Jimny gets a proper 4X4 system with low-range gear ratios for superior grip
Do you want an off-roader? You do, don’t you? I don’t blame you. It tickles the fancy of most people around the world. Although they are a niche and don’t really attract a lot of buyers looking for a mainstream vehicle in India. But we have seen the success of Mahindra Thar whose demand is ever-growing and competitors like Force Gurkha trying to get a piece of the pie.
But what if you want something small and less expensive? And also is it cheaper to run and from a mainstream manufacturer? You’ve zeroed in on the upcoming Maruti Suzuki Jimny. You can have it today with the help of Carnet.
First Suzuki Jimny Spotted In India
ATA Carnet is a universally accepted customs document. It is issued in 78 countries and India is, fortunately, one among them. Carnet provides temporary admission of goods into one of those 78 countries without any payment of import duties and taxes. So, people somehow manage to get in cars that weren’t sold by the manufacturer or its official partners.
One such car that arrived in India through Carnet route is the Jimny. It is clearly not imported from Britain where Suzuki sold Jimny because the one seen in India has Left Hand Drive (LHD) layout. Also, currently, Jimny is not available in a 4-seater layout in Britain and is only available as a commercial cargo vehicle for reasons best known to them.
The Jimny spotted in Mumbai has its most popular colour option, Green. This colour is clearly lifted off a Mercedes Benz G-Class. Suzuki Jimny is heavily inspired by the G-Class too. If the G-Class would somehow be smaller and have 3-doors, it would look just like the Jimny. Suzuki Jimny is a traditional ladder-frame SUV with a proper 4X4 transfer case with high and low-range gear ratios. Dubbed as Allgrip, Suzuki has given a good off-roading system to Jimny. It has a seating layout of four and only gets one engine option and is equipped with MT and AT transmission options worldwide.
Specs & Features
It is a familiar engine too. The 1.5L K15 naturally aspirated petrol engine makes 100 bhp of power and 130 Nm of torque. A version of this engine does duties in the newly launched Brezza, Ertiga, XL6 and upcoming Grand Vitara and HyRyder. Jimny is only manufactured in Japan and India, and exported worldwide.
Even though Jimny looks underpowered on paper, it is brilliant off-road and we have seen it easily keep up with legacy off-roaders like Mercedes Benz G-Class and Jeep Wrangler on off-road tracks. The peppy engine combined with a lightweight (around 1,135 kg) construction is the perfect combination and can put some really expensive SUVs to shame during off-road.
Maruti Suzuki is expected to launch Jimny in India with a more practical 5-door layout. We have seen Jimny test mules with 5 doors too. Jimny will get basic features and some modern features like a 9” free-standing touchscreen display that was recently spied, unlike the previous 7” display on the global model. We can expect it to launch by the end of this year or by early 2023. When launched, it will compete with other lifestyle off-roaders like Mahindra Thar and Force Gurkha which are also launching a 5-door variant. We predict that Jimny prices might start under Rs. 10 lakh significantly undercutting the competition.
