Maruti Gypsy (2019)

Expert Review by Maxabout

Based on the Suzuki Jimmy, Gypsy is a hard-core off road vehicle produced by India’s largest selling car marker, Maruti Suzuki. Maruti initially launched this SUV in India in the year 1985 and since then, it’s one of the most popular off road vehicles in India. Let’s check out this SUV in detail.

Exterior

The styling of Gypsy takes you almost three decades back. Since its launch, the car has received only minor exterior changes and is surviving with its original design. The small size SUV doesn’t look like any other modern SUV in terms of styling. Apart from its front grille, there is no big difference in the appearance of Gypsy since 1985. The new black colored front grille sits below its long bonnet and features circular headlights on both sides. The up-raised bonnet with sharp lines adds aggression to the front look of this car. The lean black colored front bumper integrated with old fashioned indicators look retro and gives rugged look to Gypsy. The high ground clearance, side steps and muscular wheel arches add sporty character to this car. It’s a three door SUV which looks sensible with a hard top. The thick A-pillar and flat body panels look very basic on this car. The tall rear section compromises of a long boot gate and slim rear bumper integrated with tail lights.

Interior

Step inside Gypsy and everything looks out-dated. The color scheme and positioning of things inside is quite disappointing. The plastic material used inside looks very cheap and feels quite hard to touch. Six people can fit into Gypsy with seating arrangement of two people at its front and four people at the back. The vertically aligned rear benches are not comfortable as they offer poor under thigh and back support. The front seats are better though but they are not much comfortable either.

Comfort and Convenience

Unfortunately, there is nothing much in this car which provides you comfort. Gypsy lacks power windows, power steering, AC and everything which you expect from a modern car. In fact you don’t even get outside mirrors on both sides. There are only few features in this car which includes adjustable front head rests, fabric seat upholstery and boot lid opener.

Dashboard and Storage

Gypsy has a very basic dashboard which looks down-market and uses low quality of plastic material. This dashboard is quite harsh to touch and comes with out-dated analogue instrument console. The company should work on its dashboard to give it a fresh appeal inside. There is space on this dashboard to keep loose things and you can also use its inbuilt glove box. Gypsy features door pockets in its front doors. The car has less space at the back for your luggage as its boot comes fitted with two rear benches.

Music System

There is no company fitted music system in Gypsy to entertain you however, you can get it installed from outside.

Engine and Gearbox

Gypsy is powered by a four-cylinder 1.3L petrol engine. This SOHC engine pumps out a power output of 80 bhp at 6000 rpm. The torque output of this 16 valves engine is of 103 Nm which arrives at 4500 rpm. This engine is mated with a five-speed manual gearbox which supplies power to its front wheels and comes with optional four wheel drive system.

Acceleration and Performance

The light weight of Gypsy makes biggest contribution to its outstanding performance. It is one of the rarest SUVs produced in India which comes with impressive power to weight ratio. Gypsy is not famous for its on road performance as there are many other SUVs which feel far more powerful and faster than Gypsy on road. It can cross the speed of 130km/hr on road but that’s not the real catch; the moment you step off the road then the real fun begins. The light weight and strong power pulling at low rpms enables this car to move frequently on any terrain. The light weight engine with thermal conductivity heats up fast to give you hassle free rides in extreme cold conditions and gives off heat quickly to avoid over heating in hot conditions. It’s a very refined engine which shows no signs of vibrations and harshness when rev hard and works effortlessly on all terrains with four wheel drive system.

Mileage

Maruti Gypsy can return you a mileage of around 12 km/ltr. Apart from its strong body panels and powerful headlights and fog lamps which provide you clear visibility at night, there are no premium safety features in this car.

Suspension and Brakes

Maruti Gypsy is equipped with poor leaf spring suspension system at its both ends. As far as its braking system is concerned, it features disc brakes at its front and drum brakes at back. There is no option of ABS, EBD and Brake assist in this car.

Ride and Handling

Maruti Gypsy is a disaster on road in terms of ride and handling. The inferior suspension system gets affected by every pothole and there is major body roll around corners. The lack of power steering also causes problem in city traffic and you find it quite hard to park this car at tight spaces. The steering damper though acts well and gives you stress free rides. Its high ground clearance of 210 mm enables Gypsy to perform brilliantly off road as it can cross most of the obstructions easily. We wish if it had a power steering and better suspension system for smooth city rides.

Shades, Variants and Warranty

Maruti Gypsy is available in two variants and four shades. Maruti gives 2years/40000 kilometres warranty on Gypsy.

Verdict

The hard top variant of Gypsy costs 20K more than the soft top variant and is priced at INR 5.83 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi (approx., may vary)). Undoubtedly, it’s not a value for money car; it lacks style, features, space, comfort and everything. These days apart from government, it’s hard to find new buyers for Gypsy as it’s quite hard to maintain an off road vehicle which feeds on petrol.