As a kid, I loved dirt. I played in it, rolled in it, and occasionally sampled it — which always earned me a stern look from my mother. One particularly nosey lady once suggested to my mother that it might be calcium deficiency. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. But one thing I know for sure — I never outgrew my love for dirt. And that brings us to the Slush Fest — Motoring World’s glorious tribute to all things muddy, mucky, and magnificently off-road.
And guess who got the keys to this year’s shenanigans? Yours truly. Yep, I was handed the baton (or should I say the steering wheel?), and boy, was I grinning like a kid in a candy store. Only, this candy store was filled with 4x4s, and the candy is caked in good ol’ slush. We were ready to play!
Step one: Line up the machines. We’d shortlisted some real beasts: the Mahindra Thar Roxx, the Force Gurkha, the Jeep Wrangler, the Maruti Suzuki Jimny, the Land Rover Defender, the Toyota Hilux and the mighty Mercedes-Benz G 400d. A dream team for dirt addicts like me. But as luck would have it, only three from our shortlist made it to the party.
Step two: Location. Enter Keshav, our Boy Scout, who got in touch with Rahul Richard — an off-road maestro, ex-auto journo, and the proud owner of 4XFarm, (Four-by Farm, that’s how you say it) just 50 km outside Mumbai. This 21-acre playground comes with about six to seven obstacles designed to test our metal and mettle. Here we go!
All of this was set against the backdrop of nature’s beauty — a trail running beside a serene lake, perfect for reflecting on life’s more important question: Can we make it through without getting stuck? Now, there were four Motoring drivers, who had to beat the benchmark time set by Rahul in his Jeep.
This story is from the October 2024 edition of Motoring World.
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This story is from the October 2024 edition of Motoring World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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