Heart vs mind: Get the Maruti Jimny, or settle for an Innova Hycross?

I realize that only my family and I can assign subjective weights to our requirements off the car and thus make a choice. But, would there be a framework that we could use to do so, and relieve me of this burden of choice?

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For several months, I've been in a dilemma regarding my upcoming purchase of a car: I booked the Innova Hycross in November 2023 and have been told to expect delivery in March. But, I cannot seem to drop my interest in the Jimny, which I once test drove and rejected for its size and rear seat comfort (clearly, too soon). They, of course, are vehicles from different classes, but I assume both qualify as a tourer for our family (3 members and a driver).

A brief background:

I had a Tata Safari Dicor (2006) for 14 years. We drove it around large parts of South India (to popular and obscure heritage sites) for 1.96L kilometres before selling it. She took us around in absolute comfort (though her handling and braking were unstable) without a single breakdown and few niggles. But, age did catch up with her and maintenance costs were getting out of hand in the latter years.

I currently drive my brother-in-law's Hyundai Grand i10 (2013) and enjoy this one too. I never would have thought that the transition from a humongous SUV to a small hatchback could be eventless, but it indeed was. The ride is very harsh, but she is a joy on the highway with her taut handling and her peppy pull past 2500 RPM. Each winter, I make a monthly 600 KM round trip to dark skies for astronomical observations, and have an inordinate amount of gear to carry. She swallows it all without a problem, though that leaves just about enough space for the driver to be seated.

I'm 46, and the decade to follow would likely be my last for traveling the country before creaky joints, lifestyle diseases and reduced energy limit such carefree jaunts. I would like my wife and now 13 year old daughter to be with me for most of it.

Car requirements (all subjective):

Primary use case: highway and country drives with wife, daughter, myself and a driver at times.

Needs:

• Safety (both the 5-door Jimny and the Hycross has not been crash tested)
• Reliability
• Reasonably air cabin
• Not expensive
• Holds 100 kmph+ speeds well
• Good ride
• Decent handling
• Good braking

Wants:

• Tough build
• Fuel efficient
• Go-anywhere ability
• Street presence

I'm not for intimidation, but do desire some street presence since vehicles that have them tend to earn the occupants more "respect" in remote areas where I would sometimes be accompanied only by my wife and daughter, and could do with a vehicle that would encourage a sense of "restraint" among the locals.

Choices of cars:

Neither the Jimny nor the Hycross satisfies all of the above requirements, but my final choice has come down to those two. After having owned an Indian SUV for long, those from Tata or Mahindra don't interest me (also, I'd have no patience with the niggles they might present). The CSUVs don't seem like much of an upgrade from the Grand i10 in terms of space or utility.

The Hycross chooses itself for spaciousness, comfort, and reliability. And, the VX variant would give me a taste of EV technology that I would otherwise miss out on until my next car purchase in my 60s. But, perhaps unfairly, I sense it might sentence me to boring, lumbering drives along well-worn roads throughout its lifetime. Also, its long-term maintenance costs with respect to the batteries are unknown.

The Jimny, on the other hand, offers comfort for two and reliability at a much lower cost. It's seduces with the promise of access to the wilds, which I find impossible to ignore. But, passengers need to compromise with the poor rear bench squab. I have been on 3 more test drives since the first one, all in the past two weeks. I love its compact, understated, unpretentious stance and its potential to open up access with its 4x4 capabilities. I don't mind the lack of storage options. (There is one just ahead of the gear stick to keep my mobile phone, and two bottle holders behind it. Including the glove box, that's plenty for the first row passengers.) My wife was in the back row for a whole 45-minute drive and didn't complain of the lack of under-thigh support. But, she found the rear very bouncy over speed breakers. The ambient noise is very well attenuated, but the whine of the engine isn't.

I suspect more experience with these cars might apply a steadying hand to my mind that, like a dog drawn to a bone, seems to endlessly evaluate these two options given a spare moment. I've compared relevant performance and cost-of-ownership characteristics of these (and several crossovers), but cannot yet definitively choose one among these two.

Performance (numbers sourced from Autocar):

The numbers above strongly favor the Hycross: it provides strong braking and excellent driveability, with acceleration comparable to the two popular CSUVs. In contrast, the Jimny performs surprisingly poorly in both areas.

