The Indian market has always welcomed a car that is designed to perform more than one function, in other words an all-rounder. This means an average Indian car should be able to do everything– from buying groceries to long rides. That has always been an ideal definition of an Indian family car.
Maruti Suzuki has aced this definition for most parts of its four decade legacy in the country. But the company also had the Gypsy once– a rough, rugged, and purpose-built SUV that essentially gave birth to a community of off-roading enthusiasts. With the Gypsy gone, it was time to resurrect it a brand new, modern avatar that holds the same values but a little more sophistication.
That’s how the Jimny was born and Maruti played it smart by launching a five-door version of the compact off-roader. Thus, not letting go off its distinction of building only practical family vehicles. Launched earlier in May this year, I got behind the steering wheel of Jimny for the first time on a curated but very challenging off-road track to check if this tiny monster is as capable as Maruti raves about.
Maruti Suzuki Jimny: Superior off-roading experience
Maruti had created a wide variety of off-roading tracks on a field to give drivers an experience of what the Jimny was capable of. From articulation tests to rock crawling and mud plugging, the subcompact SUV aced each task with distinction without too much effort. Let us check out some of its attributes that help its cause of becoming a superior off-roader.
For starters, it gets the Maruti AllGrip Pro which is the company’s purest 4×4 drivetrain featuring a traditional mechanical low-range transfer case. When one or more than one wheels are devoid of traction, the braking limited slip differential (LSD) multiplies the torque and directs it to the wheels which have traction, thus helping the car get over really sticky situations.
Mind you the Jimny isn’t loaded with a comprehensive suite of electronic aids. Only a few at its disposal in the form of traction control, hill-hold and hill-descent assist, but these features are common in road-biased cars as well. It simply tells us that the Jimny’s off-roading prowess has a lot to do with its basic construction.
Based on an old-school ladder on frame chassis, the Jimny gets a 3-link rigid axle suspension with coil springs both at the front as well as the rear. Further, it gets an impressive approach, departure, and ramp over angles of 36-degree, 46-degree, and 24-degree, respectively. However, what helps a great deal is a short wheelbase measuring 2,590 mm.
The 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine produces a modest 104 bhp and 134 Nm of peak torque. That said, it never felt out of pace on the treacherous off-roading obstacles, providing enough grunt for the vehicle to overhaul any challenge. The fact that all these tasks were performed in stock road-biased tyres speaks volume of the Jimny’s capabilities.
Maruti Suzuki Jimny might not have the road-presence of a typical boxy off-roading SUV nor the tech-savvy equipment rich with electronics of a modern vehicle but it gets the job done with ease, primarily due to its construction and design. And for someone, like yours truly, who hadn’t experienced really challenging off-road trails before this, it was a cakewalk, and the Jimny ensured the same.
