[fawad0222]

Nice read!! I think the reason the Thar owners give you a hard glare is there sitting on the rear door glass of your Jimny, which says you may go fast but I can go anywhere ��

[shankar.balan]

@arjab - thank you for the plain and simple review.
I enjoyed reading it.
As a happy recent ex-Thar owner who now owns a Jimny, I completely resonate with all that you have written - also as a person who is roughly of the same age, with very probably similar quirks.
As you probably have read Ive had many Mahindras and Gypsys over the last so many years. While I just cannot get that Gypsy craze out of my system, I chose to sell my beautiful Green Gypsy in March and go for a Jimny - (which I luckily found second-hand with only 736kms done) - as its modern descendant with the exact same DNA. I wish I had the space to keep both and the time to drive each.
The virtues of the Jimny have been extolled by many here, me included.l am truly happy I have mine.
I am looking forward to the hill trip I have planned later this month, in the Jimny and will write about it afterwards.
Thing is, every single day, that Jimny gives me a strange and joyful feeling. That feeling cannot be beat!

[ABHI_1512]

@arjab- wonderfully penned little review of the most anticipated car ever in India, sales figures not withstanding. You have quite deftly described the vehicle. We all have, at some point of time driven the Gypsy back in the days and this modern interpretation betters the Gypsy in so many ways.

As for the Thar owners giving weird and angry looks, well, they possibly feel that for any car around them that way or so do I think

And yes, waking up in the mountains and never coming back is probably a dream for many, including me. May be some day, I will also have something with me, to further that dream.

Wishing you many miles with your Jimny, keep travelling to the unknown, cheers.

[arjab]

Hello All,
Updating this thread with some feedback on the Jim's recent drive to the hills of North Bengal.

Drove around 300 kms purely in the hills over the last weekend with Jim

Visibiity is excellent particularly around hairpins. The large outside rear view mirrors made judging the proximity to cliff edges an easy affair.

Vehicle performed well and there were no untoward incidents of underperformance or failure. Drove on some steep to very steep gradients. The Jim did everything in 2WD. The 1st and 2nd gear ratios were low enough not to warrant the usage of 4WD anywhere

Those who have driven up Pankhabari in West Bengal would be familiar with its switchbacks and steep gradients. Jim climbed all the hairpins in 2nd.
Very late at night, (because then the road will be empty), I revisited Pankhabari, just to satisfy my curiosity as to whether Jim can do an "uphill standing start" without any clutch slipping or any form of over-revving. With ESP on by default and minimum throttle feed, Jim struggled a bit, necessitating a little bit of clutch slip, which I did not indulge in. With ESP turned off, it made the uphill standing start effortlessly with minimum throttle input.

I faced very heavy rains. The small wipers are surprisingly effective. The front windscreen defrost function works very well. The rear windscreen de-mister is also quite effective.

I did not face any issue with the performance of the brakes. My vehicle's brakes are stock and I have only greased the calliper pins and cleaned the disc pads with emery paper at the 5000 kms and 10,000 kms scheduled services.

Tank to tank fuel consumption, uphill, only 1st and 2nd gear, no AC worked out to be 8.5kmpl. On the MID it was displaying 9.2 kmpl.

The compact size and flat side panels are a boon on our narrow Himalayan hill roads. Many a times, Jim squeezed through impossibly narrow gaps which probably would not have allowed a wider vehice to pass through.

Turning circle was not an issue. Once you "place" the vehicle correctly at the entry of an hairpin, it pirouettes around smartly.

The handbrake is quite effective. Holds Jim even on steep gradients. The Hill - Hold also works well.

Engine braking in 2WD mode could have been better. In 1st gear, "feet - off - the - pedals - mode", Jim rolls downhill at almost 20-25 kmph in 1st gear. In 2nd gear, "feet - off - the - pedals - mode", roll-down speeds downhill can climb to 40kmph! The way to control is to give a firm push of the middle pedal, once downhill descent speeds rise, then get off the B-pedal, don't ride it. This will ensure controlled retardation and at the same time should not cook the brakes.

The good approach and departure angles with minimal overhangs are a boon. I had to cross some really deep ditches and sunken "bowl-shaped" culverts. Jim did not scrape anywhere.

Overall I was happy with the Jim's performance in the hills. Agreed it is not a "powerhouse" as far as horsepower and torque are concerned, but it did not feel abjectly under-powered as well.

Use the lower gears judiciously, keep the engine spinning above 2500 rpm and Little Jim can clamber up & down most hills. What really scores in its favour is its size and lightness. While Jim does feel lost on wide, 4-lane motorways; in the narrow confines of the Eastern Himalayas with pouring rain and mist, it was in its element. The Mountain Goat was back home!

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by arjab

This will be a review of my 10,000 kms of owning and driving my Jimny Zeta Manual Transmission.

Such a nice review on the Jimny. Only if it came with the 1.3 MJD, I would have become a Jim Boy too. I was test driving the MG Comet couple of days ago and a Jimny came next to it at a signal. Surprisingly, both me in the Comet and the guy in the Jimny, seemed to be seated at the same height Probably this will be the only post where a Comet is being spoken along with Jimmy! Have a fantastic journey with your Red Jim. Lovely writing style, looking forward to read more.

