Land Rover 'The Above and Beyond Tour' - Off-Roading Experience You Shouldn't Miss

When it comes to making cars with serious off-road capabilities, then there’s hardly anyone that does it better, or in this case, has been doing it better than Land Rover. In order to showcase the expertise of their SUVs, Land Rover has been conducting ‘The Above and Beyond Tour’ worldwide from past 38 years which allows customers to explore some of the toughest off-road terrains with the most versatile and stylish Land Rover vehicles. Land Rover has been organizing these events all over India since 2013 and recently, they conducted the Noida leg of The Above and Beyond Tour and it was an opportunity too hard to miss. Why? Well, taking Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque through obstacles custom made to give these cars a tough time while being under the supervision and safety arrangements of the marshals present on site and inside the car – that’s what this event had to offer.

The Above and Beyond Tour basically focuses on providing a hands-on experience at the technologies used in Land Rover cars which include hill descent control, air suspension, traction control, high and low range, terrain response and all-terrain progress control. When we reached the venue, we had a choice to select one among the two – a Range Rover Evoque or a Land Rover Discovery Sport and we chose to test the baby of the Land Rover family, the Evoque. When you look at the Evoque, you won’t be blamed to expect it to be a luxury SUV that one could only imagine taking for soft off-roading. Because the Evoque does carry that look and aura of a luxurious car that has got such attention to detail that taking it through slush would seem unjustified. But hey, it carries the Land Rover badge and that means it is filled to the brim with features that make it capable of giving any car a run for its money.

After choosing our vehicles we were briefed by about the track and the challenges we were about to experience by none other than Mr. Ashish Gupta, the man that brought the Rain Forest Challenge in India. Ashish also briefed us about the things to keep in mind while going off-road and how to respond under various conditions while we are on the track. After a quick briefing, we were introduced to our driving instructor, Amber, who first of all guided us to get a suitable driving position while going off-road. Once we were in the perfect driving position, he told us about the various driving modes that Land Rover offers and when to use them. All the Land Rover Vehicles come equipped with various driving modes including – Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud & Ruts, Sand and General. These driving modes adjust the throttle response and gear-shifts of the vehicle according to the terrain and help the driver to gain better traction and control.

As we were driving on a gravelly track which was full of steep slopes and sharp inclines, we put the car in Sand mode and next thing Amber told us to do was to let the electronics take over. As the driving terrain was quite rough and it was not easy for a first timer to cross the track without an instructor but it was not that hard either after we were introduced to the Hill Descent Control commonly known as HDC. HDC helps the driver to adjust the speed of the car and everything else is done by itself except steering. Once HDC takes over driver doesn’t have to worry about on acceleration or braking, the vehicle automatically recognizes the condition the car is in and act accordingly.

We have to admit that Range Rover Evoque being a soft-roader didn’t fail to impress us at the harsh off-roading track. The departure angles and the wheel articulation of the Evoque were pretty impressive at the obstacles with mud splashes, steep inclines and declines, and axle-benders.

In the end, we would like to conclude that everyone likes to have the adventure in life and off-roading experience like this is perfect to give you an adrenaline rush. Unfortunately, India lacks in such off-road experience zones and competent vehicles such as Land Rover vehicles that can be trusted on every terrain. The Above and Beyond Tour is a perfect off-road experience for the people who want some adventure without any hustle and bustle.