Having started the year off in a similar fashion with Suzuki in February, the prospect of ending 2018 off playing in the dirt and mud proved too good of an opportunity not to miss, and also presented the ideal chance to experience the capability of some of Mahindra’s models.
Have fun but don’t falter
Based at the Leribisi Lodge outside Pretoria, I only had a brief opportunity to survey what appeared to be an easy course layout, sans the huge dirt mound in the very middle, as my fellow media colleagues and I were ushered into the lodge’s conference area along with representatives from a number of Mahindra dealerships for the pre-event briefing by the academy’s training head, Derick Crous.
With the ‘do’s’ and ‘do not’s’ explained, it quickly become apparent that the event would be a competition, an aspect of 4x4-ing I have not always enjoyed given my less-than-perfect foray last year at a round of the Bridgestone 4x4 Club where egos tended to clash.
Fortunately, as Derick explained, the point of the exercise placed more of an emphasis on learning and having fun rather than serious competing and possibly damaging one of the vehicles as is often the norm in full-bore off-roading events, although there was still an element of seriousness in trying to be the best I could.
Which one to pick?
Form the vehicles present, which consisted of two double cab Pik-Ups, two Thars and a single Scorpio SUV, all heavily dressed up for extreme off-road use, my driving partner and I were handed the keys to a grey Thar outfitted with a bull-bar and side steps as well as a set of chunky Hankook DynaPro mud-terrain wheels.
Let the challenge begin
With low-range engaged, first gear selected and remembering to keep momentum at a steady pace, not jumping on the brakes or clutch and the allowing the vehicle’s engine compression to take over, the first obstacle, a simple water crossing, proved too easy for the Thar as did wash-out dip that followed.
Somewhat trickier, the third involved traversing a section peppered with stones followed directly by an axle twister, the latter nearly resulting in the Thar bogging down as a result of its driver being a tad too careful with the throttle.
An alley docking-like test followed and while it proved easy lining-up for the reverse part, it was somewhat of “heart-in-the-month’ moment to avoid the strategically placed cones or the wooden beam outlining the simulated parking bay. Luckily, there were no stalls and after skipping over an apparent easy sandpit, we had to face “the embankment” that involved riding up a ridge without touching the line of tape setup on the driver’s side.
Once more, momentum played a key part and in spite of coming within millimetres of touching one of the wooden pylons the tape was affixed to, we came out unscathed and readied ourselves for the most challenging hindrance; a jarring ride over sharp rocks and tyres immediately followed by ascending the previously mentioned dirt mound, and turning sharp left at the top for a nosedive into a pit below.
As terrifying as this might sound, and remembering that a stall or rollback would result in points being deducted, keeping the Thar within its required rev range and making gentle use of the throttle saw us bouncing over the rocks and tyres without so much as being flung around the cabin a bit, before only noticing sky and then the innards of Mother Earth as we went up the mound and then down and out of the pit with complete ease.
The remainder of the obstacles involved going up the mound followed by a wooden see-sew that involved me only following the hand signals of my partner so as to place the Thar correctly while inching forward until the nose dropped. A final, sedate charge through an even deeper dip later, the course had finished with our only black-marks being a single stall and rollback.
Our steed
Right throughout the competition though, the constant was how easy the Thar made everything feel. While the 79kW/247Nm produced by its 2.5-litre mHawk turbodiesel engine hardly rates as impressive by modern standards, the combination of a rear diff-lock, low range ‘box and no electronic gadgets makes it near unstoppable off-road, in addition to portraying the latest crop of off-roader as overly complicated and overpriced.
Granted, while it re-writes the book of what a basic interior looks like, no surprise given the rock-bottom but alluring price tag of R228 999, the Thar makes no apologies for it and instead reserves its talents for when the smooth black stuff gives way for the rough stuff.
