Suzuki doesn’t want to veer away from the Jimny’s off-road DNA, thereby ruling out a two-wheel drive variant.
The long awaited Maruti Suzuki Jimny will go on sale in India on June 7. The model will be launched with a 1.5-litre K15B petrol engine, offered with a 5-speed manual and 4-speed auto gearbox options. Suzuki’s AllGrip Pro four-wheel drive system is standard fit across the range. Interestingly, there are no plans for a lower priced two-wheel drive version in the future.
Sources say a two-wheel drive version was not on the table as Suzuki wanted the Jimny to be true to its off-road legacy. The original Jimny was launched in Japan in 1970 and the nameplate has since become synonymous with off-road ability. Even the Gypsy that was launched in India in the ’80s never got a 4×2 system throughout its lifecycle, which ended in 2019.
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The current-gen Jimny, sold overseas in 3-door form, has also made a name for itself in off-road circles worldwide. In fact, lengthening the Jimny to five door form for India was an exercise in “optimisation” as Maruti Suzuki’s CTO CV Raman put it. “We could have gone longer also, but we had to ensure the off-road capability is not compromised,” Raman told Autocar India at the Jimny 5-door’s global unveil earlier this year. “The 4×4 character of the Jimny could not be lost.” The India-spec Jimny 5 door’s 2,550mm wheelbase is a full 300mm longer than the international spec 3 door model.
Launching a lower priced, two-wheel-drive version is a strategy that has worked wonders for Mahindra. The Thar 4×2 petrol-automatic (Rs 13.49 lakh) is Rs 2.3 lakh more affordable than its 4×4 equivalent, while the Thar diesel-manual 4×2 range starts at an enticing Rs 10.55 lakh. This pricing has been made possible by the move to a smaller engine, which helps it qualify for the ‘small car’ tax benefits.
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The lower price tags have opened up the Thar to a whole new set of buyers lured by the off-roader’s image, but without use for its actual off-road ability. That there’s a 17 month waiting period on the Thar diesel-manual 4×2 should tell you about the scale of its popularity. Incidentally, Mahindra delivered its 1,00,000th Thar last week.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Jimny is priced vis-a-vis other Maruti SUVs as well as off road rivals like the Mahindra Thar and Force Gurkha.
Also see:
Suzuki Jimny review: Turns more heads than a supercar
2022 Suzuki Jimny in India: First Impression video