MACOF: Most Awaited Car of the Year, that's the reputation which precedes before you utter -JIMNY, whose meaning is not yet known, but I have given it a few acronyms through the course of this first-drive review. To start with - Jack-of-all-trades, Ingenious Marvel of the Year. Undoubtedly there has never been any car from the Suzuki stable globally which has evoked so much curiosity, interest and desirability. When the invite came to drive that in the twisties of Dehradun, I packed my off-roading gear and baited to fasten the seat belts and let loose with JIMNY - Just Invented for Mud, Nature & You.
Jimny 2023 is in its fourth generation now, and it's the first Made-in-India 5 -Door version of Jimny; in other markets, the 3-door has already found its niche. When you are reading this, MSIL has confirmed 30,000 bookings and in my conversation with Shashank Srivastava, ED MSIL; the numbers would accelerate faster than 0-100 Kmph, which is not something to get anyone excited about. He quoted that "MSIL has really lagged in the SUV market share and JIMNY is that hope which will take the whole portfolio of MSIL in India competitive and get that market share which it enjoys in other categories.
Mahindra Thar, on the other side, is sharpening its axe with its 5-door version, which they are tightlipped about, but I expect it to break covers around the festive season this year. There is an investment of Rs 960 crore made by MSIL additionally for the 5-door Jimny global debut, and all will be manufactured right here in India.
Verdict
It's a lifestyle off-road vehicle; when you see it from those lenses, the Jimny looks like a complete package, capable and stylish. It drives well on the tarmac, and it can surprise you with its off-roading character; it has a great legacy preceding it and is iconic. The price is yet to be announced, but the demand will be huge. It's a great addition to the existing garage or the start of a garage. My last acronym for JIMNY sums it up: Joyful, Iconic, Muscular, Naughty and Youthful.
Suspension, Chasis & Off-roading: It's Perfect Recipe!
It's based on a ladder frame chassis, the oldest and most easily constructed chassis. It gets its name from a ladder with two long and heavy beams supported by two short beams. JIMNY also has a 3-link rigid axle suspension, increasing tyre contact in off-roading terrains with coil springs. It's a great set-up for off-roading; even Thar is based on that. The articulation of Jimny is great, with a ground clearance of 210 mm, and the 3-link rigid axle suspension helps the Jimny from tipping while travelling over rough ground or when turning. This helps to minimise the tendency of rolling and pitching of the chassis. It also has an electronic traction control system that automatically brakes slipping wheels allowing torque to be redistributed to other wheels, and it won't be wrong to mention here that JIMNY, another option could also be Joly In Mud, Navigate Yearningly.
I had literally nose-dived from a cliff and was fearing the rear wheels to fly off and topple, but here the departure angle of 50°, a ramp break-over angle of 24°, and an approach angle of 36° all work in conjunction to make any road your highway. It literally glides over anything when you engage the 4L and Suzuki's AllGrip Pro 4WD system with a manual transfer case and low-range gearbox with '2WD-high', '4WD-high' and '4WD-low' can tackle any surface. Well, Thar not just gets more ground clearance but also excels in approach angle. In comparison, the departure angle of Jimny is better than that of Thar, but because of the longer wheelbase, the break-over angle of Jimmy is less compared to Thar.
Engine – It's Old, But - What Ain't Broken, Don't Fix It.
