[nerd1200]

4XPLORing through Mandalpatti offroad trail

TL;DR: 3 Scorpio-Ns and a Thar went up the Mandalpatti offroad trail last weekend.

Prologue

This circuit was on my to-do list for a while, albeit I wanted to do it in my Yeti AWD. That didn’t happen. On the bright side however, I now have a car for which this trail should be just another alleyway. Imagine this next bit Jeremy Clarkson’s voice and Pratap Bose’s demeanor: “some say, this is not just any SUV, rather it’s the Big daddy of all SUVs. All we know is it’s called the Scorpio (to the power) N”

A teaser

Here’s a video compilation of the trail drive.

https://youtu.be/rMtG9lfunTE

[nerd1200]

Prologue (contd.)

A mid-week WhatsApp from me hit soumobakshi’s inbox:

DM – Free this weekend?
SB – Yes, on Saturday.
DM – Mandalpatti?
SB – Offroading?
DM – Yeah..
SB – Done.


Next was ROG_AK.

DM – What are you doing this Saturday?
AK - Hopefully going on a drive with you guys!
DM – Mandalpatti?
AK – Done.

We invited Columbus_500 to join and he gladly jumped on the bandwagon. A WAG was swiftly created, and the meeting time & point was decided. That’s pretty much it! None of us needed any preps since it was essentially a day drive. We would leave around 5am from Mysore, reach Mandalpatti around 10, lunch at Madikeri and back home by nightfall.

The lineup:

• ROG_AK’s Napoli Black Scorpio-N Z8L D-AT 4XPLOR riding on 265 BF Goodrich K02s wrapped around some drool-worthy blackened 9J Fuel rims. Proper “gangsta” vibes.
• Columbus_500’s Napoli Black Scorpio-N Z8L D-AT 4XPLOR on GY Wrangler ATST 265s
• My Deep Forest Scorpio-N Z8L D-AT 4XPLOR on stock shoes
• Soumobakshi’s Napoli Black Thar LX D-MT 4X4

[nerd1200]

We got onto the Bangalore-Mysore highway at 5:30 and were happily cruising along the newly laid expressway with much appreciation for that beautiful piece of tarmac. Apart from maybe 3 diversions, the entire stretch is complete – all the way up to Colombia Asia junction. We reached the junction within an hour and stopped for a quick tea break. It was dawn and I couldn’t resist getting my camera out and capturing some silhouettes.

A closer look at the Fuel rims on ROG_AK's beast.

We stopped at Hunsur for breakfast and that gave me another opportunity for a photo op. The morning light renders such a nice compositional hue to pictures, it’s a photographer’s delight.

In the context of the Indian automotive market, the Thar deserves this "TRAIL RATED" badge much more than the Compass Trailhawk does.

Both these tires are 265s. The perceptible difference in width is due to the aggressive sidewall design of BDG's and the fact that ROG_AK's rims are 9J compared to the 7.5J of stock rims.

[nerd1200]

Next up, we drove non-stop towards Mandalpatti forest check post, bypassing Madikeri town. Google suggested an alternate route which was in a slightly worse shape compared to the regular one. Neither was very good though (we took the other one while descending). For our SUVs however it didn’t matter, they just went through the imperfections like nobody’s business.

Soon enough we reached the check post, paid a fee, and started the climb. We had anticipated some resistance from the local jeepers' association, fortunately there were none. We were just requested to discard any plastic bottles at the spot and cautioned that drone videography was prohibited. Bummer. I can only imagine how wonderful the drone shots would’ve been through the trail and at the peak.

The first turn was the most difficult part of the climb – with respect to the trail itself. In isolation however, it wasn’t a worthy challenge to our SUVs.

Stopped for some pictures along the way.

Pic credit - ROG_AK


Pic credit - ROG_AK. soumobakshi setting his action camera up while I encourage him

[nerd1200]

We parked up at the designated parking area and hiked up to the peak. The sun was blazing above us but the cool breeze did not let the heat impact us too much. Spent some time at the summit before hiking back to the parking area.

