Summarizing my Maruti Jimny AT ownership experience after 10,550 km

It’s been around 9 months since I took possession of the top-end Jimny automatic, and while I hear the stories of dismal sales figures, I thought it best to pen down my experience with the car I drive almost every single day and bust some myths along the way.

BHPian pheru8b recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I'm guessing several Jimny owners have by now crossed, or will soon cross 10,000km, and hence thought of a post to collate all long-term reviews.

Here goes with my own experience of 10,550 km in my Jimny AT.

It’s been around 9 months since I took possession of the top-end Jimny automatic, and while I hear the stories of dismal sales figures, I thought it best to pen down my experience with the car I drive almost every single day and bust some myths along the way. My top pros and cons…

What I love:

• She’s got the look! [The Look by ROXETTE]: Yes, looks matter! The Jimny looks every inch what it is viz, a nimble mountain goat. It is compact – and compared to the Thar, Fortuner, and others like them – it looks downright small. But the look is a classic, and won't age, but will keep getting better and better. It still garners a lot of attention (if you like that kind of stuff!) but the bottom line is that it looks stunning! For me – more a Nayantara than a Jayalalitha fan – I can't think of a car with a more interesting and awesome look. It is smashingly good-looking!
• Find a way to my heart, and I will follow you [Way to my heart by PHIL COLLINS]!: That little 4x4 gear, next to the main gear shift, and what it stands for, is what makes this vehicle total “paisa vasool”!!! While I almost never use it in the city, just having that little second-gear stick is such joy! It speaks of thrills, it speaks of adventures untold, of fun and mountains and long drives. Of adventure is just around the corner! It is – the – most incredible thing to look at when you get into the driver’s seat!
• Life is a highway, I’m wonna ride it all night long! [by RASCAL FLATTS]: ‘Nuf said about the engine, which is unbelievably smooth and refined, and when driven right, has loads of power on tap. In every situation. Yes, it does sound whiny (but is not) and yes, I did have to change my driving style a bit, but I have rarely seen such smooth power delivery at high revs! Again, pure joy! Switch off the overdrive, and it becomes a rocket!
• I can’t help, falling in love with you [Can’t help falling by ELVIS]: As they say, with great chassis comes great tech. The cruise control is stuck in the 90s, the wiper and light controls are straight from the Marutis of the early 2000s, but all else is modern and very, very user-friendly. The dashboard looks retro, and I love it! Wireless Android and Apple, a decent trip meter, good music (surprisingly good!), great navigation set-up, and a welcome greeting that you can customize and have some fun with! What is missing is TPMS, a compass on the dashboard, a level, and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, which should be there for a car at this price point.
• There's always gonna be another mountain; I'm always gonna wanna make it move [Climb by MILEY CYRUS]: The Jimny is its best on uneven roads, particularly the non-standard and often mind-bogglingly badly designed speed breakers around Mumbai, and I find myself not slowing down. Bad patches of road – no problem! Uneven surfaces – a piece of cake! Given the shoddy standards of our Municipal corporation, and despite our CM promising pot-hole-free roads, those remain a pipe dream, and make the Jimny worth its weight in gold! The narrow dimensions are a gift when finding parking in a city that has almost none and navigating through traffic (of which the city has plenty!).

What could be better:

• Wind in my hair / Shifting and drifting / Mechanical music / Adrenaline surge [Red Barchetta by RUSH]: All that is good and great, but with my foot on the A pedal, and the AC on in the city, I do cartwheels of joy if I get a fuel average in double digits. For a relatively small car, this compares quite poorly with the 8 kmpl of a Thar petrol automatic.
• Well they tempt you, man, with silver / And they tempt you, sir, with gold [Pink Cadillac by SPRINGSTEEN]: But don’t get tempted to drive rashly, ‘coz the brakes don’t take hold! Well, to be honest, they do work but have this spongy feeling that needs getting used to. Would have loved to see red or yellow disk brake callipers, which would add both form and function to the Jimny.
• So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car / Speed so fast it felt like I was drunk [Fast Car by TRACY CHAPMAN]: The other thing which feels drunken is the elephantine turning radius which is, honestly, just too large, sometimes preventing even a simple U-turn on Mumbai’s two-lane narrow roads. And yes, so though we do have a fast car that can fly away, it needs gently curved roads in order to do so!
• I like 'em pimped out (pimped out), to ride on (ride on) / And when we're rollin', everybody's eyes on [Pimped out by BROKE V]: For a car that is crying out to be accessorized, that is built to be jazzed-up, that aches to be modified, the rather lackadaisical ‘pimp’alisciousness of the official accessories leaves much to be desired. The car art – is not very creative. The list of accessories, was quite boring, and I felt several accessories took away from the good looks of the car. This leads many owners to turn to imports and non-standard equipment. For a cult car like the Jimny, this is an area that requires more attention, and can make a huge difference in building an off-road community!

Which brings me to my conclusion: It is a great, lovely, fun-to-drive vehicle. I still find myself taking every opportunity to take it for a ride, and I hope that never changes. It still brings a smile to my face when I look at it, which becomes a grin when I drive it, and a roar of pleasure when I DRIVE it! It is my favourite car right now, so let me end with a lyric from the BEATLES song: Baby you can drive my car / Yes I’m going to be a star / Baby you can drive my car / And baby I love you!

Personal views, but I hope you find them useful!

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