Under the revised norm ground clearance will be measured with the vehicle loaded to its maximum capacity
ARAI has revised the ground clearance measurement norms in the country. Currently, ground clearance is measured with the vehicle at its unladen or kerb weight. But, under the revised norm, ground clearance will be measured with the vehicle loaded to its maximum capacity. No wonder, with this the vehicles will state lesser ground clearance.
Ground clearance is one of the very basic and very important dimensions of a vehicle. It ensures the distance between ground and the lowermost part of the vehicle. The higher the ground clearance is, the vehicle is considered to tackle the rough roads easily. With the vehicle loaded to its maximum capacity, the suspension gets compressed and the ground clearance automatically reduces.
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Under the new revised norm for measuring the dimension, we expect the vehicles to come with the real ground clearance as they will be tested with their maximum loading capacity before stating the measurement. For instance, the Toyota Fortuner SUV had a ground clearance of 225 mm under the previous norm and now it offers 184 mm, therefore 41 mm of height has been reduced.
The SUVs are generally known for coming with higher ground clearance to be capable of running on rough uneven terrains easily. Volkswagen Tiguan, the premium SUV offers a ground clearance of 189 mm globally. But in India, under the new measuring norm it has a ground clearance of 149 mm. Fiat’s Avventura has a revised ground clearance of 156 mm compared to the previous 205 mm.
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So far, the ground clearance generally reduces by around 20%-30% with fully loaded compared to their unladen state. As ARAI has directed the automakers to state the ground clearance under the new revised norm, several auto manufacturers have already updated the revised ground clearance. However, some of the brands are still showing the old measurement.