KICKING UP DUST
Where the road ends, the fun begins
WWE TURNED OFF THE tarmac and headed straight for the quarry. Scraping the sump guard over a couple of bumps, a very concerned Gaurav, our photo Ed, asked “Will the Hexa manage?” Me being the resident off-road enthusiast, I took it upon myself to find out.
Now I can testify to the Duster’s capabilities – on our ‘Border Challenge’ series I have gone to the remotest parts of the country, dune bashed in Rajasthan, waded through the waters at Kanyakumari and even made my own trail in the snow near the Indo-China border. It might not have a low-ratio gearbox but the Duster AWD has proved to be more than up to the task of tackling all kinds of situations, both on and off-road.
Having said that, Tata Motors has been in the game long enough. I learnt to drive in dad’s Tata Sierra (two doors and huge rear windows which couldn’t be wound down to cool passengers baking at the back!) and even though it did not have 4WD it could do a hell of a lot. And then there’s the Safari with which we’ve been off-roading all over the country on our Reclaim Your Life series. The Hexa has great DNA then.
Slotted in Rough Road (driving modes, even AWD, is only available on the manual) we continue along the dusty path up to the quarry. Since it sits 10mm lower than the Duster AWD’s 210mm ground clearance it did scrape its underside a few times but apart from that we had no traction issues whatsoever. And with 400Nm of torque (and nearly 50bhp more power than the Duster) the Hexa can motor up steep inclines with ease where the Duster can run out of steam. But off-roading is not only about driving on dirt, it is also the ability to tackle various obstacles.
The ability to drive through a trench is all about the approach and departure angles of your vehicle. The Hexa has a longer wheelbase, longer overhangs and sits lower and that means while driving through a trench you have to be careful not to damage the bumpers. The Duster because of its compact size managed to get through the same challenge with the bumpers intact. Another major factor that comes into play while off-roading is articulation. The Hexa surprised us by going over boulders and bigger obstacles but because the Duster is lighter and more compact it did it with relative ease.
So, when it comes down to off-roading/ soft-roading, the AWD Duster does have the upper hand. Then again the Hexa is way more luxurious, spacious and upmarket than the Duster. And when was the last time you found a 7-seater that could be taken off-road? ⌧