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1 year & 8000 km with my Jimny: Ownership review & plans for the future

29th June 2024, 11:03 by Rahul Nagaraj

This is the first 4x4 I've owned, although, my friend recently remarked I now have all AWD (A45S, XC60, Jimny, Tiguan) cars.

BHPian quickdraw recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Thought I'd make a quick update to this thread as Jimny is turning a year old. I remember throughout the journey of discovering the 5D Jimny is being launched in India the first, the excitement over 100s of pages of the pre-launch and post-launch threads among the numerous other technical/milage/tyres/accessories discussions. It has truly been a blast.

This is the first 4x4 I've owned although my friend recently remarked I now have all AWD (A45S, XC60, Jimny, Tiguan) cars from not so long back when I had a FWD, RWD, AWD garage (Superb, E90, Tiguan). It complements the garage extremely well. In fact, it is the most used car for me in the house as whenever I want to go nearby the Jimny is just the perfect size and it has led me to invest a bit in creature comforts like full damping of the car (Roof, Doors & Floor) along with a generous Gladen audio upgrade. I will capture more detail on the mods in the other thread

Some points to note from my ownership experience so far:

Mileage approx 8000km, with mileage hovering around 10 overall. I've gotten similar mileage while driving in the hills +-2km/l depending on if you are in 4H and average speeds
The brakes are not the best in this car, I'm satisfied by regular performance but in the hills (>15000ft) I've had the issue where the brakes were not working and rock hard.
Some small internal modifications will transform the cabin into be extremely usable and spacious
My car also suffers from the propeller shaft issue that is being discussed elsewhere
I got the oil changed at 1000km, 3500km and 7000km and after the first 2 there was a noticeable difference in drivetrain sound and smoothness
The car has been abused and driven hard and there are no creaks or rattles. There was no water ingress during the last Gurgaon monsoons but there is a recurrent issue that your front number plate will wash away while water wading.
Lights are inadequate and need an upgrade (mine is an Alpha model)
In hindsight, I would not go for the black roof as it always looks dirty due to dust compared to the rest of the car
This car will be around for a long so you will likely see me going down some extreme modifications unlike how I am with my other cars. The goal is to be minimalist and have the best creature comforts with the ability to overland and the highest reliability

Overall I am extremely happy with the car even with its shortcomings, it feels like the perfect car for adventures in our country and look forward to doing many more trips in it and having fun building it out. A few of the upcoming items

I have planned for Jimny are:

Bride Seats - There are some really good options since it's a JDM car.
Upgraded lighting - Already underway with fog lamps lights changed and added some lovely Hella Black Magic flush fitted flood lights to the front bumper
Tyres & Wheels - Rays ALAP J wheels with Toyo Open Country RT Tires, unfortunately, due to the wheel/tyre import issues this is stuck
Turbo Kit - My best friend has upgraded his Jimny with an Avo world Turbo kit and I will report once I've had a chance to drive it for a decent amount of miles
Suspension & Brake Upgrades - Will have to go hand in hand with the Turbo upgrade which makes the overall project very costly (almost 50% price of the car) so this one will likely come later on
Underbody Guards - After experiencing what the stock Jimny could do at the RocknRoad finale I am not too sure if one needs this. Especially since I don't do technical off-roading often or do rock crawling. Will discuss this further as and when I get something installed
80 Litre Long Ranger Tank - I am not a fan of carrying fuel in Jerry cans or any kind of external storage on the car so this is an option I'm seriously considering. There is a company in Australia that makes these for the 5D and it can be installed with minor modifications