#OdeToOutstanding - west

The western leg of the #OdeToOutstanding drive had Anagh Bhaskar take on the mighty desert region with the electric Mercedes-Benz EQB 350

- Anagh Bhaskar

The west leg of the #OdeToOutstanding drive was flagged off from one of our country’s western extremities, at the Indo-Pak border in Bawliyan, smack dab in the middle of the Thar desert. And our steed for the journey was the Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 4Matic, which we were to drive from the border to the national capital. Standing here, just a few hundred metres from our neighbouring nation, we were in sheer awe of the beauty of the desert, which some might call barren, but is actually home to its own ecosystem with unique flora and fauna.

Having explored the border outpost in Bawliyan, we got into the EQB to escape the scorching heat, and commence our journey towards the national capital. While most would show scepticism at the thought of travelling almost a thousand kilometres in an EV, especially from the western corridor, the EQB 350 is in fact one of the few electric vehicles which can manage a journey like this owing to its 66.5kWh battery pack which gives it a range of above 400km on a single charge.

En route, we spotted some sand dunes, and to take a closer look we took off the road and drove right into them. While this would not be advisable in most vehicles, the EQB 350’s 4Matic AWD system is so intelligent that we could drive on loose sand without any fuss at all.