Pic credit - Columbus_500


Pic credit - Columbus_500


Pic credit - Columbus_500


Pic credit - Columbus_500


Pic credit - Columbus_500; L to R: ROG_AK, soumobakshi, (yours truly) nerd1200, Columbus_500

When we returned to the parking area, there were a lot of curious gazes upon our SUVs, and some assumed that we were part of Mahindra’s testing team and were there to test these cars. They were somewhat right about the latter. soumobakshi tried his best to answer questions from the inquisitive drivers. They were looking inside the ScorpioN's cabin and were quite impressed with the quality levels, at the same time were perplexed at the absence of the 4x4 lever - the concept of a 4x4 selector knob didn't excite them. They were very friendly and were offering suggestions on how to tackle some of the trickier sections, what to look out for, etc.I thanked them and set off.

A closer look at 'em shoes:

[nerd1200]

On the way back, AK spotted a nice little trail that was off the regular one and we decided to climb that. Refer to 4:42 onwards in the video.

Perils of off-roading - Thankfully they weren't actual scratches.

The descent was uneventful. For the most part we turned HDC on, slotted the shift lever to M1 and enjoyed the 1 pedal drive down.

[nerd1200]

We had lunch at East end hotel, Madikeri and bid adieu to Coorg around 4pm. Traffic on Madikeri Kushalnagar Road and Hunsur road was a little more than we had anticipated; in a bid to avoid congestion on Mysore ORR we took a call to take the Mysore bypass. A final stop for coffee at Srirangapatna before saying our byes and joining the evening rush on Mysore expressway. Weekend traffic was at it’s peak. There was however light at the end of that tunnel. Instead of heading home, I decided to carry on and have dinner at Kolar empire to put a befitting end to a day well spent! Oh, and did I tell you? Our ScorpioN completed 2 months with us on the day of this trip!

Parting shot of our lovely machines at dusk!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[yuvmudapa]

A closer look at 'em shoes:
Attachment 2424319[/center]

Proper Gangster vibes indeed! How is the clearance though? Many people complained about offroad tires rubbing the wheel well.

[Blooming Flower]

Fantastic report with butch vehicles in the fleet. It's quite a scenic view from the top with favourable weather. Would you please share some pictures of the obstacles or patches in the off-road trail where 4x4 needs to be engaged?

[ExplorerXIII]

Originally Posted by Blooming Flower

Would you please share some pictures of the obstacles or patches in the off-road trail where 4x4 needs to be engaged?

None I can see in the video. In fact, I have taken my Maruti 800 in this area couple of decades ago.

[brraj]

Good to know that now they have steps for hiking, When we did this there were none.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8P0...AvinashBirnale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIMh...hannel=RajeevR

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by nerd1200

Instead of heading home, I decided to carry on and have dinner at Kolar empire to put a befitting end to a day well spent! Oh, and did I tell you? Our ScorpioN completed 2 months with us on the day of this trip!

Well done! This is exactly what machines like this are supposed to do, it expands our horizons, you can do a lot more in a day without getting tired. Just point, shoot and you`re there.

I have not visited this place recently but a few years ago I remember there was a Jeep strike, those fellows were not plying that day to Mandalpatti. So many tourists decided to drive their vehicle up to the staging area and then perhaps walk up to the peak.

The trail from the main road to staging area was so bad that a couple had abandoned their hatchback wherever it got stuck and started walking with a baby in their hands, it was that bad and The drive up to the staging area had neatly removed the bumpers from a Dzire cab too. The conditions were meant only for high GC vehicles, not sure how things are now.

[powertrain]

Originally Posted by nerd1200

A closer look at the Fuel rims on ROG_AK's beast.

Attachment 2424262

Damn Cool!

Ok, I have to ask - Which make are these alloys?!

Cheers!
Powertrain

[gururajrv]

Nerd1200 -

It's a delight watching the pure, authentic "SUVs" doing what they are built to do. Although I love the Scorpio N in its stock form, that N with a steelies has an additional oomph and character to it and has my

Please look at making this as series like those of Amazon prime or netflix exploring the 4x4 regions within Karnataka and beyond!

However, I have a question for you, sir. How are you managing the expectations with your N while chauffeuring your family?

Scorpio N is a delight for driver and more engaging than a XUV7OO to be honest basis the test drive I took last week. I came mighty impressed with N but my family felt every single maneuver and didn't like it one bit. But for me as a driver, I loved it in fact more than 7OO