Story: Sarmad Kadiri
Photography: Audi India and Sarmad Kadiri
Amongst the various types of adventure driving, off-roading comes right at the top. And if this involves natural and unforgiving desert, numerous sand dunes and a never-ending river bed, it becomes difficult to express the thrill in words. However, we’ll give it a shot.
As an automobile journalist I have had the opportunity to test SUV abilities in several countries of Europe and even in the Far-East, but this time it was closer to home. Just like the desert sand which shifts and causes the terrain to change constantly, Audi is also trying to change with time. With the Indian market gradually becoming a focal point for global car-makers, the Ingolstadt firm has also shifted its attention to the country by organising its first world-class adventure experience within the topography of India. No easy task, to say the least. To accomplish it Audi hired a specialist firm named Cougar Motorsport which is a registered member of The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), to conceptualise and execute the Q- Drive. The event was held at Jaipur, a perfect location which offered exotic palaces and hotels as the backdrop and has ample open stretches of deserts and zillion sand dunes which make natural off-roading tracks.
The Q- Drive was split into two parts – the first half consisted of a specially designed obstacle course spread over 9 acres of the desert’s landscape and post lunch we got a taste of a 20-km long dry river-bed on the outskirts of Jaipur. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it?
On the morning of the event, I jumped into the Q5 2.0 TFSI and drove with the Audi convoy from the luxurious Oberoi Rajvilas and headed for the first leg of the Q-Drive. Surprisingly, as I roared across the desert road I saw fewer camels and more of decorated elephants. The Q5 drives almost like a luxury sedan, the smooth petrol motor revved all the way to red and the 7-Speed Stronic made sure I wasn’t too far behind the bigger Q7s in the convoy. As we reached the location my testosterone started to pump like a Rajput warrior ready to take on an invader. These SUVs are perceived to be capable soft-roaders, but the obstacle course in front of me seemed reasonably hard-core. The sun seemed to be closer than usual and the temperature outside was not less than 45 degree Celsius, which explained why the Audi executives had given me a large tube of sunscreen.
The cars that we put to test were a few variants of the Q7 and Q5, which included the beefy Q7 4.2 TDI and the just launched Q5 2.0 TDI that produces 172PS and generates a peak torque of 350Nm @ 1,750 rpm, mated to a 7-speed automatic Stronic gearbox. Before I could lay my hands on the baby ‘Q’ it incurred a severe crash by another participant who went a little overboard. Poof! There went my opportunity of getting a first impression of the new Q5 variant. But all’s not lost as I still had the Q7 4.2 TDI that made 340PS and had a sportscar like 0-100kmph time of 6.74 seconds. But on a back- breaking track that Audi had set for us, these figures were of no consequence. What really mattered was bucket loads of torque that would help the SUV crawl atop the hill, out of the pits and help it sail through soft sand. That’s where you realise the importance of the Q7’s massive 760Nm of torque!
So, my obvious first pick was the Q7 because of the ‘T’ and also because its suspension height can be adjusted. I also needed good ground clearance to tame the rugged terrain. The course started with a section that had a series of long ditches, a little broader than the width of the tyres, which made sure that the SUV was on three wheels while entering and exiting it. When the front left wheel entered the ditch the rear right wheel would be in the air and when the rear left entered it, it made the front right was in the air. The smart Stronic shifted to low gear and the Quattro did its magic, making this section seem like a stroll in the park. The Audi was exceptional in overcoming this and also offered some spectacular photo opportunity. Seeing this, Michael Perschke, head of Audi India, remarked that the Q7 on three wheels looks like an elephant saluting with its forelimb in the air. The next section of this course was laid with broken cement bricks, which highlighted the Q7’s suspension performance. This was followed by a slaloms course, where momentum and right speed were the key; the wrong combination would mean that the wheels would dig into the soft sand and cause you to stall. After I wove my way past the cones I headed straight for a rather steep hill. An extreme rush of adrenaline shot through me as I stepped on the accelerator. At first the sand was packed hard and as I reached the peak of the hill it seemed to be softer and the SUV did wriggle a bit. But the motor whipped 760Nm of torque and the Quattro made sure that the Q7 continued to gain speed and crossed over into soft sand that lay smooth and untouched. Coming down hill the Hill Descent system kicks in automatically and I lifted my foot off the accelerator and brake, letting technology take control, as the Q7 crawled dawn without slipping. The final stage was the braking test – 60kmph to stand still without losing much ground, thanks to the advanced ABS.
We broke for some traditional Rajasthani lunch and got a chance to participate in some elephant polo, which explained the decked up elephants spotted on the way. I had a light lunch keeping in mind the second part of Q-Drive that was yet to come. After a short drive we reached a spectacular location which seemed like a landscape out of a sci-fi movie like Mad Max. This was long and low, about a 30 metre wide track of soft sand and nothing else till your eyes could see. Apparently it was a river bed which ran for 20-odd kilometres! This is where we put the Q5 to test its power delivery and manoeuvrability, though the Q7 with the chunky 4.2-litre motor seemed more desirable here. But the light weight Q5 was no slouch either.
The idea was to go flat out for about a quarter mile, take a complete ‘U’ turn and head back as fast as one could. If one revved too much at the starting point one would dig in to the soft sand and lose time. While taking the ‘U’ turn one had to nudge the steering early and drift gradually around the turning point, rather than taking a sharp turn and making the wheels dig in deep. I could feel the tyres dig for traction as I skimmed the sand surface. But I continued to barrel across the crescent bank sand till I took the turn and the Q5 kicked a storm of sand all around. The experience was breathtaking and like I said before, you had to be there to experience it. Later when I caught up with Michael Perschke he revealed that the German firm had big plans for India and has intentionally held the event in the country so that in future Audi owners can also be part of such adventure drives. What more could one ask for if owners can experience the abilities of their high performance machines on tracks designed specifically for them under a controlled environment.
