18 key observations after taking delivery of my Jimny Alpha MT

Commendable job by Maruti providing all the off-road capabilities along with all the creature comforts at this price range.

BHPian R.Daroga recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I got my Kinetic Yellow Alpha MT delivered yesterday and a few observations:

1. Very good experience at Nexa Sai Service, Lower Parel, Mumbai.
2. At the risk of stating the obvious, the ride quality is just supreme.
3. The cabin is very well insulated and you leave the din of the outside world behind as soon as you close the door shut.
4. The Kinetic Yellow ranges between solid yellow and lime green depending on the lighting outside.
5. The infotainment system works seamlessly with wireless Android Auto.
6. The Arkamys surround system is not a gimmick and on the Acoustic setting, provides excellent sound staging. Yes, it cannot handle heavy bass but the notes are nice and bright. I quite like it.
7. The engine is so silent that you need to look at the RPM needle to see if it is alive.
8. Air conditioning is good. UV-cut glasses help.
9. Visibility all around is brilliant.
10. You sit at the same rider's height as a Hycross, an XUV700 or a Safari (new one). Despite Jimny's lower height on paper, the ladder frame allows you to sit higher in the car as against sinking lower into the car as in a monocoque set-up. Again, I like it.
11. Coming from a diesel car, I really miss the turbo. This engine is enough but there's no excitement lower down. This is not a car to wring by its neck to extract performance. A turbo is needed desperately.
12. 5th gear engages comfortably over 40 kph. It means this engine will get strained by the time it is at triple-digit speeds.
13. Despite all its genuine efforts to make you believe otherwise, this is still very much a Gypsy underneath. The vibrating gear lever, the play in the hand brake and the slow steering give it away.
14. Impossible to take a U-turn in the city without reversing unless you start your turn from the middle lane (not advisable).
15. Rear seatbelt warning and auto engine start stop coming on each time you start the car are irritants.
16. Hill hold doesn't work when you just start the car and you're parked on an incline. So let's say you stall the car on an incline and start the car again, hill hold doesn't work. Also, the hill hold doesn't release the brakes fast enough when you pick up, making you drag with the brakes half released for a fraction of a second, adding strain on an already strained engine.
17. In the city, due to its lack of size, you cannot intimidate traffic around you. Also due to the lack of engine poke and steering speed, you cannot zip in and out of lanes quickly enough. You're stuck being a gentleman and obeying lane discipline thinking in your mind "Tu mil, mere ko off-road mil"
18. Not a very pleasant experience driving in crosswinds. This tall box is an easy target for notorious crosswinds.

Bottomline

Commendable job by Maruti providing all the off-road capabilities along with all the creature comforts at this price range. This is my only car and it meets all my needs perfectly well so far. For someone never intending to get adventurous in a car, he would be better suited with a pseudo SUV in this price range. Honestly, after driving the Innova for some time and now the Jimny, I look down upon (literally) these cars now. If you've driven monocoque chassis cars all your life, driving the Jimny will take some getting used to. Especially the MT. Once you get used to it, there's no going back. You may break some monocoques chassis into two trying to take potholes and speed breakers at the same speeds as you take them in the Jimny. Even your next car will have to be a ladder frame only. It's a long-term choice. You decide.

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