The Suzuki Jimny is one of the Japanese company's most successful, most daring, and most capable vehicles ever. The car has endured over time, gaining in popularity in several markets where it has been sold since 1970, under different names Samurai, Sidekick, Sierra and Katana. In India, we got the long wheelbase of the second generation - called the Gypsy of course. And now the long-delayed and much-awaited fourth generation of the Suzuki Jimny is out worldwide, and is gaining not just in popularity, but also respect. That respect comes from being appreciated for its pure purpose built, true approach. With the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy finally being phased out, leaving millions heartbroken, should Maruti Suzuki reconsider bringing the Jimny to India? And what about it's existing subcompact SUV play with the Vitara Brezza? I have now driven the new Jimny extensively. So, read on to know where I stand on that issue.
The Suzuki Jimny, now in its fourth generation, has been on sale since 1970
Like its predecessors, the new Suzuki Jimny is also built using a ladder on frame chassis. Step one of staying true. Step two? Keep it 3-door only. And then the crucial next step? A naturally aspirated 1.5 litre petrol mill that churns out 101 bhp and 130 Nm of torque. The gearbox, but naturally, is a manual 5-speed. So, there is no turbo (therefore no Boosterjet engine - Suzuki's much touted new range of turbocharged engines) and no fancy automatic.
The Suzuki Jimny comes with a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine and comes with a 5-speed manual transmission
The Jimny comes equipped with Suzuki's Allgrip Pro AWD system that gets a low-range transfer gear and three driving modes - 2H (2WD-high gear), 4H (4WD-high gear), and 4L (4WD-low gear) and can be engaged with the help of a shift lever mounted on the transfer case. Suzuki has kept the car mechanically as pure as possible, and to afford an effective 4x4 performance. Well, to be fair, there is a 4-speed auto box on offer, but no one is likely to touch that with a barge pole - even Suzuki expects no more than 10 per cent sales to come from the rudimentary automatic. Steel wheels, a wipe-down interior and fold-flat rear seats. Oh yes, when I said 3-door I was not discounting a second row. Yes, its tight, yes it's for the kids, and yes you have to keep it folded if you want any rear cargo space of any kind!
Also See: Fourth Generation Suzuki Jimny Picture Gallery
The Suzuki Jimny is taller, wider but shorter than the previous generation model.
Out on the highway, the Suzuki Jimny's engine is all too loud, the driving posture is all too upright, and the body roll is all too obvious.
What I believe to be the Jimny's Achilles heel is the steering. It is slow, too soft and lacks precision. It also has lots of play, and so you find your arms doing more than the driving situation requires, and the response is a tad deferred. What helps though is that this is a tiny car, and so steering loads are never high - even if you have more people in there with you. Also, this is not the car to be taken round corners at manic speeds anyway. Oh did I mention that it doesn't really go much faster than you'd imagine anyway? Though I have to say, it was a quick fun burst to 80, and then even to 100. 120 was reasonably smooth, and then it is a small struggle to hit 140 kmph - which is pretty much where it tops off. The other fun part of the equation is that manual gearbox. Shifting is light and surprisingly comfortable.
The shifts of the 5-speed manual gearbox on the Suzuki Jimny are light and surprisingly comfortable.
The Suzuki Jimny does well in climbing steep slopes, negotiating ruts and slush
Staying in 2WD is best on the road, though the handy on-the-fly 4x4 lever allows the car to go up to 100 kmph in 4WD mode too. But you don't want that. I was told the car does extremely well off-road with its easy to manoeuvre chassis, approach and departure angles and grunt. So, climbing steep slopes, negotiating ruts and slush, and also effective hill-hold and descent control functions thrown in. The low range gearbox also does well here, and I got a very limited yet satisfying test of that when I took the car onto a small mountain trail - that I am not entirely sure was open to the public. Well I did not transgress long, and did get a small sense of the car's 4x4 prowess - which is impressive!
