10,000 km across a diverse nation like ours; that pretty much sums up the sheer test that #roadTripUnited2022 was for all our machines. To be able to complete such a trip is enough to secure top marks but more than that, such a ride also provides one with the chance to really know the machines inside and out. So here, we are going to distil our experience with each of those throughout the 10,000 km of #roadTripUnited2022. Helmets on for this is going to be a heck of a ride!

While motorcycles are our primary tools of the trade, for a trip like this you need more. And by more we mean cars. Plural. But then again, no ordinary car would go well with the kind of motorcycles that we had on #roadTripUnited2023. In short, we needed cars that would appeal to bike enthusiasts as much as they do car enthusiasts. If you have been following xBhp for a while you’d know that there’s just one car in all our years that we have deemed as a biker’s car- the Mahindra Thar.

We added one to our garage and along with another, the Mahindra Thar accompanied us on #roadTripUnited2021 as well. But this time, considering the grander scale of the roadtrip, we had three Mahindra Thars with us. One, our own and two, graciously provided to us by Mahindra for this roadtrip. And as was the case before, all the guest riders and onlookers were equally enamoured with the three Thars, quite a bit like us; we have gotten used to that feeling though.

One of the major reasons why we needed three Thars this time around was because of the magnitude of this roadtrip. As always, we needed mobile workstations to churn out timely updates with the content you guys love. And with the Mahindra Thars at our disposal, this was easier than ever.

Mahindra Thar has always been a rugged go-anywhere car but its focus was off-roading. With this new one, the Mahindra Thar has matured into a much more versatile tool. It is just as capable on the road as it is off it; our own, even more so. The add-ons that we had on it such as luggage racks, auxiliary lights and auxiliary fuel cans, helped us be prepared for all the eventualities. In that sense, the other two were not too far behind in terms of space, capability, and utility.

The Thar that belongs to the xBhp Garage was the petrol variant. Powered by a smooth 1,997cc petrol engine dubbed mStallion 150 TGDi, it is a gem of an engine. 320 Nm of torque and 150 bhp of power is enough to tackle nearly everything that a roadtrip like this can throw at you. And it did… a lot! The second was powered by the diesel engine dubbed mHawk 130. 300 Nm of torque and 130 bhp of power. Again, ample for munching miles all day at considerable speeds or dealing with some bad roads with aplomb.

All that power and torque make carrying all the load easy but the Mahindra Thars we had were more than that.  It is not easy being a car with so much utility and character at the same time but it was for the Thars. It is not easy being an enjoyable car on top of that. Again, very easy for the Thars. The primary reason is comfort. The suspension is supple and the cabin very homely and so much so that working on the go was as easy as it can be. The 10,000+ km that we covered on #roadTripUnited2022 just reasserted how complete a car the Mahindra Thar is. Powerful, comfortable, smooth, capable, and with a personality that easily matches some of the best motorcycles out there. Need we say more? Didn’t think so.

And here are some more beautiful images of the Mahindra Thar from around India: