SUV Short Forms Decoded | Mahindra Auto

Fri, 01 02 2019
3 Mahindra SUV Interior

This happens to most of us when buying an SUV in India particularly if we are first-time buyers. The sales guy will simply blurt out some extremely interest-inducing and high-tech short forms wrapped up with impressive numbers. For real, though, it is pure gibberish to our ears. I have always been curious about these terms they keep using. What's bhp? And, why do I need to know about it as a buyer?

Well, to silence my inner questioner, I did a little research and found that it would be interesting to share the same with all those like me! Here are SUV short forms that you absolutely must know. As an owner or a would-be owner, you must know what they are and what they mean for your SUV.

2WD:

2WD stands for Two Wheel Drive. This tells us which 2 of the 4 wheels have power and which control the steering. The number of short forms increases with the number of wheel drives.

FWD:

FWD is front wheel drive, the front wheels pull the car and steer it.

RWD:

RWD is rear-wheel drive, the front wheels steer while the rear wheels push the car forward.

4WD:

4WD is four wheel drive where all four wheels have power. It is also called 4x4.

AWD:

AWD is all wheel drive. Here we can switch between 2WD and 4WD.

RPM:

Engine's RPM is Revolutions Per Minute. RPM is the number of times the components in the engine rotate per minute, at what speed the crankshaft is spinning. The tachometer measures RPM in the thousands, so if you see the needle at number 4, that would be 4,000 rpm. RPM with BHP or Nm talks about the power your car has.

BHP:

BHP is Break Horse Power. It is the power obtained at the crankshaft. The unit used is horsepower. So if your car specifications say that max. power is achieved at 120 bhp @ 3750 RPM, it means that your vehicle creates maximum power equivalent to 120 bhp as the shaft is rotating at 3750 rpm.

Nm:

Nm or Newton-meter is used in the measurement of torque. Torque, in short, is the twisting force or the force that produces rotary motion or rotational force. For instance, if max. torque is achieved by your engine at 340 Nm @ 2800 RPM, it means that you get max. torque when the shaft is rotating at 2800 rpm. Higher torque available at lesser RPM allows for better drivability. CC is the volume of total cylinders in cubic centimeters. It is the displacement volume of the engine and not the total volume.

ABS:

ABS stands for Anti-locking Braking System. This safety system keeps the car’s wheels rotating in case of heavy braking. This prevents the driver from losing control of the vehicle because of skidding.

BA:

BA is Brake Assist. A brake assist helps drivers come to a stop more quickly during an episode of emergency braking.

EBD:

EBD is Electronic Brake-force Distribution. It is a brake technology that automatically varies the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle's wheels based on road conditions, speed, loading, and so on. Always coupled with anti-lock braking systems, EBD can apply more or less braking pressure to each wheel in order to maximize stopping power whilst maintaining vehicular control. These are only a few of the many short forms that are related to our SUVs. Let us know what other short forms would you like us to decode!

This Site uses cookies, for more details please refer to Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy. If you agree to our use of cookies, please click / tap on 'I agree'.

 
I Agree