EV Magazine May 2024 | Page 125

MOBILITY

MOBILITY

Off-road driving , or four-wheeling depending on who you ride with , sees drivers take on unpaved terrain in their vehicle , navigating muddy patches , rocky deserts , sandy beaches and deep water crossings .

Off-road driving takes place far away from modern essentials and comforts – on such a drive , you won ’ t see paved roads . There might not even be much of civilization or a connectivity service , which is a part of the thrill for off-road drivers .
There are popular off-road driving zones in the Australian outback , Moab National
Park in Utah , USA and Dubai , to name a few . Off-planet , there are currently six remotecontrolled off-road vehicles driving around on the surface of Mars ( 225 million km from its nearest road ) and several similar vehicles have been used by astronauts to explore the Moon – and it can ’ t get more off-road than that .
In order to manage the sometimes perilous landscape , off-road vehicles like trucks and SUVs are equipped with four-wheel drive and specialised tires . Other pieces of equipment can be added , such as lift kits and skid plates . Due to the remoteness of such driving , vehicles are also stocked with
NASA ' s Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars in 2023
CREDIT : NASA
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