My dad bought a new Maruti Gypsy in November of 2004 after a wait of about two months (apparently nowadays there's not a big market for them and one has to specially order straight from Maruti's factory in Gurgaon). As of now it's all stock with the exception of the 235/75/15 Apollo radials and has around 3500kms on the odo.


The Gypsy is a no frills, very basic, off roader. The built quality true to its Japanese heritage is top notch and I can personally vouch for that (our first Gypsy, a 1996 MP Govt. HT never had any problems whatsoever over the five years during which we drove around 65000kms).

The only problem with it is its terrible on-road ride quality. The rock hard suspension seems to have been designed exclusively for off-road (providing minimum body roll) and hence every other vehicle in the market scores above Gypsy for riding comfort on typical Indian city roads. The 1.3L engine mated with a 5 speed gearbox is rated at 81bhp and produces a peak torque of 103Nm @ 4500rpm which by Indian standards is more than enough for its sub 1000kg kerb weight (Note: This engine is same as that of the Maruti Esteem but is geared for high average torque over the entire powerband and surprisingly gives the Gypsy a better pickup between speeds of 20-80kms/hr over the Esteem). 4WD can be engaged manually and one has the option of either a high or a low (rarely needed) overall gearing ratio.

Verdict: If you live in a small town and plan on using it occasionally as your second/third vehicle then the Gypsy is a great buy. Trust me an open soft top gypsy still has a pose value ;] which can only be matched by Landcruisers besides the Bhopali Willys CJ and more importantly it can take you places which no other vehicle available in the Indian market can.

Here are some more pics...