Which is the best car to drive to the Himalayas

Need a comfortable vehicle as I have to drive around 7000 km to and fro.

BHPian Rangy62 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello, this is in my bucket list! Reading a few travelogues posted here, I was wondering which would be the best vehicle to cover the Himalayas. My leanings are towards the Jeep Trailhawk. Any inputs would be welcome.

My first plan is Arunachal Pradesh. Myodia pass and then onto Walong. Need a comfortable vehicle as I have to drive around 7000 km to and fro.

Here's what BHPian VKumar had to say on the matter:

Nearly all the Himalayan roads are metaled now, and other than very few stretches, there is no need of a 4x4 at all. Be it Himanchal Pradesh, UT of J&K, UT of Leh; if you are traveling between July and October, there is hardly any place where a 4x4 will be needed, and if you decide to do it in September-October, even a high GC hatchback (in fact, even a Ciaz too) with wide tyres can do it.

So, Trailhawk is more than enough for the roads in Uttarakhand, Himanchal Pradesh, Leh and J&K. I doubt if you will need to engage the 4x4 even once!

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

A 4x4 may not be needed, but I would still recommend it for such scenic road-trips. Reason = a 4x4 / AWD will take you places that a 4x2 never could. Let's say you are on a mountain road, and see a lush green patch on the right. Engage 4x4, drive there, enjoy the view and eat your sandwiches. In a 4x2, you'll only be admiring the view from afar, or have to walk to it.

A 4x4 / AWD will also help you in adverse weather, muck, slush, snow etc. A 4x4 has helped me save many hours....many times! One was when a bridge broke and I was able to safely take an alternate mucky route down to cross a stream without issue. Second was when a narrow highway was blocked for hours due to some accident. I engaged 4x4, drove to the right onto some greens, up and down tiny hills and was back on the road. It was an awesome experience! My two bros who were riding with me remember that incident till date.

4x4 can at times bring FOUR times the fun.

You are on the right track with the Compass. Also consider new ones like the upcoming XUV500 AWD and next-gen Tucson AWD. Their launch isn't too far away. The regular Compass 4x4 will do for you, if you don't want to splurge on the overpriced TrailHawk.

Here's what BHPian SS-Traveller had to say on the matter:

When travelling extensively in the deeper Himalayas, the vehicle needs to have certain features that we don't think about at other times.

• Must be reliable enough not to have frequent niggles or breakdowns;
• Must be able to run on bad fuels, whether petrol or diesel (fuel in the deeper Himalayas is not as clean as in our metros) - I'd prefer petrol today due to the ease of starting in sub-zero temperatures;
• Must be easily repairable locally, preferably with authorized service centre and spares support;
• Must have sufficient ground clearance (at least 180-190 mm at the diff / sump);
• Can be 4x2, but 4x4 with low range transfer case gets one going past awful roads which 4x2 cannot negotiate. Freshly cleared landslides and streams with boulders are cases in point;
• Must have sufficient luggage space to carry anticipated essentials and spares;
• Must run common tyre sizes with higher profiles of sidewalls (not less than 60-65% profile) which are easily available in the Himalayas.

Based on the above, some of the vehicles that perfectly fit the task are:

• Mahindra Bolero (including 4x4 option)
• Mahindra Scorpio (including 4x4 option)
• Toyota Innova
• Toyota Fortuner
• Suzuki Gypsy (and the to-be-launched Jimny)

...and the list can go on, as long as the criteria above are met.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.