LADDER FRAME OF MIND

They're fun, they're fundamental and they're here to stay. Meet Mahindra's action heroes!

- Ruman Devmane

Between the two SUVs you see here, Mahindra has sold two lakh units in the last two and a half years. One of them, mind you, has only been on sale for the last five months. But wait, this isn't Business Standard (oh, well...), so why am I starting this story with such a pink-paper statistic? Because these SUVs are defined by their popularity, that's why! It isn't, in fact, so much a case of popularity as it is mania, if I'm honest. These things fly off their presumably robust shelves.

Why, though? These are old-school ladder-frame SUVs. Despite their hugely refined dynamics, a monocoque SUV will still run rings around them on a handling track. You want a great back seat? Buy a sedan. A thorough off-roader? You can almost have all three of them for the price of one of these (go figure!). So what's going on, then?

In the interest of true journalism, we just had to bring them together. And since journalism these days is about taking sides, it will serve you well to know that I'm a fan of most things Mahindra makes. A couple of years ago, I bought a Thar RWD and have since driven it all over the country. It's not a great car (the BMW M2 is, for one) but I love it for how nonchalantly it takes on the worst our roads can offer. And for its Saab-like instrument panel lights, which you can turn off. Right, with my credentials as an unbiased automotive writer out of the way, we can finally get going.

With half the Motoring World gang, in tow, we set up camp at Pro Dirt Adventure on the outskirts of Pune the night before the shoot, a playground appropriately suited to this serious research work. SUVs have to be able to venture off the road and how the Scorpio-N and Thar Roxx fare in such an environment is a concern of national importance.