Maruti Suzuki Jimny poses a slight advantage with its lightness – It has a slight advantage off-road with the right set of tyres
Ever since Jimny is launched in India, there have been quite a few mixed receptions regarding its pricing strategy. Main rival Thar’s base models comprise RWD layout and cost Rs. 2.2 lakh less, while Jimny has 4X4 transfer case as standard. But transfer cases from OEMs like Tata usually cost around Rs. 80,000 as seen with Yodha Pickup.
Also, Thar’s base model is a turbo diesel and not a NA petrol and still costs Rs. 2.2 lakh less. Even Jimny’s Japanese 3-door counterpart costs Rs. 4.87 lakh less, despite packing an ADAS suite, turbo engine and more. So, does Jimny have an edge over Thar in real-life off-roading scenarios, let alone value? There seem to be. And the Small Town Rider channel demonstrates it.
Jimny clears off-road obstacles Thar couldn’t
In the video, Small Town Rider compares his Thar with his friend’s Jimny in one technical obstacle only. With both vehicles, he doesn’t stress the engine during this obstacle. They test out both vehicles’ low-end grunt and ease of trundling in off-road terrains.
One would think Thar 4X4 comes with either a 2.0L petrol and 2.2L diesel engine. So, it would be a cakewalk when compared to that of Jimny. As it turns out, that was not the case. The test is done in Jammu and said Thar has been in the YouTuber’s possession for a long time and Jimny is new.
We don’t want to call this Thar clapped up, but it has seen quite some use and abuse going by his previous videos. Said Thar has an off-road Bumper and aftermarket A/T tyres. Jimny had aftermarket Yokohama A/T tyres as well, and from the factory, Maruti Suzuki offers 195-section H/T tyres, with little to no grip on loose terrain.
First goes the Thar. In a 4X4 low-range ratio, the front wheels make the climb, but the rear wheels struggle. There was some contact with Thar’s underbody as well, despite having higher 226 mm ground clearance as opposed to 210 mm on Jimny. Speaking of, Jimny has no such trouble climbing this obstacle and even on gentle throttle, makes the climb.
Why is it so?
Eventually, the YouTuber gives his Thar some beans and it does make the climb when wrung its neck. Jimny is not defying physics here to achieve this W. Most of it comes down to Jimny’s weight and it is very light on its feet. For reference, Mahindra Thar weighs over 500 kg over Jimny. 3-door Jimny would have been even better here as it has a better breakover angle too.
Also, aftermarket A/T tyres are what made Jimny fly. We’ve told this before too. Jimny needs A/T tyres badly and the stock H/T tyres are just not grippy off-road. So, the lightness factor gives Jimny a slight advantage that Thar’s brawl failed to achieve. Would you consider Jimny over a Thar after seeing this?
