2020 Mahindra Thar 4X4 takes on the Mahindra XUV500 AWD in a tug-of-war

We all know that tug-of-war can damage the vehicles and can hasten the wear and tear of parts too. But it sure is a good old way of showing muscles, isn’t it? Well, the new Thar is out and someone has put it against the Mahindra XUV500 AWD. Who wins? Well, this video says it all.

The video by Zeryeen11 shows stock 2020 Mahindra Thar against the Mahindra XUV500 AWD. Interestingly, Mahindra offered AWD with the XUV500 which is not a full-fledged 4X4 system like the Mahindra Thar. All the variants of the Mahindra Thar get the 4X4 system as standard equipment.

Also read: Buying a pre-owned Mahindra Thar is better than buying a new one: 5 reasons

The video shows both the vehicles in the tug of war. In the first video, the Mahindra Thar seem to be pulling the XUV500 AWD towards itself but the rope tying both the vehicles snaps leaving the results inconclusive. In the second part, they retry the same thing with the same rope. However, this time, the Mahindra XUV500 AWD seems to be nudging forward and the Thar is struggling.

Is the XUV500 AWD more powerful?

This experiment does not show anything at all. Also, the Mahindra Thar is in 2WD and not even in 4X4 mode. The Mahindra XUV500 AWD gets intelligent drive. It means that the vehicle senses the slip of the wheel and sends power to that axle. It remains active only on low speed and the system disengages itself as the XUV500 gains speed. You can put a lock on the AWD system to ensure that it remains engaged too. However, that happens below the speed of 35 km/h.

The Mahindra Thar is a much more capable vehicle on the off-road and show of power. That’s because it has a low-ratio transfer case too. The Thar has three modes – 4X2, 4X4 High and 4X4 Low. Even by engaging the 4X4 High, the Thar can reach some of the most extreme roads and places. It works at all the speed but should not be used on the tarmac at all. The 4X4 Low ratio multiplies the torque output of the engine by multiple times and helps the vehicle to come out of the most sticky situations. If the Thar engaged the 4X4 Low, there is no way that the XUV500 AWD could have competed with it.

Tug of war of cars

You should avoid doing such exercises with the vehicles at all costs. Tug of war can harm the transmission, clutch and even the engine of the vehicle. Since the cars have to overcome an extremely high resistance, doing regular tug-of-war like this also increases the wear and tear of the car’s parts and damages can be massive.

To check or compare the capability of any two vehicles, it is always a good idea to create similar situations for both the cars and check which one performed better. Check the acceleration, check braking, how the car handles the corners and even gradient climb which tests the approach and departure angles of the vehicles very well. You can even take two vehicles in the same off-roading track to check the capabilities and come to a clear conclusion, unlike the tug-of-war.

Also read: All-new 2021 Mahindra XUV500: What it”ll look like