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12 driving observations of the Maruti Jimny: Shared by a Alto K10 owner

25th July 2023, 09:32 by Rahul Nagaraj

The SUV is the first automatic car driven either by me or my wife.

BHPian dileep recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Got to test drive a Jimny Zeta AT today. But before I give my impressions a bit of background and context.

The Jimny is a probable replacement for 2 cars that we (my better half and I) currently drive. We are in our late 50s and live between Dehradun and our village, which is about 5 hrs north of the city. We love travelling and the most recent trip was a trip from the village that is in Uttarakhand to Himachal via Hatkoti, Jalori Pass and onto Manali and back via Chandigarh.

Alto K10 (2015) always used within the city of Dehradun, very nimble, convenient, and easy on everything – mostly driven by my wife who has driven the Maruti 800 (1990) and Alto VX 1.1 (2000) earlier and no other car.
Etios V Petrol (2016) is always used for long trips (including the one to Himachal). This is what I drive and my wife has never been able to drive this sedan where she cannot see the bonnet and reversing can be a big hassle. Etios is a superb car. The 1.5 NA engine is a beauty on the highway as well as in the Himalayas. The only drawback is the low GC and poor visibility especially when travelling in the hills and over broken roads. Previously I drove a Qualis (2001-16), Zen MH 410 (1996-2001), and Maruti SS80 (1994-96). Before these driven by Dad's Premier President, Ambassador and LH driver Willys (Sarkari).

We both have never driven an AT and it took us a little time to get used to the feeling of not having to change gears and use the clutch.

Our idea was to test the Jimny in the city of Dehradun so we did a 20 km drive in the northern part of the city – see attached map – which would give us a fair idea about the car – especially my wife. The route had a few broken roads, a fair amount of curvy hills with continuous traffic, a very steep incline in Rajpur and some busy stretches on Rajpur Road’s commercial areas.

Here are some impressions in no order of preference:

The lane to our house is narrow so I first checked reversing into the gate. The BIG turning radius and the number of steering turns will take time to get used to. However, it was quite easy due to the size of the Jimny and good visibility.
There is an extremely rough stretch of road that connects us to the main road. The Jimny was very comfortable, reassuring and easy here. No nonsense absolutely, it glided over deep ruts and potholes.
Getting in and out of the Jimny is a breeze. Especially, after the low-slung Etios and the cramped Alto.
Driver seat height adjustment – enough of us have cried over this – and this is a big miss. I am 5’6” and needed an inch or two more from the seat. My wife who is shorter needed some more. This may not be a deal breaker but we’ll need to sort it out with some cushioning.
Driving ergonomics are pretty good and I didn’t feel alien inside. Will have to get used to the various switches that are at different places – especially for the windows.
Driving an AT for the first time – I realized the ease of driving. The maximum speed achieved was 50 kph so nothing to say about the high-speed performance. I drove with the OD button on. Couldn’t feel the gearshifts. Only known by the changes in the tachometer.
There is an engine whine but it’s nice to hear it. On curvy uphills, I was hard cornering – the Jimny held well both in power delivery and steering. Body roll is evident and the rear occupants were not at all comfortable.
On the steep incline in Rajpur I stopped the car on the steepest part. The Hill Hold worked like a charm. There was no roll back and I was able to go up the slope very easily.
Visibility is very good all around except in the rearview mirror owing to the spare wheel and also the rear seat headrests.
A small observation was that the horn pad is very stiff and needs some hard pressing to honk.
Wife’s special observation – the A & B pedals could be placed a bit more towards the seat. She felt that she had to pull the seat too much in to reach them comfortably and the steering tends to get too close to the body which leaves less elbow room. In the Alto, she says it’s better.
The steering is a bit unstable – I mean even on a straight road you can swing it a little left and right (like they did in the old Bollywood movies) and the Jimny doesn’t really swing at all.

Waiting for a couple of more test drives – one on the highway and another on the MT before we go ahead.

We had booked a Zeta AT on January, 18. The SA mentioned that they are getting 5-6 cars per month and that the factory sends what they have – which is not necessarily according to the order of bookings. They are dispatching more Alpha ATs than Zeta. For example, of the 6 they sent this month, 4 are Kinetic Yellow Alphas! So one can’t tell when delivery can be made.