How a Jimny test drive left a wide grin on my face; Quick observations

The ride on bad roads was phenomenal, much more settled than my Thar.

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Last weekend I had some time to while away and since I was near a Nexa showroom, I took this opportunity to get a quick test-drive of the Jimny. Prior to this, I have driven the Jimny only once - a manual one, picked up by a close friend. It was a relatively short spin and I did want to try out the AT variant, hence the test drive.

My experience at the dealership was good. As I walked towards the Jimny on display (a Bluish Black Alpha AT), the sales executive came up to me and introduced himself politely. He offered to walk me through the interiors and features of the Jimny but upon hearing that I am well-versed with the same, he immediately offered me a test drive. So, off we went on a 20-ish km test drive, a mix of bad city roads and highway (airport road). The test-drive car (a Bluish Black Zeta AT) showed 13,xxx km on the odometer and despite all the abuse it must have taken, was in an excellent shape - no visible wear on the interiors, absolutely no rattles/creaks anywhere, engine was butter smooth, the AT box was very slick, etc. It was almost in showroom condition, barring the dust/mud on the foot mats! The interiors are certainly built to last on this one. I was mighty impressed.

Coming to the test drive - in a nutshell, I was taken back to the days of my Gypsy ownership! The Jimny is a very enjoyable car to drive if one has loved/owned a Gypsy in the past. I could immediately connect with it and was at ease within a minute of cranking the engine. Much has been said about all aspects of the Jimny including the seemingly underpowered engine, the puny size, large turning radius, etc. Not sure if my expectations were set quite low but I did not find the Jimny lacking in any of these aspects. Of course, it is not a highway scorcher but I could comfortably cruise in the 80-90 kmph band. The naturally aspirated engine might seem anemic at the outset, but has a lovely, nostalgic feel to it. The 4-speed AT box was very smooth - not only was the slotting across P-R-N-D-2-L seamless (much better than my other two AT cars), the shifts on the move were barely palpable. Given the gear ratios, the engine was spinning at around 2,600 rpm in 4th cog at a cruising speed of 80 kmph and I am sure would touch 3K rpm as one touches 100 kmph. But then, why would one drive a Jimny at triple digit speeds? It is like asking a ballet dancer to run a sprint The ride on bad roads was phenomenal, much more settled than my Thar. I just loved the old-school steering which reminded me of my Gypsy's. And of course, the good old transmission whine was music to my ears. The only area which I found the Jimny lacking in was its brakes. Not sure if it was an issue with the test drive car but the braking could have been crisper. Then there are a few quirks which have been spoken about enough and more - the lack of interior storage (not even water bottles!), the irritating rear seatbelt reminder despite the seats being unoccupied, etc. but frankly speaking, none of these are dealbreakers once you are in love with a car like the Jimny. And the Jimny is a car that one can easy fall in love with - it is cute, capable, nimble, agile, compact, and above all, has oodles of character! If and only if, MSIL had priced it sensibly to begin with, we'd be seeing more of these lovely cars on our roads.

I came out of the test-drive car with a big grin on my face. Reflecting back upon the drive, there is a perfect term for the Jimny in my books now - it is a Susegad car For the uninitiated, Susegad is a Konkani word that describes a relaxed, content, and fulfilled state of mind.

I hope to add a Jimny to my garage one day for sure. Till then, to all the Jimny owners out here - enjoy your little Jim, it is a keeper for sure.

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