Maruti Suzuki Jimny real world fuel economy tested, explained

Maruti Suzuki’s Jimny off-roader uses the tried-and-tested 1.5-litre petrol engine, with two gearbox options. Marutis are synonymous with fuel efficiency, and we put the new Jimny through our instrumented tests to find out just how efficient it really is in the real world. The results are as follows. 

• Jimny AT uses 4-speed torque converter, Manual is a 5-speeder
• Maruti claims overall efficiency of 16.94kpl (MT) and 16.39kpl (AT)

Maruti Suzuki Jimny fuel efficiency

Powering the Jimny is a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol engine that puts out 105hp and 134Nm, while transmission options include a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed torque converter automatic. The company claims an overall fuel efficiency of 16.94kpl for the manual and 16.39kpl for the automatic.

In our real-world tests, the Maruti Jimny manual managed to do 10.86kpl in the city and 14.74kpl on the highway. Meanwhile, the automatic wasn’t too far behind, with figures of 10.04kpl in the city and 13.56kpl on the highway. Combined, the real-world fuel efficiency figures stand at 12.8kpl for the manual and 11.8kpl for the automatic.

Unlike the Ertiga, XL6, Brezza and Grand Vitara, which all use the newer K15C 1.5-litre petrol engine, the Jimny makes use of the older K15B unit. As a result, the Jimny doesn’t come with the fuel-saving mild-hybrid tech or the newer 6-speed torque converter automatic like the aforementioned models. The addition of both these would have improved the Jimny’s efficiency.

However, both versions do get an auto stop-start feature, which helps conserve fuel while idling. The feature will keep the car turned off at a set of traffic lights for a significant amount of time (around 2 minutes) before it starts up again to run the AC and cool down the cabin. The engine stop-start feature works seamlessly, shutting off the car as soon as you come to a complete stop and restarting it when you lift off the brake pedal (AT), or when you depress the clutch pedal (MT). And out on the highway, both versions sit at a rather high 3,100rpm at 100kph in top gear, which impacts the efficiency.

Autocar India’s fuel efficiency testing

Before our real-world fuel efficiency test, we fill the tanks of our test cars to the brim and maintain tyre pressures based on the manufacturer’s recommendation. These cars are driven in fixed city and highway loops, and we maintain certain average speeds. Throughout our test, we ran the air-con and other electricals like the audio system, indicators and wipers when required, just like how a regular user would. Periodic driver swaps further neutralise variations in driver patterns. At the end of each cycle, we calculate efficiency by filling them up to the brim again.

Also see: 

Maruti Suzuki Jimny review: The new off-road hero

Maruti Suzuki Jimny video review

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