6 Best Off-Road SUVs Available in India (2026)

Six SUVs in India are worth taking seriously off road, and four of them have genuine low-range gearing: the Maruti Jimny at ₹12.54 lakh, the Force Gurkha at about ₹16.31 lakh, the Mahindra Thar Roxx at about ₹23.02 lakh and the Mahindra Scorpio-N Z8L at about ₹23.41 lakh. The Grand Vitara and Victoris use on-demand all-wheel drive with no low range at all. The highest ground clearance here belongs to the Thar Roxx at 235 mm, and the lowest, at 187 mm, belongs to a car with a proper 4x4 system underneath.

An SUV badge and a tall stance do not add up to off-road capability. What decides whether a car climbs a rutted trail is the drivetrain: a true low-range 4x4 built for technical ground, or an on-demand AWD system tuned for wet tarmac. They are not interchangeable, however similar the clearance figures look.

Key takeaways

• Maruti Jimny: the cheapest genuine low-range 4x4 here at ₹12.54 lakh, and the steepest departure angle of any Maruti on this list at 46 degrees.
• Force Gurkha: manual locking differentials on both axles and a factory snorkel, the most serious hardware here, paired with the thinnest safety specification.
• Maruti Grand Vitara and Victoris: ALLGRIP Select, built for slippery tarmac and light trails rather than off-roading, with no low-range mode to fall back on.
• Mahindra Thar Roxx: the steepest approach angle here at about 41.7 degrees, with an electronic locking differential and a 5-star Bharat NCAP rating.
• Mahindra Scorpio-N Z8L: the only seven-seater and the most complete features list, but the lowest ground clearance of any car here despite proper 4x4 hardware.

The six compared

Model	Price	Drivetrain	Ground clearance	Low range
Maruti Jimny (Zeta MT)	₹12.54 lakh	ALLGRIP PRO 4x4	210 mm	Yes
Force Gurkha 3-door	about ₹16.31 lakh	4x4 with dual locking diffs	233 mm	Yes
Maruti Grand Vitara (Alpha ALLGRIP)	about ₹18.05 lakh	ALLGRIP Select AWD	210 mm	No
Maruti Victoris (ZXi+ AT 4W AllGrip)	₹18.84 lakh	ALLGRIP Select AWD	210 mm	No
Mahindra Thar Roxx (MX5 4x4)	about ₹23.02 lakh	4XPLOR 4x4, e-locking diff	235 mm	Yes
Mahindra Scorpio-N Z8L	about ₹23.41 lakh	Part-time 4x4, diff lock	187 mm	Yes
Where these numbers come from. The Jimny, Grand Vitara and Victoris figures are read off Maruti's own current brochures, and the Jimny and Victoris prices off the NEXA and Arena price pages. Force and Mahindra do not publish comparable brochure specification tables, so those figures are the best available published numbers.

What separates genuine off-road capability

Ground clearance decides what a car clears without scraping. It says nothing about what happens when a wheel loses grip.

A low-range transfer case multiplies torque for technical ground. A locking differential forces both wheels on an axle to turn together even when one is in the air, which no amount of electronics fully replicates. An on-demand AWD system redistributes drive to whichever wheel has grip, which is genuinely useful on a wet road but is not the same tool and has no lower gearing behind it.

Approach, departure and ramp breakover angles, where published, describe how steep a slope or sharp a crest a car can take before its bumpers or underbody make contact. Three of these six publish them; three do not.

1. Maruti Jimny, ₹12.54 lakh

The Jimny is the cheapest way onto this list and the only Maruti here on a ladder frame with real low-range gearing. Maruti fits that hardware identically on both trims rather than reserving it for a range-topper. It is a small, honest off-roader that trades cabin space for climbing ability.

Terrain hardware: ALLGRIP PRO with a low-range transfer gear shiftable between 2H, 4H and 4L; three-link rigid axles front and rear on every trim; brake limited-slip differential, hill hold and hill descent control standard.

Angles and clearance: 210 mm ground clearance, 36 degrees approach, 46 degrees departure, 24 degrees ramp breakover.

Engine: 1.5-litre K15B with idle start-stop, 77.1 kW (104.8 PS) at 6,000 rpm and 134.2 Nm at 4,000 rpm.

Mileage: 16.94 km/l manual, 16.39 km/l automatic.

Safety: 6 airbags standard on every variant. No published Bharat NCAP or Global NCAP rating for the India-spec five-door.

Where it falls short: four seats, and the smallest boot here by a wide margin.

2. Force Gurkha 3-door, about ₹16.31 lakh

The Gurkha carries the most serious off-road hardware here, with manually selectable locking differentials on both axles and a factory snorkel, neither of which any other car on this list offers at any price. That capability comes with a noticeably thinner safety and comfort specification.

Terrain hardware: shift-on-the-fly 4x4 with low range; manual locking differentials front and rear; factory snorkel rated for about 700 mm of wading.

Angles and clearance: 233 mm ground clearance, about 39 degrees approach, about 37 degrees departure.

Engine: 2.6-litre four-cylinder diesel, about 140 hp and 320 Nm.

Safety: dual airbags only, well behind everything else here, with ABS and EBD. Force does not list electronic stability control in its own specification, and the Gurkha has not been tested by Bharat NCAP or Global NCAP.

Where it falls short: the safety specification is a genuine gap that the off-road hardware does not offset, and there is no automatic gearbox option.

3. Maruti Grand Vitara, about ₹18.05 lakh

ALLGRIP Select is built for slippery tarmac, wet hill roads and light trails, and Maruti is upfront about that. There is no low-range gearing, but four electronically selected modes change how drive is distributed on loose ground.

