Driving the JSW Tomcar and EX4: Dirt Devils

Picture the scene: you’re a commando who’s just parachuted behind enemy lines. Along with you and your team are a bunch of military off-roaders. It’s been a tough jump. High winds, terrain, difficult odds. While the men all make it intact, the machines break up and are destroyed. The team has to salvage what it can, reassemble a couple of off-roaders from the parts of the half dozen parachuted out. What’s clear is that special forces and the military need a tougher, more capable off-roader, one engineered with today’s tech and requirements in mind.

From the school of hard knocks

This then is the Tomcar: a military off-roader explicitly designed for commando operations. Designed to survive a parachute drop without requiring a rebuild or a massive parachute, heavy rigging and cushioning equipment, it sets an all-new benchmark. The Tomcar is built to take hard knocks, and that’s because the structure is fundamentally different.

This is evident even when you take a quick glance at the Tomcar TX. It looks like nothing you’ve seen before. Stubby nose, tiny headlights, no doors and a heavy-set rear. What’s for certain is that every small bit is purpose-built and functional, and the only decorative bit seems to be the badge at the rear.

No form, all function

Let’s start with what you can’t see: the monocoque frame. Unlike other off-roaders that use bolted frames, the Tomcar has a one-piece, fully welded frame and integrated roll cage. Designed specifically and tested to absorb and dissipate the extreme G-forces of an air drop (without bending or shearing), it forms the centrepiece of the design. Perfectly in sync with the concept of a very durable, over-engineered vehicle that can be air-dropped or dragged out of aerial transport at low speed. What’s even more impressive is that it can easily be repaired in the field with basic hand tools.

Next up, the all-independent suspension, which has massive travel and long suspension arms. The heavy-duty suspension offers up to 14 inches of travel and 17 inches (430mm) of ground clearance. This setup uses massive coil springs, not dissimilar to Baja racers, and motorsport-like damper systems with remote reservoirs. This enables it both to take hard knocks and remain stable at speed. This is so that the Tomcar can cruise effortlessly across undulating terrain at speed and provide a stable platform.

Special powers

I walk around the rear and take a good look as the next piece of the puzzle falls in place. There are vents at the rear, and that means that’s where the engine sits. Done to maximise traction, like VW-based Baja buggies, the Tomcar has its 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine mounted low in the rear. The Chevy engine makes 175hp and 275Nm torque.

The TX uses a CVT gearbox for easy use and good torque manipulation. This is placed at the rear with the engine and sends power forward to two transfer cases that are sandwiched together. The first transfer case allows you to shift from rear-wheel drive to four-wheel drive instantly with a mere push of a lever. Bang! The second gives you low range, and along with that, regular gearbox directional functionality – Drive, Neutral and Reverse. There is no Park, only an E-parking brake. These differentials have another unique tech – they are both air-locking and are engineered so that the Tomcar has a completely flat belly – nothing hangs down so it can slide over terrain without the belly fouling. Even more interesting is how power gets transferred to the rear wheels; it’s done through a pair of double chain-drive systems, encased in the hardened steel swing arms!

In addition, the Tomcar has been made for easy serviceability in the field. Components often have a backup, and the vehicle can even function with a high degree of redundancy. There are, for example, two end-to-end fuel systems and twin radiators, and then bits like the suspension have load paths designed specifically to break at specific points where parts are easy to replace. What’s also impressive is that this 1.3-tonne vehicle can carry or pull more than a tonne.

Floats like a butterfly

With this kind of unique specification, it’s little wonder that this vehicle feels unique to drive. For a start, with no doors, you just slide in behind the wheel. Start up is pretty straightforward, and you can sort of tell this vehicle will be comfortable to operate even with heavy gloves.

Initially, the sound of the quad drive chains at the rear dominates. A gnashing, chainsaw-like ripping sound, it combines with the whine of the CVT to give the Tomcar a unique sound signature. And from slow speeds, especially in sand, the CVT does require a buildup of revs before it pulls forward happily.

Once you build a bit of momentum, however, progress over the sand feels effortless. You can just float over big ruts and carry on without too much deflection of the wheel. A lot of this is because it has the weight of the engine pushing down over the rear-driven wheels, and the stiff chassis and soft, long-travel suspension deal beautifully with the soft undulating surface. While most 4x4s feel heavy when driving through sandy river beds like the one we are on, and tend to bog down and struggle when you slow to a crawl, the Tomcar feels right at home. It’s even relatively easy to steer and place it alongside another vehicle on the narrower sections of this riverbed. Sure, the turning radius isn’t great, and it pays to be ham-fisted with the steering, but what surprises me is just how much speed I can carry without it getting uncomfortable.

