1000 km up with my Jimny: Here's where it excels & where it doesn't

Did a complete round of Gulmarg using only 4x4 high, covering some steep inclines covered.

BHPian shafquatmajeed recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

1000 Km Update:

It is almost 2 months since purchasing jimny and I have reached the mini-milestone of 1000 KM. I have a Celerio at my disposal which does the most work and, as such, the Jimny gets less attention. Most of the time I am just inclined to take Celerio as it is easy to drive and I feel more comfortable in it.

Did two long trips in Jimny, one to SONAMARG through the newly opened Sonamarg tunnel, the ride was OK. The jimny felt lethargic on plain roads and it was a pain to overtake. The roads were clean with no snow to be seen. On reaching Sonamarg, saw a parking lot covered with snow and tried using 4x4. The Jimny came out flying out of the snow and I feel this is its playground.

The next trip was to Gulmarg after a fresh snowfall and decided to go with my two little ones. There were a lot of vehicles waiting at Tangmarg to go and only 4X4 vehicles were allowed without snow chains, so, felt special when I was told to go when they saw my jimny. However, roads were clean from Tangmarg to Gulmarg and most of the vehicles could easily reach there. The jimny performed beautifully in those curvy roads with no gear hunting and it was a nice ride. When we entered Gulmarg, we saw a lot of snow-covered roads and most of the FWD vehicles struggling (with spinning tires) even with snow chains. And here are we roaming around with no regard to snow covered roads and Jimny happily moving with no trouble at all. Did a complete round of Gulmarg using only 4x4 high, covering some steep inclines covered with snow and had no problems whatsoever. While coming back to home, tried to push Jimny and it didn’t inspire much confidence above 80 (aided by poor braking) and made peace with it. The mileage stands at 13.4 as per MID and it came out 13.2 by tankful method. The mileage numbers are slightly bumped up by Sonamarg trip (MID showed 19KMPL on return) where the tire pressure was above 40 as I forgot to deflate the tires after taking delivery.

After 1000 Km, here is my take on the Jimny going from good to bad:

The Good:

1. Great offroad vehicle and I feel it is solely built for this purpose.
2. Tiny frame and easy to pass through those tight roads and lanes.
3. Great value for the price paid (14L ORP) and at the most would have got a good hatch back.
4. Old school rugged feel of the interiors and reasonably good quality of parts used. Well made as compared to other Marutis.

The Bad:

1. Large turning radius, most of the time not an issue, but gets on your nerves sometimes.
2. Lethargic engine (not fuel efficient as well) which lets it down badly on open roads.
3. Thigh support is not that great and a cramped footwell adds to the discomfort.
4. Ride quality is OK, lot of body roll, feels like a boat at higher speeds.
5. Speed brakers are a pain and most of the time you will hear a loud thud from the back side even if you crawl over a speed breaker.

So, in nut shell, am I happy after purchasing this vehicle? Well, it is 50-50, in situations where it excels, I just love it and on plain roads it is not that great experience. For me, at least the favorable conditions (snow and terrain) tilt the balance in its favor, but, for others with little offroad use, in my opinion they will be happier with a regular hatchback or SUV.

As of now, I can’t think of it as my only vehicle, and thoughts of putting it on OLX do come from time to time but I am holding my ground.

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