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My retirement vehicle to move to Himalayas: A Jimny ownership report

10th September 2024, 15:12 by Kanad Kalasur

The Jimny is an acquired taste. It is definitely not the effortless, perfect car particularly for first time car owners.

BHPian arjab recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

This will be a review of my 10,000 kms of owning and driving my Jimny Zeta Manual Transmission.

I will not focus on the "Why Jimny" and "Alternatives considered" etc part, because I was very clear that I will buy the Jimny, period.

It was a matter of time after the car was launched, in June-July 2023, to arrange for my finances and when the December 2023 discounts were announced, I decided to go ahead with it.
Got the Jimny delivered on Christmas Day 2023 in Kolkata.

I will try to keep this report brief, to the point and factual so as not to waste anyone's time should they decide to read this.

Good points

Visibility

Excellent. In any direction that you care to see out of. Front, Lateral and Rear.

The driver's "eye point" is right in the middle of the windscreen and this gives a very good vision cone. This translates to brilliant upper as well as lower visibility arcs and you will truly appreciate this on long, night drives.

The large outside rear view mirrors are very boxy and utterly functional as far as aesthetics are concerned.
The stylistic trade-off means you can see the edge of the Jimny's rear tyres, a boon when going off the road or at a more mundane level, when parking parallel to a high kerb, and you do not want to scrape the sidewalls of your tyres.

The clamshell bonnet which is clearly visible from the driver's seat makes you place the Jimny accurately through most urban city gaps.

Feeling of Roominess

The JB-74 is essentially built to Japanese "Kei - Car" specifications. Thus its overall body dimensions and cabin width was restricted by Japanese Kei Car legislation. Only the export model Jimny Sierra 3-door's had a wider track, but same body width, because it was sold internationally.

Following in its footsteps is the Jimny XL, (our Indian built Jimny), where again, the body dimensions remain the same but only the overall length increases.

However Suzuki has very cleverly managed to deliver the "feeling of roominess" particularly for the front seat passengers.

The upright windscreen, the super-compact dashboard, which is stashed right against the front glass, the flat side panels, door glass and door pads and the overall height of the vehicle, dupes you into thinking you are in a larger vehicle. The front seats have been pushed as far out as possible, laterally, resulting in good shoulder room between driver and passenger.

Suspension

Long travel suspension + high profile 80-aspect ratio stock tyres riding on OEM recommended 26 psi air pressure makes for a marshmallow ride at most speeds below 60-65 kmph. The Jimny's ride is very plush in a low speed environment.

Instruments and Controls

This is from the perspective of my car's variant, that is the ZETA Manual. I am delighted that all essential controls can be executed by means of large chunky knobs, large toggle switches, big combination switches or simple press-type buttons. No fancy gimmicks, no deluge of screens. You want to lower the AC fan speed? Just reach out with your left hand, rotate the chunky fan speed contol knob and that's it! (even if you are wearing gloves in winter, it is not a problem).

The orange, backlit analogue clusters for speedometer and tachometer are a soothing balm for sore eyes fed-up with staring at digital screens.

Fuel mapping and Throttle Calibration

This is very well done. The stock throttle pedal calibration is smooth, lag free and powers up in a linear curve rather than push power in "a number of jerky steps". Trailing throttle responses are also very good. Suzuki has calibrated the "tip-in / tip-out" very well. On steep descents or ascents, juggling between clutch, throttle and gearshift - there is absolutely no need to feed in unnecessary revs - you can just dial in the right amount that is necessary.

Heating & De-misting

Surprisingly good performance. My Zeta variant has manual de-frosting controls. Even then it worked very well in the winter months in the hills. The rear windscreen de-mister is also very effective.

Wipers

The wipers may be small but they cover the front driver and passenger visbility zones very well. They do not leave large, unwiped "dead zones". The front wipers reach right up to the top of the front windcsreen. Thus if you have a dashcam stuck or even the ubiquitous FasTag, you can be assured they'll remain clear and easily "readable"

Bad points

Suspension

It is the rear suspension that is the problem. While this excels in a low speed environment, at any speeds above 60kmph, this becomes a liability. During cornering you will feel as if the front and rear of the Jimny belong to two different vehicles! If your Jimny is fairly loaded and you attempt to take long, left-hand curve, which may have some undulations in between, you'll find the rear suspension flopping away with all the rigidity of a 7-day old masala dosa!

I reckon slightly stiffer damping will solve this issue. Maybe just 20% stiffer dampers, retaining the same OEM open length, should solve matters. All aftermarket suspension kits available now are for 3-door and may not be wholly suitable for our 5-door version. Once a properly tested and validated 5-door upgraded suspension kit reaches the market it may be worthwhile to take a look at it.

Body resonance

Strictly speaking transmission tunnel resonance. If the revs fall a little low and you try to lug it - (which one should not). This is a common ill of rear drive body-on-frame setup's and has plagued our Tata Sumo's, Bolero's, Tata Safari's and whatnot. In the Jimny it can be felt between 1700-2500 rpm's in 4th gear.

