Mahindra launched their most expensive offering for India, the Alturas G4 a few months back. Priced from Rs 26.95 lakh onwards, the Alturas is offered in a 4x4 avatar as well. We drove this one off the road to understand the adventure capabilities of Mahindra’s premium full-sized SUV.
There is no denying the fact that the Alturas is a large and a heavy SUV. For road use, its 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine has more than ample poke, producing over 180 PS of power and 420 Nm of torque. Our highway drive to the off-road location further proved this right, allowing the big Mahindra to stretch its legs on the open highway leading out of Jaipur.
Once we left smooth tarmac and took broken rural roads to the starting point, the supple suspension kept us comfortable inside the cabin. Talking of which, though space isn’t its forte, the fit and finish on the inside is truly remarkable. The Alturas is feature loaded and multiple driver aids also come handy once off the road. We will start with the 3D around view camera that shows what is happening in front of the SUV. This is helpful when negotiating through tight off-road sections. You don’t want to damage the bumper or side panels, right?
We slotted the Alturas into 4x4 mode via the rotary knob placed behind the gear lever and let the torque from the engine do its wonders. Although the Alturas is not offered with an automatic differential lock, the clever traction control ensures that power and torque only goes to those wheels that have ample traction. We found this out while negotiating the articulation section wherein one wheel usually lifted up into the air. It looked spectacular from the outside and as a driver, all you had to do is control the accelerator pedal.
Wheel articulation is also massive and this is handy to ensure all four tyres remain in contact with ground at all times. We did use the 4L mode (low ratio) at a particular obstacle and this ensured oodles of torque without having to rev the engine too much. Not many know but the Alturas also offers as much as 244mm of ground clearance and even though most of the test vehicles here were fitted with side steps that hamper clearance, none of the SUVs suffered any damage!
We do admit that most premium SUV owners will not take their vehicles of the road like this. However, in the case of the Alturas, the 4x4 model adds in more features like an automatic transmission, HID lamps, sunroof, as many as 9 Airbags, powered tail gate, 3D around camera, large screen et al. All these extra features are recommended and do add to the luxury and comfort factor.
Other safety aids, as standard, include the electronic stability program, active rollover protection, hill descent control, hill start assist and brake assist system. The Mahindra Alturas G4 locks horns with the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and the Isuzu Mu-X.