[A350]

Fantastic review, I am interested in purchasing a Jimny for the exact same reasons as you. Have been on the fence for a couple of years test driving every 4X4 available and the Jimny seems to offer the most bang for the buck. Please keep this thread updated.

[arjab]

Upgraded the stock front fog lamps.
Nothing fancy.
Fitted the Gen-1 Swift's,(2005 Swift that is) fog lamps to the Jimny. Bolt on fitment including connectors and fasteners.
These are simple conventional halogens, made by Hella, has borosilicate lenses, adjustable and has a luminosity index of 55W, each.
The light throw is very pleasant. Low, wide, has a decent range and "fills" the gap nicely when the main beam is on.
I have also upgraded the stock headlamps to Philips Rally 100/90 watt halogens.
Overall, from my perspective, the illumination is much better than stock and I do not see the need to switch to any fancy LED setup, which apart from being far costlier, is not very effective in fog or rain.

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by arjab

I have also upgraded the stock headlamps to Philips Rally 100/90 watt halogens.
Overall, from my perspective, the illumination is much better than stock and I do not see the need to switch to any fancy LED setup, which apart from being far costlier, is not very effective in fog or rain.

Did you use a relay for the bulbs ? Also, where did you source the Philips Rally bulbs from? I couldn’t find them the last time I checked.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Did you use a relay for the bulbs ?

No. Jimny has built-in relays that can support till 100/90w

Originally Posted by Pancham

Also, where did you source the Philips Rally bulbs from? I couldn’t find them the last time I checked.

Amazon.
Fitting done by myself on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

[arjab]

Jimmy Boy's odo is now at 14,000 kms.

Recently fitted SCHORL high performance air filter to the Jim. Have driven around 300 kilometres after the fitment.
Sharing some subjective observations:

1. Engine seems to "breathe" a bit freely.

2. Low end grunt seems to have improved by a whisker.

3. Perceptible difference in the feeling of "free-ness" when crusing in the 100-110 kmph. The feeling of the engine "straining" or "feeling choked" seems to be absent.

4. From an emissions standpoint, hydrocarbon emissions looks to have lessened a wee bit.

Other observations at 14k kms:

- Jimmy boy continues to run fine. It has been on another trip to the hills where it performed without any issues.

- Till now I have not faced any "death wobble" issues.

- Fuel consumption is ranging - tankfull to tankfull - between 11.5kmpl (continuous AC in terrible Kolkata traffic) to 15.6 kmpl on highways (95-100 kmph) cruise.

[arjab]

I have changed to MANNOL 0w-20 fully synthetic engine oil at around the 13,000 kms mark. Simultaneously, I changed to NGK 90558 DCPR6ERX-11P RX plugs. These complemented the high performance drop – in air filter from Schorl which was already fitted.
I have driven the Jimny for some 1500 kms after the changes and will list out my observations to the best of my ability:

1.Much smoother idle. At idle you can't make out whether the engine is running or not.

2. Low to mid end part throttle response has become smoother. The Jimny's OE fuel mapping, in any case, was pretty well calibrated in the first place, but now there seems to be an "oily" kind of vibe free revv-ability; if you can understand what I'm trying to hint at.

3. Fuel consumption in horrific Kolkata city traffic with AC on and idle-stop in off condition, has been 12.3-12.4 kmpl, (tank to tank regular grade gasoline). Previously, the same route yielded 11.9-12.1 kmpl.

4. At a highway cruising speed of 100 kmph, the engine does seem to breathe a bit freely and not does not have that “restricted feeling” any more.

5. Fuel Efficiency: At 90-95 kmph steady state highway cruise with AC, has been 15.4-15.6 kmpl. At 100-110 kmph cruise FE drops 14.4-14.6 kmpl with continuous AC. All figures calculated on a tank to tank basis on regular grade fuel.

6. Cold starts are now a "touch & go" affair. Not even a quarter turn of the self-starter. I agree, there were no starting issues with my car from the beginning, but at least earlier, the starter motor used to rotate half a turn before the pistons started chugging.

I will keep a track of this and see how long this level of performance sustains before any perceptible degeneration.

Take care & Drive safe .,
Best,
Arjab

[sat]

Originally Posted by arjab

No dead pedal in Manual Transmission variants
Can be uncomfortable during long hauls. I have fitted one which is available in the aftermarket. Works well.

Attachment 2651275

Hello,

Could you share where you got your driver side dead pedal/foot rest for Jimny MT from?

Thanks

[arjab]

Originally Posted by sat

Hello,

Could you share where you got your driver side dead pedal/foot rest for Jimny MT from?

Thanks

Hello Sat,
Have sent you a personal message. Let me know if you wish to know anything else.
Thanks!
Best,

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by arjab

I have changed to MANNOL 0w-20 fully synthetic engine oil at around the 13,000 kms mark.
Take care & Drive safe .,
Best,
Arjab

That mannol is the real deal. My old gen thar purrs like a little kitten up and down trails now.

I don't need the spark plugs however