Transmission "slap" and whine

You feel this on an incline when you release the clutch in the lower gears. The propellor shaft takes a moment to rotate with a "khhut" sound and then a grating noise, (from the transfer box innards), as the torque is channelised to the driven wheels.

Brakes

The Jimny's brakes has been much maligned and lambasted. But it is not that bad. There is a technique to braking the Jim, especially downhill. While in hatchbacks, particularly European hatches, the initial brake bite is very strong and then as you go on pressing the pedal the brake biasing takes over and pressure is regulated front and back; in the Jim it is the opposite. Initial pedal feel is underwhelming. After the initial press, slacken off a bit and then keep on pressing the b-pedal and the brakes start to bite and quite smoothly at that too. Thus, when you are rolling downhill, DO NOT RIDE the b-pedal in the Jim as you would do in any hatchback. Give a firm push, slacken off, let Jim gather momentum before you push the middle pedal again later. This human induced "cadence-braking" will stand your Jim in good stead and you will not run out of retardation or booster vaccuum.

Headlamps

The ZETA comes with halogen headlamps. The main beam is pathetic. It is advisable to upgrade to 100/90 watt halogens with a relay to improve visibility.

Fog lamps

The stock fog lamps are a joke and at 19watts each it is expected to be so. The lens is made of some dubious plastic and the entire fog lamp unit feels incredibly flimsy. You can buy Gen-1 SWIFT's, (2005 SWIFT), OEM fog lamps. These are 55watts each, made by Hella, has borosilicate lenses and are a direct fit into the Jimny's fog lamp pods. With this and the 100/90watt halogens, you will not need any fancy LED setup, (which are useless anyways in rain and fog)

Rear seat cushion

I think Suzuki has designed the rear seat for kids till maybe 11-13 years of age? Apart from lack under-thigh support, the cushion itself is pretty badly made and any adult sitting on it for anything more than a couple of hours will not be comfortable - at all.

Cabin Air Filter

Located behind the glovebox this becomes incredibly dirty every 3000 kms! and has to be changed.

Bug Magnet

The flat nose, upright windscreen and highway speeds mean that Little Jim chomps away at all the insects, bugs, maggots, flies that tries to cross its path. During dusk and evening time its worse! Now I know why Suzuki has given a 4-litre sized windscreen washer tank! The Jim is a vegetarian's nightmare!

Other observations: Good and Bad

No dead pedal in Manual Transmission variants
Can be uncomfortable during long hauls. I have fitted one which is available in the aftermarket. Works well.

Window sill as armrest
Yes! The Jim is possibly one of the few cars where you can roll down the driver's side window, particularly in the hills, rest your elbow on the window sill and just pootle along enjoying nature!

Questions & Questions
From non-Jimny owners. From fuel pump attendants, From Cops. From Army personnel (they are obsessed). Questions will range from: How much does it cost, fuel efficiency, 4-wheel drive ability, Gypsy lineage, "cute car" etc. If 20% of all these people bought the Jim, its sales would not be languishing like it is now!

Angry Thar Owners
I have no animosity against any Thar owners. And do not intend to either. But i have noticed a curious thing. Whenever I pull up beside a THAR, the respectable gent becomes very upset. Mind you, I do not race, make obscene gestures or commit any nuisance: its something about the Jim that awakens the Thar owner's "green-eyed monster from within! I have had multiple instances of Thar's trying to race me, (I do not, in fact i go even more slow), trying to push me into the median divider, accelerate furiously past me and even in one instance: mouth sarcastic comments at me, (again I did not react). I have no idea why! Maybe they do not like my face!

Summary

In the last 10,000 kms the Jim has not failed me once. It has done cross country trips and some mild off roading. Apart from upgrading the tyres to 215 section AT tyres I have not modified the vehicle in any way.

The car has seen its scheduled services at 1000/5000/10,000 kms. Apart from this I have changed the engine oil, (OEM grade), at 2200 and 5000 kms.
Got the front brake pads cleaned, (emery paper & calliper pin greasing) and wheels rotated at 10,000 kms. Alignment was fine. Steering is tilted towards the right from Day - 1. Let it be. I'm used to it and firmly believe in the dictum: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

The Jimny is an acquired taste. It is definitely not the effortless, perfect car particularly for first time car owners.

The Jimny will make you work. It will make you drive a car. By pressing Pedals and buttons and levers and all
Despite its imperfectness, it has a lovely simplicity and beguiling character that will endear it and make it an intrinsic part of your life. It is hardy, absolutely functional, very mechanical and reliable. It has no pretensions and will be by your side, like your faithful dog and haul you out of trouble should you get stuck in the muck.

It has character. And that is not found in many cars in today's world.

To me, an old man in his fifty's, my Jimmy Boy is my retirement vehicle. Once I retire, I'll scoot off in it to the Himalayas. In a wooden cottage. And never come back to town.

Thank you Jim!