[Ragul]

Originally Posted by Ragul

A dozen missed calls the whole day with emails sent yesterday and today and - No Response. FARAD India is the most pathetic seller I have seen online. I guess he misplaced his phone in the gutters of Mumbai somewhere… such a small order and so much pain! Buyers - Beware making any purchase from this seller… first he doesn’t know to ship the correct parts for the Jimny, then this!

Update: To keep the records straight - I was contacted a few days later and the exchange was done. I’ve now had the M12x1.25 spec nuts in possession for a few weeks now. Just didn’t make time to actually install them yet. Once contact was made the interaction was super smooth and friendly. Maybe I’ll forget my frustration of that day and get the crossbars and bike mount from them… yet to decide if I want a permanent roof rack or crossbars. Can the bike mount be installed on roof racks?

On another note - I am hearing and getting a sensation of mild rubbing somewhere at full steering lock - likely the 215/75/15 tyres rubbing on some rubber parts somewhere - it is not an alarming grating sound that feels like damage is being caused. Anyone notice this? Can you confirm it’s the upsized tyres?

[kesh4munni]

Originally Posted by Ragul

Maybe I’ll forget my frustration of that day and get the crossbars and bike mount from them… yet to decide if I want a permanent roof rack or crossbars. Can the bike mount be installed on roof racks?

I got a spare tyre bike rack installed on mine. Been using it for more than a month now and works just fine. It is by a brand called Bearack or BnB(Taiwan based). It sits firmly and does not also impede visibility. The arms can also be retracted when not in use which is a boon in the city without being a safety hazard.

A roof rack might not be the best bet in conditions with low hanging overhead wires, branches. The bikes also sway a bit on roof racks even with tie down reinforcements and can be cumbersome to lift and mount/unmount.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by kesh4munni

I got a spare tyre bike rack installed on mine. Been using it for more than a month now and works just fine. It is by a brand called Bearack or BnB(Taiwan based). It sits firmly and does not also impede visibility. The arms can also be retracted when not in use which is a boon in the city without being a safety hazard.

A roof rack might not be the best bet in conditions with low hanging overhead wires, branches. The bikes also sway a bit on roof racks even with tie down reinforcements and can be cumbersome to lift and mount/unmount.

But the cops can stop you if the bike protrudes outside the width of the car… which is why I was looking at a roof mounted bike stand.

[kesh4munni]

Originally Posted by Ragul

But the cops can stop you if the bike protrudes outside the width of the car… which is why I was looking at a roof mounted bike stand.

That is true but I haven't been stopped by the cops as yet. Also, I noticed that the bike mostly stays within the width of the car barring the rear tyre that slightly juts out. You can remove the front tyre if needed to avoid being penalised.

[shankar.balan]

Today just for the sake of pure boredom alleviation I chose to toodle along to my nearby NEXA dealership. Their executive Shree Rajesh is a very good guy I must say.

I just test drove back-to-back, on-road and mild dirt road and on a rutted dug-up construction site in my Thar and then the Manual Jimny Alpha and the AT Jimny Zeta.

There is absolutely no doubt about the comfort, superior ride and overall engineering of the Jimny. (My considered opinion).

The Manual is clearly more Responsive than the AT. The AT does struggle a bit to accelerate and reach optimum speed after say, crossing a speed breaker etc but overall the Jimny DOES NOT throw you around and bump you up and down the way the Thar does. The throttle controller about which much has been spoken, can easily solve for that ‘flat-spot’ of the AT.

And that too my Thar has AVO suspension and all sorts of improvements in it. On the highway I did not find the Jimny lacking in its ability to hit 100-110 and maintain speed for a consistent period of time.

For me and my wife we can manage happily in my Cooper or Thar or Jimny with no problem, whether highways, hills, city, off-road to friend’s houses etc. Rear passenger accommodation is not really an use case which I need to worry about.

Im not really into ‘road presence’ and all that. I have honestly also stopped craving excess real-estate in my vehicles. I appear to have grown up and evolved a bit, as far as my ‘need and want states’ are concerned, compared with the callow person that I must have been, 16-18 years back.

In conclusion, what I can clearly say now after owning the Thar 3 for about years and after multiple test drives in the Jimny, is that the Jimny can easily fulfil the role of the only all-round, multi-purpose, go-anywhere at anytime vehicle, in a home like mine. Small family. Relatively less-complex needs. Maximum long trip by road will probably be 500kms one way in a day. Im really not into serious cross country exploration and expeditions and overlanding and all that simply because I like my comforts more than the ‘Indiana Jones’ lifestyle.

In my case, very clearly, it is a matter of time before I sell my Thar and buy a Jimny. Make no mistake, I love my Thar very much. And I haven’t got that ‘Thar-Love’ out of my system as yet. I reiterate as I have often done before, that it is plain futile to compare the Thar and the Jimny in terms of power and top speed and all that. They both are highly competent in their own ways. And it can never be a direct comparison between the two.

It will probably take some time for me to switch, but all other things being equal, it is on the cards. I will definitely keep waiting and watching for now and shall keep barging into this thread now and then.

