No compromise on the safety and safety related features.
For the use case of the Jimny, a halogen headlamp is better than LED (dense fog, rains).
The stock fog lamps won’t be much effective (just like any other Maruti Suzuki cars). Most of the Alpha variant owners will upgrade to a projector lens type with warmer light, or will add Auxiliary lights.
Headlamp washer is kind of gimmicky. It can also be a DIY retrofit in ZETA.
Electrically foldable ORVM for a narrow body SUV is not essential.
Steel rims are better than Alloy rims for the off-roading usage.
Cruise control: Jimny is not a great highway cruiser, and doing a constant speed of 90-100 kmph on highway/ expressway is not a prime use of the Jimny.
Auto AC/ climate control- for a small cabin and off-roading/ off-the-tarmac usage, it is less important.
In car entertainment screen: 9 inch vs 7 inch screen- who cares. All you need is a legible MAP readout.
Arkamys sound tuning: hey, there is no tweeter in Alpha. And in a small cabin you hardly understand the fine sound tuning. And it’s not a Bose or B&O or Bower & Wilkins.
Leather wrapped steering: An aftermarket best quality Black leather and red stitching- problem solved.
Push start-stop: buy a raised hatchback pseudo SUV (a replacement of this mechanism ~ 40-50k INR).
We can rather spend the money saved for the essential accessories and modifications.
Exactly my logic. What can’t be done aftermarket are the cruise control and the green tinted glass maybe. But that’s about it.
One point for the Alpha is the fog lamps - the harness and wiring is already there. So upgrading it is easier. I hope the MASS would do a good job of retrofitting it.
Yes. Also good point is they didn’t skimp on safety. Like Tata and Mahindra, safety is always 100%.
Normally safety is what used to be cut down severely when going down the trims. This is amazing that MS is striving to compete in the safety aspect too.
I have booked Alpha manual but might switch to zeta manual if the pricing is not right.
My reasoning for booking the Alpha:
LED lamps will be better in the city as I’m constantly blinded by oncoming traffics led lights. (Have a Scross with halogen and Polo Tsi with halogen) for Fog will use good old yellow film. On the fog lamps and headlights.
Electric foldable orvm is useful in parking, it’s a pain to do it every time specially when driving solo.
Cruise Control: Very important for me, experienced it in Polo and now I use it all the time specially in Delhi city roads where they have so many speed cameras now. Just lock it at 50 and have a stress free driving experience.
Auto AC: Don’t have to fiddle with settings every time there is a outside/inside temperature change, useful in rains.
Screen size is not a deal breaker for me and nor is the speaker quality.
Green cut glass: very useful in Indian summers.
Most of these features are very difficult to add in the aftermarket .
All in all if there is a difference of 80k -1lakh between the Zeta manual and Alpha manual I will go for the Alpha manual.
Zeta - VFM, mod potential and for serious folks who would stick by Suzuki and take the brand further creating a legacy.
Alpha - for mall crawlers, show off and money milkers. Basically for capturing the thar market.
I mean, if there’s a demand for a Thar 4x2 coz of looks only, why not a 4x4 at the same price? It will become a huge competing factor for folks and there’s literally NO cheap 4x4.
Hell, a fully restored Gypsy from Ammified costs 9L everything. I assume OTR so a gypsy about 7ex back when last sold, I wouldn’t be surprised if MS prices the Zeta manual at about 9 or 9.5. Surely less than 10. Zeta auto at 10.5 is totally reasonable too. But if they can get the auto at 9.99, that’s icing on the cake.
Well, to start with, we cannot call Zeta the value for money variant until we know the money it demands! What if Zeta and Alpha differences are meagre and Maruti only introduced Zeta to make Alpha look like a better deal?
And I don’t think Alpha is for show off because most additional features are functional and merely creature comforts which an all-purpose modern day car is expected to have. I for one would take all the creature comforts if this is my primary car.
And then, Jimny and Thar are not competitors in the long run. Initially we are pitting them against each other because there are not many other similar looking vehicles (apart from Gurkha, I don’t even recall a 4th option). Eventually, Jimny will carve its own niche, as did Thar, and both will have their loyalists. Both will coexist.
[Mild rant] Looks are very important for mass market appeal universally. Additionally, in India somehow “aggressive” and “imposing” looks are valued more than functional and proportionate looks. So, the Thar is always going to have an edge here vis-a-vis Jimny. I think, in India, the average first time buyer won’t prefer a 4x4 at the expense of “aggressive and imposing” looks. However, Jimny appeals to all existing Gypsy fans of which there are thousands. [End of mild rant ]
