PHOTOGRAPHY: ARVIND SALHAN
The Jimny needs no introduction, and while you may be already aware about how off-road capable it is, we talk about our first-hand, everyday experience living with it. I’ve had the Maruti Suzuki Jimny Alpha MT (manual transmission) since acquiring it in January 2025 and have clocked close to 6,000 km till now. The Jimny has had mixed use, including everyday commuting in the city, a couple of long-distance trips to the mountains, as well as a cross-country trek from Delhi to North-East India. In this initial ownership review, I will talk about my experience with the Jimny, from fuel consumption, performance, pros, cons and who should look at owning one, and who should not.
First up, let’s talk about the performance of the 1.5 litre naturally aspirated engine. A lot has been discussed by many about the underpowered nature of the Jimny, and about its rather “under-whelming” highway performance. Part of that is true, part of it is down to reference. The four-speed automatic gearbox is sluggish and even with the 5-speed manual, overtakes on the Jimny will need to be a planned affair. Particularly in single-lane highways, when you do have to overtake, say, two or three slow-moving trucks, the Jimny will need some distance and real estate to make that kind of manoeuvres confident and easy.
Compared to my other car, a Duster 1.3 turbo-petrol, the Jimny is by no means quick. Neither is comparing the Jimny’s performance to modern tubo-petrol engines fair! If you’re in a tearing hurry to get anywhere, and want to overtake any other slower moving vehicles, the performance of the Jimny will leave you wanting for more. If that’s what rocks your boat, the Jimny will not satisfy you. But where it will, is in its tractable engine and go-anywhere capability, if that’s the kind of driving you do.
Having said that, it is by no means an underpowered performer. It will comfortably cruise at 100 kmph all day long, and even on expressways with 120 kmph speed limit, the Jimny will cover distances without a whimper. The gear ratios are well-spaced for short shifting, and you won’t need to downshift a lot, whether in the highway, or even in the city. Third gear is extremely tractable for most urban conditions and fifth gear pulls cleanly from 45-50 kmph.
It’s only when you’re in the mountains, and in single-lane highways you will feel the need for slightly more performance. Working the 5-speed manual transmission will help get some added shove in the hills, but it’s by no means a fast car. Then again, it’s a body on frame design, and is not meant for spirited driving anyway. If you accept the limits of its performance, you will be happy, if you need punchier performance, you should best look elsewhere. Ninety kilometres per hour is the Jimny’s sweet spot, with some more performance left for an overtake or two. It’s also at around that speed when the Jimny is most fuel efficient as well.
On steep ascents and descents, the clutch/gear/throttle combination is enough and more for most conditions. I seldom felt the need to use hill hold control which assists in preventing the car from rolling backward when starting on an uphill incline or even when going down a steep descent. For anyone who has been exposed to the Gypsy, the Jimny’s driving experience will be similar, more refined, slightly more powerful, but with a similar character with the trademark transmission whine!
Also Read: Jimny Goes Road-Tripping To Shangarh, Himachal Pradesh
For adventure and off-road enthusiasts, the Jimny is endearing for sure, but it’s not a fast mile-muncher. If a chill drive is what you want, the Jimny will not disappoint! And when the road ends, it will go over almost all kinds of terrain, thanks to its light weight, compact size and excellent off-road capability.
During the first few months of ownership, the Jimny has seen plenty of highway duties, some off-road driving and regular city driving. With the Jimny manual, I’m getting between 11-12 kmpl in the city, although consistent bumper to bumper use sees the fuel efficiency figure drop to below 10 kmpl. Overall, city fuel efficiency is between 11-12 kmpl which is what the manual transmission Jimny has been returning, in moderate traffic. Unless you drive with a heavy foot and consistently accelerate through the gears, fuel efficiency of the Jimny is not expected to go to single digits, at least on the MT version.
Over different road conditions on the highway, which included covering long distances over expressways with triple digit speed limits, the Jimny consistently returned fuel efficiency figures of between 14.5 – 16 kmpl. On one outstation trip, where the speed limit was restricted to 90 kmph, it returned an all-time best fuel efficiency of 17.3 kmpl, even with some gradient and hill roads thrown in. However, once we hit the mountains, fuel efficiency dropped to about 8-9 kmpl, and this was over mostly broken road surfaces and gravel with two-wheel drive.
Engaging four-wheel drive, however, sees a drastic fall in fuel efficiency. On an off-road trail which was roughly about 12-14 km uphill, with surfaces and steep ascent restricted to four-wheel drive vehicles only, fuel efficiency dropped drastically to as low as 5-6 kmpl. On this stretch of “road” I had to engage 4H several times, and at a few places, while negotiating some rocky uphill switchbacks, I had to resort to 4L as well. On a cross-country drive of over 2,000 km, the Jimny returned an average of 15 kmpl, over a mixture of different highways, including expressways, four-lane highways and some single-lane highways with heavy truck traffic.
Despite its rather small dimensions on the outside, the cabin is quite roomy on the inside, at least on the front row, offering decent headroom, leg room and shoulder room for driver and passenger. Even shoulder room between driver and passenger is pretty good, giving the feeling of being inside a bigger vehicle than what the Jimny is. In fact, overall cabin comfort (at least for driver and front passenger) is pretty good, even for longer multiple-day drives across the country. The overall front windshield area is pretty large and gives the Jimny excellent visibility and a sense of space.
The Alpha trim comes with green-tinted UV-cut glass which, in my opinion, is what tilted my choice towards the Alpha over the Zeta, although the steel wheels of the Zeta are something which I had taken a fancy to. The dashboard layout is functional – simple, yet elegant, and I quite like the analogue dials for the speedometer and tachometer. The stock in-car entertainment system is by Arkamys, and in fact, it sounds very good, better than the similar ICE system on my Duster 1.3!
