Hi Dwaraka
I used to have 2 gypsies - one at a time.
Unfortunately since I sold the last one I had and bought a Bolero 2wd I ve not been able to go off road that much.
Bolero is very capable but a bit heavy.
Now I ve even sold that and bought a Scorpio 2WD (the 4WD is too expensive) and this vehicle is just too heavy to go swamp roading and seriously off road.
One day soon I hope to buy a 2nd Hand MM540/ MM550DP 4WD and do some active off roading in that!
Thanks
cheers
Shankar Quote:
Originally Posted by dwaraka Hi Shankar balan,
Nice to know that you have two gypsies.
I do agree with you on certain discomforts of gypsy like bumpy ride, fuel efficiency. Gypsy has been designed to an on-road and off- road vehicle. I mean, speed on highways and capable 4 X 4 off-road. You might appreciate the gypsy either will have 1000 cc engine used in Maruti 1000 or Esteem Engine of 1300 cc. Gypsy derives its extra power from transmission and differentials. Hence, the fuel efficiency is lowest.
Gypsy seldom get struck, because of its light weight compared to counterparts Jeeps or SUVs. So this weight issue will play bad on highways. pop in a sack of sand at the back of gypsy, you will have comfortable ride.
BTW , I had a wide track soft top gypsy and sold it to buy a hard top modified Gypsy. Been having it as first four wheeler since 7 years. I have travelled wide on this gypsy, on high ways and indulged in hardcore off roading with jeepers in Bangalore. I would say gypsy performs equally good in off roading like that of jeep.
If you are a keen off roader, please join us for next off roading trip. Log in true off roading experiences at suzuki_gypsy-india on Yahoogroups and jeep_thrills at Yahoogroups.com
You can still get gypsy with waiting from Maruti. However dealers would discourage you.
warm regards,
Dwarak |
hi
to answer your queries
Maruti Gypsy is basically the Suzuki Vitara outside India and which later was called the Suzuki Samurai outside India. Those jeeps also used to have a decal saying SG410 (1000 cc engine) or SG413 (1300 cc engine) on the side of the front fender.
1.The earliest Gypsies brought into India or built in India came with a narrow track - which means the distance between the two wheel axle hubs on either side. This was largely because they came only with Soft Tops in the "80's. If one wanted a hard top Gypsy (in order to put an AC in it or just to try and keep the dust out) one had to fabricate the fibreglass or ABS PLastic hard top and invariably it wouldnt fit perfectly and with the hard top it had certain stability issues as well because of the narrower track. All these early Gypsies had the 970 cc engine - the same one that was used in the Maruti 1000 ( in fact they modified the Gypsy engine for use in the 1000 at that time). This was the MG410 Gypsy. This also had the freewheeling and lockable 4WD hubs as standard.
2. In the 1990's they decided that enough was enough and they introduced the Hard Top (company fitted) Gypsy. I cant remember exactly when but either in the early or mid 1990's they increased the width between the two wheel axle hubs on either side by about 100mm - making the new Wide Track Gypsy in both Soft Top and Hard Top variants- at this time they also added Flared Wheel Arches etc, which made the Gypsy look more aggressive too. This jeep was also called MG410. Around this time they knocked off the freewheeling 4WD hubs to make the Gypsy more cost effective and cheaper to run on account of fuel economy.
3. Around the same time, they decided to make the Gypsy more powerful (a desperate requirement for Rallying) and introduced the Gypsy King (Suzuki Samurai) - with the 1.3 Litre engine - same engine as the Esteem engine. They called this MG413. This Gypsy came with the wider flared wheel arches, soft and hard top variants, AC etc etc. It was quite fantastic at that time except that is cost about 4 odd lacs to buy and was expensive always to run because of the petrol engine.
There were many genetically modified Gypsies with Toyota Trucks 1.5, 2 and 2.2 Litre Diesel Engines but on these they could never connect up the 4WD and thus these Gypsies only had 2WD. Ive seen a few in Madras in the mid nineties.
Hope this clarifies
Cheerio
Shankar Quote:
Originally Posted by alpha1 I have two queries reagarding gypsies:
Whats with the narrow track / wide track - why did Maruti bring these two versions, and what are advantages / disadvantages.
Whats the deal with MG410/MG413/MG413W etc? |
Last edited by Technocrat : 15th April 2008 at 16:59.
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