[Ford5]

During a recent test drive I modulated the accelerator pedal with medium effort, and here is where the Trailhawk kinda lugs. But if we slam the pedal the trailhawk responds just fine and gathers speed sufficiently without the need for sport mode. You can even hear the BOV during rapid acceleration and lift off and it is a treat if driven windows down. The steering is the best part about the trailhawk. It's almost full hydraulic in nature despite being EPS.

[Arjun Reddy]

Thanks all for your congratulatory messages. Yes my first drive impression of the Trailhawk was bad. Then I did a one hour city drive and got to understand the Hawk better. Post 341.

I have clocked close to 350 kms in test drives (thanks to the team at PPS motors and KHT) alone before I realised that it was not that bad. The more I drove it the more I started to like it, especially in the city and the convenience of the auto. The suspension, ride and handling were too good to ignore. The brakes are awesome and the SUV is rock solid and planted at highway speeds.

Also there was this thought of a balanced garage. I have my C250 for outright performance and I needed a car as a daily beater and a go anywhere kind of car. I keep my cars for 10+ years. This one is built like a tank.

Yes it cost me a couple of lakhs more than I anticipated but the Trailhawk is like buying a club membership to go anywhere. There is no perfect car out there.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by mr.kaybee

the only thing that stood out for me was that it does not like being floored. Steady inputs seem to do the trick

Originally Posted by Ford5

But if we slam the pedal the trailhawk responds just fine

Aren't these two views in complete contradiction to each other?

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Yes it cost me a couple of lakhs more than I anticipated but the Trailhawk is like buying a club membership to go anywhere. There is no perfect car out there.

Agreed. Thanks in advance for the detailed ownership report, with lots of pics Also, what was the on-road price, if you don't mind sharing?

[mr.kaybee]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Aren't these two views in complete contradiction to each other?

Haha absolutely true... Like I said, I'm afraid that I cannot properly explain what worked... I leave it to the more experienced members to explain clearly...But nevertheless I find that it has become very intuitive to drive now and to get the required response from the car now

[Ford5]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Aren't these two views in complete contradiction to each other?

ECM improvements maybe? I could clearly feel the kick down button pressing and corresponding turbo shove and movement. In a sedan like Cruze or Jetta I would be past the ton in the same time (normal mode), and here the speedo showed slightly lesser speed count.

[uday.ere]

Originally Posted by mr.kaybee

I too, bit the bullet and got my Trailhawk home on the 29th of last month

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Brought the Trailhawk home today.

and then there were two.

Many congratulations to Arjun and mr.kaybee. Wishing you guys many many happy miles Trailhawking around.
Looking forward to your ownership reports.

Drive Safe and Keep Revvin.

Cheers,
Uday

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Brought the Trailhawk home today.
Will follow up with a detailed write up.
Attachment 1903748

Originally Posted by mr.kaybee

I too, bit the bullet and got my Trailhawk home on the 29th of last month (it's been little over a week now)

Congratulations to both of you and wishing you many many happy miles with the Jeep!

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Brought the Trailhawk home today.

Attachment 1903748

I think I spotted your Jeep right when it was getting offloaded from the truck at PPS even before you.

[mr.kaybee]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Congratulations to both of you and wishing you many many happy miles with the Jeep!



I think I spotted your Jeep right when it was getting offloaded from the truck at PPS even before you.

Thank you @arun_josie! But I bought mine from KHT Prime in Yeshwanthpur

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

I think I spotted your Jeep right when it was getting offloaded from the truck at PPS even before you.

Thanks Arun, yes, you were the first one to spot it. I was just waiting for an auspicious day to take delivery. The minimal grey Trailhawk is the car I brought home.

[d3mon]

A lot has been written about the nature of the ZF9 gearbox's downshifts and it's really hard to pinpoint what feels 'wrong' about it.

I had my first experience with this gearbox in the Fiat 500X, where I was left with conflicting feelings about the gearbox. Sometimes the gear shifts would be quite precise and felt tactile and nice, while other times, it just left you hung out to dry, almost like an AMT!

Thankfully, a bit of technical reading about how this gearbox actually works clears up what the gearbox really struggles with, and that's downshifting from 8th/9th into 4th or 5th gears. In essence, if you are cruising on the highway and you stomp the go-fast pedal to request a quick downshift, the gearbox will first send you into NEUTRAL for almost a second, while it finds its feet and puts you into 4th or 5th gear.

