Surgery and off-road driving are so similar,” says Dr Vani Parmar, 62, who recently retired as professor of breast surgical oncology from the Tata Memorial Centre, Khargar, Mumbai. “Both fields require precision, quick reaction times and an ability to handle challenging situations.” A mammoplasty may be slightly different from a slushy drive for some, but both are Parmar’s deep passions. While she continues to work as a breast cancer surgeon, she also finds time to get behind the wheels of her Mahindra Thar. “The Thar loves the mud but she hates tar roads,” she says. Like her 4×4 SUV, Parmar finds off-roading “the best stress-buster”.
“Indian society has set boundaries on what women can do. I wanted to break those boundaries and challenge myself,” says Naaji Noushi, 34, who hit the headlines with a solo drive in her Thar from India to Qatar during the FIFA World Cup 2022, ear ning praise from Anand Mahindra, chair man of the Mahindra Group, on her extraordinary journey. Noushi, who divides her time between Kerala and Abu Dhabi, is a solo off-roader. She says whenever she goes on a drive, her mother or husband takes care of the children. “Both my mother and husband are very supportive when I am away,” she says. “A woman faces many challenges in her life. Offroading is nothing compared to them, if one gets the hang of the vehicle.”
Off-roading literally means that—to go off the road. It begins where the paved roads end. Off-road driving is taking off in India as men and women, young and old, enjoy the thrill of extreme terrain—from snowy trails and sand dunes to slushy paths and rocky landscapes. Off-roading is best experienced on a 4×4 SUV—a four-wheeler in which the engine drives all four wheels, providing better traction and grip. Most true-blue modern SUVs offer four-wheel driving (4WD) systems that make it easier to manoeuvre uneven and treacherous trails.
“The love for off-roading has no gender bar. We are pushing boundaries, to fuel our passion for adventure,” says Noushi, as she plans her next solo trip from Dubai to Europe.
Many others are looking forward to the monsoon. “It is the best weather to off-road,” says Naina Sabunani, 41, a corporate professional from Mumbai. “I love to drive through wet and slushy mud. The thrill is in getting messy.”
Mahindra & Mahindra pioneered off-roading in India in 2011 with programmes under Mahindra Adventure. It has a 50,000-strong community of off-roaders and brand loyalists who go on short drives and longer expeditions. The brand has also expanded its off-road academies from Igatpuri in Maharashtra to Jaisalmer, Leh, Kodagu and Gurgaon.
WHERE THERE’S A WHEEL…
Mahindra also tops the 4×4 SUV sales in India—it sold 60,348 units in 2022- 23, cornering about 73% of the market. In 2023-24, it fell to 50,864 units— and its share slid over 15 percentage points to 57%—with the entry of players such as Jimny, the 4×4 off-roader by Maruti Suzuki, and Toyota’s Fortuner, according to data by Jato Dynamics, an automotive market research company.
Says Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO, automotive sector, Mahindra & Mahindra: “We craft SUVs that are not just vehicles but a gateway to adventure. Our signature drives, including extreme expeditions, great escapes and off-road training programmes, create lifelong advocates for our brand. These events are crucial not only in engaging our valued customers but also in inviting new ones to experience the world of authentic SUVs.”
For outdoor enthusiasts and adrenaline junkies, there’s no greater object of desire than a rugged 4×4 SUV. These beasts appeal to a very particular psychographic—people who crave adventure, love getting off the beaten path and want a vehicle that can take them to any terrain.
While crossover SUVs and “soft roaders” have exploded in popularity, there is a keen appetite for the real deal— SUVs with off-road prowess, thanks to features like 4WD, high ground clearance, skid plates, tow hooks and the latest traction management systems. After all, the ability to ford rivers, articulate over boulders and scale steep gradients is the purpose of an off-road vehicle, say off-road enthusiasts.
This has also led to the opening up of training centres. Tejas Kothari, a certified trainer from the International Four-Wheel Drive Trainers Association, who runs Learn Offroad near Mumbai, says many people are unaware of the basics of offroading. Beginners are first taught how a 4WD vehicle behaves on the road, followed by how to manoeuvre basic obstacles and terrain. “You either love it or hate it,” says Kothari, adding, “We give a lot of emphasis on safety features.” He has trained more than 250 students in the last three years.
