Relation of drive ratios and on/off road performan

Hello!

I am in the process of searching to buy myself my first Jimny. As those cars are not cheap (at least for the living standards of my country), I want to make the optimal selection for my money. If I make a wrong choice which I happen to dislike, I will have a hard time selling the car, due to the relative expense, and car's impracticality.


Among other things for optimal selection, I have the issue of drive (gear) ratios.

As far as I understand the technicalities, a higher drive ratio (higher numerical value) has the following consequences:
- faster acceleration;
- lower top speed;
- more torque;

The lower drive ratio has the opposite characteristics, correct?

Therefore, a higher drive ratio would be more desirable for off road situations, while a lower drive ratio would be more desirable for on road applications. Correct?

The only thing which I am not certain about that is this: if I should exclusively look at the FINAL DRIVE RATIO, or some other ratios as well?



However, my issue is that the Jimny will be my only car. Therefore, besides for light and medium off roading, it is going to be used a lot for inter-city (motorway and country road) driving.
The roads in my country are not too fast, the usual practical top speed on country roads is around 50 mph and 75 mph on motorways, but the roads are often curvy (hilly country), requiring frequent speed alterations, especially with a small narrow SUV.

Over here (in continental EU), we also have a choice of either the petrol or diesel Jimnys.
I know that you in UK do not have the diesels, and therefore you know very little about them.

But please look at these numerical figures, from this documentation on the BigJimny info repository:
bigjimny.com/images/documents/transferboxratios.pdf



So,
Based on your general experience of diesel vs. petrol automotive engine types, and on those numerical figures, which of those Jimny editions would be the most suitable for country road driving? Would it be the diesel, the M13AA VVT or the classic M13A?

The diesel has the lowest final drive ratio (3.42). The M13AA VVT has the highest (4.30), and with M13A being in the middle (3.91).

Therefore, the clear winner in this issue should be the diesel (as it should achieve the highest top speed, while still having strong torque for off-road situations, as it is diesel).
But something tells me that there is a catch in that conclusion, or not?

Please help me to clarify the matters!

Kind regards!

Because car gears tend to reduce the engine speed rather than multiply it, higher ratios are referred to as lower gears. Example 6:1 is a 'lower' ratio than 4:1 because a 6:1 gear means the the car will go slower. In any 4x4 with high and low ranges, high range gears (lower numerical value) are for the road and low range gears (higher numerical value) are for off road.

A diesel engine doesn't rev as high as a petrol engine, but generates more torque at lower engine speeds. To drive at the same speeds, a diesel needs a higher gear (lower numerical value) than a petrol and will run at a lower engine speed. The power and torque at the wheels is, then, roughly equal. This is why the diesel has different gearing to the petrols. Because they have very similar engine power, the performance of the diesel and the petrol will be very similar up and down the hills, but only if you are happy to use high engine speeds (4,000rpm+) in the petrol. The diesel will be easier to drive because you can use lower engine speeds and probably won't have to change down a gear as often.