New Mahindra Thar & Jeep Compass Go Off-roading – Watch Results

New Mahindra Thar is a capable off-roader. It comes loaded with all the arsenal required to take over the most treacherous terrains. The design of the current-gen Thar is often said to be inspired by the Jeep Wrangler. While the American SUV costs northwards of Rs. 60.00 lakh, the most-capable iteration of the brand’s cheapest offering – Jeep Compass Trailhawk retails at Rs. 27.60 lakh. It is nearly half the cost of a Wrangler but is almost twice as pricey as the Mahindra Thar’s top-spec LX trim. But, how does it fares against our homegrown off-roader – Mahindra Thar? Here’s a video from the YouTube channel of Bulu Patnaik that showcases the same.

In the video, the host shows a trail, which both Mahindra Thar and Jeep Compass attempt to show off their skills and capabilities. First, the Thar attempts a few obstacles, and it passes through them with pretty ease. Following the Thar, the Compass Trailhawk also goes over the same obstacles, but with a little wheel spin. With some confidence infused in the Thar’s driver, he attempts a river crossing and successfully gets to the other side. However, the river bed was dry.

The Compass Trailhawk too attempts the obstacles and makes its way through it with some wheel spin again. It can be seen in the video that the new-gen Thar goes through nearly everything it is put to face, like a cakewalk. The situation, however, was a little different for the Compass Trailhawk. Since the Trailhawk lacks the hardcore off-roading gear, which comes as standard on the Thar, it had a hard time making its way at the trail.

Talking of the differences, the first and foremost is the chassis. The Thar is underpinned by a ladder frame chassis, whereas the Jeep Compass Trailhawk uses a monocoque frame. The next difference is the suspension setup. While the Thar comes with a solid axle at the rear, the Compass Trailhawk comes with independent suspension. Moreover, the Thar comes with a BorgWarner-sourced drivetrain that gets a low-range transfer case and a locking rear differential. The Compass Trailhawk, however, gets an electronic AWD system that misses out on locking differentials. Thus, the Jeep Compass Trailhawk lacks the off-roading potential that the Mahindra Thar packs in.