An owner of a Mahindra Thar turbo-petrol AT convertible and a Maruti Suzuki Jimny Alpha AT shares his perspective of how each vehicle fares on various parameters
BHPian REagle&Firefly recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Hey folks! today’s thread is about a comparison of apples to oranges.
Which is better, the
Mahindra Thar or the Maruti Suzuki Jimny?
I am proud owner of a Petrol Thar AT convertible and a cute little Jimny Alpha AT.
The confusion which one to buy has been with some car enthusiasts.
Well for starters I’d say, the Jimny for the size is a lot more overpriced, but way more practical.
Stay tuned onto the thread further.
The thread will be divided into the following aspects :-
1. Engine and Transmission
2. Comfort and Convenience
3. Cabin space and Storage
4. Road manners
5. Fuel Economy
More aspects will be added onto the suggestions from fellow BHPians.
I have had the Thar since February 2023 and the Jimny since June 2023.
My driving has mostly been on Tarmac with occasional highway trips almost every month since January 2024.
Both the Vehicles are completely stock.
The Thar at the time of writing the thread has clocked 19000 kms on the odo, while the Jimny has clocked 16000 kms on the odo.
Both the vehicles have almost never seen an exclusive offroad trail (I do plan to test both of them in the next six months) but especially the Jimny has seen a decent amount of snow drive.
Engine and Transmission
The Mighty Thar
The Thar is a hoot to drive, powered by a 2 Litre Petrol engine producing 150 Bhp and 300Nm of torque. It might not sound much on Paper.
More than adequate sounds an understatement when you floor it.
Paired to the 6 speed Automatic transmission, it does not skip a beat. It has one of the best Torque converters I’ve ever driven. It surely does only upshift around 2000 rpm. Yes, it may hamper fuel economy, but after driving a petrol manual thar I can affirm that 2000 rpm is the correct and only sweet spot where the gear change should occur.
The Engine even with the TC is extremely refined and does not whine in any situation. You floor it, you drive it gently, the engine will respond without breaking a sweat.
For the Thar, the sweet spot is till where you can push it. The Engine just keeps on going. Its the high CG of the Thar which might scare you.
The Mountain Goat Jimny
I must say the Jimny may not be fun to drive especially with the 4 speed AT, but surely gets the Job done.
The power figures of Jimny are nothing to boast about either, the 1.5 litre engine churns nearly 105 Bhp and 134Nm of torque. Enough to get the Jimny moving and unstuck out of most situations.
Surely, in order for it to be fun to drive, one may need to tune it.
The sweet spot of the Jimny lies at about 80-90 Kmph. Beyond this, the Jimny screams and whines.
In city traffic conditions, the Jimny’s engine is extremely good and adapts well. It does give you the power when needed.
I’ve seen a lot of people spreading hate towards the 4 speed AT. In reality, I believe its the RWD configuration of the Jimny which has caused the 4 speed AT to be sluggish.
I also own an Scross paired to a 4 speed AT and I can affirm that the 4 speed AT with the 1.5 Litre K15B engine is a hoot to drive in the Scross. The same engine and transmission combo are extremely responsive in the Scross.
Concluding the Engine and Transmission aspect with picking the Thar any day over the Jimny.
(Surely the Jimny is an attention grabber. A brother-sister duo who tagged along later on!)
Comfort and Convenience
The Mighty Thar
The seats on the Thar are good, supportive. They do not make you feel tired on long road trips.
The cushioning is good, The under thigh support is good.
P.S. I am 6ft tall.
The backseat is disappointing due to the uneven floor of the Thar. I’ve sat in it for approximately 700kms. The seats themselves are good enough, its the uneven floor that causes us to loose out on a lot of its practicality.
The suspension
Well the Thar has a good enough suspension to glide over all the potholes.
Its a jeep with lot of car characteristic now. I must say, since its my 3rd Thar, it is a lot more mature than the old ones- 2011 and 2018 respectively.
The body roll does scare you and the high Centre of gravity does add on to everything else.
All in all I’d say the Thar is a little bouncy and yes I am scared of cruising it at above 100kmph. Small undulations at that speeds aren’t confidence inspiring.
(I was able to sleep on the backseat on the hills in this Image.)
The Mountain Goat Jimny
Lets first start with the seats. No Height adjustable seats! What the heck. The cushioning is less and yes, in at the stock height I had no under thigh support.
I raised the front two seats to get some under thigh support. I am happy with it now.
The seats are in general comfortable, yes more cushioning is desired. In fact needed. This is particularly w.r.t the front seats.
The back seats. Don’t get me started on them.
The base of the backseat is small, Id say Tiny is the right word. Tall people above 5’9″ stay away. Under thigh support is non-existent. This is best suited for kids and adults below 5’6″.
I didn’t find the backseat comfortable for myself.
P.S. I am 6ft tall.
The suspension
Well, where the Jimny looses out on seats, it makes it up in the suspension.
I will make a tall claim here. We had the Innova previously, 2014 and 2009, The Jimny’s suspension is comparable to the Innova at least in my opinion.
It soaks up all the undulations, potholes extremely well and is quite planted. It has some amount of body roll, but it is well contained for a ladder on frame.
