[beingsidd]

Maruti is really in a tight spot with the pricing, on one end they have to beat the competition which is Thar. the 2WD models start at Rs 9.99 Lakh (ex. showroom). On the other end they have their own line up which needs to be justified. Brezza top trim is approx. Rs 14 lakh (ex. showroom) & Grand Vitara (All Grip MT model) is approx. 19 Lakh (ex. showroom)
It will be quite interesting to see how the price the JIMNY, and justify the pricing of thier other cars especially that of Brezza.

[RijuC]

My perspective as a budget category buyer:

For a short height Eeco van sized SUV with flared wheel arch claddings, and 4 persons sitting capacity, with creased seat base, tiny sun visors, near zero interior storage space for water and accessories, cramped leg room in second row, kat-kat type cheap ORVM control Switches, no door lock-unlock dedicated button, no reach adjustment of steering, no height adjustment for driver's seat, ancient 4 speed AT, rickety tires, non-folding type grab handles, the EXPOSED WIRE TERMINALS OF BOOT DOOR DEFOGGER- the Jimny certainly doesn't look and feel like a "Niche" and "Lifestyle" category vehicle to my eyes.

The cabin interior quality and availability of basic functional features are inferior than my current Swift (2016 model). It feels like a DOWNGRADE.

We Indian car buyers always look for a bigger, better car/ stronger engine/ cars with more features for our next car purchase. It must be an UPGRADE to next category or LATERAL UPGRADE to a better quality, stronger engine/ better Transmission car. For most of us, the Jimny won't be a first car purchase. Then, is it an upgrade or lateral upgrade for our second car? A BIG NO.

Then why should we pay them the premium for a "NICHE" and "LIFESTYLE" category? Let MSIL explain the "premium-ness", the "exclusivity", the "Niche" factors, the "Lifestyle" features of the Jimny. How are they going to raise the "Aspirational quotient" with the Jimny?

For this 4 seater short height Eeco Van with 4x4 capabilities, I can pay 7-11 Lakhs ex-showroom for ZETA MT to ALPHA AT. Take one more lakh for the two chrome badges of "Jimny" and "AllGripPro" on the boot door.

And we should not use the Australia or Dubai prices as base reference for building up the sales price of the Jimny, without having knowledge of cost engineering. It's really funny to see our friends start from the Dubai prices to extrapolate Indian price, without considering effects of logistics and other costing factors. The 5 door Jimny will be manufactured in India using majority of parts and components sourced from India.

[EvilZombie]

I feel a premium price may not hurt them as bad as some of us are assuming. Yes the Kizashi, Vitara were victims of poor pricing, but the average Indian car buyers are already spending way more than they did 10yrs back. MSIL have considerably increased their prices over the years, but still sell the high volumes.

Looking at the figures of Baleno, Breeza and Grand Vitara, I feel consumers won't hesitate to spend 10-12 lakhs for this one. I hope MSIL don't get to greedy, but a part of me knows that's just wishful thinking.

[vellatechie]

Jimny is 80-90% of Thar in terms of size/presence and if Maruti is smart enough, they'll sell it 70-80% of the price. Which means starting should be 9.99L Ex Showroom. Ofcourse this can/should be even lower considering the inferior engine and gearbox. But let's see.

Just like Mahindra bumped up the price by a lakh for RWD they can do that few months later. But it really doesn't make any sense for then to charge any higher.

[jkrishnakj]

With Jimny almost ending up as a 2nd or a 3rd car for majority of its buyers, Maruti might decide to keep this premium on price. The quandary though is, people buying a 2nd or 3rd will swing to a Thar for the bells and whistles it provides, if the Jimny is priced ‘premium’. Therefore, I’m thinking that it’ll be super competitively priced.

Pricing the Jimmy is seriously hard indeed.

Do we know how many bookings of Thar was done before/during launch? With Jimny bookings being just around the 25k mark, do we hypothesise that it isn’t tugging as much as a Thar did to people?

