There is a steep incline from my parking which my Jimny handles well by crawling up the hill with 1st low or even without engaging 4×4. All other cars have to climb up with strong momentum right from the parking which gives you quite a panicky experience while steering clear of the pedestrians and the blind curve ahead .
I have Maruti Swift 2011 model which cannot handle the stress and therefore want to sell it and buy a family suv up to 20 lakhs which can handle the above challenge with Jimny like or near Jimny like confidence. Kindly help me in decision making. Thanks

Question

There is a steep incline from my parking which my Jimny handles well by crawling up the hill with 1st low or even without engaging 4×4. All other cars have to climb up with strong momentum right from the parking which gives you  quite a panicky experience  while steering clear of the pedestrians and the blind curve ahead . 
I have Maruti Swift 2011 model which cannot  handle the stress and therefore want to sell it and  buy a family suv up to 20 lakhs which can handle the above challenge with Jimny like or near Jimny like confidence. Kindly help me in decision making. Thanks

Autocar India team · Accepted Answer

The main reason the Jimny is adept at handling the slope up is its rear-wheel-drive layout. Unlike the rest of Maruti's model range, the Jimny (like the Gypsy before it) uses a ladder-frame chassis and a longitudinally mounted engine that sends power to the rear wheels. This is in accordance with its AllGrip Pro 4x4 system, which can then engage the front axle on command. However, a rear-wheel-drive layout is inherently better at tackling steep slopes as the weight of the car falls onto the rear wheels when the nose is pointed upwards, and power at the rear 'pushes' the car up the hill.

In a front-wheel drive car like the Swift, the car is trying to 'pull' its way up the hill using wheels that don't have enough traction, hence momentum is required to get it going. While an AWD car like the Maruti Suzuki Victoris will help to an extent, what you want is a RWD car. Our recommendation at your budget is the Mahindra Thar Roxx, which is available at your budget in a decent mid-spec variant. Its combination of rear-wheel drive and strong petrol and diesel engines should make light work of that slope, with enough control to tackle the sharp turn at the end safely.

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