[SUVolens]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Today just for the sake of pure boredom alleviation I chose to toodle along to my nearby NEXA dealership. Their executive Shree Rajesh is a very good guy I must say.

I just test drove back-to-back, on-road and mild dirt road and on a rutted dug-up construction site in my Thar and then the Manual Jimny Alpha and the AT Jimny Zeta.

There is absolutely no doubt about the comfort, superior ride and overall engineering of the Jimny. (My considered opinion).

The Manual is clearly more Responsive than the AT. The AT does struggle a bit to accelerate and reach optimum speed after say, crossing a speed breaker etc but overall the Jimny DOES NOT throw you around and bump you up and down the way the Thar does. The throttle controller about which much has been spoken, can easily solve for that ‘flat-spot’ of the AT.

And that too my Thar has AVO suspension and all sorts of improvements in it. On the highway I did not find the Jimny lacking in its ability to hit 100-110 and maintain speed for a consistent period

I can totally agree with your seat-of-the-pants sum up.
I’ve driven extensively (and been driven in) a diesel Thar over urban roads. Possibly because of larger wheels with A/T tyres or the way the suspension is set up or both, the Thar always felt a bit ‘stiffer’ with more road irregularities filtering through the steering and seats. Made the experience of my first test drive in the Jimny even more convincing. Also, I know the Thar even in diesel produces a good 25 bhp over and almost twice the torque of a Jimny, but it didn’t hand me a convincing ‘win’ over the more mild mannered Suzuki.
Haven’t driven the petrol Thar that produces even more bhp, but I’ve been impressed by what the same engine can do in a XUV700 (albeit higher state of tune). Having said that, I won’t dream of knocking the Thar’s immense capabilities in the rough. On our Leh ride, it made cheesecake out of areas where my Jimny needed more whip. That extra torque is unassailable. It’s just that these two will continue to excel in different arenas and keep the rabid comparisons alive. I suspect the Jimny will always top the Thar on loose surfaces because of its bantam weight and the Thar will always clomp the Jimny where it can bring all that torque to bear. No harm no foul. Like you, for my use case, I wouldn’t need the brawn but preferred the higher versatility of what seems to me a more well-rounded package in the real world.
Also, you’re spot on about the MT vs. the AT Jimny - I don’t feel the lethargy most complain about and go for that throttle-modulator. The 5-speeder gives me enough jollies to remain satisfied. It doesn’t exactly leap forward like a TM would perhaps make it do, but it’s adequate to move off smartly and tackle sudden demands in speed, within its power envelope. All the best on Jimny quest in the future

[dileep]

Questions to Jimny Zeta owners:

- Has anyone upgraded the headlights (they are quite dim specially in today's age of blistering eye blinding LEDs which I personally don't like)?
If yes, please update on what are the solutions.

- The Zeta also needs Fog Lamps (specially here in the north of India with winters approaching fast will need to get a set).
Any suggestions on fog lamps would be welcome.

Thanks

[SUVolens]

Originally Posted by dileep

Questions to Jimny Zeta owners:

- Has anyone upgraded the headlights (they are quite dim specially in today's age of blistering eye blinding LEDs which I personally don't like)?
If yes, please update on what are the solutions.

- The Zeta also needs Fog Lamps (specially here in the north of India with winters approaching fast will need to get a set).
Any suggestions on fog lamps would be welcome.

Thanks

I got the OEM bulbs swapped out with Osram 60/55W Nightbreaker Laser. It’s an improvement, especially on hi-beam, though nowhere as startling as the Alpha LED beams. These serve well on moderately lit city roads, but I’m afraid, for completely dark highways, you’ll be left wanting for something more powerful.
The foglamps, I went with the OEM and again, they do the job well without being dramatic. The illumination within a 5-7 feet radius of the front bumper will serve adequately for foggy nights. Nothing more. But it maintains the MGP warranty, so there’s that.

[dearchichi]

I'm looking for a verdict on the ride of the Jimny as compared to other body-on-frame SUVs (be it in the same segment as it or above), especially the Scorpio N.

I took a long ride in the 2015 S10 8- seater today and found the suspension too busy, though I sat only on the front row all through. It never let's up or relaxes, making the prospect of long journeys in it quite unpleasant. Pitch and roll at slow speeds over broken roads is prominent, though it soaks up the rutted areas quite well at higher speeds.

My use case for a SUV involves highway runs over 70% of the time, with the remaining distributed among country and unpaved roads. The ride quality of the Scorpio Classic, the Thar and the Fortuner have been labelled as "busy" or "bumpy" by several folks on team-bhp. I'd like to know how the Jimny scores in this area, what with its rigid axles at both ends, and how it's stacks up against the Scorpio N. I'm yet to test- drive both these vehicles.

Thanks.

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

I'm looking for a verdict on the ride of the Jimny as compared to other body-on-frame SUVs (be it in the same segment as it or above), especially the Scorpio N.

