BADGE VALUE

GS and Trail Rated – two of the most respected badges when it comes to off-roading. But as Shakespeare says, what’s in a name? We head to our favourite trail to find out

- AATISHMISHRA & ABHISHEK WAIRAGADE

A BADGE ON A CAR TELLS YOU A LOT about the person inside. A V12 instead of a V8 on a Maybach tells you the dude means business. An M badge on a 320d tells you the guy is a moron. Go-faster badges are always cool, but there's another sort of badge that lends you plenty of street (or otherwise) cred. The Jeep Trail Rated badge is conferred only upon the most capable SUVs in the Jeep line-up.

This is serious business, especially when even basic Jeeps have proper off-road abilites. The GS badge from BMW Motorrad is legendary in its own right – being synonymous with overlanding and adventure. Time to pit two legends against each other (and we're not talking about our writers – Ed).

Aatish Mishra: This really is a no-brainer. Even people in the farthest corners of the world have heard the word 'Jeep', so much so that the brand has become eponymous with any ol' off-roader. There's no separating the brand from the wild outdoors. Jeep was born on the battlefields of World War II, and this legacy runs through every one of its modern SUVs. Then when Jeep slaps on a Trail Rated badge on to something, you know it means business. The sort of testing, and fettling these SUVs go throught to wear that unassuming circular stamp has to be seen to be believed. This Compass Trailhawk gets so much more than a regular 4x4 Compass – there are reprofiled bumpers, retuned suspension, a low range gearbox and proper all-terrain tyres. That’s when Abhishek interjected.