Top five snow off-roader cars

|THE DEN|

For the month of December, in the Blizzard edition of our magazine, this article to be about the 5 most capable cars for snow. The cars mentioned in this article are all top of the line variants and we suggest you get one of them if you plan to drive in snow anytime soon.

Jeep Rubicon

This absolute mammoth of an SUV can take you absolutely anywhere you can imagine, making it one of the best vehicles for snowy, winter conditions.

The Rubicon version of the fourth-generation Jeep Wrangler JL is modern both inside and out, and it manages to attract attention wherever it goes with its pure American muscle-like charm. The Rubicon’s entire characteristic is that it can tread where roads cease to exist. The car comes in at a cost of 60 lakhs ex-showroom.

Jeep only offers a single powerplant option for the Wrangler. There’s no Pentastar diesel yet, but we do have a Hurricane 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that was just created. It produces 268bhp and 400Nm of maximum torque and comes standard with a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission. Because this is a Jeep, and a Rubicon model at that, there’s a lot of off-road equipment standard and all-in-all the car feels powerful taking on off-road obstacles.

The Rubicon now has knobby tyres, which means that even on buttery smooth roads, jittery movements will be noticed at any speed. Look past that, and the JL Wrangler boasts a well- balanced ride quality that easily overcomes every obstacle in its way. When the going gets tough, the Wrangler’s smooth ride quality comes into its own.

You have to yank yourself into the Wrangler; there’s no graceful way to do it because there’s no footboard here. Even walking out has become more of a hopping-out. The matte-red inlay that runs across the upright dash adds some funk to the otherwise practical cabin once you’re inside. The cabin area isn’t particularly enormous for such a massive footprint. There will be enough space for everyone to be comfortable just not enough to stretch your legs and relax.

Other features include dual-zone climate control, push-button start with keyless entry, auto-dimming IRVM, auto headlights, cruise control, and steering-mounted controls. Cabin practicality is a mixed bag, with a large armrest pocket, two cup holders, and a decent-sized glove box. With all these features and a 60 lakh ex-showroom price tag, this is a car that can handle any blizzard.

BMW X7 M50d

The top-of-the-line M50d edition of BMW’s X7 has arrived in India, priced at Rs 1.63 crore (ex-showroom, India). This is the German automaker’s flagship SUV, and its AWD system will manage snow. It feels completely indestructible on the outside and very comfortable on the inside.

The BMW X7 M50d is powered by a 3.0-litre, quad- turbocharged diesel engine that delivers 400 horsepower and 760 Nm of torque. The engine is coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission as standard, with BMW’s xDrive system sending power to all four wheels. The M50d claims to go from zero to one hundred kilometres per hour in 5.4 seconds, with a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour.

The M50d boasts sportier stylistic cues than the rest of the lineup because it’s a M model. The front bumper is more angular, the rear diffuser is adjusted with wider exhaust vents, and the wheel arches and side skirts are completed in body colour. It has larger alloy wheels with distinct designs, a M Sport exhaust system, and blue calliper M Sport brakes. The M50d also has gloss black trim around the windowsills, roof rails, and front bumper instead of chrome.

The M50d, being the top-spec version of the brand’s X7 flagship SUV, is crammed with goodies. A 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and gesture control, Bowers and Wilkins sound system, digital instrument cluster, three-piece glass sunroof, Laser LED headlights, soft-close doors, five-zone automatic climate control, ambient lighting, air suspension, wireless charging, and reclining function for all three rows of seats are among the numerous features. Airbags, traction control, electronic stability control, adaptive cruise control, park assist (autonomous parking), a 360-degree camera, and front and rear parking sensors are among the safety features.

Audi Q8

The Q8, Audi’s new flagship SUV. It sits above the Q7 and among the brand’s other two flagships, the A8 and the R8, as the number suggests. It’s not quite as long as a Q7 and only seats five people, but it’s lower, wider, and built on the same wheelbase as one, and it has a ’slammed’ roof that puts it in a unique category of vehicles. It has the potential to stand out in the SUV-coupé market.

When it comes to the interiors, you have a lot of options, with 11 different upholstery colours and nine different inlay trimmings to mix and match. The new Audi dashboard design screams ‘tech,’ with its gloss black winged trim elegantly housing the two MMI touchscreens.

When it comes to standard features, the Q8 offers a lot of them, including HD Matrix adaptive LED headlights, adjustable air suspension, a panoramic sunroof, parking assistant, and an incredible-sounding 1,920W Bang & Olufsen hi-fi system. At the Audi Q8’s price, it should be, but there are still a few extras to consider, such as four-zone climate control, a head-up display, seat heating, ventilation, and massage, and rear-wheel steering, to name a few.

Great ride quality normally comes at the expense of handling, but Audi has done an admirable job of balancing things out once again. Of course, the suspension must be in Dynamic mode, but body control is admirably contained. This car costs you 1.3 cr ex-showroom but in the Q8 not only can you face a blizzard but do that in utter comfort.

Volvo XC90

If you plan to survive a blizzard then you do need a family car, assuming you want to save your family too. This car can not only handle being driven in snow but do it quite well really. The 2020 Volvo XC90 is still one of the most elegant luxury SUVs on the market. It comes with a choice of three four-cylinder engines, including a plug-in hybrid, and is available in six- or seven-seat configurations.

Fine materials like as nappa leather, real wood trim, and elegant chrome accents accentuate an interior that defines Scandinavian elegance. The majority of the XC90’s functions and settings are controlled via a vertically oriented infotainment touchscreen, and a driver-facing 12.3-inch screen acts as a digital gauge cluster.

A turbocharged four-cylinder engine is standard in every XC90. Given that six-cylinder engines are the standard in this class, this may sound weird, but Volvo has used enough technological trickery to make it work. The Recharge is a plug-in hybrid with 400 horsepower and an electric range of 18 miles. Last year, Volvo made major modifications to the suspension and brakes, which significantly improved the hybrid’s status in our opinion.

The Volvo XC90 is exactly what it's always been: a fully competitive luxury crossover SUV with a shockingly low price tag. It is less expensive than rival three-row SUVs while providing a more comprehensive list of standard safety and convenience features. The XC90's unusual external and cabin designs, on the other hand, help it stand out. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard on all XC90s.

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

You might wonder what a supercar is doing in this list of cars for a snowy winter. Well the SVJ comes standard with AWD and if the roads aren’t completely covered in snow, then this is quite a capable car to handle the winters. It’s an Aventador that’s been put on a crash diet and given a round of performance-enhancing medications. And, because it’s the Aventador taken to its logical conclusion, it’s not without flaws. Even getting in and out of it necessitates squeezing yourself into the fixed-back bucket seats across the wide sills.

The Aventador’s engine is a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V-12 that produces 769 horsepower and is positioned in the middle of the car. A seven-speed automatic manual transmission sends the engine’s 531 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels.

Every Aventador has a set of scissor doors that swing open, as is customary for Lamborghini. Although the low-slung inside is showing its age, it may be upgraded with a selection of high-end materials and customised options. The dashboard has a digital gauge cluster that changes layout depending on the drive mode you choose—Strada, Sport, or Corsa.

The Lamborghini might not seem like a machine for the cold conditions but there’s almost no road conditions it can’t handle. Well, keep in mind you’ll need a road, it’s no off-road vehicle. At over 6 crores ex showroom, this is the perfect sports car for a colder environment.

Although you will need tank tracks instead of tires before you go drifting in the snow.