Took delivery of my Maruti Jimny Alpha AT: Key initial impressions

After entering the highway, the Jimny struggled to keep up with the other vehicles on road. The 4speed automatic gearbox started to feel sluggish.

BHPian petrolhead7002 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Just got the delivery on 14th June of my Jimny Alpha Grey AT day before. Got the call a day before that the vehicle would be ready. So, I had to ge the loan process done in just 1 day else the car would be Re-allocated.

Overall the delivery experience was still somewhat rude. As the Nexa dealer was pushing on the accessories and extended warranty for the car. I didn't budge on it as I had booked the vehicle on the day of the launch. All of the formalities done and I got the possession at precisely 7 pm.

My initial impressions:

• The interior space is adequate.
• Rear leg room is surprisingly alright given the overall dimensions of the body.
• The updated infotainment system feels very expensive and is responsive but I couldn't figure out how to turn off the surround sound settings. Speakers on the other hand are a big disappointment.
• The WOW factor. As there is nothing like a mini G-Wagen on road currently, thus the road presence is interesting. People get curious as to what the car is (those who don't know). Those who do couldn't stop coming upto me and asking about it.

Nonetheless, the next morning I had a trip planned to a Rajgarh, Himachal Pradesh which is approximately 125kms from Chandigarh. I took the Jimny as I was excited to see how it would perform on the curvy, hilly terrain.

Started off in the city, the size gave it the advantage to slip through the slow morning traffic. After about 15kms, the highway. After entering the highway, the Jimny struggled to keep up with the other vehicles on road. The 4speed automatic gearbox started to feel sluggish. The inclines made the engine push on a little more and required momentum even if I had the throttle completely pushed. For a few kms there was a patch of stones on the road. The thin tires started to slip on the stones giving scares to my passenger.

On the drive back I pushed the car a little more and that is when I started to enjoy it. On the highway, when it reached the momentum of 80-100kms per hour it was pretty joyful. The shorter height provided for lesser body roll compared to the Thar on the corners. The Jimny kept up pretty well with its 195 tires on tarmac turns.

Overall impressions:

• Engine - Underpowered considering the competition, but I may have been spoiled by the Petrol Thar. The Jimny does rev up more excitingly giving a modern Gypsy vibe.
• Gearbox - Automatic is great for city driving. It shifts for 2nd to 3rd very quickly making it a task to overtake other in the hills.
• Suspension - Love it. It was comfortable, not too jumpy and the road feedback was just adequate to make slight driving adjustments on a higher speed.
• Interior - The seats were a little uncomfortable, might be the lack of under thigh support and side bolsters on either end.

These were just the reviews of driving it in the city and in hills. Will upload my reviews once I take it on a off-road trail.

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