[blueather]

The whole point of Jimny is a serious off roader at an affordable price.
But Suzuki is doing this car a disservice by making it a 5 door. They're also misleading customers by showing all those mighty feats of Jimny users when 5 door Jimny hasn't even been launched anywhere in the world. Those stories are all related to 3 door version.
And people can say whatever they want, more horsepower wins in the end. And Thar has way more power than this and it also has better interiors imo.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

With Jimny bookings being just around the 25k mark, do we hypothesise that it isn’t tugging as much as a Thar did to people?

@jkrishnakj: very valid musings! Any which way I wish you the best of luck with better half and other quarter(s).

Let us know what transpires.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by RijuC

My perspective as a budget category buyer:

For a short height Eeco van sized SUV with flared wheel arch claddings, and 4 persons sitting capacity, with creased seat base, tiny sun visors, near zero interior storage space for water and accessories, cramped leg room in second row, kat-kat type cheap ORVM control Switches, no door lock-unlock dedicated button, no reach adjustment of steering, no height adjustment for driver's seat, ancient 4 speed AT, rickety tires, non-folding type grab handles, the EXPOSED WIRE TERMINALS OF BOOT DOOR DEFOGGER- the Jimny certainly doesn't look and feel like a "Niche" and "Lifestyle" category vehicle to my eyes.

The cabin interior quality and availability of basic functional features are inferior than my current Swift (2016 model). It feels like a DOWNGRADE.

We Indian car buyers always look for a bigger, better car/ stronger engine/ cars with more features for our next car purchase. It must be an UPGRADE to next category or LATERAL UPGRADE to a better quality, stronger engine/ better Transmission car. For most of us, the Jimny won't be a first car purchase. Then, is it an upgrade or lateral upgrade for our second car? A BIG NO.

Then why should we pay them the premium for a "NICHE" and "LIFESTYLE" category? Let MSIL explain the "premium-ness", the "exclusivity", the "Niche" factors, the "Lifestyle" features of the Jimny. How are they going to raise the "Aspirational quotient" with the Jimny?

For this 4 seater short height Eeco Van with 4x4 capabilities, I can pay 7-11 Lakhs ex-showroom for ZETA MT to ALPHA AT. Take one more lakh for the two chrome badges of "Jimny" and "AllGripPro" on the boot door.

And we should not use the Australia or Dubai prices as base reference for building up the sales price of the Jimny, without having knowledge of cost engineering. It's really funny to see our friends start from the Dubai prices to extrapolate Indian price, without considering effects of logistics and other costing factors. The 5 door Jimny will be manufactured in India using majority of parts and components sourced from India.

True that. And, you forgot to add 1500 cc NA engine. On an SUV with more weight and bigger tyres ( likely to be installed by most ), this car may struggle to go past 100 kph.

I was crazy about this when it was launched overseas around 2018. We waited for it year after year after year. Suzuki would never really have bothered to launch here (even now), if it were not for Thar 2.0. So, no. Thank you Maruti but no. I don't want it/need it. I remember pages on teambhp. People were virtually begging Maruti almost like asking for a kidney. And, Maruti didn't bother to launch in its biggest market in the world, while neighbouring Pakistan and other countries had it right from 2018. This reason alone is enough for me not to buy this.

Plus, now we have full-blown macho-looking Thar with diesel, turbo petrol, MT, AT, hard top-soft top, 3-door 5-door (soon), 2WD-4WD options. Tiny Jimny pales in comparison. It maybe a big hit in European markets but then Europeans do drive tiny little cars. Our SUV preferences are closer to U.S. market. Bigger the better. No wonder Suzuki pulled out of U.S. market where 4000 cc to 7000 cc engines are norm for SUVs.

That said, I agree that Jimny is a potent off-roader, maybe equal to or even better than Thar but almost 90% SUVs never leave paved roads. They are mostly mall-cruisers where size and macho looks matter more than off-road capability.

[Zeek]

I went to checkout the Jimny in Bangalore with high expectations
And after a thorough walk around and sitting in all 4 seats, with different seating configurations,
The experience was not so great.
I am 5.10 , for second row under thigh support dint feel adequate

I felt that my 2007 alto has a better shoulder room!
Attaching pictures for reference

If the pricing < 8-10 lakhs (Ex showroom), I might change my opinion (which I highly doubt)
With the Nexa branding , I expect the price to be 14 lakhs

[Knightrider]

Originally Posted by Djay

Pune Jimny fans, the Jimny will be on display at Sai Service Nexa Baner, Pune from tomorrow till 18th April as confirmed by the SA.

