Taking my Mahindra Scorpio-N 4×4 to the Learn Offroad Academy

The convoy consisted of 2 Thars, 2 Endeavors, 1 Compass S, a modded Hilux and 2 Jimnys.

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Having driven Vader (my 4WD ScorpioN) for 11,000 km purely on-road (and I use the term liberally since those “roads” are in Mumbai and Pune) the urge to take him on rougher terrain was growing stronger. After a couple of missed windows, I finally managed to sign up for the Learn Offroad (LO) training academy run by D-BHP’ian Dr. Tejas Kothari (Tejas@perioimpl) for October 1, appropriately inflicting violence on myself and my steed before Gandhi Jayanti. The Doc was kind enough to share a primer on off-roading and the working principles of differentials, which proved quite handy during the course.

The below write-up is nowhere as thorough or illustrative as this one by BHPian Turbolove in his Compass, and this one by D-BHPian Axe77 in his Meridian is also very good. Still, storage is cheap, and TBHP is doing well, so I will take my chances with the moderators and share my $0.02

After gassing Vader up and emptying out the junk that invariably piles up in any vehicle I own, we were ready.

October 1 dawned bright and clear in Pune. We rumbled off at 6:30 a.m. to ensure enough buffer, as the expressway drive can be notoriously unpredictable. Luckily there were no surprises en route, allowing an idli wada and black coffee pit stop at Khalapur. Then we exited the highway and headed out on NH548A towards Pali, getting to the destination well within time, with some government-arranged off-roading patches along the way. A brand new lime green Jimny had beaten us to the post though. Our intrepid instructor and more students followed shortly after. A good mix of solo drivers, families and buddies.

Once all had assembled and imbibed hot chai nicely arranged by the Doc, we settled into the theory lesson, which was a refresher of the training with some more pointers. We were all handed walkie-talkies for comms, and then it was time to head into the field. The convoy consisted of 2 Thars (current gen), 2 Endeavors (3.2L), a Compass S, a modded Hilux, yours truly and 2 Jimnys (one of which was driven by Tejas). A short while into the drive we were instructed to put our vehicles into 4L mode, the first time ever for this bad boy.

After a short drive, we reached the first training area, where everyone reduced their tire pressures to 2/3 of rated levels.

The first course consisted of a steep descent into a muddy ditch followed by an equally steep climb up. The descent was to be performed in 1st gear using Hill Descent Control (if available) without using brakes. Everyone did it fine except for the writer, who forgot to put Vader into 1st (insert eye roll here) as a result of which he made a big splash when he entered the water. The exit from the ditch went off well, including the part where we had to simulate a failed ascent by stopping and restarting the climb. Vader was quite steamed about the episode afterwards, literally so, as the water that entered the engine compartment started evaporating due to the heat.

The next obstacle involved navigating around and over rocks on the trail, where we were guided by our fellow students. I proved not very good at following or giving instructions, which has been a consistent theme from schooldays till date. Going over rocks was quite educational, and we learnt the importance of the correct approach angle and getting the right momentum to be able to climb without the tire or the rock slipping and the tire/wheel getting damaged.

This was followed by an angled approach over a crest, where the right rear wheel was in the air for a short period, the first time in his history without being on a ramp. Then a crawl over very large pipes, which could have been taken a lot slower, but hopefully no harm done.

The next obstacle consisted of going down a muddy track and then climbing up a steep ramp, turning left using an external indicator (a tree branch in this case) just before a protrusion on the side of the mound that would hit the vehicle otherwise.

Then we broke for lunch and shot the breeze for a bit, before taking on the last 2 assignments.

The next one was possibly the highlight of the day, involving (what else) a descent down a slope, and then a climb up a rocky incline. There were 5 possible options to do the ascent, and Vader rode up like a champ. A couple of the participants tried more challenging routes, and hats off to their daring.

The last obstacle of the day (after a short dirt trail drive) was the off-camber challenge where you drive along the slope of the ditch and make a hard right turn at the end to get out. Due to the recent rains, the trail had become extremely slushy, and after a couple of aborted attempts by other participants (The Thars & Jimny excepted) yours truly chose discretion over valour and just drove in and out (the latter in reverse). Per Tejas, the ScorpioN overhang doesn’t lend itself well to such manoeuvres, which was of some comfort.

The day ended with a quick distribution of our certificates and a pose with our steeds.

Dark clouds had started looming, so the post-session chit-chat and vote of thanks was cancelled just in time for us to dive into our vehicles and make the return journey in pouring rain, stopping for some cows in between and then Gau-ing again till we hit the road, following which it was back to 2WD.

We then made our way to the gas station a few miles away, where we aired up the tires and headed home.

Vader held up quite well through the entire experience, only emitting a clanking noise in between when suspension must’ve hit, and another one that remained undiagnosed. He got a nice hose down a day later, and some well-earned rest. The ScorpioN and other 4WD vehicles of this generation are truly amazing, and make off-roading so much easier than before.

Thanks to the Doc for a great introduction to off-roading, and to my fellow students for the great company. This is just the beginning of more adventures, with family in tow from next time.

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