Driving A Mahindra Thar At Mahindra Adventure Great Escape - Pune: A Rookie’s First Time Off-road Experience

Can the Mahindra Thar carry an off-road rookie like me through the treacherous trails of Khadakwasla? Let us find out!

Yes, I too have seen those memes. The ones that call out the Mahindra Thar for being more of a fashion statement than being an actual true-blue SUV. And I admit being guilty of my share of giggles on them, so much so that I started believing that the Thar is all show and no go. But all of this changed when an invite landed in my mailbox from Mahindra Adventure for their Great Escape - Pune.

Now, at the expense of sounding a bit narcissistic, let me tell you something about my off-roading skills so that you get an overview of what the event was for me. Like any other car guy, I have been behind the wheel of a lot of cars, for a lot of kilometres. If I may draw a line between road-biased and off-road driving, the latter shamelessly mocks me with a humbling ZERO percent. 

So, when the invitation to an off-roading event, that too by Mahindra, knocked on my door, I was excited because I would be getting to traverse unfamiliar paths. However, dread about the memes being possibly true was feasting upon my insides.

The D-Day

As unprepared as I was for my Maths tests in childhood, I was the same for the event day. I woke up late, missed breakfast, and drove sleepily to my office where I was warmly greeted with some very ‘kind’ words by my patient colleagues who would accompany me to the event. After the exchange of pleasantries, and fuelling up our long-termer, we headed for the event location.

The event was being held in a resort near Khadakwasla Dam on the outskirts of Pune where I had a hospitable welcome by Mahindra Adventure. This was followed by a short briefing about the upcoming events, where the do’s and don’ts were made familiar to everyone and some goodies were distributed by the team to mark the shared camaraderie among all the participants. And with that, it was time for breakfast.

The Assigned Thar

After downing a delectable breakfast, I was assigned a Mahindra Thar which looked stunning in its Red Rage colour. It also featured some Mahindra Adventure badges to scream that the SUV had shouldered a greater purpose of breaking the stereotypes I was surrounded with.

Talking about the specifications, we had the LX Hardtop variant with us which featured a 2.2-litre diesel engine that churns out 132 PS and 300 Nm. The engine was mated to a 6-speed torque converter gearbox and sent power to all four wheels (4WD), and being a road-biased driver, the latter was alien to me.

We had a quick drive towards the location where the real off-roading would start and with a frightened soul sitting on the steering wheel, the Thar started chugging along.

The First Test(s)

Now, I’ll be exaggerating a bit too much if I said that I did all of this alone. Not that this could not be done alone, but a little company that knows how to navigate through the hurdles always helps. So, accompanying me was Tirth Pandya, a senior correspondent at the news desk, who was a professional off-roader in all respects and had been a frequent traveller on the paths I was now being challenged with.

So, with him as my trusted guide, I proceeded towards my first obstacle - an off-roading track which had some small pits prepared in a manner that if one tyre was on the road, the other would be in the pit. To cross this, I was told to accelerate linearly and keep it consistent once the Thar started crossing the pits.

What happened, however, was my road-based self kicked in and when I approached the first pit, I slammed the brakes! The results: the pit won and the Thar lost. Wait, what? The Thar lost? No, I was not skilled enough, so I tried again. This time, I approached the pits with constant throttle kept all fear at bay and pushed the SUV through the torment, and the Thar won! It was really this easy!

I took some moments to calm the nerves and when my heart stopped banging against my chest, I proceeded to the second obstacle. This obstacle required me to take the Thar downhill and then had to climb back up the steep hillock again. Climbing down was easy and climbing up made me feel nauseous again, I could only see the sky and no land.

However, the Thar had earned my trust now. Even my naivety could not stop me today and I pushed the pedal and through I was, on land, as effortlessly as it could ever be. 

I was amazed. The memes were wrong, the Thar is an absolute beast even in the hands of someone as inexperienced as me. After these, I was routed through a mix of level 1 and level 2 trials, including a banked slope that made sure the Thar was more than 25 degrees tilted to a side. But nothing could stop me now, the Thar flattened my rookie mistakes smoothly and there was no fear. I had a workhorse with me, no terrain was going to cease the adrenaline rush now.

Also Read: Here’s What We Liked About The Hyundai Creta Electric After Driving It

The Second Briefing

After spending a good couple of hours with the Thar, it was time for lunch and some briefing for the second half of the day that the guys at Mahindra Adventure said would be more exciting. We were told that the second half of the day would see us mudding and crossing some man-made but deep river beds. And after a sumptuous meal, it was time to board the Thar again and this time, I was willing to do it more so than ever.

Part 2 Of Offroading

Part 2 of offroading was a more technical bit that required engaging the 4x4 to the low gear ratios. One long pull at the 4x4 lever and the 4-Low was engaged, it was this easy actually.

The first obstacle was to climb up another hillock and then climb down into a ditch that was filled with water and slush. This too, was extremely easy. Put your foot on the gas, maintain a constant speed while climbing up and tap the brake lightly while going down and now you’re in a ditch.

But I wish it could stop the Thar, for the SUV conquered it in one go. A constant throttle and with a grinning face, the ditch became the past. 

After this, there were some more obstacles including navigating through deep pits filled with water and climbing up a steep hill (not a hillock), but these were not the highlights as the Thar made all of this seem so easy.

The Afterthoughts 

After some hours, the event ended. Now, we could finally hit the roads. This was my area of expertise now and I belted the Thar through some corners and the SUV felt at home here too! The rear skidded and slid easily, making it an enjoyable ordeal. Seriously, how fun is this Mahindra SUV on all the roads! But after clocking some good speeds, it was time to call it a day. 

The Mahindra Adventure team patiently saw off all the participants, as warmly as their welcome was. A full day of managing rookies like me did not drain them and I was amused at their tranquility. I bade them goodbye with a promise to return. One day was not enough, the off-roading bug had bitten me, and the scratch would take a lot of time to heal now.

On my way back home and into the regularity of life, I pondered upon the day with a cup of chai. It is weird how social media has become a platform to monger hate easily and to form opinions based on it. I mean, the Thar is one of the most capable four wheels and a soulful engine can be. Later that night, I found myself giggling my way through social media again. However, this time it was all of the Instagram stories the participants (including me) had put up. The meme pages can rest now. The Thar has gently whispered the truth I will believe in always.

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