I finally got to drive this famous Classic in the saturday morning Mumbai traffic.
Let's start from the first step, that is looking under the hood.
1) Under the hood it looks more like a car than a Jeep, I mean lot of modern components. I have come to realise that every Jeep is unique under the hood (and outside too) after numerous modifications over the years. This one had lots of Bolero components and even a Sierra compressor(??).
2) It was lower than my CJ340. But that also means stable handling. The plastic doors were a great addition to provide complete protection from elements. The dashboard makes my Jeep feel like a relic, with a indication light for every operation. It even had a complex security system whose details I won't devulge.
3) Driving time. As I slid into the driver seat, my wife naturally took the shotgun position. That relegated the owner of the Classic into the backseat that he had never managed to enjoy or suffer till that date.
4) I closed the doors and started the engine, it purred into life more like a car than a Jeep. The engine noise is very muted, I mean for a diesel non-CDRi Jeep. The AC is a chiller, reminded me of Baleno AC and it held the cool temp pretty well throughout the drive.
5) The first gear slotted very fluidly and clicked into place. Again I was reminded that every Jeep drives differently and behaves differently. But people who drive Jeeps regularly have very high tolerance levels and can adopt quickly.

In my Jeep, every gear change is preceded by flexing of my elbow and wrist muscles, if not it hurts later. None of that nonsense was required here.
6) The general Mumbai traffic is lot more aggressive compared to small town or village traffic that I am used to now. So I found myself yielding lot more than a typical Jeep. And I drove slowly than a typical Mumbai city driver, I was not familiar with the roads and I was driving an unfamiliar Jeep I didn't own. Also, the side mirrors were extended out like elephant ears and not in the best angle, it kept moving too. The visibility thorugh the plastic windows is as not as good as my doorless Jeep. I at least jumped two red lights since I was following the car in front than watching the traffic lights. Hey, I live 70Kms from the nearest traffic light, so give me a break.
7) GTO wanted me to rip the Jeep and feel the extra torque from the 2.5L Jeep, but being a sedate driver I couldn't quite manage it in the city roads. He also wanted me to test the disk brakes by braking hard, but I again failed that test. Since I rarely use the brakes on my Jeep other than for complete stop, that too didn't come naturally to me.
8) Meanwhile GTO finally understood how the backseat of his Jeep feels like. It launched him at every small bump and his head hit the soft top steel support everytime. The suspension was harder than my Jeep, every bump hit back hard, that is because of a recent suspension overhaul.
The 13Kms drive in Mumbai roads with chilling AC and iPOD enabled music almost made us forget we were riding/driving a Jeep, the harsh ride was our only link to reality.