The Suzuki Jimny does extremely well off-road with its easy to manoeuvre chassis, approach and departure angles and grunt
The car with me was a German spec vehicle, and I was driving it in America - which meant a speedometer with kilometres and not miles, and no active navigation system. The reason is that Jimny was brought in to the US for a special opportunity that jurors of the annual World Car Awards get to test the year's nominees. Suzuki pulled its car business from the USA some years ago, and so it was very kind of Suzuki to ship in 3 of them for us. Not being the brightest when it comes to arithmetic or mathematics, I was blissfully unaware of whether or not I was violating the freeway's 65 mph speed limits by some, or a lot. Luckily, Los Angeles and its surroundings see people happily breaching that limit by at least 15-20 mph, so I was relatively safe. I later realised I was doing 75 mph thanks to a handy little sheet that the Suzuki team had very thoughtfully left in the car that told us what 35, 45, 65 mph translated to on the Jimny's speedo!
Also Read: Suzuki Jimny Scores 3 Stars In Euro NCAP Crash Test
The Suzuki Jimny is square tall and with the retro touch looks altogether adorable
All the cars were dressed in the very high viz Kinetic Yellow (which I thought looks green and not yellow, but oh well!). The Jimny will get your attention the second it comes into your frame of view. It's square, tall and altogether adorable! I think its cheeky retro is what allows it to get away with so much! The round headlights and Jeep-like grille give it a charm and appeal stronger than even the Jeep Renegade for some reason.
The round headlamps and the Jeep-like grille on the Suzuki Jimny give it a charm and appeal stronger than even the Jeep Renegade
It is modern in its styling elements without trying to necessarily convey that in an obvious way. It would rather give off a simple, mechanical, utilitarian vibe - which is its styling strong suit I think. The customary rear door mounted spare wheel is part of that ensemble - though you'd better get used to knowing its there when you're backing into spaces! Yup - you guessed it - no reverse camera or parking sensors!
The Suzuki Jimny comes with the spare wheel mounted at the rear but does not get a reverse camera or parking sensors
Inside, the cabin is well finished in black. Plastics are simple yet strong, with a similar rough and tough je ne sais quoi about it. The instruments are finished in amber-lit dials from the 1980s, yet have a functional trip and vehicle info screen between them to keep things 2018. That is also true of the very familiar touchscreen infotainment display that we have seen at the top-end of every Maruti Suzuki model over the past 3 years.
The Suzuki Jimny gets the same infotainment system that we've seen on the Ciaz, Baleno, Vitara Brezza;and even the Dzire
The cabin of the Suzuki Jimny is finished in black and the instruments are finished in amber-lit dials
With the second row seats up the Suzuki Jimny has just 85 litres of cargo space to offer
That makes this car very individual, very purpose built, very no-nonsense - and so yes - you'd think very impractical for India. Traditionally speaking I would agree. But look at our recent consumer trends. Millennial and (shudder) post-millennial buyers are anything but traditional. There is a growing breed of younger buyers (and young at heart types!) who want a car that expresses their individuality, and allows them some fun - in spirit or application. The Jimny is very much THAT car.
The Suzuki Jimny is rugged yet refined and so is like nothing that is currently available in our market
It is nothing like the Vitara Brezza in look, feel or operation. It is a small, affordable 4x4 for those who want to have some fun off the tarmac, and so could be the very obvious lifestyle model that has always been missing from Maruti Suzuki's portfolio. It is rugged yet refined and so is like nothing that is currently available in our market. That is why, I do believe it could be the right fit for us - in small volumes no doubt - and yet selling alongside the 2 wheel drive only Vitara Brezza. Well, to be fair this would be a Nexa model in my book, and so would not physically sit alongside that car in a showroom! But you know what I meant; so let's move on! The point is the two cars are extremely different.
The Suzuki Jimny is a small, affordable 4X4 for those who want to have some fun off the tarmac
Now the question is - should Maruti consider it for us once again? And does limited volume mean completely built import, and therefore silly prices? That is not my call to make. But if Maruti looks at selling around 10,000 of these a year, a locally assembled car may make sense. And I think at around 12-15 lakh, give or take 1 or 2 lakhs, it can sell even 20,000 units of the Jimny. The next question is, will the company care - given Maruti's always strained capacity, which is under pressure to keep the supply of popular models going? Possibly not.
The Suzuki Jimny will get your attention the second it comes into your frame of view
The Suzuki Jimny would do well selling alongside the 2 wheel drive only Vitara Brezza in India
