The Maruti Gypsy is a four wheel drive

Four Wheel Drive

The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:...

 SUV based on the long wheelbase Suzuki Jimny SJ40/410 series vehicles.

History

It is manufactured in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 by Maruti Suzuki. It was introduced in the Indian market in December 1985 with the 970 cc F10A Suzuki engine and while sales were never very high it became very popular with law enforcement. It was codenamed MG410, which stood for "Maruti Gypsy 4 cylinder 1.0 litre engine". Initially, it was only available as a soft-top; but a bolt on hardtop was later introduced to the public after the aftermarket hardtops became popular. It instantly replaced Premier Padmini

Premier Padmini

'Premier Padmini' was an automobile manufactured in India from 1967 to 2000.Premier Automobiles Limited, the erstwhile flagship company of India's Walchand Hirachand Group, assembled Fiat's Fiat 1100 cars from the 1950s until 1997...

 as the quintessential Indian rally car due to its performance, reliability, tunability and the go-anywhere capability. The carburetted F10A engine made 45 bhp and was mated to a 4 speed gearbox. The 4WD transfer case had 2 speeds. It had a freewheeling mechanism on the front axles made by Aisin to unlock the front axles from the hub when 4WD is not used; It reduced rolling resistance, thereby improving fuel efficiency. However, many owners of the Gypsy who constantly complained about the poor fuel consumption never knew about this novel feature.

The two major complaints of the vehicle in the civilian market were poor fuel consumption and poor ride quality especially in the rear seats. The suspension was indeed harsh with live axles and leaf springs all around. It features almost no creature comforts, like power-windows and power-assisted steering.

In July 1993, Maruti introduced the "widetrack Gypsy" codenamed MG410W replacing the MG410. Both front and rear track of the wheels are increased by 90mm (from 1210 mm (47.6 in) to 1300 mm (51.2 in) for front wheels and from 1220 mm (48 in) to 1310 mm (51.6 in) for rear wheels) and these Gypsys are instantly recognizable by the pronounced painted fender flares. This is to mitigate an international allegation

Suzuki Samurai v Consumers Union

Suzuki of North America was embroiled in a lengthy lawsuit with Consumers Union, filed eight years after their magazine Consumer Reports gave a very unfavorable and much disputed review of the Suzuki Samurai, deeming the Samurai "not acceptable" in their ratings....

 that Suzuki SUVs are very susceptible to rollover. Maruti eliminated the Aisin freewheeling hub on this model since it was sparingly used by MG410 owners. In April 1995, a catalytic converter was fitted to the Gypsys sold in the metro cities to comply with newly introduced emission standards.

In June 1996, Maruti added the engine from the Esteem. The new engine was the all aluminium 8-valve G13BA engine displacing 1.3L and made a respectable 65 bhp. This engine was carburetted unlike the US market G13BA engine. It was mated to a new 5-speed gearbox. It was codenamed MG413W and called the Gypsy King. The F10A-engined regular Gypsy continued in production until 2000 at least. The visual differences of the Gypsy King compared to the MG410W are the pronounced bulge on the hood and a completely different grille design with horizontal slats à la the 1.3L Suzuki Jimny/Samurai JA51. Front seats received head restraints and fabric upholstery. In March 2000, Maruti introduced the 16-Valve MPFI G13BB engine and power was increased to 80 bhp. The MPFI Gypsy King received a brake booster as well.

The Gypsy was exported to countries like Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 and Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. Within Europe, it is most often found in Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 and Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. In contrast to Suzuki Jimny

Suzuki Jimny

The Suzuki Jimny is a line of SUVs from Suzuki. The line started in 1968 and is still running.-History:The history of Suzuki four-wheel-drive cars dates to 1968. Suzuki bought former Japanese automaker Hope Motor Company which had introduced fifteen small off-road vehicles called the HopeStar...

, the Gypsy is available either with 4 bucket seats or rear bench seats and a sizable trunk. Currently, the Gypsy is available as a "soft top", "hard top" and as an "ambulance

Ambulance

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...

 car". In India, it is widely used by the police and defense forces. In fact, the MG413W model is now the mainstay of the Indian Army. In civilian use, the Gypsy is a popular choice as a low-cost SUV and is a common sight at rally and autocross events.

As quoted by Autocar India, "There is nothing that can touch a Gypsy off the road, except perhaps an Arjun battle tank

Arjun MBT

The Arjun is a third generation main battle tank developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organization , for the Indian Army...

.The trouble is that everything else does better on the road - the ride from the archaic leaf springs all round is horribly bumpy and the interiors are utilitarian as well. Gypsy in a loaded condition (>200 kg load) is more comfortable. And available with only two doors, its inconvenient too." The price of a new Maruti Gypsy, if purchased in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, is US $12,500 (5,00,000 INR in 2008). As a 4x4 at this price point, its only Indian competitors are sold by Mahindra

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. The company was set up in 1945 in Ludhiana as Mahindra & Mohammed by brothers K.C. Mahindra and J.C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed...

 and Force Motors

Force Motors Ltd

Force Motors is an Indian manufacturer of three wheelers, multi-utility and cross country vehicles, light commercial vehicles, tractors, buses and now heavy commercial vehicles. It was originally named Firodia Tempo Ltd. and later after partial acquisition by Bajaj Auto as Bajaj Tempo Ltd.The...

. The petrol engine in the Gypsy is also much more refined than the diesel mills used in the cars from the two aforementioned companies. As of 2010, the Gypsy is only available against an order with an advance payment and a waiting period of over 3 months. This has led to the creation of a strong market for used Maruti Gypsys.

In addition to the above refurbished Gypsies retrofitted with Nissan or Isuzu diesel engines are also available in some parts of India. Although this practice is still limited to unorganised market and there are some issues with RTO registration with retrofitted engine.

Gypsies converted with diesel engines offer better fuel efficiency and reduction of running expenses.

Technical data

Maruti MG413W "Gypsy King"

Dimensions

• Length 4010 mm (157.9 in)
• Width 1540 mm (60.6 in)
• Height 1875/1845 mm*
• Wheelbase 2375 mm (93.5 in)
• Front Track 1300 mm (51.2 in)
• Rear Track 1310 mm (51.6 in)
• Kerb Weight 985 kg/1, 040 kg*
• Gross Vehicle Weight 1585 kg/1,620 kg*

Engine

• Type G13BB MPFI 16 Valve Gasoline
• Cylinders 4
• Displacement 1298 cc
• Maximum Power 80 bhp @6000 rpm
• Maximum Torque 103 newton metre @ 4500 rpm
• Transmission Type Five forward (all Synchromesh), One reverse
• Transfer gearbox Two-speed
• Type constant mesh
• Transfer gear ratio High : 1.409; Low : 2.268
• Suspension Front and Rear Rear Leaf spring with Double action damper

Brakes With Booster

• Front Disc 250 mm
• Rear Drum 220 mm
• Tyres F78-15-4 PR 205/70R15

Capacities

• Fuel tank 40 l (11 US gal; 9 imp gal)
• Engine oil 4 l (1.1 US gal; 0.879876993196351 imp gal)

Operators

Military

External links

• Maruti Gypsy official website

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