We were on a narrow path cutting up through an escarpment with just enough room to slide straight down. If you lost control or just stopped you slid, tilted sideways, and would get stuck. And that was exactly what happened to the vehicle in front of me. Plantation territory means mulch and heavy rains on dirt tracks only worsened the eely terrain. Just what everyone wanted. The driver, with each slide, kept pushing the skinny pedal trying to force it forward which only buried it deeper into the muck.
I was in Coorg for the first edition of Mahindra Adventure Off-Road Training Academy’s level 4 ‘Trail Survivor’ program. A wild card entry, I was also venturing into the off-road game for the first time. Nobody believed it, with pleasure. Just like the first time I ever drove a car. My father was the original ‘live to drive’ guy way before they made stickers out of it. Beginning with the Willy’s in the 60s, he drove hundreds of thousands of kilometres in Africa and continued to drive till a year before he died. It’s the genes.
Two marshals appeared in raincoats and boots, one got into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and with the other giving precise directions extricated the stuck one along with a piece of moraine where it had wedged itself. It grunted, jumped, bumped, and squished its way out. The marshals got out and began eyeing me who was next.
I shifted to 4L. The terrain didn’t look that menacing but as a sure shot it had more or less become the theme. Than any tactical difficulty of the track, it was about the ease and efficiency of the drivetrain and the mechanical advantage. This is high torque at low rpm; the axles squared for the grind, you felt the knuckles crack before the ring.
‘Shift up to go up’
This goes as far back as driving itself. With off-roading, it got a bit more, well, meshed.
For a habitual fast driver like me, there has been a lot of un- and re-learnings at the off-roading program. It was primary to remember that this wasn’t a race, but about picking up the lines, and enjoying the precariousness of it all. You had to approach the obstacles gradually increasing momentum as necessary at the right angles or lines. If it is about crawling up in first, crawl up. If you have to wade through, then wade through. No rush.
Ideally in the slush 4H would have been enough, and second gear. I was on 4L and first; I backed down a bit and added speed, shifted to second and crested to the generous nods of the ready marshals. Later over dinner I was told if it was snowing, I should tackle in third gear. Snow and third gear, I remembered how I drifted down an entire hillside road in Shimla about a decade ago driving with folks. All the while they thought I was in control. I wasn’t, braking hard and struggling to keep a ‘I got this’ face.
FYI, there is a partner paradigm as well – shift down to go down! Allowing engine braking, with no clutch or brake. Probably a bit of threshold braking, just enough not allowing tyres to lock up. Let the wheels match road speeds.
Hidalgo and I
My Thar Roxx, which I named ‘Jose Sir’ after my dad who was a professor, was the third or fourth in Kerala where it was launched. Somebody I was seeing then knew people in Mahindra, the manufacturers. It was practical love at first sight – looks, engine, and price.
Since I am of that generation where touch and feel is more reassuring than vibes, my Roxx is a 6-speed manual transmission. MX5 model, with a 2.2 litre mHawk engine. My father would hold mom’s hand while driving and if it wasn’t available he would take the shift. I just fondle and fiddle the knob, my love returned with a thrum.
Jose Sir has some really useful features too, most of which I haven’t had the opportunity to use yet – 4XPLOR terrain modes which optimizes tractions for different driving conditions, Crawl Smart to help navigate steep inclines, IntelliTurn reducing turning radius by locking the inner wheel. Since the first time I checked into a smart hotel years ago, I haven’t had so much figuring-out at my disposal.
At the Mahindra Academy, I took the only manual transmission, an old CRDe, while all others – there were 10 in the invite-only event – were the new generation mHawk automatic. IMO, I will leave the decision-making to software when I am 70; till then let me run the powertrain. Why call it the driver seat, anyway!
An anthropomorph, I decided to call my designated vehicle ‘Hidalgo’ after the plucky mustang in the eponymous movie. And Hidalgo didn’t let me down once, we cleared all obstacles with panache. What if with a lot of panting.
Good to know
Whether you intend to drive into the sunset or just a romp, it is good to know your vehicle before you start, literally. This getting-to-know holds especially when you are going to be taking on formidable obstacles, suitably named like ‘Ball in mouth’ and ‘Boneyard.’ In other words, going off-roading.
Any new vehicle I am going to drive, I walk around it at least once. A petrolhead parikrama of sorts. If this sounds merely romantic for your purely mechanical inclinations, do these then at least.
- Reduce the tyre pressure (25 – 35 percent of the recommended PSI depending on the terrain).
- Make sure you can see clearly over the hood, adjust your seat accordingly. (Where the seats move only front and back like Hidalgo, straighten your own back and sit up.)
- Keep your hands and legs inside the vehicle as you have no idea what is coming at you next. Monsoon verdure are breeding grounds for leeches, then there is hirudotherapy – for free.
- Minimum use of the skinny pedal / accelerator. Let go of clutch (in my manual transmission case) asap, every time. And allow the engine to do the braking wherever possible.
- Recommended steering wheel hold is ‘9 and 3’. Also do not let your thumb or any finger leave the grip area and fall between the spokes. Sudden turning of the steering following swerving of the tyres have known to seriously damage driver digits.
I hold the steering wheel at ’12 and 3’ especially at high speeds – for slight steer and steadying, respectively. At Coorg it was more like ’12 and 6’ as a right arm tendon was broken following a motorcycle accident early this year. But Hidalgo understood – why you should talk to your vehicle.
Vehicle checks
- Check fluids – engine oil, transmission oils coolant topped off, brake fluids. If you are doing it in an organized set up, there are qualified mechanics doing it, like at the Mahindra Academy.
- Brief but a thorough once-over of the engine bay – check if anything is out of whack. If you are driving it back after the trail, check after the off-roading. Was the battery where it was seen last?
- A clean engine bay is a safe and cared-for engine bay, and a well-working one. Good for confidence.
- Bend down to check if any wires are hanging loose. I didn’t once, long ago, and my Gypsy got stuck in the middle of the Chhattisgarh forest as the fuel pipe got cut. To pass time till help came, I watched a bear watching me. Read this old post later.
- Get a good grip of the approach, departure and breakeven angles.
- Do a bit of speed dating before moving in – take the vehicle for a spin, drive a few kilometres before you go off-piste.
Rock, river, and rut
When you approached from an elevation, it looked like a promontory disappearing into nothingness. This was easy going down. But coming up you had to tackle the haphazard boulders that supported it, pain-contorted Atlases, ready to drop it all anytime for a well-deserved break. If you didn’t mount to the top in one go, swerving sharply while at it to give the coppice a miss, you braked at 50-degree slope. Automatics held their ground, not budging an inch. You could go at it again – and again. But my manual. Apparently, my face was a piece of work in these situations as per the photographer who left one of his cameras mounted on my dashboard for the inside story.
Wading through deep water was a breeze. 4H. I had practise from driving through flooded roads in the monsoon. But manoeuvring a shallow riverine trail filled with smooth, round rocks took some tact. I got into a spot here going over a larger rock which served as a check dam, all the gushy making me skiddy.
Remember, there are seldom many ways of doing it – usually there is only one.
You will get it, just go easy on the skinny.
My quote card: Off-roading basics must be made part of regular licence applications. It helps us understand and thereby respect the terrain better and drive accordingly. It also makes us cognizant of other drivers and their abilities which are different from our own.
My gratitude: To Vinay Thomas of Mahindra Adventure Off-Road Training Academy for the lessons and guidance. To Sibi Paul, coffee planter and track owner, Coorg, for the silent strength and disbelieving me when I said this was my first time.
