Drove 350 km to check the Jimny out: 10 observations on interior space

Headroom for me in the front seats was adequate. I am 6’2”.

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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.

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

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

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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