I took a long ride in the 2015 S10 8- seater today and found the suspension too busy, though I sat only on the front row all through. It never let's up or relaxes, making the prospect of long journeys in it quite unpleasant. Pitch and roll at slow speeds over broken roads is prominent, though it soaks up the rutted areas quite well at higher speeds.

My use case for a SUV involves highway runs over 70% of the time, with the remaining distributed among country and unpaved roads. The ride quality of the Scorpio Classic, the Thar and the Fortuner have been labelled as "busy" or "bumpy" by several folks on team-bhp. I'd like to know how the Jimny scores in this area, what with its rigid axles at both ends, and how it's stacks up against the Scorpio N. I'm yet to test- drive both these vehicles.

Thanks.

My 2 cents on body on frame cars. I had been driving this type of automobiles in India for the past 14 years.12 years with Black Scorpio VLX manual, 2 years with white Crysta Z automatic, one month with yellow Jimny alpha automatic.

In general, by default, all the above 3 vehicles are not meant to be comfortable. If one needs comfort as requirement, then sedan is the right vehicle. If comparing the comfort levels amongst the three, Jimny is the most comfortable, then comes Crysta and last is Scorpio.

For all those body on frame fans out there including me, I can describe these type
of vehicles as “mechanised bullock carts” with comfort as the last parameter to be considered when taking a purchasing decision.

These type of vehicles are also not meant to be driven at high speeds as they may topple.

The only reason why these type of vehicles are popular is because of their tough built/ long lasting and huge die hard fan following for what ever reasons.

[vishwaschettri]

Originally Posted by dileep

- Has anyone upgraded the headlights

Below post by late Mr. Dhabhar Behram still carries weight. A round reflector with 100/90 made in Germany Philips/Osram bulb is still the most cost effective lighting solution in my book.
Do keep in mind that Jimny has plastic lenses so they may blacken / fade after sometime due to excessive heat.

LINK (Auto Lighting thread : Post all queries about automobile lighting here)

Originally Posted by dileep

Any suggestions on fog lamps would be welcome.[/u]

Please go only for MGA fog lamps. They are worth just for the beautiful and factory finish harness they come with. Excellent plug and play integration.

You can later swap the fog lamps to IPH projectors if you find these inadequate for your use.

Cheers

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

My use case for a SUV involves highway runs over 70% of the time, with the remaining distributed among country and unpaved roads. The ride quality of the Scorpio Classic, the Thar and the Fortuner have been labelled as "busy" or "bumpy" by several folks on team-bhp. I'd like to know how the Jimny scores in this area, what with its rigid axles at both ends, and how it's stacks up against the Scorpio N. I'm yet to test- drive both these vehicles.
Thanks.

You should actually consider an Innova or an XL6 which will suit your use case very well. The XL6 is a very underrated car but it is extremely comfortable in my experience and is priced very well.
But if your heart is set on the SUV body shape then you have to think about the Honda Elevate, the XUV700 and the Scorpio N or wait for the Thar 5 door and check that out. However, all of these SUV’s are big and bulky vehicles.
The Jimny will work very well if you want a small go anywhere vehicle because as per my experience on multiple test drives it has a much superior ride to the Thar, the Fortuner and the Scorpio Classic. But then, if you’re going to be doing 70-80% highway runs, then you will need to add that throttle controller so as to modulate your throttle input, enhance your acceleration and elevate your cruising comfort.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by TB16

What a beautiful collaboration. Apologies if this has been posted before (Couldn't find it here though)

Mr. Wangchuk X Ladakh X Indian Army X Jimny

https://Youtu.be/A1eFnuWRIK0?si=H0CIb_8fhtVIUwZc

Very nice to watch. The gentleman is so soft
Spoken and nice. And the little Jimny is just perfect for the work he puts it through!

[shankar.balan]

The Jimny’s OEM Tyres actually offer very good sidewall cushioning. The 195/80/15 size is very comfortable to drive on because it absorbs all the shocks. At the max maybe one should consider, if changing from stock, the 205/70/15 size which gives that little extra width/ footprint for grip around corners without really compromising the ride comfort.
I also honestly like the steel wheels of the Jimny Zeta much better than the Alloys of the Alpha and in fact , were I to buy a Jimny, I will also buy a set of those steel wheels, put them on, store the alloys or sell them. And I would use the stock tyres for their lifetime and only then make a change. As I have said before, the Alpha scores over the Zeta (to me) only because of Cruise Control which is absolutely essential, the tinted glasses and the headlamp washers. For the reasons stated in my earlier posts, the only dilemma that remains in my head is whether AT or MT.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by TB16

What a beautiful collaboration. Apologies if this has been posted before (Couldn't find it here though)

Mr. Wangchuk X Ladakh X Indian Army X Jimny

Very well made, and makes you want to pack up your bags and leave immediately!

Hats off to him for all the work he is doing for the forces up there.

At one point, he is seen ignoring the sign that says use 4wd. I guess that’s a gamble worth taking when you are in a convoy (which he probably was given the cinematography etc, and the restricted area he was travelling in/to).