Thanks to this info, I visited this showroom and checked out the Jimny. Surprisingly there was no crowd at all in the showroom.

Regarding the dimensions, much is already said about it. Verified the same in person. As mentioned by many, rear seat width feels less and too compact. Under thigh support also felt less. Would be fine for people with less height. The bonnet and floor are quite high from the ground. So you sit very high giving a very nice view all around.

As per the SA, the top-end AT will be priced around 16L on road.

The car will be there in the showroom for next 2 days.

[Djay]

Had a chance to check out the Jimny in the flesh today. Most points have been covered many times, so just wanted to highlight some observations I found only after seeing the actual car.

Pros:
Looks: Looks nothing like anything out there, The retro classic looks in these times of sharp edgy designs is a breath of fresh air.
Build Quality: Impressed by the build quality inside out. Body panels feel solid and hefty, paint quality is top notch (especially that amazing Kinetic Yellow). Interior fit and finish is surprisingly amazing. Everything feels well put together unlike anything I have seen in any other Maruti. Hopefully Maruti does not change any of this in the final production cars.

Cons:
Some minor inconveniences I found are -
Driver footwell: Driver footwell is a bit cramped especially for the left leg. I found my left leg angle a bit tight compared to what I am used to in Baleno or S-Cross. It's manageable for AT, but using a clutch in the manual in city traffic might get challenging. Will get better idea after seeing the manual version.
Driver seat height: I found the height slightly lesser for my taste. I always keep the seats on maximum height and sorely missed the height adjust. Not sure why Maruti left that out
Rear Seats Ingress-Egress: Sitting in the rear seats is a little tight as the doors don't open 90 degrees and one has to lift the leg higher than other compact SUVs to climb in. Might be a little difficult for senior citizens or women wearing sarees.

Public Reaction: Most people seemed surprised by how compact the space is on the inside, especially the rear seat. Most people expect it to be priced less as it's technically a small car for the aam junta.

Bottom Line:
Great product for which the pricing will make it or break it. Higher pricing will be rejected by the market due to the compact size. If Maruti has to sell this in volumes, this has to appear a VFM buy. Note to Maruti - Over-pricing made great global products like the OG Grand Vitara, Kizashi and S-Cross fail in the Indian market. Jimny is the last great Suzuki global product. Please don't drop the ball on this one.
If priced close to the Thar, this will be dead on arrival. A Thar was parked just outside the showroom and it was clearly a size bigger externally. For the masses, the bigger size is all that will matter. With pricing the Jimny right, Maruti definitely has a their task cut out.

[gsferrari]

I think it might be a strategy by M&M to park a Thar outside the Nexa showrooms where the Jimny is being displayed. Maruti has made it easy by being miserly with the number of cars as well as publishing the schedule. There was a Thar parked outside the Museum road Nexa today when the Jimny was on display there.

If this is indeed a marketing strategy, it worked! Drawing a comparison was inevitable.

[4x4addict]

When I look through these comments, I find some of them fairly amusing. Let me tell you guys upfront. The Jimny was never meant to serve the purpose of of family car. It is purely a farmers ride or a weekend fun car.
Before you start measuring the width of the seats, please look under the car. It is solid axle for crying out loud. Your baby will throw up it's milk shortly.
This car is purely for an off-road enthusiast. For baby comfort and slightly wider mother in law comfort, there are like a 100 options and Jimny is definitely not one of them. It is a solid offroader which is compromised in just about every other aspect.

[SUVolens]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

When I look through these comments, I find some of them fairly amusing. Let me tell you guys upfront. The Jimny was never meant to serve the purpose of of family car. It is purely a farmers ride or a weekend fun car.
Before you start measuring the width of the seats, please look under the car. It is solid axle for crying out loud. Your baby will throw up it's milk shortly.
This car is purely for an off-road enthusiast. For baby comfort and slightly wider mother in law comfort, there are like a 100 options and Jimny is definitely not one of them. It is a solid offroader which is compromised in just about every other aspect.

