Travelling is a very important aspect of life. Being at xBhp, we have been fortunate enough to get to travel a lot. Yet, it is never enough. And there is a simple enough explanation. Travelling never gets boring because it is dynamic. Even going to a place that you have already visited does not guarantee that it will be the same experience. One’s everyday life can get boring but travelling seldom does.

That is why we are always on the lookout for opportunities to quash the travel bug. Even short weekend getaways can work wonders in taking one’s mind off of the mundanities of life. This story is about one of those very getaways. There were a few things that we did differently though. Instead of going out to enjoy the ride, we went out to enjoy the drive.

We are motorcycle people through and through. But ever since we added the Mahindra Thar to the xBhp Garage, we find ourselves looking for excuses to take it out. The Mahindra Thar is a stuff of legends because of its off-roading capabilities but the latest iteration is much more than that. It is a more complete car now, something it achieved by being a very sorted road car in addition to retaining its legendary off-roading capabilities.

Generally, we love thrashing it around and taking it to wherever there are no roads. But for this getaway, we just wanted to enjoy the drive and listen to the highway, the roads, and the mountains. But then, we also wanted to be ready for a bit of rough stuff too because you never know what you might find. And so, it was time to get into the preparations.

We got our Mahindra Thar serviced, checked to see if the documentation was in order, and packed the supplies that we were going to need along with the camera gear. But there was something important we needed to address. To enjoy a trip to the fullest, one must ensure that there are no hiccups and even if there are, they try to be prepared for those.

To that end, we try our best to prepare for a trip. We pack a whole lot of things, essentials and non-essentials. But in all that, we tend to forget what is perhaps one of the more important aspects of our vehicle’s health- tyres. Tyres are what keep your shiny side up. They are the only conduits between the road and you. And that is why it is important not only to ensure tyre health but also to have the right tyres for the job.

So, for this short getaway to Uttarakhand, we decided to get new shoes for our tyres. There are a lot of options in the market based on what you need and how they go. Our destination would have us see butter-smooth highways and some serpentine mountain tarmac so we needed something that would excel in those conditions. But then, as mentioned earlier, we had to be ready in case we found a broken patch of road or a mild trail that was just too hard to resist.

We found just what we needed in the JK Tyre Ranger HT range. Brilliant highway performance with enough in the tank to deal with occasional bad roads or off-roads. The game is in the name here; HT is Highway Terrain and that tells us exactly what these tyres are geared towards. We wanted to try something new with our Mahindra Thar, considering its now-improved road credentials.

Mahindra Thar has always been known for its offroading capability but the current iteration is a very good road car as well, and the JK Ranger HT tyres complement this ability of the new Thar very well. Excellent grip under both acceleration and braking, minimal road noise and more than ample cornering performance make these tyres an ideal partner for the new Mahindra Thar. Moreover, simply by looking at the tyres, we could tell that they’ll be able to deal with some surprises too.

Now that we have all that out of the way, it is time to beat the heat and head to the mountains.

We set out from Delhi early in the morning to beat the traffic before it could become a nuisance for us. Before we knew it, we were on the highway, making our way to the mountains at a decent pace. We could already tell the difference the tyres were making. The tyres we had before installing JK Ranger HT ones were biased a little towards off-roading. They were okay on the roads and we had no issues per se, but we were truly enjoying the drive with the JK Ranger HT tyres.

The road noise was minimal, the grip was awesome and the car felt more responsive and more talkative on the tarmac. Straight-line grip was no issue whatsoever but even when we had to resort to a sharp turn or manoeuvre, the tyres felt composed. We wanted this drive to be soothing and on the butter-smooth highways, it was all that and then some!

Drives like these also help you calm yourself and detach your mind from things so that you can think. Think about stuff we generally ignore. In essence, drives like these tend to bring out the philosopher within us. Looking at the dashboard as the odometer flicked the kilometres, we thought about life as a journey and how paradoxical it is.

When you keep running around, all you want is to sit still and just breathe a sigh of relief. Rest is what we seek in those moments of hustling and when we get it, we are eager to get up and start running again. Every road and every turn is fodder for more memories and more stories. Perhaps that is why one must stop to smell the roses but not stop. The journey must go on.

