Maruti Suzuki Jimny MT: Report after 300 km trip to North Bengal hills

While Jim does feel lost on wide, 4-lane motorways; in the narrow confines of the Eastern Himalayas with pouring rain and mist, it was in its element.

BHPian arjab recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello All,
Updating this thread with some feedback on the Jim's recent drive to the hills of North Bengal.

Drove around 300 kms purely in the hills over the last weekend with Jim

Visibiity is excellent particularly around hairpins. The large outside rear view mirrors made judging the proximity to cliff edges an easy affair.

Vehicle performed well and there were no untoward incidents of underperformance or failure. Drove on some steep to very steep gradients. The Jim did everything in 2WD. The 1st and 2nd gear ratios were low enough not to warrant the usage of 4WD anywhere

Those who have driven up Pankhabari in West Bengal would be familiar with its switchbacks and steep gradients. Jim climbed all the hairpins in 2nd.
Very late at night, (because then the road will be empty), I revisited Pankhabari, just to satisfy my curiosity as to whether Jim can do an "uphill standing start" without any clutch slipping or any form of over-revving. With ESP on by default and minimum throttle feed, Jim struggled a bit, necessitating a little bit of clutch slip, which I did not indulge in. With ESP turned off, it made the uphill standing start effortlessly with minimum throttle input.

I faced very heavy rains. The small wipers are surprisingly effective. The front windscreen defrost function works very well. The rear windscreen de-mister is also quite effective.

I did not face any issue with the performance of the brakes. My vehicle's brakes are stock and I have only greased the calliper pins and cleaned the disc pads with emery paper at the 5000 kms and 10,000 kms scheduled services.

Tank to tank fuel consumption, uphill, only 1st and 2nd gear, no AC worked out to be 8.5kmpl. On the MID it was displaying 9.2 kmpl.

The compact size and flat side panels are a boon on our narrow Himalayan hill roads. Many a times, Jim squeezed through impossibly narrow gaps which probably would not have allowed a wider vehice to pass through.

Turning circle was not an issue. Once you "place" the vehicle correctly at the entry of an hairpin, it pirouettes around smartly.

The handbrake is quite effective. Holds Jim even on steep gradients. The Hill - Hold also works well.

Engine braking in 2WD mode could have been better. In 1st gear, "feet - off - the - pedals - mode", Jim rolls downhill at almost 20-25 kmph in 1st gear. In 2nd gear, "feet - off - the - pedals - mode", roll-down speeds downhill can climb to 40kmph! The way to control is to give a firm push of the middle pedal, once downhill descent speeds rise, then get off the B-pedal, don't ride it. This will ensure controlled retardation and at the same time should not cook the brakes.

The good approach and departure angles with minimal overhangs are a boon. I had to cross some really deep ditches and sunken "bowl-shaped" culverts. Jim did not scrape anywhere.

Overall I was happy with the Jim's performance in the hills. Agreed it is not a "powerhouse" as far as horsepower and torque are concerned, but it did not feel abjectly under-powered as well.

Use the lower gears judiciously, keep the engine spinning above 2500 rpm and Little Jim can clamber up & down most hills. What really scores in its favour is its size and lightness. While Jim does feel lost on wide, 4-lane motorways; in the narrow confines of the Eastern Himalayas with pouring rain and mist, it was in its element. The Mountain Goat was back home!

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