The ergonomics are near perfect, at least for me! Everything falls into place within easy reach, be it the driving position, or the reach to gear lever and even the infotainment system, if the need arose. In the Alpha trim, most of the controls are anyway available on the steering wheel itself. The only thing which takes some getting used to, are the oddly placed front power window switches. It is something which takes some time getting used to, and with just over the initial 1,000 km of use, the placement of the power window switches we have become used to. The only miss is the slightly narrow footwell, and no dead pedal, which could have made the Jimny a more comfortable place for dawn to dusk drives.
Overall ride quality is pretty good, over most kind of road surfaces. Despite being a body-on-frame design, the Jimny isn’t overtly bouncy or uncomfortable, and will ferry you across states over hundreds of kilometres in decent comfort. Compared to the bouncy ride quality of the Thar, the Jimny is more comfortable and offers better high-speed stability, if you consider dynamics at highway speeds. Event at triple digit speeds, the Jimny feels relatively planted and stable.
Also Read: Mahindra Thar Road Trip To Namdapha National Park
However, it’s not all hunky dory when it comes to the suspension – specifically, the rear suspension. At low speeds (around 40-45 kmph), the Jimny will sail over all kinds of surfaces, but push the speed up, the damping of the rear suspension will make it thud, while going over the odd bump, pothole or speed breaker. And that’s not something which is enjoyable. Again, keep speeds low, and you will not face this issue. Overall, the Jimny is a comfortable car for long highway distances. The maximum distance I have covered is 910 km over 13 hours, and I was in not exhausted, and could have driven for a few more hours if needed.
The rear seat can be reclined by one step, and there’s decent room and space for two rear passengers. For short drives around town, or for a couple of hundred kilometres, the Jimny is good enough for four adults. For longer drives however, the rear seat doesn’t offer enough under-thigh support with the rear seat bench being not very wide. With slightly more real estate in the rear seats, the Jimny could have been more comfortable. At best, it’s good for two people, and maximum, three. For me though, it’s just two of us, and we seldom have anyone using the rear seats, so that’s not an issue we face.
My Jimny Alpha MT has seen a couple of aftermarket additions, but those are more practical additions than any mechanical alterations. I’m happy with the throw of the LED headlights, and even the halogen fog lights feel adequate, and don’t feel the need to upgrade them for the illumination they offer in stock form. In fact, the headlights are pretty good, no matter the driving conditions. In well-lit city roads, highways, expressways and even mountain roads, I find the stock lighting set-up pretty good.
Mechanically, my Jimny is all stock. So, I haven’t felt the need to upsize the tyres (which many owners seem to do – for visual appeal or otherwise), and the 195 section tyres have not left me wanting for more grip and traction, even when driving off-road. Many owners have also gone for aftermarket throttle controllers, which is said to make the Jimny’s response feel crisper. But I haven’t felt the need to opt for that either. In stock trim, the throttle response, combined with the gear ratios and the light clutch offer a very good combination in all kinds of situations.
The standard cupholders are tiny and will not accommodate litre-sized water bottles and are best for two small flasks for long drives. The front door pockets have no room for holding water bottles and are best for keeping a microfiber cloth or for storing your wallet. At the rear, there are no cubbyholes whatsoever for keeping your passenger’s phone or wallet, and if more than two people will be travelling, cubbyhole space will be an issue. The Jimny is best for two people for long drives, and at the most, three people, although officially, it’s a four-person vehicle. Additionally, there is no storage space for your sunglass case, or for an air purifier or hand sanitiser.
The 208-litre boot space is good enough for two people, and even with a cross-country trip to Assam from Delhi, we didn’t feel the Jimny needed additional luggage space. But that’s also down to how you travel, and how much stuff you carry with you. For two travellers who pack relatively light, the Jimny offers decent space, which is more than adequate.
In terms of aftermarket accessories, what I’ve installed are primarily for storage inside the cabin, which is where the Jimny is a disappointment. On the doors, I have installed two cubbyholes to keep some small items, ordered on Amazon, as well as a centre console organiser near the gear shifter, which has been a handy addition to keep the phone, wallet, key fob and gel car perfume.
The defogger wires on the inside of the boot hatch are exposed and need to be covered up with aftermarket plastic covers which I have done. The plastic door pockets aren’t very useful to use though, and if it’s one thing I strongly recommend, it’s the centre console organiser. Some more storage space for small knick-knacks would have been welcome and this is one shortcoming of the Jimny from a practical point of view.
The Jimny is a body-on-frame SUV at the end of the day, and it is still not as comfortable as a compact SUV or subcompact SUV with a monocoque chassis. For anyone considering the Jimny, its purpose and use-case needs to be ascertained first. For everyday use, for commuting, or the occasional long-distance highway drive, the Jimny will not satisfy most owners. It lacks the punchy performance of modern turbo-petrol engines, and there is still some body roll so it’s not as sharp dynamically as many monocoque chassis compact SUVs. For everyday use, particularly for families, the Jimny isn’t a practical choice either. At best, it can be used for short drives around town, or for the occasional 100 km drive, if its use is for four adults.
The Jimny is a purpose-built vehicle and for anyone who will use it for adventures, it will serve well. Yes, it lacks back-slapping performance, and it lacks practicality in cubbyholes, but it’s a versatile 4x4 that can be your go-to vehicle, if you use it for what it’s meant to. You can commute on it, you can cover long distances on it, and it will take you places where no other two-wheel drive SUV will be capable of taking you to. And its compact size and light weight has an advantage in narrow hilly roads that will put a smile on your face every time you see a bigger 4x4 struggling and jostling for space. For now, I can’t wait for some more adventures with the Jimny!