The suspension is on a softer side and when the Jimny is all loaded up, one can feel the rear suspension taking a beating.
Overall, the suspension is amazing on the Jimny.
Cabin Space and Storage
The Mighty Thar
The cabin of the Thar is wide enough, with enough shoulder room, both at the front and back seats.
Coming to having cubby holes and storage spaces, well this is a different story. There are two tiny little cup holders just suitable for your coffee.
On the other hand, the door cards have good storage space in them, they easily house a 1L tupperware bottle. With additional storage space for a cloth or booklet.
The Glove box, well its been a constant in all generations of THAR. It is just capable enough to accommodate two medium sized phones or a charger. Come on! it should’ve been big.
The rear seat has no storage space.
(The small bulge you see at the rear view mirror is the 70 mai Omni Dashcam paired with a 4G hardwire kit.)
The boot
The boot, HAHA, Its non existent if you’re using trolley bags. If you’re using duffle bags, you can surely fit quite a few things. The boot has its challenges.
The tailgate does not open of you’ve pressed even some amount of luggage at the lock.
I must say, its a very impractical and irritating part, where one has to go in through the front seat, remove some luggage and then reopen all the locks to unlock the tailgate from the outside.
It has happened quite a number of times now. It’s something I have to live for the time-being, but surely I’ll be finding a permanent solution for this.
The Mountain Goat Jimny
The Jimny might look small on the outside, but the shoulder room due to the boxy design is taken care of. Both at the front and rear seats, the shoulder room is more than adequate for almost anybody.
Coming to cubby holes on the Jimny
The Door cards are supposed to have bottle holders. Well they are missing on all four doors. Why? Only MSIL can answer this.
The glove box is quite spacious and holds quite a bit of stuff.
The bottle holders. The bottle holders are suitable only to hold use and throw 1L plastic bottles or 750ml Tupperware bottles. My question is why can’t we simply have big 1L bottle holders? Also the bottle holders are oddly placed. They do have ergonomic issues.
Well coming to ergonomic issues the placement of rear window controls is an afterthought. Its a poorly designed centre console I must say. A lot more could have done to the centre console.
Well a wooden armrest saves the day here. Its a must atleast for an automatic Jimny.
Road Manners
The Mighty Thar
The Thar definitely has a good road presence. With the top down, it a turns heads even in stock configuration.
The Thar has a high Centre of Gravity and one can feel it especially during cornering. Will I ever dare to do a hard cornering with the Thar? Hell no! I wouldn’t like to die this young.
Its a little bouncy as compared to the Jimny.
The Thar does unsettle on undulations which makes you lift off the gas pedal.
The suspension of the Thar stands NOWHERE to the JIMNY.
The Mountain Goat Jimny
The cute little Jimny in its Kinetic yellow colour is a head turner. It lacks road presence.
Well that is an advantage for the Jimny.
Firstly, this brings the centre of gravity down, thus making the Jimny ride like a crossover or a Hatchback till the speeds of 100 Kmph.
Secondly, navigating through traffic and seeing all the corners of the vehicle is much easier because of the compact dimensions.
The turning radius for such a little car is quite large. On paper it is more than the Thar and one can feel it in a day to day scenario.
This is particularly noticeable by first time drivers who aren’t used to MPV’s and/or SUV’s (the OG SUV’s).
Fuel Economy
The method of measuring FE is tank to tank at auto-cut.
The Mighty Thar
Well its a gas guzzler. Single digit FE is what to expect out of it at all times.
City- 7.5-8 KMPL
best- 9.5 KMPL (winters)
Highway- 9.5-10 KMPL
best-13 KMPL (at a constant speed of 80KMPH)
Mountains – 7-8 KMPL It does dip lower, it all depends how heavy is your foot.
The worst FE I ever recorded was 4.5 KMPL, that was in the hills, requiring me to engage 4*4 for a decent duration, when trying to get unstuck from a patch of ice while sliding and slipping straight to hell. That was one scary moment!
One lesson was learnt that day, either do not break momentum or have snow chains even before attempting to cross a small patch of ICE/Snow.
The Mountain Goat Jimny
Compared to the Thar, the Jimny is no saint either.
City- 12.5-13 KMPL
best-14 KMPL
Highway- 14.5-15.5 KMPL
best – 15KMPL
Mountains – 11-12 KMPL
(Even with snow chains, never drive fast. The Ecco was saved by the pole. It was headed straight down the valley!)
The worst FE ever recorded was 7 KMPL, that’s when we had to keep the vehicle in 4H for a significantly long duration when climbing uphill on about 2 hour long snow covered road to Auli Hill top.
My Verdict
The Thar and Jimny both cater to a different audience.
I must say, the Jimny is extremely under-rated, thanks to terrible pricing by Maruti. If the Jimny would have topped at 15 Lakhs, it would have seen much better sales in the initial days.
If I had to pick one, I’d pick the Jimny as my primary vehicle. Yes, it need not be a secondary vehicle.
Well the heart will always belong to the Thar, thanks to it’s openable roof and the Lovely engine and transmission combo.
I still enjoy and take the Thar more often for outstation trips.
The Thread is now concluded. I’ll be more than happy to answer all your queries and will also incorporate feedback.
Cheers, happy motoring.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
