Re: Lal Ghoda - My Ford Endeavour 2.2 MT 4x4 - 75,000 km crunched and counting! Quote:
Originally Posted by yatesh.92 If your budget permits, I'd say the only capable vehicle that can replace Lal Ghoda would be the Defender 130 D300. The 3.0 L inline 6 diesel (296 bhp/650 nm) should have enough grunt to conquer almost any off-road terrain and also be comfortable with 7 passengers+luggage when doing long haul trips. BOF will be the only miss here. LC300 was another capable+reliable option but Indian model only available as a 5 seater. Wonder what Toyota were thinking ![Disappointed](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/disappointed.png) .
Another option if you are on a tighter budget but can manage 2 vehicles, then it would be best to get a Thar 4*4 and modify it as per your needs for off roading use. For long haul trips with family, Innova hycross should be a good option. |
Hi Yatesh, thanks for your thoughts. I wish I had the budget for a L663 Defender, forget the LC300! Hence, my assertion in my previous post about Endeavour being the pinnacle of practical BOF SUVs in India.
Once you move beyond this bracket, it actually becomes very difficult to use the available vehicles like the way I do. Cars like G Class (350d, not the ludicrous G63!), Land Cruiser, Defender and likes. Forget these, I am told the waiting periods for spares for Rubicon are insane here, and that is coming from horse's mouth i.e. people who own and use them as intended. Any offroad related bruises hurt a lot on these vehicles, and these premium vehicles have insane wait period for spare availability, which plays like a fly in the ointment for users like me.
I don't mind paying authorised service centres for additional maintenance, but I can't wait for months for parts to arrive.
Case in point, a dear friend's L663 Defender was with us in Jaisalmer and had AC related problems in desert. Guess how long it took JLR to sort out the issues? 4 months!!! The waiting time was so long that he managed to get Rhino 4x4 offroad bumper from Australia in the meanwhile and managed to put some 15k kms on his ScorpioN.
Sweet result for 4 months wait period though! The car is back now, and is made even better offroad.
The hard reality is, that I will have to scan even harder for a true replacement for Lal Ghoda and I am actually thinking about revamping my garage for it. Once the Endeavour goes, it is possible that I might let the Honda Jazz also go and replace these with a Thar D MT 4WD, or Jimny MT 4WD and pick up a pre-owned Crysta 2.8 Z (Hycross is too expensive to be honest) to meet family requirements. I need to sit down and decide on these as life progresses. ![Smile](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.png) |