6 Best Genuine 4x4 SUVs Under Rs 25 Lakh in India (2026)

Six SUVs under ₹25 lakh in India pair a genuine low-range transfer case with a chassis built to use it. The cheapest by a wide margin is the Maruti Jimny at ₹12.59 lakh, where four-wheel drive is standard on every variant. The Force Gurkha is the only one here with manual locking differentials on both axles, and the Mahindra Thar Roxx adds electronic terrain modes on top of its low-range hardware.

Spec sheets use "four-wheel drive" and "all-wheel drive" almost interchangeably, and most buyers never learn the difference until they are stuck. An all-wheel-drive system shifts power between axles on a wet road or a gravel driveway, and does that job well. A genuine 4x4 adds a low-range gear set that multiplies torque at low speed, letting the vehicle crawl over rocks, ruts and steep inclines that would leave an AWD system spinning. One is a comfort feature. The other is off-road hardware.

This list covers only the second kind, all under ₹25 lakh ex-showroom.

Key takeaways

• Maruti Jimny: the cheapest genuine 4x4 here by a wide margin, with low range standard on every variant from ₹12.59 lakh.
• Force Gurkha: the only one with manually locking differentials on both axles rather than a brake-based electronic lock.
• Mahindra Thar Roxx: the most electronically sophisticated system here, adding terrain modes on top of low range.
• Mahindra Thar: the sharpest approach angle of the group at about 41.2 degrees.
• Mahindra Scorpio-N: the biggest and most powerful, and the one with the most unpublished off-road data.
• Only the Jimny and Gurkha make 4x4 standard. On both Mahindras it is a specific trim, and on the Thar and Thar Roxx it is diesel-only.

The six compared

Model	4x4 system	Ground clearance	Price of the 4x4 trims
Maruti Jimny	ALLGRIP PRO with low-range transfer gear	210 mm	₹12.59L to ₹14.67L, standard
Force Gurkha 3-door	Manual transfer case, dual manual diff locks	233 mm	about ₹16.25L, standard
Force Gurkha 5-door	Manual transfer case, dual manual diff locks	233 mm	about ₹17.58L, standard
Mahindra Thar (3-door)	Part-time 4WD, high and low range	226 mm	about ₹17.99L to ₹18.99L
Mahindra Thar Roxx	Part-time 4x4, low range, terrain modes	about 235 mm	about ₹18.79L to ₹22.49L
Mahindra Scorpio-N	4XPLOR with dedicated 4-High and 4-Low	Not published	about ₹18.03L to ₹25.49L
Where these numbers come from. The Jimny figures are read off Maruti's own current brochure and the NEXA price page, which renders a range of ₹12.59 lakh to ₹14.67 lakh. Force and Mahindra do not publish comparable brochure specification tables in the same form, so those figures are the best available published numbers, and where a figure is genuinely absent from the manufacturer's own material that is stated rather than estimated.

What actually makes an SUV a true 4x4

Three things separate a genuine 4x4 from an all-wheel-drive system.

The first is a low-range transfer case, a separate gear set that multiplies torque at low speed for crawling over obstacles. A regular AWD system simply does not have one.

The second is the chassis. Body-on-frame construction, where the body sits on a separate steel ladder, resists twisting under load on uneven ground better than the monocoque shell most car-based crossovers use.

The third is a differential lock, mechanical or electronic, that forces drive to a wheel that would otherwise spin uselessly.

A vehicle can use the words "four-wheel drive" in marketing without having low range at all. The reliable check is the manufacturer's own technical specification sheet for "low range", "transfer case" or "4L" against the drive system, rather than the trim name.

1. Maruti Jimny

Price: ₹12.59 lakh to ₹14.67 lakh. Four-wheel drive is standard on every variant.

The Jimny is the odd one out here in the best way: less than half the price of some of the vehicles alongside it, yet its own specification table uses the same language. Suzuki calls the system ALLGRIP PRO, and unlike the electronically controlled ALLGRIP Select fitted to Maruti's crossovers, the Jimny's table lists it explicitly with a low-range transfer gear.

