After three months in our long-term garage, the Maruti Jimny has been entertaining. The Jimny stands out among SUVs, hatchbacks, and sedans, yet is unaffected by its odd appearance. Since I drove it, the Jimny has drawn attention with its boxy styling, big size, and colorful colors, and it will continue to do so.
As a city car, I’ve seen some ups and downs in the last month. Despite the steering being vague and requiring 3.5 turns lock to lock, its compact size and high edges make it easy to determine when you need to slink through traffic or grab that space in the front of the line that someone jumped the gun on.
Turning issues
The last point was initially a nightmare, especially while doing a U-turn on a busy route with eager two- and three-wheelers. However, you grow used to it, and I usually go wide or find a larger area ahead to turn. I’ve been laughing off my four-point and sometimes five-point turns, channeling my inner Dr Asthana/Dr Vishwanathan/Dr J Rama/Dr Ashok.
When in doubt, go all out
As an old-school SUV, the Jimny has never required braking for bumps, potholes, or even modest speed breakers. It devours superficial challenges with remarkable ease. However, if you attack hard and fast, the rear frequently skips since it is unladen. I learned that the hard way when I missed an unmarked speed breaker at high speed and briefly tested Jimny’s aerogliding skills. That left me with a filthy boot, BP, and Jimny acting normally.
A shift in gear
The unusually difficult and hazy manual gearbox has caused several problems. Coming back down the H is difficult to locate a second, and at least once every two days, I have to inch forward and re-engage reverse to prevent gear grinding. The car is approaching 10,000km, therefore a thorough first service should fix that.
Mileage talk
Maruti claims 17kmpl for the Jimny, however my city driving has yielded 11kmpl to 12.4kmpl, requiring careful driving. As the kilometres add up, I can see a lot of room for efficiency improvements. Hopefully we can inform you about them before the car leaves the CarWale garage.
Next up
The next priority is the performance of the Jimny on the highway, including mileage and ride quality. Stay tuned for the Jimny’s historic appeal to those of you who grew up in India during the last four decades!
