Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra Thar, Safari Storme & Ford Endeavour try a vertical drop: Which SUV will make it?

Even though SUVs are quite popular in the Indian market. There are only a small portion of customers who actually explore the complete potential of their vehicles. There are several groups these days who arrange off-road adventure trips for the owners. Normally, these trips are managed by a set of experienced off-roaders who guide the inexperienced SUV owners through different terrains. We have seen several video where SUVs are seen driven on off-road terrains. Here we have another video where a Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra Thar, Safari Storme and Ford Endeavour is seen trying to climb a vertical off-road section.

The video has bee uploaded by Anshuman Bishnoi on his YouTube channel. The video starts with a modified Toyota Fortuner SUV that is being driven down a very steep section of mud. Toyota Fortuner did that without much of a problem as it was modified with off-road bumpers. The SUV neatly comes down the section and the driver then turn around and tries to go back the same way he came down. The surface was uneven and there is a small hump before the steep climb starts.

Also read: Hyundai Santro owner upgrades to all new Tata Safari: Ownership review (Video)

Fortuner driver accelerates the Fortuner engages 4WD and then attacks the steep climb. Fortuner had enough momentum by the time it reached the foot of the climb. The SUV smoothly climbed up without any problem. The next SUV to come down this steep slope was old generation Mahindra Thar. In comparison to Toyota Fortuner, Thar has an advantage. It has a shorter wheelbase and is lighter too. The Thar comes down and just like Fortuner, it climbs up the section without any problem.

Next SUV to come down the slope was older generation Ford Endeavour. The SUV then starts descending the stretch but, halfway down the line it gets stuck. The SUV is stuck so badly that, they needed a Fortuner to pull it out. Once the SUV had reached the bottom, the driver turned it around and tried climbing back the same trail. Unfortunately, the Ford Endeavour could not climb up as it was getting beached halfway through the climb. There was momentum but, the main problem with the Ford Endeavour was its wheelbase. It was quite long and heavy which affected its off-road performance. The approach and departure angle on the Endeavour was also proving to be a problem. During one of its trial runs, the bumper hit the ground and the reflector lamps on the bumper came off.

The next SUV to climb up the section was the old generation Tata Safari Storme. It climbed up the section without any problem. Toyota Fortuner climbed up the section couple of more times. All the SUVs that were there in the video cleared the section except Ford Endeavour. This does not mean it is a bad off-roader. It is a good SUV but, it was not suitable for this obstacle. We have seen several videos in the past where old generation Ford Endeavour is seen doing off-road duties without any problem. The new generation Ford Endeavour is a huge improvement in comparison this older version.

Also read: Citroen”s 3 new cars for India DETAILED

The post Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra Thar, Safari Storme & Ford Endeavour try a vertical drop: Which SUV will make it? first appeared on Cartoq.