On 13th March 2021, Took out my Thar for hardcore off-roading. This event was organised by Terra Tigers on the Palar riverbed, near Chennai. The vehicles ranged from G-Wagon, Wrangler, Fortuner, Pajero, various generations of Thar including the new ones.
Drove through sand, mud slush, water wading, grass/ vegetation, sand dunes. Taking Thar to such places made me realise the true capabilities of the vehicle. Until the day, I had no prior off-road driving experience and all I did was to read & watch about off-roading, thanx to YouTube & Google. Thar is a very forgiving vehicle with its power to move, good ground clearance and little overhangs. All I had to do was to shift to 4-Low range and keep shifting between 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears, Thar would push forward with little or no throttle inputs. For steep sand dune climbs were easy with 4-Low range and 2nd or 3rd gear and with acceleration.
When on deep slush or soft sand the rear mechanically locking differential & front brake locking differential did the job to keep the vehicle moving. The short front overhang and short rear overhang with good ground clearance and short wheelbase had Thar going to places without breaching and without any hitch. The wide tracks kept the vehicle stable. One another good point is that, there are no low hanging points except the rear shocks close to the tyres, and my guesses are that my footsteps might not get hit easily.
Tyre pressure monitoring system was useful to keep an eye on the tyre pressure and temperature as we were running on lower tyre pressure while off-roading. Steering position indicators were very useful while driving on sand as the vehicle direction of steer would be very different from the actual tyre direction. In built navigation system would be a very useful feature when we drive through non-network areas.
On comfort front, the air-conditioning was powerful enough to keep the cabin cool despite the hot weather. The suspension system was good enough for the comfort and the articulation was good enough for the required traction. On & Off road, I would still say that the front suspension is on the softer side and could be slightly stiffer and I am exploring options to stiffen the same.
The wheel arches are not fully clad or covered, this leads to slush/ sand accumulating in the frames, away from sight. Proper underbody wash needs to be done to flush out the sand/ slush. Top of frame collects good amount of sand and this needs to be looked out for and suitably cleaned.
Few More Clicks from other mild off-roading
Stay tuned for more pictures/ videos from Off-roading event.