My wife doesn’t like the comfort of the Jimny - the seats hurt her back and neck, and she dislikes the bouncy ride on highways. She wants to sell it and get something like a Creta or an Innova for comfort in the city and smooth highway drives. I want a vehicle that can handle 4x4 duties (winter Spiti trips) and take a beating. Is there a car that can strike that balance, ideally under ₹25 lakh? We drive in the city about 75% of the time and take highway trips 25% of the time.

Yes, the Maruti Suzuki Jimny is very adept off-road, thanks to Suzuki's All-Grip Pro 4X4 system, which also features a low ratio. However, it does feel bouncy on regular roads - just like most 4X4s. Thus, we would recommend you look at the all-wheel-drive (AWD) versions of the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara / Toyota Hyryder or the Maruti Suzuki Victoris. 

These SUVs use Suzuki All-Grip Select, which does not have a low ratio but has a Snow mode and also allow you to lock AWD. For the winter Spiti trails, this should suffice. Moreover, these SUVs will be far better in terms of ride comfort in the city and on the highway.