The Maruti Jimny's RCB steering is ideal for off-roading: Here's why

The recirculating ball steering is durable, adjustable and can take much heavier torque than rack & pinion system.

BHPian ashkamath recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

The Jimny has off-road oriented steering mechanism. It has recirculating ball steering mechanism against the normal Rack & pinion steering mechanism found in FWD city cars.

The regular rack & pinion steering is responsive, simple and efficient and does a great job in city road cars.

The recirculating ball steering is durable, adjustable and can take much heavier torque than rack & pinion system. The torque handled by RCB (recirculating ball steering) is much higher and cannot be handled by rack & pinion system. Hence off-road oriented Jimny has RCB steering.

We have been used to the smooth, easy and precise rack and pinion steering in all our cars and hence get unsettled when we get to drive a RCB steering car. They behave differently and their pros and cons are different too.

As mentioned above, the recirculating ball steering is old school, especially used in Heavy duty trucks and off roaders and that gives Jimny it's character as a true off-roader.

There are so many design characteristics in Jimny that are off-road oriented that it comes as a shocker to us. The Jimny has good low end torque for a reason while not so great torque at high end. Again it's a design aspect and we say, the engine lacks punch on highway which is true because it's not designed for such highway speeds in the first place.

Jimny is great in off-roading conditions, good on bad roads and average in city roads and poor on highway roads. It's diametrically opposite to the behaviour and characteristics of a city car which behaves exactly opposite on the above mentioned road conditions.

I believe Jimny, Thar, Gurkha are for a section of people who would be willing to sacrifice Comfort and speed to ruggedness and tackling bad roads/obstacles. They are as different as chalk and cheese when it comes to city cars.

The reason I mentioned the above is, one needs to have a particular focused expectation if he opts for Jimny. It's not for everyone. Living with all its drawbacks, quirks, shortcomings will need a strong resolve, emotional attachment and passion for what it can offer in return. That's why Gypsy / Jimny have it's own cult following, die hard fans, 4x4 clubs that very few cars in India can boast off.

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