[DEVINA4WD]

What was the price for the new set of BFG tyres ?

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by DEVINA4WD

What was the price for the new set of BFG tyres ?

They are currently retailing for 27.5k INR per tire for this size. Grey market ones are probably 3k cheaper than official imports, I am told.

[Aanchal Kaushik]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

So, to cut the story short, I was caught between a rock and a wall with my choices. On one side, was what I thought was an overpriced but supremely reliable and capable Toyota; on other side was Ford Endeavour, an excellent all-round VFM package and a much better vehicle in many aspects albeit with poorly tuned automatic gearbox and traction control.
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Ladies and gentlemen, I present my current steed, a Ford Endeavour Trend 2.2 Manual Transmission, 4x4 in Sunset Red, named Lal Ghoda!

Great post.You have actually solved the dilemma of every person who is stuck with the decision: Fortuner or Endeavour. I own a Fortuner but I totally agree for Endeavour surely entices car owners in this segment. So rightly said these are the only two options in this segment.


Mod Note : Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Thanks!

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by Aanchal Kaushik

Great post.You have actually solved the dilemma of every person who is stuck with the decision: Fortuner or Endeavour. I own a Fortuner but I totally agree for Endeavour surely entices car owners in this segment. So rightly said these are the only two options in this segment.


Mod Note : Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Thanks!

Thanks. Well, it was the case when Endeavour was on sale in India. Now a days, the decision is pretty easy... while Endeavour has been a superior product on its own, Fortuner continues to decimate and triumph this segment altogether.

Having said that, despite Ford's exit how the prices of Endeavour have been hovering recently has got me surprised. Agreed that the market is hot right now - the lesser availability of clean cars has meant that prices have been nearly neck to neck with market leader, the Fortuner.

BHPian naveendagar was searching for one, post selling his steed - a 2012 Toyota Fortuner 4x4 MT, and we got nowhere post an intense search for a late 2019/early 2020 3.2 Endeavour for him . Not being able to find a suitable car, he took the plunge for a Thar LX HT AT to quest his 4x4 needs.

I still continue to believe that late 2019/early 2020 3.2 Endeavour is an awesome car to get at right price... the woes related to torque convertor of the 6 speed AT were sorted in that model and the suspension so absolutely sublime compared to Fortuner.

[DEVINA4WD]

What Battery do you suggest for the 3.2 Auto Transmission 4WD Ford Endeavour 2016 model ?

The stock battery shows 60AH , 590CCA written on it. It's time for me to change the battery , so wanted to know if we can upgrade the Battery than the stock. So which one to go for ?

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by DEVINA4WD

What Battery do you suggest for the 3.2 Auto Transmission 4WD Ford Endeavour 2016 model ?

The stock battery shows 60AH , 590CCA written on it. It's time for me to change the battery , so wanted to know if we can upgrade the Battery than the stock. So which one to go for ?

Aha! Good question... Thank you for reminding on this bit. As it happened, I did replace my OEM battery just post 70k kms. Considering my winch installation, I was also of the opinion that OEM 65Ah battery may not cut it and it will be prudent to upgrade to at least 85Ah.

Unfortunately, the size of the battery became an issue. Ford's tolerances for battery plate and the fitment are super precise, unlike Toyota which can take multiple size batteries in its plate. As it happened, I went to my Amaron dealer, asked for 85Ah battery for my car, he brought it out started fitment and we realized 85Ah won't go in the available space no matter what we do.

In the end, I went for Amaron 65Ah battery (model # was FL-565106590). Truth be told, I never had any issue with 65Ah being smaller than expected amperage.

So, all in all - if you want to upgrade, go with your trusted brand in the same size and Ah (Amaron is very good, I have been using for all my cars for past 10-12 years).

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by DEVINA4WD

What Battery do you suggest for the 3.2 Auto Transmission 4WD Ford Endeavour 2016 model ?
So which one to go for ?

Can you confirm that you did not change the original battery since you bought the car in 2016/17. This is hell of a time for Ford Endeavour battery which I struggled after 3 years and I am aware that it lasted better than many others.

Amaron is good and even 80Ah will fit in same space. Good thing is you can replace battery from outside, no error code. Just read the manual. I remember the instruction which ask to wait for 15 min after engine is switched off to start opening the terminal connection but honestly I read it after replacing the battery, which I got at dealership itself but it was like any other battery swap. Infact whole thing took just 5 minute and I did not even take the car inside the service area.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Amaron is good and even 80Ah will fit in same space.

