Why I decided to replace my Tata Aria with a Jimny 4x4 & not Thar Roxx

Was I willing to take as pristine a vehicle as A5XL Thar Roxx off-roading in the real sense? The answer was no.

BHPian a5huto5h recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello good people!

I have finally taken the plunge and booked a Sizzling Red Jimny - the Alpha AT dual tone version. While I'm super excited about this new addition, the moment is bittersweet as it means letting go of my Tata Aria Pride 4x4 that has been my loyal companion on so many comfortable long drives with the full family.

A bit about what led me to this decision:

I always wanted to have a 5-door 4WD vehicle as I aspire to do some overlanding someday. While the Aria is okay for a little bit of soft-roading, a low-range transfer case is sorely missed for anything more than a casual detour in mud or slush. I explored options of adding the Safari Storme transfer case to Aria, but got cold feet thinking about the things that could go wrong with such a setup and gave up on that idea.

Over the years, I have test-driven Fortuner, Isuzu D-Max V-Cross, Gurkha, and Thar. Isuzu was just too big for a city like Bangalore and Fortuner was way overpriced for my pocket.

Thar and Gurkha were good, but they didn't come in a 5-door version. The 3-door version of both these are too bouncy, even though they are great from an off-roading standpoint. I was excited about the Jimny, but the pricing was a let-down, so I didn't even take a test drive. And then started the long wait for the 5-door versions of the Gurkha and Thar. In the meanwhile, I kept watching videos of what people are doing in their Gurkhas and Jimnys.

The 5-door version of Gurkha came, but the interiors still feel like they are from another century. What a missed opportunity by Force Motors! That left only Thar 5-door to be a worthy replacement for my Aria.

The Thar Roxx launched, without any pricing for the 4WD versions. Exciting times! I did thorough research, talked to my friends who owned Thars and was completely convinced that I need to get one as soon as it launches.

Once the excitement subsided, I started having second thoughts. Don't get me wrong, the Thar Roxx is an excellent package. I did a detailed comparison on the MX5 and AX5L diesel 4x4 variants, finally deciding to go with the AX5L. No other jeep can match what Mahindra has managed to offer.

But there was this niggle, a mind worm if you may, that refused to leave. Was I willing to take as pristine a vehicle as A5XL Thar Roxx off-roading in the real sense? The answer was no.

1. The interiors are white and not washable as the Thar 3 door is. I might have to wait some time before I get something that I wouldn't mind sitting in, with mud on me.
2. On-road Bangalore, it would cost anywhere from 25-26 lakhs. It is great pricing, but I wasn't sure I wanted to take that costly car to proper off-roading.
3. The ramp-over is less due to the elongated wheelbase and one would have to definitely do some mods even to attempt something that the 3-door does in its sleep. Mods would be available but put me back by at least 1-2 lakhs.

Then, while doomscrolling on Insta, I saw a post - Rs. 2.53 lakhs off on the Jimny. It piqued my curiosity. A back of the envelope calculation revealed that I could be getting a car that is 80-90% of the Thar Roxx at a price that is just 60% of the latter.

And after 3 days of watching non-stop videos of Jimny and available mods, talking to folks who have done a fair bit of off-roading, taking a test drive of one on the B-roads in Bangalore (nowadays all Bangalore roads, look like B-roads BTW), and finally getting an approval from the better (and grumpier) half, I finally booked the Jimny.

This feels like a good decision right now. Only time will tell if I'm going to regret it. Hopefully not.

P.S.: Some of you may want to know why I picked the Sizzling Red dual-tone Jimny. Well, I already own a Berry Red Tiago JTP, and that kid needs a brother to play with.

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