Maruti Suzuki Jimny Review: The Icon Arrives

We just can't have enough SUVs in the market. We also can't have enough cars from Maruti Suzuki. So, an SUV from India’s leading car brand seems an ideal formula at least on paper. While SUVs and Maruti Suzuki may not be an obvious connect, strangely one of its cars was the Gypsy. The image of it rallying or conquering mountains is easy to apprehend but also seems like a memory from a distant past. Cut to 2023, comes the much-awaited, much-talked-about Jimny. An SUV designed on the same lines as the erstwhile Gypsy but promising a better fit in the modern world. Will this etch Maruti Suzuki's off-road ability in stone? Let's find out.

Design 

The Jimny is just under 4m long and has a wheelbase of 2,590 mm. 

One of the reasons why the Jimmy is already so popular in the market even before its launch is because of the way it looks. The compact size, boxy silhouette and high ground clearance all fit in nicely into the demands of the buyer. The good thing about the design is that lot of things remind you about the previous generations of the car which means Suzuki has continued the legacy of the SUV really well. This includes the vertical chrome slats, iconic round headlamps, the slit below the bonnet or even the narrow bumpers. The SUV is 3,985 mm long, 1,645  mm wide and 1,720 mm tall while the wheelbase stands at 2,590 mm.

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The placement of the spare wheel on the rear door adds charm. 

The Auto LED headlamps come with washers which are good for a car that will get dirty more often than not. But these along with fog lamps are available only on the higher Alpha trim. Muscular cladding on the wheel arches, rectangular rear quarter glass and placement of the spare wheel on the rear door are all elements that work well for the Jimny. Overall, the design looks quite minimalist which gels well with its compact size. But you can do a lot more by choosing various accessories or going for a whole accessory pack and that will give the SUV a more exclusive look. There are 6 colour options to choose from and only 2 Kinetic Yellow and Sizzling Red are available with a dudual-toneal tone black roof.  

Tech & Interior

The Jimny gets an all-black cabin subscribing to a sporty theme. 

The sporty, rugged feel from the outside continues in the cabin as well. Everything you look at including the all-black theme, points to only one fact, this is a car that is made to go off the beaten track. Some features remind you of other cars from Maruti Suzuki like the 9-inch SmartPlay Pro+ touchscreen system or even the steering wheel. But the instrument cluster is something that is nice & exclusive and reminds you of the original Gypsy. 

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Seats are a bit firm and can be softer. 

Ergonomically, it's a mixed bag where the buttons are laid out nicely while the power window switches find a place between the front seats. Talking about seats, they feel a bit firm and can be softer especially if you are looking at long drives while the door pockets can be a bit wider as well. Ideally, I would want some more storage space inside the cabin, so that is sort of limited inside the Maruti Suzuki Jimny.

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Jimny is a 4-seater and only 2 passengers can sit on the second row. 

Features like Automatic climate control, Push button start, leather-wrapped steering wheel and Cruise control are only found in the higher Alpha trim of the SUV. That’s also the case with the bigger 9-inch touchscreen system while the lower Zeta variant gets a smaller 7-inch system, however, both are compatible with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Maruti says the surfaces are scratch resistant and importantly the design of the dash is to ensure maximum visibility on uneven terrains. 

Rear seats can split and fold down in a 50:50 format.

The Jimny is a 4-seater which means only 2 passengers can sit on the second row. In terms of space, the back row is quite decent looking given the overall compact size of the vehicle. Headroom is just about okay, that's the case with the under-thigh support too, so average-sized adults will not have a problem in sitting here. You have adjustable headrests, and the seats can split and fold down in a 50:50 format which takes the boot space to 332 litres from 208 litres.

Off-Road

The SUV gets a ground clearance of 210 mm which feels adequate. 

We started our drive of the Maruti Suzuki Jimny on a dry riverbed on the outskirts of Dehradun to sample the vehicle in some testing conditions. The SUV gets a ground clearance of 210 mm, and it runs on 15-inch alloys. While the former feels adequate, the width of the tyres can be a little more than 195 mm, especially if you want to take your adventures to a higher level. The car is built on a ladder frame chassis which is considered to be stronger and more robust, and you can sense the extra flex while off-roading. The Suzuki All Grip Pro 4-wheel drive system is easy to engage and switching to low range is simple too.

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Suzuki All Grip Pro 4-wheel drive system is easy to engage. 

What pleasantly surprised me was that Jimmy was able to cross some big rocks and boulders with relative ease and the high ground clearance helped here. The rigid axle suspension of the car also came in handy, where if one wheel is pushed up by an obstacle the other wheel is pushed more to the ground to ensure better traction. This enables the car to come out of tough situations.

The ramp break-over angle of 24 degrees suffices well here. 

The hill descent control and hill hold assist features were put to the test too and they helped while taking on steep inclines and declines. The Jimny in its 5-door version has a wheelbase that is longer than the 3-door model by a good 340 mm, despite that we found that the ramp break-over angle of 24 degrees suffices well here. The design of the bumpers also aids in impressive approach (36 degrees) and departure (47 degrees) angles. 