Are you sure about 80Ah battery fitting? I think the old Endeavour used to get this 80Ah battery and during my battery replacement, we did try fitting that one into the new one's engine bay. Didn't fit well into the battery plate of my car? We obviously didn't hustle with it to fit. If you would know the size of 85Ah from old Fortuner, that is a different size altogether and will be at least 1 inch longer in size than the battery plate of Endeavour.

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Are you sure about 80Ah battery fitting?

It was 80Ah or 85Ah not sure as Amaron only had only either of the two. Before taking the car to dealer, I had gone to my battery shop and he did inspect the space and said that he has a battery which will fit in the place. I even saw the battery, it was bigger than typical Amaron car battery (I compared it to my Garnd i10 Amaron- 40Ah or 45Ah) but not as big as old Fortuner battery which I am aware that is much bigger than current Ford and will not fit.
The only reason I went to dealership as I was worried about some error code and ford rate is very competitive but having seen the installation, I am going for Amaron next time, which should be very soon.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

It was 80Ah or 85Ah not sure as Amaron only had only either of the two. Before taking the car to dealer, I had gone to my battery shop and he did inspect the space and said that he has a battery which will fit in the place. I even saw the battery, it was bigger than typical Amaron car battery (I compared it to my Garnd i10 Amaron- 40Ah or 45Ah) but not as big as old Fortuner battery which I am aware that is much bigger than current Ford and will not fit.
The only reason I went to dealership as I was worried about some error code and ford rate is very competitive but having seen the installation, I am going for Amaron next time, which should be very soon.

That's wonderful to know, Wonderers. Could you please share the model # of the 80Ah battery that will fit into new Endeavour's bay. Like I said, I have not really felt the need for additional amperage - but because of my winch I would like to get a higher Ah battery next time, whenever that happens.

[DEVINA4WD]

Yes my Battery is stock still , though two cells are in the fair mark on the battery Hydrometer that I checked.

Every 3 months I remove the battery and put it on Trickle charge ( Pulse Mode ) of the Battery Charger I use , got it from Aliexpress, but now its available easily on Amazon too. It takes half day for recharge and then 2 to 3 days on pulse/repair mode. Then the battery behaves like new. After battery installation I just set the windows for one touch function and the Sync 2 settings I just reset the clock to 12 hour. Rest no other settings need to be done.

Till 2 months back the all 6 battery cells were in green zone of Hydrometer, Just checked it few days back and two cells in Fair zone , so thought it's time to replace the battery.

I think I'll go for Amaron too, the OEM seems to be Excide.

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

That's wonderful to know, Wonderers. Could you please share the model

The model I had seen was Amaron Go. Sorry I did not note the model number. Please check this link. It looked same size/type.

https://www.mypowerkart.com/car-batt...kaAmUcEALw_wcB

Originally Posted by DEVINA4WD

I think I'll go for Amaron too, the OEM seems to be Excide.

The Ford has both Exide as well as Amaron. For 2016-19 Exide is the OEM, while for 2019 onwards they increased the battery Ah and have Amaron as well. The Original Exide comes with 1 year warranty and cost Rs ~6500, while the Amaron comes with 2 year warranty and cost Rs ~10,000. The service advisor advised me for Exide as from the part number check for my VIN, it was showing the same as replacement.



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[Ace F355]

Latest Update

Car continues to purr along as usual, the odometer is close to 98k kms now. We returned from Jaisalmer and I was very curious to check new BFG rubber on the dunes. As expected, the car performed beautifully - although I was running probably 1-2 PSI lower tire pressure (13PSI) with BFGs than usual. The sand was super soft this time and dunes were properly boggy. Despite that, Lal Ghoda was right up there in terms of its performance.

Please enjoy some pics below.

Part of our convoy in the dunes...


Entering into the dune sections... Below pic has a very unique combo of a L663 Defender, 2020 Thar, a Brand new Scorpio-N and a late 2019 facelifted Ford Endeavour 3.2.


Enjoying some virgin sections...




DBHPian .anshuman tearing through a dune in his Thar Diesel AT


Along with most anticipated car that we had with us this time... L663 Land Rover Defender. Defender performed beautifully as expected, even as a monocoque, although in such conditions, vehicles with solid axles have advantages.


The power from Defender is intoxicating, I swear.


Enjoying a couple of beautiful Sunsets




Those Sunset Colors were something else! This is the real beauty for which we travel to such distances and places


Along with BHPian Maverick07's tastefully prepped Fortuner.


Same Fortuner having some fun in the dunes...


First time of a Scorpio-N in the dunes. Despite boasting great hardware on paper, this Mahindra fell short of our expectations in dunes. .anshuman has covered this topic in his latest video on his YouTube channel - do check it out to understand our opinion on this car.


