Driving on rumble strips over 30 km/hr, the rear tends to get unsettled or sway side-ways.
BHPian Samba recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Got to drive an Alpha Manual for quite some distance.
Nexa sales staff were courteous and pretty eager to show the car.
A small fun part to begin with.
The sales guy: Sir, four Team-Bhp members came and test-drove this car a few days back, & they certified this car, so you should not have any doubts regarding this car.
Me: What is Team-Bhp?
The sales guy: Sir, that’s a very renowned automotive magazine.
Me: How can people be a member of a magazine?
The sales guy: Sir, you can Google about Team-Bhp. They are quite big and popular. If a Team-Bhp member certifies a car, you can buy that car eyes closed.
Me: Great, let’s go for the test drive then.
The sales guy: I can only give you a couple of kilometres test drive.
Me: But I am not an expert like the Team-Bhp members. So I need a longer TD to understand the car. Can I get a longer TD?
The sales guy- Okay Sir, let me get approval then.
Me: Thank you.
Few on-road observations:
- The gear lever vibrates while starting the car.
- The clutch is light and the clutch travel is perfect, it’s not too long or too short.
- Slotting the first gear was not seamless, had to push it a bit hard. The rest of the gears including the reverse were fine.
- By no means it’s a fast car. When pushed hard, the engine makes a sound, but it takes its own sweet time to build speed.
- Best to drive it in a relaxed way. Give some time to reach 90-110 km/hr, then this car can cruise at this speed for the whole day.
- The low-end power delivery is good. The car climbed a small incline in 1st gear without touching the accelerator.
- Crossing speed-breakers in 2nd gear is easy. One does not have to slot the 1st gear.
- In moderate traffic, the 3rd gear can be used as an AT!
- Best to up-shift at 2200 rpm.
- I tried slotting to 5th at 40 km/hr, but with my driving style, I was more comfortable in slotting the 5th gear at 60. For sedate driving the 5th gear can be slotted at 40 km /hr, but I felt it may lug the engine.
- The engine is very refined, but on accelerating hard, the engine gets loud. Though I liked the sound, for many this can be a deal breaker. The overall NVH level is just okay.
- The brakes felt a bit spongy, but on pressing hard, the brakes worked as desired, plus on down-shifting, the engine braking was good.
- Took a couple of ‘U’ turns, but the turning radius was not a bummer for me. With a proper approach, the turns were completed in one shot.
- The steering feedback is just okay, & the auto centring is slow. The steering needs a bit more turns than I am used to.
- At triple-digit speeds the steering constantly needed small corrections.
- I tried to drive in between two barricades at a higher speed, and the body roll was sorted, but again the steering needed more than the required input to keep the car on my desired path.
- On driving over rumble strips over 30 km/hr the rear tends to get unsettled or sway side-ways. Though this is not scary, one can feel it.
- I intentionally crossed a speed-breaker at a high speed, just to replicate what may happen if we miss one while driving at high speed. I was satisfied with the way this little car handled it. The rear definitely got unsettled, but the car didn’t lose its overall composure. So in case a driver misses out on a speed breaker or some big hole, regaining control won’t be an issue.
- The overall ride quality is bumpy, but it’s acceptable for a body-on-frame vehicle. The front seats are much more comfortable than the rear seats. Plus the rear seats lack under-thigh support.
- For a 500 to 1000 km highway drive this car won’t be as fatigue-free as your regular sedan/hatchback/crossover.
- The AC is good.
- The music system has a lot of features, but the sound quality is just okay. Music lovers need to upgrade the speakers. With more bass, the sound gets boomy.
- The LED headlights are awesome with perfect spread and cut-off. Night driving will be easy.
To sum it up, one must not forget that this is basically an updated Gypsy. By DNA it’s a true blue offroader which can do the duty of a regular car too.
I have shared my Off-road observations about the Jimny over here
Keyword: Key observations after a long on-road test drive of the Maruti Jimny MT