So if you request gentle acceleration, you get just that, when the transmission gives you some torque from the engine while staying in gear. But when you need MORE torque, it stops all power from being sent to the wheels for a second, which is quite disconcerting. Almost no other torque converter does this sort of a driveline disconnect, which is what makes it so weird to experience. This exact phenomenon was noted in several comments above as well.

For someone who really wants to understand how this transmission works, the following is a must read.

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...he-zf-9-speed/

Quoting straight from the article:

"Downshifting from say 7th to 5th is no problem as well, but a downshift from 8th or 9th to 5th is hard work for this design. As an example if the engine speed is 1700 rpm and a shift from 8th to 5th
is required (passing on 2 lane highways), clutch A has 1700 rpm of slip that needs to be reduced to 0 before it can be engaged. So as a first order of business brakes D needs to be disengaged (100 milliseconds), then engine ECU needs to blip the throttle” to increase speed to approximately 2350 rpm (another 400 milliseconds), then engine power needs to be cut and dog clutch A needs to be
engaged (another 100 milliseconds), and now you are in sixth after a half a second of no torque at all at the wheels, then another 200 milliseconds of low torque as the transmission finds fifth with a more conventional frictional clutch to frictional clutch shift and your engine speed is finally at the 2900 rpm.

From eighth gear to fourth gear is going to be even more of a contortion, with a torque interruption that is about a second long as the transmission ECU and the engine ECU do this delicate dance required to get both the dog shifting elements to engage. When you are looking to pass on a 2 lane road at 60 mph, a second can feel like an eternity, especially to a driver who has to use those paddle shifters to get into the right gear before executing the pass."

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by mr.kaybee

I too, bit the bullet and got my Trailhawk home on the 29th of last month (it's been little over a week now)...

Congratulations on our purchase !!

Isn't it the same ZF 9-Speed used in the new CRV as well? I wouldn't worry too much about the reliability as ZF has been supplying transmissions for the the premium brands for years.

I would love to get the Trailhawk, but in the same budget range, torn between the MUX and the Trailhawk. The MUX is equally off-road capable, has the extra seats, body on frame etc, but i m sure will be no where as fun to drive on the twisties as the Trailhawk.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

torn between the MUX and the Trailhawk

Other than the price range, there is nothing in common between these two - one is a rugged 4WD ladder-on-frame truck and the other a swanky new-age monocoque with its own share of off-road prowess! Of course it depends on the intended usage - if it involves fair bit of city driving in addition to outstation trips then the Trailhawk would be my pick (given the compact dimensions) but if it is primarily for outings/touring then MU-X any day, given the extra space, not only for passengers but also luggage.

I am sure you are aware that the MU-X will cost you almost 2 lacs more than the Trailhawk, on road.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

but in the same budget range, torn between the MUX and the Trailhawk. .

I have another question. Which between these two have lesser chance of packing their bags and leaving? They both aren't doing well TBH.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

in the same budget range, torn between the MUX and the Trailhawk.

I had same dilemma last month but finally booked MU-X. Being in AP, MUX 4x4 costs 30L onroad. My major turnoff against Jeep Compass were

1. rear bench space/comfort: its definitely a class/two smaller than mux.

2. 9-speed ZF tranny: I have owned this transmission in the US for 3 years in form of Acura MDX, and can definitely say it's too many gears, and gets confused very easily. I have also driven few other rental cars (Jeep Cherokee & Chrysler 200) with same transmission, and while its decent transmission, can't say it's brilliant. And both FCA and Honda have open recalls on this transmission. Compared to that, just give me a simple old-school 5 speed tranny which rarely gets confused. I will be more happy.

3. Manufacturer Origin: call me biased, but being in the US for 10 years, FCA cars are not known to last as long as Japanese cars. This argument might not hold true for Compass due to it's Italian origin but wanted to go with a proven product. In markets like australia, thailand etc, DMAX & MUX have already proven themselves.

4. Manufacturer presence in India: This was definitely a concern for both Isuzu & FCA but felt that Isuzu, with DMAX commercial, VCross and MUX, has better presence that Jeep. This is just my feeling and not scientific in any manner.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Comrade

I had same dilemma last month but finally booked MU-X. Being in AP, MUX 4x4 costs 30L onroad

Thanks for sharing your perspective! 30 lac on road is a steal for MU-X Looking forward to your ownership thread. Also, did you check with the dealer on the upgrades/facelift done for V-Cross making it to the MU-X as well?