Off-road hardware: ladder-frame chassis with three-link rigid axles and coil springs at both ends. ALLGRIP PRO is a switchable part-time system shifting between 2H, 4H and 4L on the move.

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

Engine: 1.5-litre K15B petrol with idle start-stop, 1,462 cc, 77.1 kW (104.8 PS) at 6,000 rpm and 134.2 Nm at 4,000 rpm.

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

Boot space: 211 litres with the rear seatback up, 332 litres folded. The smallest here by a wide margin.

Warranty: 3 years or 100,000 km, extendable to 6 years or 160,000 km.

Where it falls short: four seats, the smallest boot here, and no locking differential at all, relying on low-range gearing and brake-based traction control instead. Rear brakes are drums.

2. Force Gurkha 3-door

Price: about ₹16.25 lakh. Four-wheel drive is standard.

The Gurkha is built almost entirely around off-road credentials, and it is the only vehicle here with genuine manual locking differentials on both axles rather than an electronically applied brake-based lock. That is a mechanically more direct way of forcing torque to a wheel that has lost grip.

Off-road hardware: ladder-type chassis, a manual transfer case engaged by an electric shift knob, and manual locking differentials on both front and rear axles. A roof-mounted snorkel allows wading to about 700 mm.

Angles and clearance: 233 mm ground clearance, 39 degrees approach, 37 degrees departure, 28 degrees ramp breakover, the best breakover figure here.

Engine: 2.6-litre four-cylinder diesel, 2,596 cc, about 140 PS at 3,200 rpm and 320 Nm from 1,400 to 2,600 rpm.

Warranty: 3 years or 150,000 km.

Where it falls short: manual only, with no automatic at any trim, and a strict three-plus-driver seating layout. Force publishes neither a mileage figure nor a boot volume.

3. Force Gurkha 5-door

Price: about ₹17.58 lakh. Four-wheel drive is standard.

The 5-door shares its entire powertrain and 4x4 hardware with the 3-door. The differences are a longer 2,825 mm wheelbase against the 3-door's 2,400 mm, two extra doors, and seating for six plus driver rather than three plus driver.

Off-road hardware: identical chassis, manual transfer case and dual manual locking differentials.

Angles and clearance: 233 mm, 39 degrees approach, 37 degrees departure, 28 degrees breakover, matching the 3-door on Force's own specification page. The longer wheelbase is not stated to change these.

Engine: the same 2.6-litre diesel at about 140 PS and 320 Nm.

Warranty: 3 years or 150,000 km.

Where it falls short: the same manual-only limitation, and it is the second most expensive vehicle here still lacking any factory automatic.

4. Mahindra Thar, 3-door

Price: about ₹17.99 lakh to ₹18.99 lakh for the diesel 4WD trims. The wider Thar range starts well below that in rear-wheel drive.

The original Thar is the short-wheelbase, three-door version of Mahindra's 4x4 line, and it currently offers four-wheel drive only with the diesel engine. It has the sharpest approach angle here, which is genuinely useful for climbing a ledge nose-first.

Off-road hardware: body-on-frame construction, a manual-shift part-time 4WD system with high and low range, an electronic brake-based locking differential with a mechanical lock on select trims, and an electric driveline disconnect for smoother switching between two and four-wheel drive.

Angles and clearance: 226 mm ground clearance, about 41.2 degrees approach, about 36 degrees departure, about 26.2 degrees breakover, and about 650 mm wading depth.

Engine: 2.2-litre diesel, about 130 PS at 3,750 rpm and 300 Nm from 1,600 to 2,800 rpm on the 4WD trims. The smaller diesel and the turbo-petrol are offered on rear-wheel-drive variants.

Where it falls short: Mahindra publishes neither a mileage figure nor a boot volume for these trims, which is an information gap rather than a poor result, and the ladder-frame ride is firmer over broken city roads than any monocoque alternative.

