How I ended up buying a Maruti Jimny: PDI, Accessories & Planned Trips

After cancelling my Thar booking, I gave up on my desire for a proper 4×4 SUV until the 5-door Jimny came along.

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When I was 10, my dad’s friend had a Pajero (amongst other off-roaders, namely the OG Endeavour and a Scorpio). We would often borrow it for long trips and I loved riding in it. I remember asking my dad when I drove it. His answer “When you can beat me at math”. A beautiful black Pajero with a clunky Mapmyindia display has since been the dream.

Fast forward 12 or 13 years, the 4th gen Jimny 3 door was launched in the global markets. The first car to have gotten a similar reaction from my inner child since the Pajero.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love sedans. My dad has always owned sedans – an esteem, 3 generations of the city, the last generation of the Verna and most recently a Mercedes c200 which is the quickest car I’ve ever driven. The only SUV experience I’ve had is on my brother’s rear-wheel drive Isuzu Hi-lander.

Come 2020, the thar was launched in India and it was love at first sight. I had made my peace with the fact that the Jimny might never come to India but it had left an itch for a 4×4. And the Thar looked like the next best thing, so I booked one. A black petrol Thar (The drivetrain was just too desirable to even look at the atrocious fuel efficiency figures).

Unfortunately, my Mahindra Dealership’s attempts to bully me into buying useless accessories for a timely delivery left a sour taste and I cancelled my booking just 20 days later. (In hindsight, this was a good decision, I hate the ride quality of my best friend’s Thar)

For 3 years, I gave up on my desire for a proper 4×4 SUV. This was until Maruti Suzuki announced the 5-door Jimny. I was glued to YouTube consuming all the reviews and Jimny content that these automotive journalists could throw at me. But then the pricing threw me off the trail. The charm vanished when the time came to book the car. I didn’t think it was worth the money. On paper, the Thar still seemed like the better option. I started questioning if I even needed a 4×4. Keep in mind that I had only seen videos and others’ opinions of the car until now. And like an idiot, I just accepted them as facts.

It wasn’t until I went to take the delivery of my friend’s Fronx that I sat in a Jimny. The first impressions were great. Small enough to drive every day and a complete 4×4 system for the adventurous weekends (I’ve been daily driving my dad’s Crysta and while it is an amazing car, it’s sometimes annoying to park and manoeuvre).

Immediately took a test drive. Loved how comfortable the ride was. It is slow but did not feel as underpowered as YouTubers made it out to be. The manual gearbox wasn’t as smooth as your regular cars but I’m used to it (Isuzu has a similar notch gearbox). Did not care about the automatic. The car rolls around almost as much as the Thar. The seating position is high and the non-adjustable seats might be annoying for some people. It is narrow but my elbow didn’t hit the door at all surprisingly. The lack of features does not bother me as I’m used to bare-bones cars and all I care about is how well it drives. The lack of storage space is a big downside.

The charm returned and I was eyeing an opportunity to buy it for 2 months and it came this Diwali. I read about discounts on the base variant: Jimny Zeta Manual Transmission. Immediately called up the nearby Nexa showroom and asked for a longer test drive (still loved the car) and the best price they could offer me. Went around town comparing the prices and ended up with a flat discount of around 1.49L +50,000 loyalty bonus as my uncle has an Ignis. Colour in stock: Bluish Black.

The deal was too sweet to let go. I made the advance payment. Opted for a 5-year extended warranty and the following accessories:

Costing about 18,000

The only two things I wish this model had are the LED headlamps and the tinted glasses.

The PDI (God bless the T-BHP checklist) and registration is done. Payment has been made in full. I’m promised delivery in two days after all the accessories are installed. I forgot to click pictures during PDI, so I apologise for not uploading any.

Further plans:

Feel free to recommend anything I’ve missed out on or if you feel the modifications seem unnecessary (except the grille, the grille is extremely necessary)

My friends and I have planned a trip to Kashmir in December so the car couldn’t have arrived at a better time. We were taking rented cabs but now we will be taking the Jimny and a Thar. Expect a complete Travelogue soon.

Thank you for reading this long post. Do call me out if I made a mistake anywhere as I’m still getting around to using this forum. Apologies to the mods if I’ve posted this in the wrong place.

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