Taking the road less-travelled, to offbeat locations on the map, is challenging. With that comes fun, says Juhi Mehta, a Jimny owner, who has trained at Kothari’s academy. “Trials and unpredictability make off-road driving truly special,” says the 49-year old content creator from Mumbai, who is planning a Spiti expedition in June.
Abhishek Takle, a Mumbai-based content professional, bought a Jimny this year after driving sedans. The 37-year-old trained with Kothari in two basic levels and is looking forward to level-3 training, which begins in the monsoons. While the Jimny has all the off-roading capabilities, “I bought it as it is more like an underdog vehicle,” says Takle.
AFTER THE PANDEMIC
There has been a noticeable shift to adventure travel after Covid. This transition is aided by a growing road network that enables people to make trips to remote places, said Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director of Maruti Suzuki, in an earlier interaction. After a slow start, the Jimny’s sales have picked up. In FY2024, 17,009 units of Jimnys were sold, while the Thar led with 39,014 units. Maruti Suzuki has started Rock N Road events to give an off-roading experience to customers.
Manik Ahuja, an IT professional in Bengaluru, has formed a forum called SimplyJimny. The group has about 450 Jimny owners who go on expeditions and curated trails. “We organise service camps for consumers to get familiar with the off-roader,” says Ahuja, who was one of the earliest buyers of the Jimny.
Off-roading is picking up throughout the country. Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore and Gurgaon have offroading enthusiasts who organise trails and weekend drives. SimplyJimny has even developed its own special offroad track near Bengaluru for its members.
Since the cost of repairs is minimal in vehicles like Jimny, off-roaders are not afraid of experimenting, says Ahuja. For instance , the Jimny front bumper costs Rs 2,050 while the Jeep Compass front bumper retails at Rs 14,980 on online site Boodmo.com.
The club of older off-roaders is growing, too. Vinod Moogi, 60, is on a solo trip from Goa to Spiti. “During off-roading, one has to be alert and can’t be in a careless mode,” he says from a stopover in Manali. Muralidhar Shet from Mumbai is another 60-year-old who loves offroading. His wife is the spotter, someone who points out obstacles and helps the driver navigate tricky terrain. There is no right time to do things, says Shet. After Covid-19, there is a sense of “let’s do it while we can”, he adds.
“The emergence of off-roading as a lifestyle preference in India signifies people’s inclination to explore leisure pursuits beyond conventional urban experiences,” says Kumar Priyesh, brand director, Jeep India, which organises off-roading events such as Jeep trails, camps and community-led initiatives to support this growing trend. By offering a diverse portfolio of iconic vehicles, Jeep encapsulates the spirit of exploration, adds Priyesh. The Jeep’s 4×4 brands include the Compass, Meridian, Wrangler and Grand Cherokee with terrain-control capabilities.
“For car companies, it is never just about making vehicles that look rugged. It is about the capability for adventures inaccessible to ordinary SUVs,” says Ravi Bhatia, regional director, Jato Dynamics.
A mountain-conquering 4×4 doesn’t come cheap. It is costlier than regular SUVs and crossovers. The average retail price of a 4×4 mass-market SUV was Rs 22.8 lakh in FY2024. For a luxury 4×4, it was Rs 99 lakh. In FY2024, the sales of mass market 4×4 SUVs grew by 7%, year-on-year, to 88,186 units, while those of luxury 4×4 SUVs grew by 48% to 22,171 units, according to data collated by Jato Dynamics.
Apart from their wilderness-conquering capability, their sheer presence and macho styling have made 4×4 SUVs the object of driveway envy even for buyers who would never leave paved roads, says Bhatia.
The off-road culture will keep gaining momentum, thanks to urban cowboys who just want to look the part on social media as well as diehard enthusiasts who are planning their next big muddy adventure.
Like Dr Parmar, who started offroading at the age of 52 as she could not resist the call of unpaved paths. She went on to make her motorsport debut with a gruelling rally of Desert Storm, When the road beckons, she leaves the scalpel behind and takes the wheels, accompanied by her husband, who does not drive, or her daughter, a rally driver, as the spotter.