Well, yes and no. Yes, internationally and especially in road space constricted Europe, the original Jimny is a farmer’s tool and an urban toy/joyride. In 4x4 crazed Australia and S Africa too. But from Maruti in India? I don’t think that’s how they’re seeing it or will be able to market it. The off-roading trend is growing here, true. And no small measure thanks to the efforts of M&M and Force Motors. And while Maruti may have kept an eye on that growth trend while agreeing to sell the Jimny here, their primary thought was to give the crowds the vital feature missing from the competition - access, both practically and metaphorically. 4 doors just flatten the doubts many have when eyeing the Thar for example. They open the doors (no puns intended) for a slightly older demographic too and that would’ve been plenty in evidence from the visitors to the Jimny viewings at the dealers. This ‘compromised’ version also makes a great case to be sold by bucketloads in the hill states, not an ignorable number. Then there is the defence market. It’s a calculated move from MSIL. All they need is a crafty pricing and they’ll be laughing all the way to the banks.
Does that make the LWB Jimny a family car? Gawd NO! It doesn’t have it in its genes to be that. But what it can be is a stylish compromise that many would be willing to live with, within their daily commute zones. That’s not what the competition is able to do currently.

[gsferrari]

Drove from Chennai to Bangalore to check out the Jimny. MSIL must think Chennai is part of Sri Lanka because it doesn’t feature anywhere in their roadshow. More likely to see Dhaka, Kathmandu and Islamabad on the roadshow schedule than Chennai. Now that I am done venting, here are some first impressions.

1. The vehicle is shockingly small on the outside and surprisingly roomy on the inside. It looks like a stretched Ignis on stilts.

2. 4 x 6 footers will have no problems doing overnight trips in the Jimny

3. Front cabin is roomy and the seats are adequate. No complaints with the front seats but it was barely 15 minutes time that I had with the vehicle.

4. Footwell is definitely cramped but nothing unusual for a vehicle this small. Perfectly live-with-able.

5. Shoulder room is at a premium all around. Taller and well built drivers will have trouble doing right hand turns as the door panel / B pillar get in the way. Left hand down turns are not an issue.

6. Front seat form is firmer than the rear seat foam. Definite signs of cost-cutting because MSIL assumes a car this small will be used by a couple with two kids at most. For this scenario, the seats are adequate and should support longer trips.

7. Headroom for me in the front seats was adequate. I am 6’2”. Even with my rather thick and firm coccyx cushion I had no headroom issues in the front. In the back seat though I have just over an inch and a half to spare so if you hit a speed-breaker at speed, taller rear passengers may bang their heads on the roof. To put things in perspective, I cannot sit in the middle row of the Ford Endy with the sunroof. My neck has to bend for me to fit in. I had no issues in the Jimny.

8. Getting in and out of the rear seat is difficult. I think people who have plans to travel with elderly family members in the back seat should consider more regular offerings like the Venue / Creta / Taigun / Vitara etc.

9. Plastics quality is appalling. All the plastic trim coming into contact with shoes and kneed will have a furry white appearance in no time at all. Have you seen a dog’s chew toy bone made of buffalo hide? That is how the plastics will look after a few months. I would imagine doing the “subwoofer” enclosure carpet treatment to all exposed plastic just to not have to see the scratches and whitening.

10. The showroom guys were having trouble moving the car around in the showroom. Turning radius is a potential issue for those used to driving smaller cars or larger cars that have a more nimble IFS steering geometry.

I won’t cancel my booking. I have been waiting for the Jimny for more than a decade and I will wait for the pricing as well as a test-drive before making my final decision.

Brass tacks - this is a 9.99 - 11.99L rupee car with all 4 variants slotting into that range. There is nothing in it to justify a higher price tag. Passion / Heritage etc. can only stretch so far. When the vehicle is as compromised as this in terms of comfort and space, logic will prevail, at least on the side of the customer. There are better options out there even without considering the potential pricing.

Most of the people who walked into the showroom didn’t know anything about the Jimny. One of the guys wanted to know what the small knob (4wd transfer case shifter) was for.

The showroom guys were equally clueless and they were adamant it was a full time 4wd vehicle. I gave up on trying to correct them and focused on what was important to me.