A rodeo with a 4x4 SUV

It was 10 am and I had only landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport amid heavy downpour. In my left hand were the keys to a gleaming Lava Blue Kodiaq 4x4 (Laurin & Klement, of course!) that were handed to me by Skoda and in my right hand was my smartphone in which the map was set to a farmhouse restaurant in Karjat, 50 km away.

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The mission was simple: Navigate through peak Mumbai traffic, the chaos that is the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and reach the destination by lunchtime. Oh! Did I say that it was my first time in Mumbai?

The drive began with me pairing my phone with the car’s infotainment system to use Android Auto, and thereby Google Maps, and holding on to dear life for the next 90 minutes, for, the Chennaiite in me was not prepared for the chaos that unfolded in the roads of Mumbai.

Squirming every time a motorist threw himself/herself at my car, and controlling every fibre of my body to not scream expletives, not that they’ll hear any as the Kodiaq is very good at sealing the outside world and keeping the cabin quiet, I gingerly made my way out of the city and onto the highways.

As the car settled into its own rhythm on the open and winding roads, the only sound that I could hear was the wind noise, while tyre noise was kept at a minimum. The 2.0-litre turbo-petrol motor making 190 PS and 320 Nm was chugging along at below 2,000 rpm, while the dual-clutch automatic gearbox had selected the top gear for max efficiency. Despite there being an underlying firmness in the way the car drove, the SUV dealt with road imperfections, potholes and speed breakers with ease and yours truly was pampered throughout the drive.

With the miles piling on and the rain never ceasing to give people some respite, the Kodiaq and I reached Karjat in top shape. Since I was not hungry, I took the 1.8-tonne SUV to some winding back roads, past a sleepy little village, to find a stretch where I could put the four-wheel-drive system of the car to test.

And find the stretch I did! With the road devoid of tarmac and earth that had turned into slimy clay thanks to the downpour, the Kodiaq skidded and hopped over the steeply descending imperfect narrow road lined by walls on both sides. This was proper Mahindra Thar territory. Once at the bottom of the stretch, there it was, a lake and a magnificent hill with dark clouds hanging close to it.

Having soaked in the view and the fresh air, I decided to head back. Well, to my surprise, the 7-seater SUV had no trouble going up the road. Not willing to believe what the car had just accomplished, I went down and up a few more times. It did struggle once the earth got really mushy, for it was on all-season tyres that had no place tackling mud and slush, but did the job nonetheless.

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With a big smile on my face, I found my way back to the main road and to the destination, where a very tasty meal was awaiting. Admittedly, I was very late to the table. But, in my defence, I was having good fun to care about what time of the day it was.

Priced between ₹38.50 lakh and ₹41.94 lakh (ex-showroom).