Maruti Jimny AT long term review, 11,600km report

There is no denying that I am more inclined towards SUVs. Combine that with a petrol motor and 4x4 hardware, and the SUVs are easily my pick of the lot amongst other long-term cars in our fleet. The Maruti Suzuki Jimny ticked all these boxes and, thus, was my daily driver for a few months. We covered a little over 11,000 kilometres, driving it over all sorts of terrain: within the city, outstation trips, and, of course, some off-roading, too!  

One thing I want to say straight up is that the Jimny is definitely not a car that I enjoyed a lot driving on open roads or highways. It does get the job done, but it isn’t really enthusiastic in terms of acceleration. I had to be very patient and wait for it to gather pace, especially while overtaking. Thankfully, though, the four-speed automatic gearbox has an overdrive-off button, which, when engaged, lets the engine rev higher by not allowing the gearbox to shift up to the overdrive ratio. In simpler words, it’s like a ‘sport’ mode.  

Engine feels out of breath on open roads and needs to be overworked.

Unlike the highways, it was absolutely fantastic to drive within the city, and what really made it easy to do so was its compact dimensions combined with a high driving position. However, the turning radius is just too wide, and it can get irritating while making U-turns. It leaves onlookers bewildered as to why someone driving such a compact car cannot make a simple turn. The suspension is simply superb. Broken roads, craters and anything that’s a nightmare for a sedan, the Jimny’s suspension would gobble it up as if it never existed. A massive 210mm ground clearance also meant there was never a need to worry about getting the underbody scraping the rough stuff.

Moving inside, I didn’t like the lack of storage space. The door pads are very narrow and can only hold a magazine or a newspaper. The storage space for your phone on the centre console is hard, which means the device keeps sliding around. A rubber mat or some other soft material would have been so much better. The cup holders, too, are inconveniently placed between the front and back rows. Another annoying bit is the rear seat-belt alarm, which sets off if the belts are unbuckled, regardless of whether the seat is occupied, and it goes for 90 seconds. So, you must remind rear-seat occupants to clasp the belts every time they exit the car. The boot space, too, isn’t really large for an SUV. But despite its compact dimensions, the Jimny can still take two full-sized suitcases easily. Speaking of which, Sergius was so impressed with the Jimny’s kinetic yellow colour that he even bought a matching suitcase!

Overall, it has been a fun experience driving the Jimny, especially off-road, which is where the Jimny really shines. On the various occasions that I drove it to the ‘Learn Offroad’ facility outside Mumbai, it plastered a big smile on my face! I even managed to make my mom drive the Jimny; she’s never driven a car in her life but did so in an open field just because she found it so charming. Sadly, though, it’s now time to hand the keys back to Maruti. And with the monsoons here, this very capable and fun 4x4 SUV will surely be missed!