Maruti Jimny

Outside, the Suzuki Jimny is exactly how you’d want a purpose-built off-roader to look. It exudes old school appeal, with its squared edges, design traits borrowed from the original 1970 (LJ) Jimny and compact size. In fact, its 3645mm length makes it short enough to qualify for the sub-4 metre car excise duty benefits. Also, with a width of 1645mm, it’s even narrower than the Swift! Most SUV buyers like ‘em big, but for off-roaders, compact is better. The Jimny even offers 210mm of ground clearance with sharp approach, departure and breakover angles of 37-degrees, 49-degrees and 28-degrees respectively.

Styling highlights include a clamshell bonnet, vertical slats for the front grille, bumper-integrated tail lights and round headlights with independent indicators. However, old school doesn’t mean outdated. In the retro design elements, the Jimny adds modernities like auto LED projector headlamps with high beam assist and 15-inch gunmetal finish alloy wheels.

On first impressions, the 4th-gen Jimny is a true successor to India’s ageing Maruti Gypsy, which has been in service for over three decades now!  

The Jimny’s cabin is an even better combination of the old and new than the exterior. A tall boy driving position is a given, but it’s also ergonomically sound while looking sweet! Open up the slender doors and you’re welcomed by an all black cabin with many familiar Maruti Suzuki bits. The instrument cluster features analogue dials with a digital MID in between. Below the rectangular AC vents are dials to operate the auto AC and square buttons to manage the off-road settings and power windows.

The gear lever and transfer case lever both sport a design that was common in the 1990s, which is another cool retro touch. Of course, we haven’t missed the dashboard’s centrepiece:  the SmartPlay touchscreen infotainment system which supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. So while the Jimny is function-first on the inside, it still offers comforts to make it daily drive-friendly. At least for now, it is available only as a two-door, two-seater, which is one of the reasons why Maruti Suzuki isn’t launching the new Jimny in India.  

The Suzuki Jimny impresses with its safety tech. Features include 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, traction control, ESP, lane departure warning, hill-descent control, hill-hold and even autonomous emergency braking. It even gets a limited-slip differential for superior control over road conditions with uneven grip.  

While the Jimny is available with a Japanese market-only 660cc engine, there is a more powerful engine that’s just made its way into the Ciaz in India. The K15B 1.5-litre petrol engine is good for about 102PS of power and 130Nm of torque and is available with a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic (torque-converter). The drivetrain is a part-time 4WD setup with a shift-on-the-fly 4x4 system and low-range.  

The fourth-gen Suzuki Jimny is the grand successor of the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy that we get in India. The Gypsy is the second generation of the Jimny nameplate and will soon be phased out from the Indian market.

With the creature comforts that premium hatchbacks offer and its diminutive dimensions, the new Suzuki Jimny can prove to be an excellent city runabout but with an added advantage of being a very capable off-roader too. That’s a rare combination. We expect it to be a premium offering starting from around Rs 8 lakh, if it comes to India.