Maruti Jimny Long Term Review

Prior to its launch, the Jimny was much awaited in India, but once the prices were announced, the response was quite lukewarm. All those who wanted the Jimny bought one, only to be dismayed by the big discounts after sales tanked. However, the Jimny deserves better—sales, I mean! After having spent a considerable amount of time with the rugged-most Maruti Suzuki car, here are

13 Things We Didn’t Like About The Jimny

1 – Starting with the first one, it’s the gearbox! It’s horribly rubbery and fails to slot into gears at times, which can get very frustrating. While the automatic is slow and an old-school 4-speed unit, at least it works, unlike the manual, which I have here, that can leave me stranded with first and reverse taking way too much effort and luck to slot into!

2 – Next up is the reverse parking camera—the resolution is poor, and it’s not even pointing where it should. Seems like 360P to me.

3 – Since I drive this car daily, I get quite frustrated with the lack of storage spaces because the door pockets are super slim, and there is no space to keep a phone in the center console. I end up keeping it on one of the seats.

4 – Which brings me to the rear seats, which irritatingly ring the seatbelt reminder even when no one is seated behind. Maruti hasn’t put load sensors on the rear seats, so every time you turn on the car, you are going to hear the seatbelt warning sound for a full 2 minutes. It’s very annoying.

5 – The Jimny misses out on USB-C ports, which seems baffling in 2024. Who uses USB-A anymore anyway?

6 – Then there is the engine—it simply lacks grunt, doesn’t excite in any way. Simply put, the Jimny is a very, very slow car! And that is a problem when you go off-road because it loses momentum very quickly.

7 – Which is further amplified by the ESP system, which is too intrusive because even when you turn it off, it turns back on at 40 km/hr, cutting down power and bogging the car down.

8 – Which, in spite of lacking in performance, also has a drinking habit—fuel efficiency is quite poor, with single-digit numbers if you drive with some enthusiasm, reaching 10-12 km/l with a light foot.

9 – Then there is the size—the Jimny is chintu-mintu because it’s a Kei car in Japan, and even though it’s an off-roader, it completely lacks road presence.

10 – But in spite of being small, there is no benefit when it comes to maneuverability because the turning radius is too much for a car of the Jimny’s footprint due to the recirculating ball-type electric power steering, which has been calibrated for off-road driving and not for the urban crawl.

11 – But even off-road, there are issues. The ground clearance is low, and it tends to scrape on big obstacles. Even the water wading capacity is quite low—that’s why you can see water above the bonnet level. Freaked me out at first!!

12 – So much talk about the Jimny being off-road focused, but it runs on highway tires, which offer very little grip when you go mud plunging. As you can see, the car easily got stuck in some slush with no traction from the tires.

13 – Lastly, the price is just too high for what’s on offer, and with the significant discounts being offered by dealers, Maruti Suzuki has just confirmed that the car isn’t selling, which doesn’t bode well for resale.

But in spite of these 13 reasons, there are some

Things We Like About The Jimny

The first is the ride quality—it is very impressive, and this SUV rides like a much bigger car, taking the worst of bumps in its stride with authority. By the way, I find the Jimny to be quite funky in this kinetic yellow color, which is Maruti’s way of not calling bright green as bright green!

It’s also decently equipped with keyless entry, push-button start, a big 9-inch screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, 6 airbags, and the Jimny also happens to be the most affordable car in the world with headlight washers.

But the biggest USP of this car is that it’s authentic, rugged, real, and has a personality.In a sea of fake SUVs, which are front-wheel drive jacked-up hatchbacks, the Jimny comes across as a real SUV with amazing capabilities! And that’s why those 13 reasons become less relevant when you start driving the Jimny in its natural habitat—which is off-road!

One is at ease driving the Jimny off-road, not worrying about breaking anything, because you can afford to break things and then repair them too due to the Jimny’s price and low cost of parts! I also prefer to drive the Jimny daily due to its compact size and driving feel. Had Maruti priced this car right to begin with, it would have sold a lot better!

Hopefully, the next-gen Jimny, which as per me should come in the next couple of years, addresses these shortcomings because this is a mountain goat. Once you live with the Jimny, you will never turn back!

By the way, I haven’t used the word Thar even once in this whole review, and the Wrangler copy is the reason for the Jimny’s poor sales! But at least Maruti won’t launch a rear-wheel drive version to boost sales because they don’t want to dilute the Jimny brand!