JMC Jim

The JMC JIM has an all-black cabin which looks like a decade-old layout (which it actually is), thus making the interior feel a bit dated by today’s standards. However, the wide design of the dashboard and the large centre console makes the cabin look large and spacious, with the pickup also offering generous space for both front and second rows.

The three-spoke steering wheel of the JMC JIM surprisingly misses out on audio and Bluetooth controls on its spokes, and gets a two-dial analogue instrument console with an LCD MID in the middle. The centre console looks large, thanks to the presence of a huge touchscreen infotainment system, which though looks outdated and misses out on modern smartphone connectivity features. 

While the corners of the dashboard have square-shaped AC vents, the centre console has slime and vertical AC vents beside the infotainment system. The lower centre console has a trapezoidal panel for the manual AC controls and is finished in a theme of gloss black. There are two cup holders behind the manual transmission lever between the front seats too. 

With large dimensions, the JMC JIM has a good road presence, which matches that of other more premium pickup trucks from established carmakers. The exterior design of the JMC JIM makes it look muscular, though the overall design language doesn’t look as modern as it should. 

The front profile of the JMC JIM features a large trapezoidal grille with curved lower edges and corners that also have chrome garnish over them. The trapezoidal headlamps on the sides of the grille have curved designs, which feature halogen illumination for all the lights present within. The body-coloured front bumper of the JMC JIM has trapezoidal housings for the rounded fog lamps.

The JMC JIM continues its muscular stance in its side profile, with the pickup truck having flared and rounded wheel arches and large door panels. The 16-inch alloy wheels look a bit undersized for a vehicle of this size. The door panels, rearview mirrors and pillars of the JMC JIM are body-coloured, with the JIM also getting side steps as standard. At the back, the JMC JIM has a very basic appearance with vertical halogen tail lamps on the corners of the deck lid, which has wide JMC lettering spread across it. 

Despite being a not-so-old-school pickup truck, the JMC JIM gets an archaic but heavy-duty suspension setup of leaf springs at both ends. This suspension combination does give the JMC JIM the required sturdiness in load-carrying capacity, but the required suppleness in the ride quality is compromised. The steering too feels a bit heavy while manoeuvring at lower speeds. 

Both the variants of the JMC JIM have a 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel engine paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox as the standard powertrain combination. With a maximum power output of 115 PS and a maximum torque output of 280 Nm, the diesel engine feels a bit underpowered at lower RPMs, and also feels noisy at higher RPMs. However, as the RPMs progress, the JIM has decent pulling power in the mid-range.

Despite being an old-generation pickup, the JMC JIM has decent safety features on offer, including dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, reverse parking sensors, electronic stability control, traction control, hill start assist, hill descent control and tyre pressure monitoring system.  

The engineering quality of JMC JIM, including its performance, ride quality and handling, might feel uninspiring by today’s standards. However, for its price, it offers a good load-carrying capacity and space for five passengers on board.