Terrain hardware: ALLGRIP Select with Auto, Sport, Snow and Lock modes on a dial; Lock brakes a spinning wheel and redirects torque to the wheels still gripping.

Angles and clearance: 210 mm; Maruti publishes no approach or departure angle.

Engine: 1.5-litre petrol, 103.06 PS at 6,000 rpm and 139 Nm at 4,300 rpm, automatic only on ALLGRIP.

Mileage: 19.20 km/l on the ALLGRIP automatic.

Features: drive mode selector, Head-Up Display, 360 View Camera, wireless charging, automatic climate control with rear vents.

Safety: 6 airbags standard with ESP, hill hold and tyre pressure monitoring. No published Bharat NCAP rating.

Where it falls short: no low range, so deep ruts and steep unpaved climbs are outside its brief, and no angles are published to compare it on paper. AWD is petrol-automatic only, never the Strong Hybrid.

4. Maruti Victoris, ₹18.84 lakh

The Victoris runs the same ALLGRIP Select system, but Maruti restricts it to the range-topping automatic, so four-wheel drive always arrives with the full equipment list and the car's crash rating attached.

Terrain hardware: ALLGRIP Select with the same four modes; no low-range gearing.

Angles and clearance: 210 mm; no published approach or departure angle.

Engine: 1.5-litre K15C petrol, 103.06 PS at 6,000 rpm and 139 Nm at 4,300 rpm, 6-speed automatic.

Features: Level 2 ADAS with adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist, panoramic sunroof, powered tailgate with gesture control, 360-degree HD camera with 11 views, ventilated front seats.

Safety: 6 airbags standard. 5-star Bharat NCAP at 31.66 of 32 adult and 43 of 49 child occupant protection, plus a separate 5-star Global NCAP result.

Where it falls short: the same terrain ceiling as the Grand Vitara, and ALLGRIP cannot be bought without the full features list.

5. Mahindra Thar Roxx, about ₹23.02 lakh

The Thar Roxx posts the steepest approach angle here and pairs low-range hardware with electronics unusual in the segment, including a system that holds a steady crawling speed without pedal input and one that tightens the turning circle by braking an inside rear wheel.

Terrain hardware: 4XPLOR with a low-ratio transfer case; electronic locking differential plus brake-based assistance; crawl control and a brake-assisted tight-turn function.

Angles and clearance: 235 mm ground clearance, about 41.7 degrees approach, about 36.1 degrees departure.

Engine: 2.2-litre turbo diesel, about 175 hp at 3,500 rpm and 400 Nm from 1,750 to 2,750 rpm.

Safety: 6 airbags standard with stability control, and a 5-star Bharat NCAP rating.

Where it falls short: 4x4 is diesel-only, so a petrol buyer cannot have it at any price, and it is considerably larger and less city-friendly than the crossovers here.

6. Mahindra Scorpio-N Z8L, about ₹23.41 lakh

The Z8L is the only seven-seater here and carries the most complete features list, including a Level 2 ADAS suite, but it also posts the lowest ground clearance on this list by a meaningful margin despite having a proper low-range 4x4 system underneath.

Terrain hardware: part-time 4x4 with high and low range and a dedicated rear differential lock; terrain modes for rough road, snow, mud and water; reverts to rear-wheel drive on tarmac.

Angles and clearance: 187 mm, the lowest here; no published approach or departure angle.

Engine: 2.2-litre diesel, about 175 PS and 400 Nm.

Features: Level 2 ADAS with adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist, 360-degree camera, sunroof, leather upholstery, power-adjustable seats.

Safety: 6 airbags on this trim with automatic emergency braking and stability control, and a 5-star Global NCAP rating.

Where it falls short: 187 mm is a genuine mismatch with the 4x4 hardware, and no angles are published to show how that plays out on a climb.

Conclusion

Ground clearance tells only part of the story, and on the Scorpio-N it actively undersells what the drivetrain can do. The real dividing line runs between two on-demand AWD crossovers with no low range, and four low-range 4x4s built around transfer cases and differential locks.

Each of those four asks for something in return. The Gurkha trades safety equipment, the Jimny trades seats and luggage space, and the two Mahindras cost close to double the cheapest AWD crossover here. Matching the drivetrain, and its trade-offs, to the terrain actually driven matters far more than chasing the largest clearance figure on a spec sheet.

FAQs

Which of these have genuine low-range 4x4?

Four of the six: the Maruti Jimny, Force Gurkha, Mahindra Thar Roxx and Mahindra Scorpio-N Z8L. The Grand Vitara and Victoris use ALLGRIP Select, which has no low range.

Which has the highest ground clearance?

The Mahindra Thar Roxx at about 235 mm, just ahead of the Force Gurkha at about 233 mm. The Scorpio-N Z8L has the lowest at about 187 mm despite its 4x4 hardware.

Which has the steepest approach angle?

The Thar Roxx at about 41.7 degrees, ahead of the Gurkha at about 39 and the Jimny at 36. No approach angle is published for the Grand Vitara, Victoris or Scorpio-N.

Which have locking differentials?

The Force Gurkha has manual locking differentials on both axles. The Thar Roxx has an electronic locking differential and the Scorpio-N a dedicated rear diff lock. The two Marutis have neither, relying on brake-based torque redirection instead.

Which of these has the best crash-test rating?

The Maruti Victoris and Mahindra Thar Roxx both hold 5-star Bharat NCAP ratings, and the Victoris additionally holds a 5-star Global NCAP result. The Scorpio-N Z8L holds a 5-star Global NCAP rating. The Force Gurkha has not been tested by either body.