Engaged 4×4. Only on the steepest of inclines did I really need 4H and did not need to shift to 4L.
BHPian astrodex recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Took the Jimny on a wilderness trail and climbed up some hills. We had taken a Thar and an Endeavor on the same route before. Thar was able to ride up without any issues but we had trouble turning it around. With Endy, the huge width and length caused the owner to freak out about too many scratches and it turned back halfway.
I am neither a professional off-roader, nor did I have any spotters. Having said that, it felt easier taking Jimny up solely because of the following:
- Width: Compared to others, Jimny is stubby and can easily move around areas where you normally don’t have much leeway. For larger vehicles the only option is the tire path in the middle since there is no space on the trail and the track is often rutted down because of repeated use. But the little Jimny can do the same in 3 or 4 different ways around it avoiding the main tire track ruts.
- Weight: The low weight seems to actually help it light foot over some obstacles. Places where we had to put in tree trunks were easily crossed by Jimny where others would sink the supports into the ground.
- Visibility: Could see a lot more, both in front and around. Not having thick pillars and straight profiles help you confidently edge to the sides. I don’t know about the convertible Thar on whether it has better visibility but the Endy was worse of all of them.
It was not all great, some of the problems were.
- Turning radius: While I didn’t feel it during driving, it did feel painful to do 3-point turns with it. Also, the turning needed on the Jimny is more than others making it feel more like those old truck steerings.
- Steering: I really missed the 10 and 2 o clock knurls that allow you to hold the steering. The smooth steering misses the finger and hand knurls and I sometimes get lost in its position. Nice chunky knurls on the default hand location would be a welcome addition, though I don’t know if we can get that aftermarket.
Overall I enjoyed the outing and gave me the confidence to do more of these. I also got a chance to engage 4WD. Only on the steepest of inclines did I really need 4H and did not need to shift to 4L. I tried the hill decent control but didn’t see much use of it. Probably because I was using the brake earlier on for it to get a chance to work.
Keyword: Jimny goes on a wilderness trail: Fared better than Thar & Endeavour