Maruti Suzuki Jimny Review: 5-Door Tested On And Off-Road

A successor to the legendary Gypsy, and probably that one Maruti model so many have been waiting for with bated breath. Welcome to India: the Suzuki Jimny off-roader, the all-new 5-door long wheelbase avatar. This is the 4th generation car, and it is the one that has really taken the world by storm. There's been so much anticipation for this car’s arrival in India. So today we tell you all about it because I know this is something you have been waiting for as well.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny: Off-Road Capability

The Suzuki Jimny model line has been around for over 50 years. And globally, it has been known for its compact footprint, affordability, and, most importantly, its off-road skills. The new car comes packed with a lot of capability. The car’s ladder frame construction is extremely stiff. And it marries perfectly with the 3-link front and rear suspensions. There is also a stabiliser up front and a steering damper. Maruti Suzuki brought us to a riverbed in Dehradun to test the car’s 4X4 chops.

36-24-47 The figures that really matter when it comes to the Jimny, what am I talking about? The approach angle that's 36 degrees almost comparable to the three doors by the way, the ramp breakover angle is 24 degrees and then the departure angle is 47 degrees. The other number that really matters is the 210 millimetres of ground clearance and functional design comes right back into play here because of massive wheel arches with a lot of wheel travel and all that is important when you take it off-road!

The course laid out allowed us to check out its climbing, turning, wading, rock-crawling, twisting, descending and traversing capability. It really-really surprises you with how much it can do. And of course, the 3-door is a little more nimble than this, but honestly, I am quite impressed. I am not seeing a massive difference. The car’s AllGrip Pro 4-wheel-drive system is standard across the two trims – Alpha and Zeta.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny: Engine & Transmission

The Jimny comes with Suzuki’s K15B petrol engine with start/stop. 103 bhp is not bad, and neither is the 134 Nm of torque. And while it peaks at 4000 rpm, a lot of it does come in at the low and mid-range too. Gearbox choices are rudimentary, and I spent more time with the manual. But I also got to use Jimny’s 4-Speed auto on some of these sections.

Jimny does it all pretty easily. The surprise is that this being the stock production car with slim road-going tyres was also taking on the elements so easily. The car’s hill hold is effective, and the hill descent control works quite well too. The system will drive it at 5 kmph in the low range and at 10 kmph in 4H. The Jimny also has brake limited slip differential. This helps avoid slippage and gives you better traction on a variety of surfaces.

Honestly, in most of the situations, Jimny had enough grunt to pull along in 2 wheel drive. Though at times I was switching to 4 wheel or 4 low. I was most impressed by how easily it managed a rock and stone section and when I took it into the relatively deeper part of the stream with a very uneven rocky bottom.

Its water-wading capability stands at 310 mm which is way lower than other off-roaders. But it does fine in most stream crossing-like situations, but don’t get brave in Bangalore or Gurgaon monsoon flooding.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny: Design

One of the reasons the Jiminy has been so popular worldwide is because of how it looks. People love it. It's so attractive. It's so young, fun, but guess what? It's not just about looking sexy. It's also a functional design. Let me explain what that means.

The car gets a square shape with a straight beltline for stability. It has body cladding and non-body coloured bumpers to save the paintwork from stones or scratches. Vertical windows and glass all around to keep dust or snow from settling on it. The bumpers are cut out at the ends to afford more wheel travel and ease of climbing, in line with approach and departure angles. And the rear lights sit low in the bumper so the rear cargo door can get a wider opening. Its retro design draws heavily from previous generations.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny: Cabin

On the inside too the dash layout and seating have been designed to provide maximum visibility. A front view camera even as optional equipment would serve the off-roading even better in my view. But otherwise, you get the latest Suzuki Smartplay Pro+ on the Alpha with a 9-inch touchscreen and wireless CarPlay or Android Auto. No wireless charger but that’s fine in an offroader I think. There is wired charging through USB. The Zeta trim gets Smartplay Pro with a 7-inch screen.

The instrument cluster is almost too retro, amber backlighting in 2023, seriously? And while the TFT info screen does give you a lot of data, it is boring and 1990s-looking. I feel Suzuki would have done better to offer a slicker more modern virtual one instead. Now on to the last piece – how’s it on the road? Which is where most of you will drive it anyway.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny: Ride and Handling

One of the most important reasons why people love the Jimny when it first came out, and then its subsequent variants, and especially this fourth generation is because in this world of extreme automation, sophistication modernising and, yes, to some extent, even drive by wire, you have something that has a really pure mechanical feel to it. That's why you buy a Jimny. This is not a car to be compared with all the other urban SUVs or crossovers. This is a car that is purpose-built, and you have to buy it because you want that. So if you want a car that has the electric performance of a nice turbo engine or if you want more refinement, sophistication, and plush interiors, well, you're not shopping in the right space, then this isn't that car.

That said it is on the road where you feel the need for a little sophistication and little more power from this drivetrain. There are times when you wish the engine was a little bit refined at the higher end but at the low end I have to say I'm really impressed by how it performs because especially in bad traffic as well. Great seating position, nice turning radius, there are a lot of things you'd like about the car and that is why it perhaps won world urban Car of the Year, even though you don't associate this car with urban conditions, in terms of its overall pitch, but it does well in those conditions too.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny: Safety

6 airbags, ISOFIX child seat anchors, 3-point seatbelts and seatbelt reminders for all passengers – which keep dinging even when you have belts on at times. ABS, EBD, ESC are all standard.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny: Verdict

The Suzuki Jimny. Hyped, anticipated, and loved even before its launch. The Jimny has been teased and hinted at for years and Maruti says bookings have already crossed the 30,000 mark.

So could this Indian version of the Jimny, the first five doors have done more? Yes, you could have had a more sophisticated, modern and more refined powertrain. You could have had a more plush interior. That all comes down to pricing. The launch is just days away now, and pricing should fall in the Rs. 11-13 lakh range. Anything more would be a shame.

Photography by: Prashant Chaudhary