5. Mahindra Thar Roxx

Price: about ₹18.79 lakh to ₹22.49 lakh for the 4x4 trims. The wider range starts lower in rear-wheel drive.

The Thar Roxx is the five-door version, and its 4x4 range is diesel-only. It is the most electronically sophisticated system here, adding selectable terrain modes on top of the same fundamentals as its three-door sibling.

Off-road hardware: body-on-frame platform, manual-shift part-time 4x4 with high and low range, an electronic locking differential, a front-axle disconnect in two-wheel drive, terrain modes for snow, sand and mud, plus a crawl function and a brake-assisted tight-turn function.

Angles and clearance: about 235 mm ground clearance, about 41.7 degrees approach, about 36.1 degrees departure, about 23.9 degrees breakover, and about 650 mm wading depth.

Engine: 2.2-litre diesel, about 152 PS and 330 Nm on the manual, rising to about 175 PS and 370 Nm depending on variant. No petrol 4x4 is offered.

Where it falls short: 4x4 is diesel-only and starts nearly ₹1 lakh above the three-door Thar's equivalent, and it shares the same gaps in published mileage and boot data.

6. Mahindra Scorpio-N

Price: about ₹18.03 lakh to ₹25.49 lakh across the 4WD trims, so the upper end crosses this list's ceiling.

The Scorpio-N is the biggest and most powerful vehicle here, and its 4XPLOR system is confirmed in Mahindra's own brochure to include dedicated 4-High and 4-Low gears, making it a genuine low-range system rather than an AWD with a terrain dial. It is also the vehicle here with the most unpublished off-road data, worth knowing before cross-shopping it against the better-documented Thar and Gurkha.

Off-road hardware: the 4XPLOR system with dedicated 4-High and 4-Low gears, terrain modes, and hill-hold and hill-descent control. Ground clearance, approach angle and departure angle are not published on Mahindra's own specification pages.

Engine: 2.2-litre diesel, about 175 PS at 3,500 rpm and 370 Nm from 1,500 to 3,000 rpm on the manual. Mahindra's brochure confirms four-wheel drive is offered only with this higher state of tune.

Where it falls short: no automatic on the 4WD trims, and ground clearance, approach and departure angles, mileage and boot space are all absent from Mahindra's own pages, the largest set of unconfirmed off-road specifications here.

Conclusion

The cheapest genuine 4x4 on this list costs less than half what most of the others ask. That alone reframes the segment: a low-range transfer case does not have to arrive attached to a full-size truck's price.

Above it the choices divide cleanly. The Gurkha trades comfort and safety equipment for the only mechanical differential locks here. The Thar and Thar Roxx trade price for published geometry and, on the Roxx, terrain electronics. The Scorpio-N trades documentation for size and seats. Only two of the six make four-wheel drive standard rather than a specific trim, and on both Mahindras it is diesel-only.

FAQs

What is the difference between AWD and 4x4?

An all-wheel-drive system shifts power between axles for grip on wet or loose surfaces, usually on a monocoque chassis, with no low-range gearing. A genuine 4x4 adds a low-range transfer case that multiplies torque at low speed for crawling over rocks, ruts or steep inclines, typically on a stiffer body-on-frame chassis.

Which is the cheapest genuine 4x4 SUV in India?

The Maruti Jimny at ₹12.59 lakh, the most affordable SUV on sale here with a confirmed low-range transfer case on its own specification sheet, and the only one on this list under ₹15 lakh.

Do all Thar and Thar Roxx variants have 4x4?

No. Both are sold in rear-wheel-drive trims at lower prices. Only the specific diesel trims named here carry the low-range system.

Does the Force Gurkha offer an automatic?

No. Both the 3-door and 5-door are sold exclusively with a 5-speed manual.

Is the Scorpio-N's 4WD a genuine 4x4?

Yes. Mahindra's brochure confirms the 4XPLOR system includes dedicated 4-High and 4-Low gears. Several other off-road figures for it, including ground clearance and the approach and departure angles, are not published by Mahindra.