diff --git a/ixmp/__init__.py b/ixmp/__init__.py
index acfc57117..a3c881884 100644
--- a/ixmp/__init__.py
+++ b/ixmp/__init__.py
@@ -69,8 +69,9 @@
 
 def __getattr__(name):
     if name == "utils":
-        import ixmp.util
+        # Import via the old name to trigger DeprecatedPathFinder
+        import ixmp.utils as util  # type: ignore [import-not-found]
 
-        return ixmp.util
+        return util
     else:
         raise AttributeError(name)
diff --git a/ixmp/core/scenario.py b/ixmp/core/scenario.py
index dc539dea8..0ac2bcc78 100644
--- a/ixmp/core/scenario.py
+++ b/ixmp/core/scenario.py
@@ -478,7 +478,7 @@ def init_item(
 
         if idx_names and len(idx_names) != len(idx_sets):
             raise ValueError(
-                f"index names {repr(idx_names)} must have same length as index sets"
+                f"index names {repr(idx_names)} must have the same length as index sets"
                 f" {repr(idx_sets)}"
             )
 
diff --git a/ixmp/tests/core/test_scenario.py b/ixmp/tests/core/test_scenario.py
index 8c6ec1d97..de3b5c107 100644
--- a/ixmp/tests/core/test_scenario.py
+++ b/ixmp/tests/core/test_scenario.py
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ def test_init_set(self, scen):
         with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="'foo' already exists"):
             scen.init_set("foo")
 
-    def test_init_par(self, scen):
+    def test_init_par(self, scen) -> None:
         scen = scen.clone(keep_solution=False)
         scen.check_out()
 
@@ -157,6 +157,10 @@ def test_init_par(self, scen):
         # Return type of idx_sets is still list
         assert scen.idx_sets("foo") == ["i", "j"]
 
+        # Mismatched sets and names
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="must have the same length"):
+            scen.init_par("bar", idx_sets=("i", "j"), idx_names=("a", "b", "c"))
+
     def test_init_scalar(self, scen):
         scen2 = scen.clone(keep_solution=False)
         scen2.check_out()
diff --git a/ixmp/tests/report/test_util.py b/ixmp/tests/report/test_util.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..47ff277ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ixmp/tests/report/test_util.py
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+def test_import_rename_dims():
+    """RENAME_DIMS can be imported from .report.util, though defined in .common."""
+    from ixmp.report.util import RENAME_DIMS
+
+    assert isinstance(RENAME_DIMS, dict)
diff --git a/ixmp/tests/test_util.py b/ixmp/tests/test_util.py
index 4c9c8f1de..7813d83a3 100644
--- a/ixmp/tests/test_util.py
+++ b/ixmp/tests/test_util.py
@@ -20,6 +20,13 @@ def test_import(self):
         ):
             import ixmp.reporting.computations  # type: ignore  # noqa: F401
 
+    def test_import1(self):
+        """utils can be imported from ixmp, but raises DeprecationWarning."""
+        with pytest.warns(DeprecationWarning):
+            from ixmp import utils
+
+        assert "diff" in dir(utils)
+
     def test_importerror(self):
         with pytest.warns(DeprecationWarning), pytest.raises(ImportError):
             import ixmp.reporting.foo  # type: ignore  # noqa: F401