2nd crank to start the engine. Every time this happened, the car was parked on an incline. I never faced this on a flat surface. I reported this to Maruti, but they couldn't find anything.

Scratch marks on the propeller shaft after getting rubbed with the cross member.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...tion-load.html (Maruti Jimny: Propeller shaft rubs against car underbelly under extreme articulation or load)

Service quality & experience

Service quality is good. The best part is, that the Nexa staff are quite cooperative. The bad part is, that all the mechanics are not yet well-versed with the Jimny. I have seen them adding water to Jimny's pre-mixed coolant!

During the 1st service at, 1000 km I refrained from changing the engine oil, which many people do. I got it changed during the 2nd service at the 5,000 km.

Ownership satisfaction and my usage?

After 6 months & 7,500 km, if I am asked whether I am happy with this car or not?

My answer is, that I am more than happy with this purchase decision. My usage is around 200 km per month in the city, barring that the car will be mostly used for trips or on highways with two to three people on board and occasional OTRs.
Among the 7,500 km we have covered, 5,000 km was from a road trip to Arunachal.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...uti-jimny.html (Sailed through Arunachal Pradesh in a Maruti Jimny)

I am enjoying every bit of driving this car. I end up driving the Jimny more than my Etios even on good roads and highways! This car is super easy and stress-free to drive. Be it narrow roads, bumper-to-bumper city traffic, a tight parking spot, huge road humps, water logging, or rough roads, you do not have to worry about anything.

Sharing a few random images-





With the silicon covers the otherwise boring black key fobs look much better.



The first fill-up.



The first drive on the highway.



The first night drive during New Year's.



The first 1,000 km.



After the first drive on the slush!



The first car meet up. It had to be with the Duster owners!



The first long drive.

[Aditya]

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

[vigsom]

Exceptional reviews of a car make it to tbhp's hall of fame, and I do hope this one gets there as well. Congratulations, Samba, on a good choice of a well engineered and robust machine! I fondly call this the small FJ Cruiser.

The only points going against the Jimny in India are a)the non-macho looks and b)not being in tune with modern times eg. no turbo petrol, small engine, small form factor and to some extent the pricing. The following points that you've mentioned are really pertinent, but don't find much favour because of the many perceived "minuses" in this car

Originally Posted by Samba

- Peace of mind. Be it the mechanicals of the car, or the rough roads, one does not have to worry about it.
- can easily cruise between 90-110 km/hr on the highways for the whole day.
- body-roll & ride quality are quite sorted for a body-on-frame car.
- small footprint with high ground clearance is just tailor-made for rough hilly terrain. This car is very easy to drive under any circumstances.
- In 2WD itself this car is highly capable. At places where local drivers suggested 4WD will be required, with the ESP off in 2WD mode this car easily crossed those sections.
- mighty capable off-roader even in its stock form.
-1.5L NA engine is super tractable for perfect throttle modulation on steep inclines or bad roads. I felt the throttle input to be perfect too.
- the manual easily delivers a mileage of 11+ in bumper-to-bumper city traffic, and on the highways, it is possible to get a mileage of 14-15 km/L. No other body-on-frame petrol SUV with a 4WD delivers this kind of mileage!

- I will blame low sales on Maruti's greedy pricing at the time of its launch. It was way too close to the much bigger, more powerful & accomplished Thar.
- People in India love butch and powerful SUVs. Jimny is nowhere close to it!
- If you want to make a style statement or some show-off, the Jimny will not suffice in any of it

Maruti will never learn from the past. Remember the OG Baleno, Versa, OG Grand Vitara and now this.

The bonnet hood lacks an insulation material from the inside

Maybe you could look at the dimensions of the hood insulator from the old Vitara Brezza and see if that can be retrofitted

However, I won't say the same about the rear wiper. The wipe area of the rear windshield is on the lower side. It could have been better

They could have considered providing the full sweep wiper like the S-Cross or the OG Grand Vitara

Originally Posted by Samba

The first night drive during New Year's

The picture of the Jimny mirroring the image of those pearl necklace lights is worth a million bucks!!

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of cars have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also gone here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[Vikram9193]

Kudos for such a well-observed and detailed review that does the Jimny justice, with great photos to boot. Chiming in with our 5k km of mostly highway experience, which mostly matches your review:

Ride quality: as you say, the rear crashes noisily over steep speed breakers. It also bobs, wallows and sways over highway dips and bumps. Maybe adjustable damping would suit. More than the engine, I think this and FE are the two areas where this car lags behind conventional crossovers on the highway.

Engine: The engine gets the job done. It is by no means a sweet or zesty motor, and the same was true of the Gypsy’s 1.3, which felt lovely in the Esteem and pedestrian in the Gypsy. In a developed country with 120 kph speeds and the need for short, sharp bursts of acceleration, this engine may be a real problem - but it’s a smooth and fairly effective unit on Indian roads.

Handling: With ESP forced off, this car will probably be fun in its own safe and slow way on the twisties - the tail-happy Gypsy definitely was. The ESP hack is something we need to get around to doing.

Braking: pedal feel is spongy but Zigwheels’ test showed decent braking distance. But as you say, best to leave some margin compared to other cars.

Ergos and build: The rear headrests can create a blind spot, thinking of getting the hollow type that old cars had. For me, the doors can feel a bit hollow and Gypsy-like and I try to be more gentle with them. Maybe damping would help.

Family use: The second row is so spartan! Leg room really depends on both build and inseam. Have seen a curvy 5’-9” person run out of space and a skinny 5’-11” one fit comfortably. Egress requires deft footwork. As you say, an armrest and better recline would have really helped here. A longer squab too. Someone should try these mods.

Road presence: I would blame it all on the width - but from the driver’s seat this car is so tall and narrow, it’s the best one to be stuck in a traffic jam or extra-narrow hill road.

It’s ironic how much better suited the Jimny is to India, and how much better it has been received in Europe!

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by Samba

On the delivery day, the cleanup was shoddy and I could see a lot of swirl marks on the black paint.

Congratulations! Excellent review as usual

Why such a serious 'black' colour on such a fun car? Didn't red cross your mind?

Enjoy articulation on your new toy!

Drive safe,
surjaonwheelz