Maruti Jimny: 5 pros & 4 cons after a month of ownership

The slow steering does get a bit bothersome while trying to reverse park into a tight spot, or take a tight u-turn on city roads.

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Experience-wise, in the exact one month I’ve had it now, the Jimny continues to be a fun, almost wise decision. Without getting too flowery, I’ll list the pros and cons for quicker reading:

Pros:

• Engine seems to have settled over a smooth running-in. The slightly thrashy noise at higher speeds and hard accelerations seem palpably improved. Quieter now than when brand new.
• Still a happy mileage - between 12 and 16+ inside NCR, depending on traffic load.
• The narrow footprint pays off every time in the city - weaves like an auto out of harms way and squeezes into tighter parking than earlier possible for me.
• First time with a full complement of 4 adults yesterday, the ride was a huge difference from when I’m solo or with only two up front. The calmness of the ride in fact prompted my friend in the back to compare it with levels of comfort he finds in his Endeavour. Having owned one just before this, I knew that to be an exaggeration. The Endy rode like a barge on calm seas compared to this. The rear was choppier than the front, true. But even taken with a pinch of salt, the Jimny wouldn’t be uncomfortable on a long ride with luggage and full capacity, as long as you find enough knee-room.
• Keeping it clean - now here’s my favourite part. I clean my vehicles myself. If they’re just dusty, I just Joopasu them off. Ceramic coats help here. If muddy, they go in for a professional wash. Dusting and wiping down the Jimny is a cinch. Flat, straight panels allow this one to be cleaned almost 2x quicker than my sedan next to it, even when that is a lower vehicle. And the steelies just require a swish of the wash-rag to shine up, not having the intricacies of alloys.

Cons:

• Audio - with all passengers loaded, the fader control of this already limited unit, shows up the true flaw. The rear speakers are so poor, trying to allow them a bit more music, steals audio from the somewhat better front ones and almost dulls the experience to unacceptable.
• The slow steering does get a bit bothersome while trying to reverse park into a tight spot, or take a tight u-turn on city roads. It can almost never be executed in a single motion. Hello three-point.
• The rear seatbelt warnings - extremely silly of Maruti to ruin a commendable move by skimping on the pressure sensors! Why would they require to be plugged in at all times to prevent the chimes. Reeks of cut corners and requires them to do a recall and retrofit at the earliest.
• The cabin lights - pathetic. No brighter than 80’s spec automobiles. Too retro for my blood.

That’s the lot. Can’t think of anything else till I take it on a longer drive.

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