Do you need AWD for a Western Ghats or Konkan monsoon drive?

Short answer: no, not for a normal Western Ghats or Konkan monsoon drive on tarmac. AWD earns its keep on muddy diversions, flooded dips and loose shoulders, not on the wet but sealed hairpins of NH48, the Shiradi Ghat or the Bengaluru to Mangaluru stretch. If your route stays on the highway and the paved ghat sections, a front wheel drive or rear wheel drive car with good tyres and working ESC will get you through. AWD becomes worth paying for only if your trip regularly leaves tarmac.

What AWD actually costs now

AWD has quietly become a premium item in Indian SUVs. The 2026 Renault Duster, the car that made affordable AWD a Western Ghats road trip favourite, dropped the option entirely in India. Autocar India's review of the new Duster notes that the omission was "among the most decried" changes, and quotes the reasoning that "AWD variants account for a minuscule portion of midsize SUV sales, as most buyers don't really venture off-road." The old Duster AWD, which many Team-BHP members drove to Ladakh and the Ghats for a decade, is no longer sold new.

What remains costs more. Mahindra's own price list for the XUV 7XO shows the AX7T diesel automatic seven seater with AWD at ₹23.99 lakh ex-showroom, against ₹23.09 lakh for the identical AX7T diesel automatic in 4x2. That is a premium of ₹90,000 for the same engine and trim, with only the drivetrain changed.

Maruti's Grand Vitara shows the same pattern lower down the price list. The Alpha AT, a 4x2 petrol hybrid automatic, is priced at ₹16.70 lakh. The Alpha ALLGRIP AT, Maruti's AWD system, costs ₹18.05 lakh and uses the same torque converter automatic gearbox, so the ₹1.35 lakh difference buys only the four driven wheels, not a different transmission.

Mahindra's Thar Roxx is the one exception worth knowing about. Its diesel is sold in both 4x2 and 4x4 across several trims, from the MX5 up to the AX7L, according to Autocar India's variant breakdown, so a Thar Roxx buyer picks 4x4 within a familiar trim rather than hunting for a separate flagship.

What a Konkan convoy actually found

The clearest first-hand account on this comes from a Team-BHP member who ran three Mahindra XUV700 AWD cars and fourteen people through the Konkan on a four day monsoon trip, covering Belgavi, Kolhapur, Anuskura Ghat, Ratnagiri, Kunkeshwar, Sawantwadi, Amboli and Tilari. On the broken, pothole heavy stretch through Anuskura Ghat, the report describes the AWD sending torque to all four wheels so the cars moved through sections that would have had a 4x2 car hunting for grip. That is the honest case for AWD on this beat. Not the sealed ghat tarmac itself, but the patchy, washed out shoulders and diversions that monsoon rain creates on real Konkan backroads.

The trade off, plainly

If your Ghats and coast trip sticks to NH66, the main ghat climbs and paved district roads, AWD is a comfort, not a requirement. Good monsoon tyres, working ABS and ESC, and a driver who respects wet tarmac will cover most of what AWD offers on sealed roads. If your plan includes muddy forest roads, river crossings or backroads that locals warn you about after rain, the ₹90,000 to ₹1.35 lakh premium these cars charge for AWD buys real security, as the Konkan convoy's own ghat sections showed. Spend the money on tyres if you are staying on tar. Spend it on AWD if you are not.

Sources

• 3 areas where the 2026 Renault Duster could have done better
• 4-day monsoon road trip: 3 Mahindra XUV700 AWD variants and 14 people!
• Mahindra XUV 7XO Launched: Price, Variants, Features & Booking Details
• Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Price 2026
• Mahindra Thar Roxx Variants (2026)