bhailogs,
temme your views on passenger cars (sub 5L segment) - a friend here wants to buy a old mahindra jeep, and restore it, it for offroading (like i do) - but given practicality/office use considerations, what would be a good car that is decent fun for cities, good AC, and has impeccable offroad ability? The kinda car that takes oodles of thrashing
He normally has 70km of commuting (ahd-gandhinagar) daily, so mileage can't be really bad.
Suggestions?
Mucho thanks in advance.
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Too many kms on 16 wheelers, not 2 wheelers
You can try look for 2nd hand Trax gurkha/Judo which will be the best offroader you can get in India (but the chances of getting it is very thin) this is if you are looking for 4wd capability in a vehicle.
Check out the video to see what it can do.
Eles you check out Trax Gamma with 4wd+ differential lock, won't cost a bomb but will surely be above 5L but should be less than bolero. That will give both mileage as well as offroading capability.
Also Maruti Gypsy is a candidate to look at.
Note: Remeber all the above vechicle are ment for taking offroad take good pounding so creature comfort is not available in them even power steering & AC are luxury in them.
If the choice is a passenger car, then swift can take a bit of pounding but not pure offroading.
i wud say go for the new bolero its got all wat ur friend needs
AC is awsome gives decent mileage and can take a bashing while off road
and yes it can be had for arnd 5 lakhs new
and yes go for the 4x4 version they arent readily available but u can order them
what abt a MUL Gypsy?
isnt it the best suited for the job??
he needs a 4 wheeler with decent mileage and creature comforts like AC and all
which r just toooooooooooo far from gypsy
morever gypsy is totally impractical unless u use it only for hardcore off roading or rally and u hav a second car to commute within the city
and besides that, there is no car "within" 5 lakh budget which can take such a beating which hitanshu and gang performs every other month!!
but for the other extreme end, for office use, etc. there are lot of options available. a spruced up m800/zen can easily take the tracks (barring few!) they are used to do during every trip!
but, imho, Gypsy still is a good contender for the priorities listed.
if they needs a 'practical' car, then gypsy might fade out, but then no other car is as capable as gypsy is!
and bolero is a nice substitute but, for a price.
@Hitanshu: you better prioritise your options as per ABC Analysis!:P
) - but given practicality/office use considerations, what would be a good car that is decent fun for cities, good AC, and has impeccable offroad ability? The kinda car that takes oodles of thrashing 
)