Maruti Suzuki Jimny road test, review

The Jimny sports a classic off-roader stance with its boxy, slab-sided and squared-edged styling. Several design cues link its ties with earlier generations of the Jimny. For example, its round headlamps with independent indicators are inspired by those in the first-gen, five vertical slats on the grille are similar to the third-gen, and the clamshell bonnet and twin horizontal slits on its side take inspiration from the second-gen. This five-door version doesn’t look unnaturally stretched, and even its thick wheel cladding and vertical C-pillar glass are neatly executed. At the rear, the spare tyre takes pride of place with the horizontally oriented lights positioned low down on the unpainted bumper.

Old-school styling elements are beautifully amalgamated with modern touches, and this, along with its humble dimensions, brings a smile on the faces of on-lookers. The Jimny is a compact SUV as it measures 3,985mm in length (including the tail-mounted spare tyre). However, with the petrol engine breaching the 1.2-litre limit, it does not qualify for the lower tax slab. Compared to the three-door model sold abroad, the stretch is at the wheelbase, which is lengthened by 340mm to enhance rear passenger space, accommodate rear doors and enhance boot space. At 1,645mm, the Jimny is narrower than an average midsize hatchback and with a 1,720mm height, it doesn’t tower over other road users like other imposing SUVs either.

Underpinning the Jimny is a ladder-frame, with 3-link rigid front and rear axles with coil springs, a welcome departure from the Gypsy’s leaf-spring setup. Maruti hasn’t tweaked other aspects of the Jimny compared to the international iteration, so its front and rear track are identical at 1,395mm and 1,405mm, respectively, and even its ground clearance is unchanged at 210mm. Its steering rack is identical, too, but because its wheelbase is much longer than the three-door version, the five-door’s turning radius is huge at 5.7m, as against 4.9m for the three-door. It also features Maruti’s AllGrip Pro, a four-wheel-drive system with a low-range gear (more on that later).