BADGE VALUE
GS and Trail Rated – two of the most respected badges when it comes to off-roading. But as Shakespeare says, what’s in a name? We head to our favourite trail to find out
A BADGE ON A CAR TELLS YOU A LOT about the person inside. A V12 instead of a V8 on a Maybach tells you the dude means business. An M badge on a 320d tells you the guy is a moron. Go-faster badges are always cool, but there's another sort of badge that lends you plenty of street (or otherwise) cred. The Jeep Trail Rated badge is conferred only upon the most capable SUVs in the Jeep line-up. This is serious business, especially when even basic Jeeps have proper off-road abilites. The GS badge from BMW Motorrad is legendary in its own right – being synonymous with overlanding and adventure. Time to pit two legends against each other (and we're not talking about our writers – Ed).
Aatish Mishra: This really is a no-brainer. Even people in the farthest corners of the world have heard the word 'Jeep', so much so that the brand has become eponymous with any ol' off-roader. There's no separating the brand from the wild outdoors. Jeep was born on the battlefields of World War II, and this legacy runs through every one of its modern SUVs. Then when Jeep slaps on a Trail Rated badge on to something, you know it means business. The sort of testing, and fettling these SUVs go throught to wear that unassuming circular stamp has to be seen to be believed. This Compass Trailhawk gets so much more than a regular 4x4 Compass – there are reprofiled bumpers, retuned suspension, a low range gearbox and proper all-terrain tyres. That’s when Abhishek interjected.
WE’RE SETTLING THIS OLD SCHOOL – JEEP v BMW. TRAIL RATED BADGE v GS BADGE
Abhishek Wairagade: For the last forty years, the definition of adventure has been two words – Gelande Strasse – literally translating to off-road/on-road and ‘legendary’ in the automobile dictionary. You may slap on some RS stickers, add a spoiler and make your Maruti Suzuki go faster on-road, but if you want to even crawl off the beaten path, you need hardcore kit. And that’s where the GS comes in. If you don’t take my word, ask Richard Sainct who went past the finish line first for two consecutive years (1999-2000) in the Dakar rally on the ‘little one’ – the F 650 ST. In fact, every GS variant has had its glory days but the next big thing is the F 850 GS. BMW’s bi-annual GS Trophy will feature the 850 Adventure starting next year. It's the smallest GS with the Adventure tag which makes it even more potent. And with the 850 by my side, I had already won half the battle, even with half the wheels of the Jeep.
AM: We’re settling this old school. Jeep v BMW. Trail Rated badge v GS badge. We’ve come to the start of one of our favourite off-road trails to settle this – I charted out a path for both of us to run, tried to design it to my advantage before Abhishek threatened to run me over with the motorcycle. So I made it fair – equal parts fast and equal parts rough, with the occasional water crossing. I felt confident in the Jeep. The Trail Rated badge means this Compass has been put through rigorous testing for traction, manoeuvrability, ground clearance, water fording and off-road articulation. This may look like every other Compass on the street, but underneath lies a machine that was honed on terrain like this. The lengths to which Jeep goes to ensure an SUV is Trail Rated is insane. The wheels are 17s, not 18s, because the former is better off road. The bumpers are re-profiled. That black patch on the bonnet? It isn't just cosmetic, it has been put there so the sun doesn't reflect in to your eyes when the Jeep's nose is pointed skywards.
Speaking of cosmetics, we didn’t have an entertainment budget for a pretty something in gumboots to flag us off NFS style, so we lined up wheel-to-wheel and made do with Rohit.
AW: While Aatish was staring deep into Rohit’s eyes to look for signs of the flag dropping (no puns intended), I was running through the GS’ brilliant TFT cluster that displays riding modes. The Multicontroller in BMW jargon may seem like a regular TV remote control but is super complicated to use. Struggling to sift through a whole bunch of riding modes, I finally managed to select Enduro Pro. The Pro mode gets dynamic ABS and traction control to detect wheelspin/lock and allow for maximum traction at all times. While my left wrist was getting worked out thanks to the Multicontroller, my calves were flexing too, trying to make the 244kg behemoth stay on two wheels. The Adventure tag brings along with it a taller seat and a massive 30-litre fuel tank. Sitting 875mm above the ground, I was feeling like a truck driver looking down at the Trailhawk’s panoramic
WITH THE 850 BY MY SIDE, I HAD ALREADY WON HALF THE BATTLE, EVEN WITH
HALF THE WHEELS
sunroof. But before I could dump the clutch, Rohit and Aatish had already fallen in love and that gave Aatish a headstart! The Trailhawk, thanks to its on-demand 4x4, larger footprint and lovestruck driver was already ahead while my GS struggled to get going, as the 853cc motor, though not really low on power, is lethargic below 4000rpm. I was thanking the race gods for not having the 750 GS on this particular occasion, as that comes with a detuned motor. The road-biased Metzelers were working against me and since Aatish had four wheels clawing at the slush, the ball was already in his court. Sigh.
AM: Eat my slush! The all-wheel drive put my SUV ahead at first, but I knew that things could get close later on. I needed to open as much of a gap as I could. The first section of the track was like a fast rally stage, with some flowing corners. I had more bulk, but I also had more grip and could keep the Trailhawk in front. The dampers on the Trailhawk have been retuned compared to the Jeep – faster rebound on the Koni FSD dampers to keep all wheels on the ground – and it was certainly helping here. The GS though, is no slouch. A significantly better power-to-weight ratio and a madman in the saddle meant I could see him hugging my tail. He could have gotten past me, but the Jeep’s girth wasn’t giving him any room.
The slower, more technical part of the track was approaching. I slammed the brakes and slowed right down. Slotting the Jeep into 4-low, I picked the easiest line through the rocks and let the SUV do its thing. I don't think a regular Compass 4x4 would have been able to tackle something like this – I needed massive torque, and with the low-ratio nearly doubling the gearing and hence torque in the first of the nine speeds, it crawled through the boulder-field with ease. The fact that the Trailhawk gets an automatic gearbox (something that was missing from the diesel Compass' repertoire for the longest time) let me focus on placing the wheels on the best possible line while the Jeep took care of the transmission. Phew. And I really needed to pay attention to this trail. Considering how close some rocks got to our off-road bumpers, this trail would have probably chewed up a regular Compass for breakfast – good thing we have greater approach and departure angles on the new Trailhawk bumpers. Slow and steady really is the best way to off-road. Abhishek didn’t think so though, because I heard three loud braaaps and saw a flash of blue fly past.
AW: With 230mm travel at the front and 215mm at the rear and a supremely generous ground clearance, I could literally fly over rocks and crests. I just had to stand on the serrated pegs, grip the tank and open the gas. The 850 did the rest for me while the big and burly Trailhawk had to literally crawl through it. However, the next bit was all about water crossings and this is where Aatish managed to avenge the airtime. I tried to brake check him, but to no avail. I was already drenched but that did not dampen my spirits. The chase went on for three laps but as I was following him, I realised the Trailhawk badge is no gimmick. The Compass in this Trailhawk avatar is the only SUV in its class with bonafide off-road gadgetry that can take you places including trails like these. If you don’t buy that, ask any Vitara Brezza owner why he retrofits a Jeep grille to his so-called SUV along with the chor bazaar-sourced Jeep badge. And the GS? Well, ask your father to tell you the story about the R80 G/S. Or just Google it. ⌧