 What’s also very impressive is its ability to do some serious off-roading. Running along the steep sides of the ravine, you can feel the low centre of gravity, which feels like it sits somewhere below the level of the driver’s seat. And then we climb an extremely steep hill, the Tomcar ‘walking’ up the step-like undulations of the trail with superb rear traction. Only the engine and CVT system seem to strain with the load of the uphill climb.

Also super impressive is the ride. The stiff chassis, long-travel suspension and motorsport damper system mean you can carry speed over sections you normally only have to crawl over. You look at a broken trail and drive over, fully expecting to be tossed around, but the Tomcar stays flat, so you add more speed. And this goes on for a bit until eventually stopping distances rein you in. Want to carry speed over rough terrain? This thing operates in another dimension.

Making India's extreme off-roaders

One of Jaskirat Singh Nagra’s first off-road excursions landed him, and his family car, in a ditch. Things, however, have looked up since then. Not only has his company Sarbloh Motors made several winning contenders for events like the Rain Forest Challenge and Orange Festival in Arunachal, it, along with JSW Defence, also makes the Sherp and Tomcar in India. Up next, the company’s own EX4. And with 140 Sherps already produced and a line already setup for tactical ATVs, you can expect many more extreme off-roaders to be built by this company.

The EX4: Engineered, designed and made in India

While the Tomcar is a tactical ATV meant to function as the tip of the sword, the EX4 is a home-grown scout vehicle built to take on difficult terrain and tough off-road conditions. Based on an extreme off-roader, this is a more conventional vehicle that has its engine up front and extremely short front and rear overhangs. Power comes via the same 175hp 1.5-litre turbo-petrol, and then this one even gets the option of a 2.0 diesel that makes 167hp. The latter is sourced from Fiat/Jeep or Stellantis. The chassis is a tubular space frame, and from the dimensions, you can sort of tell that this thing evolved from a Rain Forest Challenge buggy. 

A large A-arm suspension up front and an elongated rear trailing arm help it clamber over most obstacles, and like the Tomcar, it uses canister-fed, motorsport-based dampers that can be adjusted over a wide range. Now, despite the engine being in front, the nose is pretty compact, and interestingly, the anti-roll bar can be seen running around the front of the grille! Of course, the tyres form the extremities of the car; it gets rubber or plastic fenders around the side, and check this out, you can raise the windscreen so you can stick a weapon out and defend yourself if you are in the front seat. 

Unlike the Tomcar, this one also has mini doors, look behind the A-pillar on the left and you see the snorkel (neatly hidden away), and walk around to the rear and you get a sense of just how compact this car is. It’s so tight, even the spare sticks out the back. Also interesting are the large brackets on the roof, in case you want to air-lift this vehicle or hoist it onto a ship.

Once behind the wheel, the EX4 feels more ‘direct,’ the manual gearbox making it feel much more sprightly. And then once you find traction in the sand, it takes off and accelerates better too. If anything, this one clearly has more zip, and it feels lighter on its feet too. The ride on this early prototype, however, isn’t anywhere as stable, and the faster you go, the more it bobs and gets tossed around. What’s also clear as you up the speed is that directional stability isn’t as good. That said, it is more willing to turn and take tighter corners. What you also hear while driving the EX4 is the intake, placed not too far from your ear, and that’s especially when you work the throttle and ask for more air. Where it shines is in extreme off-road conditions. Steep climbs with low traction, drops that could give you nose bleed, these are taken in its stride, the low range and superior traction not even needing the intervention of the locking differential for the most part. The EX4 is available from Rs 40 lakh.

Bespoke by design

Blessed with the functional focus of a moon buggy, the ability to drive over terrain at speed that would have a regular 4x4-based military off-roader bouncing all over the place, the Tomcar is a purpose-built weapon system engineered by the end user. Designed to push the envelope in specific areas and deliver speed and dependability over rough terrain, it possesses a unique set of characteristics that are sure to give our special forces and advanced tactical units a unique advantage. And the cherry on top is that it is made right here in India by JSW Tomcar (part of JSW Defence).