The low turning radius of 5.7 meters also works for the Jimny.

What also helped on the rocky patches is the inclusion of a steering damper on the Jimny. On surfaces like these, you will expect a lot of kickback and the steering wheel might go all over the place, but that is largely negated owing to the damper. Driving the Jimmy made me realise the advantages of having an off-roader that is not very big and bulky in size. It easily took to some narrow paths where it wasn’t wide enough for maybe a bigger SUV to cross through. The low turning radius of 5.7 meters also works for the Jimny.

Jimny’s Brake limited Slip differential is an added advantage. 

If you’ve driven the Gypsy before and are aware of the lack of electronic aids in it, you would like the Jimny’s Brake Limited Slip differential. Here the system applies brakes on diagonal wheels which are slipping, and torque is distributed to the other 2 wheels. While a lockable differential is usually desired by off-road enthusiasts, this one too is able to do a decent job and gets you out of situations.  

Good power-to-weight ratio works nicely for the Jimny. 

The Jimny runs on a 1,462 cc K15 B Petrol engine that makes a maximum power of 103 bhp @ 6,000 rpm along with delivering a Peak Torque of 134 Nm @ 4,000 rpm. You have the option of choosing between a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed Automatic. We've seen this engine before on other cars from Maruti Suzuki, but the power-to-weight ratio works clearly better for the Jimny. This helps more during off-roading because the car moves easily, is nimble and agile. 

It's a machine that is light and capable at the same time. 

Spending a few hours with the Jimny in off-roading conditions makes you realise that this SUV truly subscribes to the Suzuki philosophy of providing a machine that is light and capable at the same time. You can take it off the beaten track with the confidence that you will be able to cross the obstacles. 

Dynamics

Straight windshield and narrow A-pillars help in getting a clear view. 

While the Jimny comes with a 4-wheel drive system as standard it will be driven a lot on the tarred roads as well. So, while it is a good car for Sunday does it work for Monday too?  The first thing you like when you take the car out on the roads is its driving position. Even though the driver seat cannot be adjusted for height, it still gives a good commanding view of the road. The straight windshield and the narrow A-pillars help in getting a clear 180-degree view of the road ahead, especially in the mountains where the roads are narrow and winding. 

Maruti is claiming around 16.50 kmpl on the SUV. 

The 1.5 litre K15 B Petrol engine isn’t new to us here in India and comes with an idle start-stop system. It’s a Maruti after all and efficiency is key, and here the claimed figures are 16.94 kmpl on manual and 16.39 kmpl on Automatic. The manual is something that you tend to like, it's quite notchy and looking at the overall character of the car it suits it quite nicely. The throws are rather short, and the clutch is light enough to ensure that even if there is a need for frequent gearshifts, you will not be troubled when you are driving the Jimmy.

The longer wheelbase aids in the way the car handles.

The around 1,200 kg kerb weight of the Jimny does make it an enjoyable car to drive. The acceleration is quite good, and the steering provides good feedback overall to keep you engaged as a driver. The suspension doesn't unsettle you or make you feel uncomfortable, so overall the ride quality is good on the car something that you will appreciate. The longer wheelbase aids in the way the car handles and the passengers are sitting between the axles and not on them which provides better comfort despite the ladder frame body style. Dynamics are not really compromised at high speeds and there is enough stability while on the move. On the road, the proportions of the car look nice and appealing. 

NVH levels feel better on the Automatic variant. 

On the automatic, the first thing you notice immediately after driving the manual is that the drivetrain feels a little more refined so in terms of NVH levels you get a slightly quieter cabin when compared to the manual. The upshifts are not very quick, and we’ve seen that on some other cars from Maruti Suzuki on which this 4-speed torque converter has been used but that’s on tarmac, where it will come to your advantage is when you will go out off-roading. This car of course comes with a 4-wheel drive system so you will do a fair bit of off-roading when you do buy the Jimny and there in lower gears more power and torque will help you in making your manoeuvres in a much better way.

Safety

The Jimny gets 6 airbags as standard. 

Six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESP, Brake Assist and ISOFIX child seat mounts are all standard on the SUV, though there’s no word yet on its crash test ratings. The 3-door version of the SUV got a 3-star crash test rating from Euro NCAP back in 2018.

Verdict

The SUV is set to launch in the first week of June. 

Spending a day with the Maruti Suzuki Jimny helped me understand why this car is such an icon for decades and is sold in 200 countries across the world. Looking macho and doing nothing isn’t what this SUV is about instead it comes across as an underdog which can surprise you and is capable of doing just about everything. Yes, you don’t get all the bells and whistles and the task for Maruti Suzuki is to make the buyer understand that this is not just another car from the brand. It’s a philosophy that lets you have fun and adventure at a cost that’s well within your reach. The SUV is coming in the first week of June and could be launched starting at Rs. 10 lacs, ex-showroom.