Just like that, our journey went on as well and we discovered more and more about how good a road car the Mahindra Thar is and how well these tyres complemented its abilities. Our breakfast and lunch stops were in the plains. After driving for a fair bit, we were inching closer to the mountains and we could feel it in the air. We picked up the pace a bit as we wanted to witness the sunset in the mountains.

Finally, after driving for a fair bit, we were there. There is something different about the mountains. From the air to the sky to the landscape, everything is different. And the sunset, man, there are not a lot of things that come close to a sunset in the mountains. After drinking in that sight and a scrumptious meal and tea at Throttle Shrottle, we made our way to our stay.

During our first day’s drive, we munched a fair number of miles in our Mahindra Thar, shod with the new JK Ranger HT tyres, and man, what a drive it was. The cabin felt so quiet and comfortable. There was no road noise messing with the music that we love so much. The JK Ranger HT tyres have been developed with GA (Genetic Algorithm) Noise engineering and so, they have been specifically designed for minimal road noise.

Then the grip and the performance. The solid centre and the stiff shoulder design of the tyres gave us that extra confidence and comfort on straight roads. Even during high-speed turns, these tyres put up a solid show. The new Mahindra Thar has a rather short wheelbase and despite that, it felt sure-footed and composed.

We also had some extra confidence in the ability of the tyres because of the high-traction rib design that provides exceptional stability and control on the roads. JK Tyre claims that when paired with appropriate braking, these tyres can bring a car to a halt from 100 km/h in just 4 seconds (also dependent on the weight of the vehicle and the payload). That is mighty impressive and when a brand like JK Tyre puts that much faith in a product, it says a lot!

Anyway, today’s journey ends here. Now, it was time to rest as the next day was assigned to explore the mountains, and we were going to put these tyres to the test and see how they go about dealing with the serpentine roads of Uttarakhand.

The next day we woke up to a beautiful sunrise. A morning in the mountains is unlike any other. Chilly air and the warm early morning sunshine make for a heady mix. It also makes one think about the mountains themselves; high and mighty, awe-inspiring and yet fierce and intimidating. But even they cannot stop the sun from spreading its light. It can be called the proverbial ray of hope, can’t it? Mountains do instil a lot of philosophy in one.

Moving on, now it was time to simply lay back and enjoy a good day’s drive in the mountains. The fun increases manifolds when you have the confidence to tame the corners. With the JK Ranger HT tyres, we had all we needed. Despite the 320 Nm of torque from the Mahindra Thar’s engine thrusting the car forward, the tyres performed well and we had a lot of traction even in the corners. The best thing though was the feedback which made for a very organic driving experience.

Uttarakhand has some very well-built roads but there are occasional bad patches around. The tyres were more than equipped to handle all that and there were no hiccups. As mentioned earlier, the trips that don’t have many are enjoyed the most!

After exploring our fill of the mountains (for this trip!), we were ready to head back from this short getaway. We drove for more than 650 km and we had immense fun. Highways, climbs, descents, corners, and even patches of bad roads; we encountered nearly everything and our Mahindra Thar and the JK Ranger HT tyres dealt with everything with aplomb. It is a matter of pride for us that such a capable car and such capable tyres are all made in India. It shows you how far we have come as a nation. But there’s still a long way to go so the journey must go on.

Tyre Review

Our escape to the mountains this time was made better by the choice of vehicle and tyres. We took our Mahindra Thar to the mountains and it was riding on the JK Tyre Ranger HT tyres. As expected, the tyres worked flawlessly in the plains. We had minimal road noise and exceptional grip as we tamed the long highways. Even in the twisties of the mountains, the tyres provided ample grip to make the drive more of an occasion than a task. Finally, their ability to deal with bad roads and mild off-roading adds to the credentials of the JK Tyre Ranger HT tyres. All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and these tyres live up to the saying: Fit and forget.

And now, here are some more photos from the trip:

This article was published in the Aug-Sep’22 Issue of the xBhp Print Magazine.

Order your copy here, or read it online here.