Cost-of-ownership:

Assumptions:

• Fuel cost per litre: ₹102
• Fuel annual inflation rate: 2.00%
• Annual depreciation of car: 10.00%
• Annual depreciation of insurance: 5.00%
• Inflation: 6.00%
• Running per month: 1500 KM
• Annual Investment Returns: 8.00%

We see that the Hycross VX would cost me ~Rs. 50L across 15 years of ownership while it would be ~Rs. 36L for the Jimny Alpha, a difference of ~Rs. 14L, or nearly ~Rs. 7,500 a month. But, this does not account for the opportunity cost. Assuming we fund it all from an existing cache of money (say, ~Rs. 50L), it would dwindle to ~Rs. 2.5L with the Hycross VX while the Jimny leaves ~Rs.20.5L behind, a difference of ~Rs. 18L or Rs. 10,000 a month. This is not an insignificant amount. All of these values are in today's rupees.

While my affordability of either vehicle is not in question, the relative worth of them is.

Verdict?

I realize that only my family and I can assign subjective weights to our requirements off the car and thus make a choice. But, would there be a framework that we could use to do so, and relieve me of this burden of choice?

As I see it, I have three choices:

• Go for the Hycross and mourn the loss of all those adventures that the Jimny promises. This is the option that my wife and daughter are for.
• Go for the Jimny and incur the (hopefully temporary) wrath of the family before they warm up to it. Accept its drawback with respect to road presence in the countryside.
• Option 2, and buy a CSUV/EV in a couple of years when the options would be greater (with the money saved, and possibly after selling the Jimny) if the family ends up hating the Jimny.

Thank you for your input.

Here's what BHPian androdev had to say on the matter:

I think it would be unreasonably selfish to subject your family to the rear seat of Jimny on long drives, especially when the alternative is Innova. While we all dream about the wilderness, getting there is 80-90% of the journey and Jimny is not safe for highway speeds compared to many other much cheaper options you can consider.

I own a Jimny and I do like the car more than I should but I treat it as a strictly two seater car for long journeys and I drive with a LOOOT of caution and restraint (thankfully it's low on power and acceleration figures which helps).

Maybe you should consider a good crossover that offers an all-in-one package. I don't see any particular reason why Innova is at the top of your list. Jimny, I understand, has some desirability factor going for it.

Here's what BHPian Kosfactor had to say on the matter:

Hycross is a very comfortable and practical vehicle to have , decent enough for highway although may not be very exciting to drive.

I think that Jimny won't suit someone at that age especially if it's the only car, generally we tend to have a family around , mostly full size kids who needs their own space , luggage space etc and a powerful drive train would be make it fatigue free to drive long distances. More than anything else, Jimny's size and the way it looks may get a No go from the family side, they may want to see their man drive a more substantial automobile.

There is another 4 door adventure vehicle coming in a few months , take a look at that before you decide for good, keep an open mind , experience for yourself before you sign the cheque - for long trips and go anywhere capability, you want something that's made with such things in mind.

As for the finance part of it, I would rather spend a bit more than I can afford and get the best tool for the job at hand, it's a lesser known fact that the men are at work even on holidays when the family is around, phew!

Here's what BHPian Geo_Ipe had to say on the matter:

I would tell you to stick to your Hycross booking. As some others have pointed out, Hycross vs Jimny is not a fair comparison. Jimny is a niche product, which everyone aspires to own, but hardly anyone does - the sales figures speak for itself!

As long as hard-core off roading is in your "wants" set the only USP the Jimny offers takes a backseat. Every single other criteria in your set of needs & wants are met by the Hycross. The Hycross is from two segments above, has better technology, is more comfortable and reliability is supreme! For a single car garage, there is no way Jimny is even a comparison to the Hycross.

Go for the Hycross now & pick up a used Jimny 2-3 years down the lane.

Here's what BHPian NPV had to say on the matter:

In my mind, the decision is quite clear after reading your requirements - go for the Innova Hycross, your family will be happy. Moreover, you have a driver so all the better and you will not compare it with an enthusiast car like the Jimny. Just be patient with your booking, do not cancel now.

Couple years later, if you still have the itch for something like the Jimny as a second car, especially if you’re going to be driving it, you can always make that decision.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

If you are thinking Jimny, you needs will be much better served by the Hyryder AWD. It is far more spacious than Jimny, has much better comfort and mile munching abilities, and will fare much better off the road than the Innova HyCross. It is is perfect compromise for you, and will also provide the trouble free ownership experience that you seek

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