Jimny gets the older K15B, 1.5-litre petrol that comes mated to either a 4-speed torque converter automatic or a 5-speed manual gearbox. However, the engine is being made RDE-compliant. Rather than formulating a new formula, MSIL has tweaked the already proven engine and gearbox; what ain't broken, don't fix it. The Jimny churns out 103 bhp of power and 134Nm of peak torque. This might look like baby figures, but the kerb weight is only 1205 Kg. For perspective, Thar weighs around 1750Kg, so the power-to-weight ratio is apt in Jimny and does not feel underpowered. Here perfect acronym for JIMNY could be Juggling Impressive Mobility, Nimbleness, and Youthfulness. It's quite a capable offroader and can be termed as a mountain GOAT for its narrow width. It tackles those mountain passes and twisties with ease. We drove it over a bed of rocks, and its wheel articulation and stability are spot on, while on tha tarmac, it turns into smooth driving with much lower NVH levels when compared with Thar. I see it becoming a mountain favourite, and hence this acronym can also be attributed to JIMNY - Jetting In Mountains, Navigating Yearning. The Water wading capacity is about 300 mm(3-door Jimny) which is not much when compared with Thar's 650mm, but if you want to go swimming, adding snorkels from aftermarket can take the water wading capacity beyond 600mm.
There Is Nothing Remotely Techy In It!
Let me pin your hopes down when a car does not have a C-type charging socket; it simply means the engineers working in that car use a Nokia phone with a round-pin charger. There is also no wireless charging, only one A-type charging socket, and the sound quality from the speakers is nothing great. A 12-volt socket in the boot will be useful for inflating and may be charging a mini fridge for outdoor adventures. The wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto work flawlessly, and the MID resolution is crisp and easy to toggle around, standard what you see in Nexa cars these days. The seating is high, and you see both ends of the bonnet, which is great for driving. Also, seat cushioning is great. Maruti really has got their game going in seat cushioning, and all their newer cars are extremely comfortable. In terms of safety, there are six airbags, but one annoying tech for the rear seat passengers is a 90-second siren timer. There is no passenger detection sensor for the rear seatbelts. It's already there for the front passenger seat, so it's not like the parts aren't available. Customers would leave the back belts buckled permanently, which defeats the purpose of pushing the case of rear seat belt fastening, which is very important from a safety point of view. There is no sunroof, but it's not meant for stargazing. The boot space is 208 litres which can be increased to 332 litres with no rear passenger sitting; the aftermarket roof carrier can also not take more than 30 Kg, so clearly, you will have to travel light. There are no rear AC vents that will make rear seat passengers uncomfortable, and the AC cooling is also not that fast, with the fans at the top mark making more noise than the engine and the honking. The placement of coffee cup holders is also in your blind spot and a little behind the usual spots. There is a nice grab bar for the co-passenger seat, which came in handy when I was flying the car on the offroad track. The cabin interior is all black, where everything from switches to the dials to the touchscreen controls is tactile.
Jimny's width is its double-edged sword!
The design is boxy and draws elements from all its previous generations; the round halogen headlamps with a quirky washer and the five-slate grille will get your attention surely. Does it look muscular and butch? Well, no, it looks cute in its stock ex-factory condition, but aftermarket accessories can dress it up to appeal to the explorer side of you. Another acronym for JIMNY could be Jeep-Inspired Machine, Nimble Yet Robust. It can also be compared in terms of design between a baby G-Wagon and Force Gurkha. It's actually a no-nonsense design with flat windows so that dust and rain do not stop, there is no sunroof, and the roof has a quirky Antenna. The rear has the extra tyre slapped on it, which adds some character to it and can double up as a shock absorber from a rear impact. Trapezoidal wheel arches look good, but the tyres in stock, though capable, look disproportionate. The Practical Drip Rails running along the side and rear edges will provide for easy installation of a roof carrier, which will take the overall stance of JIMNY a step up.
Design is always subjective. Some might say it's a glorified S-Presso, and some might say it's a baby G- Wagon, but what you can't take away is that it will definitely make heads turn, and the design will sink in finally.With a height of 1720 mm, and Length (with spare tyre) is 3985 mm, and a Width of 1645* mm, it's a very unusual size increasing its manoeuvrability with a minimum turning radius of 5.7 m.
Engine- 1.5-L, 4-Cylinder K15B Petrol
Transmission- 5-Speed Manual or 4-Speed Automatic
Power- 103 bhp
Torque- 134 Nm
Price - Not Yet Announced
Also read:
TG Talks | The Jimny Drive | Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
