What is it?

The five-door Maruti Suzuki Jimny is finally here after months and months of anticipation, spy images, and un-camouflaged photos of the car, undergoing high-altitude testing in the Himalayas.

Where the Fronx, Brezza and Grand Vitara make up the conventional SUV lineup, the Jimny will target those looking at a traditional SUV, a lifestyle product, or just something that will stand out in the crowd. Despite this being a Maruti, the number of interested people will swell to a huge one pretty quickly.

The five-door Jimny follows its three-door sibling in terms of exterior design, right down to the tee. You get that boxy SUV shape with the high bonnet, round headlamps and slatted grille. In profile, this five-door Jimny is 59cm longer than the standard three-door Jimny. A nice visual highlight on the side is the squared-off wheel arches that sit high above the wheels, ensuring you get both – the ground clearance, and SUV visual cues.

At the rear, you get the same side-hinged door and boot-mounted spare tyre. As has been the case with Maruti cars of late, there’s hardly any badging at the rear apart from the words ‘Jimny’ and ‘AllGrip’. Given the Jimny’s iconic shape, the minimal badging shouldn’t be a hindrance at all when it comes to identifying the car even from a distance

How is it on the inside?

The five-door Jimny carries on the interiors of the three-door model with the same layout, elements, and even their placement. It’s a vertically stacked layout with a lot of rectangular elements including the clocks, AC vents, infotainment screen, and parcel shelf on the passenger side.

The cabin is an all-black affair with height and steering adjustment for the driver’s seat. The party piece of the Jimny is of course its second row which has two additional doors and folding rear seats. With them up, the boot stands at 208 litres; and folded down you get 332 litres. However, with a relatively high roofline, you will be able to pack a lot more into the car than expected.

What’s on the feature list?

The 9.0-inch screen runs the latest Maruti Suzuki Smartplay pro+ OS with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. By the time this car hits the market, we expect that it too will get wireless smartphone mirroring. Other features on this top-spec model include button start, cruise control, power mirrors, power windows, colour MID, steering-mounted audio controls, keyless entry and Arkamys sound system. On the safety front, you get six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESP, hill-hold and descent control, and ISOFIX child seat mounting points.

What’s under the hood?

The Jimny, when launched in India, will be offered with the 1.5-litre K15B engine that produces 102bhp/136Nm and can be had with either a five-speed manual or an India-specific four-speed torque converter automatic.

The Jimny will be the car that brings Suzuki AllGrip Pro+ to India. This is the most hardcore of the AllGrip systems with a manual transfer case and differentials for both the front and rear wheels. The Jimny’s lightweight ladder-on-frame nature and minimal electronics, make it likely to have good off-road prowess. It is something that we should be able to tell you once we get our hands on the car and take it on the path less trodden.

Gypsy is the original King?

The Jimny might be an old-school, ladder-on-frame petrol SUV but it is not the first one from Maruti Suzuki in India. In fact, that honour goes to a motoring icon in the form of the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy.

Launched in India in 1985, it was a compact SUV before the term even came to life. Initially offered with a 1.0-litre three-pot petrol, it eventually went on to be offered with a 1.4-litre petrol engine, mated to a five-speed manual. As standard, it got differentials and a transfer case. It had boxy looks, high bonnet squared-off wheel arches, a side-hinged tail gate, and a boot-mounted spare. Sounds familiar? Yup, the Jimny is a modern incarnation of the Gypsy, call it if you will, a descendent of the Gypsy, or as it was globally known- the Samurai.

It is precisely this connection that Maruti is expected to tap into with the likes of off-road enthusiasts, multi-generation Gypsy owners, jeep owners, and ex-service personnel.

Launch, expected pricing and competition

The car is expected to be launched in India, later this year, with a price in the range of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 14 lakh (ex-showroom). The Jimny, in this price bracket, will lock horns with the Mahindra XUV300, Kia Sonet, Hyundai Venue, Mahindra Bolero, Mahindra Bolero Neo, and of course, the entry-level version of the Mahindra Thar.

Pictures: Kapil Angane and Kaustubh Gandhi