A driving group named Driving DNA took me as their mentor for the off-road event. The event was held at Purulia in some jungle trails. The trail was tricky at places & we needed to engage the 4WD correctly, and the correct wheel placement was important.
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A small report on an Off-roading event with our Jimny
We had 13 cars, 10 4WDs, 2 AWDs, and a 2WD. The 2WD (VW Taigun) was parked at the place from where we had to engage the 4WD.
Sharing a video from my dashcam to get an idea of the trail.
Till 3 minutes 20 seconds, it was from Day 1, where the surface was a bit slippery after the rain. At the 25-second mark, the lack of traction was evident. The car slide a bit to its left.
From 3 minutes 20 seconds, it was on day 2, and it was all about correct wheel placement and correct use of the 4WD.
At the 5 minutes 30 seconds mark, I had to tow out a Thar with my Jimny as it got stuck due to wrong wheel placement.
From the 8 minutes 42 seconds mark, the sideways tilt can be understood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qpiOAx_n_s
Me while giving an initial briefing on the dos and the don’ts before the trail drive.
Sharing the pics with a bit of details-
When we started for the trail on day one, it started to drizzle, and the trails were slushy. So, while climbing this hillock, the traction was on the lower side, with the tires filled with muck. But with 4L and steady acceleration, the Jimny climbed up effortlessly.
The Thar did well, too, without any drama.
I was a bit worried about the Roxx because of its dimensions. The approach turn to climb the hillock was very narrow. But the Roxx managed it beautifully. Despite its size and the longer wheelbase, this car is a very capable off-roader.
The and Thar!
The XUV500 managed to climb up without any drama, too. The only challenge it faced was its width while taking the turn on the way down.
The kinetic yellow Jimny was looking fab in this low light.
We didn’t try to climb the hillock with the Kodiaq due to its approach angle and long wheelbase. But on the slippery surfaces, this car performed beautifully. The electronics did their work flawlessly. At one place, there was a downward slope with a curve with very poor traction. All the cars more or less slide a bit, but the Kodiaq was rock steady over there. This car should be great on roads with less traction.
Lastly, what an elegant-looking car this is!
Returning to our resort after sundown. It was fun driving during the evening through the jungle trails.
We had all kinds of Thars here! The old gen Thar, the new gen petrol & diesel 3-door Thars, and the Roxx! Over time, the 3 door Thars have already proved their merit. The Roxx is the new kid in town, and it did impress us! What an effortless off-roader it turned out to be! I am keeping aside the LWB vs SWB debate as of now!
The Xuv500 AWD can perform well in the hands of a capable driver. Bhpian Lovercars21 proved it yet again.
Looks scary, but it was fun. This was done under proper supervision. Without proper caution, the car can topple.
This obstacle was quite challenging. The Jimny is a narrow car, I was quite skeptical about taking the Jimny first. We had a very experienced off-roader and a rally driver with us (Nawab da). He took the initiative and took his 1st gen Thar over this. I was the spotter for him. After he took the Thar, I decided to take the Jimny, but I kept 4-5 people by the side of the car as a backup in case the car got tilted towards the rut & things become risky; they could give some support from the side. But the Jimny amazed me. It crossed the section without any drama. Nawab da did a fantastic spotting.
All the cars cleared this obstacle except the XUV500 & the Kodiaq was kept back at the resort. At one point, the XUV was losing traction. I asked Bhpian Lovercars21 to switch off the traction control as it may cut the power. Later, he told me that could be a reason the car failed to climb. Maybe with the traction control on, the BTC would have gotten activated, and the car could have cleared it. I am not sure how the BTC works in the XUV500. In my earlier Duster AWD the BTC used to work flawlessly with the ESP off. I missed a Duster AWD, an Xuv700 AWD, & a Compass AWD in this drive! It could have been a good test for them.
View from the cabin. Nawab da doing the spotting for me.
A couple of pics with the Palash bloom on the way back.
Thanks to my wife (Bhpian DogNDamsel12) for giving me all the support and helping me during the spotting and briefing.
The total km covered for this event was 754 km. Jimny returned a mileage of 11.6 km/L, including the off-road part, which I feel is quite decent.
A much-needed cleaning and polishing after the event.
Few takes on the Jimny from this off-road event-
Stock Jimny is quite capable off-road. I will again say, do not spend unnecessarily on mods. Drive the car off the road, understand the requirements/limitations, and then spend. My car is still on the stock tires, and I am more than happy with it.
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