Stuck at an angle, these are some of the places where our SUVs face power deficit. You would need some 300-350 BHP to tear up these sections (which the Defender had BTW, and was doing very well), although the size of our Thar Desert dunes isn't as big as what we see in Middle Eastern countries... so more power also means you have to be equally careful with upcoming bumps etc. The angle in the pic might look scary, its a piece of cake getting unstuck because most of us have plenty of experience dealing with such situations.


A couple of Action Shots while tearing up the virgin dune sections






What a surreal place!


Amazing Dune Sections these...


While my Endeavour is super sublime, I have to admit that the itch for upgrade has bitten. I have recently been thinking about Jeep Rubicon, however there is no point of having 2 proper 4x4s at home. We already have spare cars and I don't want to pile on current garage of ours. Thus, I have put up an advert for Lal Ghoda in TBHP Classifieds. Let's see what is in store for me next.

[TurboLag200]

The endy is such an excellent SUV, just wish ford hadn't left india. New endy in other markets looks so nice.

[Ace F355]

Another short update.

Car is officially beyond 100k kms now. Clicked below pic post hitting 100k on the odo a couple of days back.



Since my last post where I had put the advert in TBHP Classifieds (link) and OLX, I had received many queries for it. Not serious ones though. and truth be told, since the time I made up my mind to sell it and started discussing it comprehensively in my close circle, I also realized that I may not have an immediate replacement of Endeavour in form of Jeep.

A couple of reasons -

• There is a serious lack of practical BOF 4WD SUVs in India, and Endeavour seems to be pinnacle of it. Once I let it go, I don't see any 7 seater SUV filling its shoes.
• The next best thing, a Fortuner, is a) gone too expensive and b) feels like a downgrade from Endeavour. Hilux and V Cross are good pickups but not suitable for my usage. Same goes for Thar, which is brilliant but not a replacement for the Ford.
• Jeep Rubicon, while one of the best 4WD vehicles to hit our country, is a true-blue 4x4 and I still need a 7 seater at home since the family is grown now. Hence if I get the Jeep, I will still be out in the market for a 7 seater (SUV or MPV). Not to mention, the stories from known people owning a Rubicon, haven't been confidence inspiring.
• My car is 6+ years now and still has 4 years left in NCR. On top of it, its registered outside NCR and hence the DL registration plate pressure isn't on me.

Truth be told, I temporarily developed cold feet about the sale. Anyway, the vehicle is in ship-shape and I am not fore-seeing any major expenses anytime soon. So now I have decided that while the adverts will remain online - I will continue to use my vehicle in the meanwhile. Until a serious buyer turns up, will take the final decision then.

In that theme, last weekend, we were in Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, and joined an event organized by another offroad group called DRC for a friendly OTR and timed-runs in Thar Desert. Awesome fun times, meeting 100s of like-minded people from DRC, Garrari Offroaders and us of course, night camping in desert, good food and awesome 4wheeling. The event was amazingly organized and about 12 people participated in the event from our side.

Not too many photos since we were either driving or navigating...

Camping under starry night, awesome times indeed.


Early morning sunrise at our camp site in the desert.


A quick click I managed to get, realizing the setting sun was making a perfect background.


Below is the final time sheet from the event. Quick commentary below -


Fastest Time on the top is of a Polaris, followed by DBHPian .anshuman in his Thar D AT.

Typically, such events have specific vehicle categories (such as Polaris, Thar as a dedicated category, SUVs under 3000 cc or above 3000 cc, Modified vehicles vis-a-vis stock vehicles so on and so forth). Hence, in such segregation, specific vehicle category times are ranked. Since this was a friendly event, the entire time sheet is put together at one place.

I am on #12, Competition # 07. Special Stage 1, 2, 3 - the time put up was really competitive. I was fastest in SUV category in SS1, and 2nd fastest in SS2 and SS3, a couple of seconds behind a Type 2 Fortuner transplanted with a V8 engine. SS4 had multiple super tight turns for a large SUV like Endeavour (with penalties for overshooting from main track) and I finished as fastest SUV in this stage as well. The V8 Fortuner didn't finish this stage and Thar(s) performed much better here. SS5 had one specific long sandy climb that I couldn't complete within given number of 3 attempts (slightly longer gearing would have helped here) and hence I was DNF (the orange bars in the sheet indicate that). SS6, I simply couldn't participate since I was also playing the role of navigator for rest of the participants from our group.

.anshuman led the Thar category with absolute smashing timings on the stopwatch. Auroshish from our group wasn't too far behind either in his old-gen Thar.

All in all, fun event and it was good to see Lal Ghoda performing at its peak as expected. There might be more pics from the event - Will share once I receive them from the organizers. Hope this makes a good read for now.