[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by vinu99@gmail.co

I saw the Thar in Mahindra showroom today. It had a shoddy body line which made me feel dents were present above the front wheel arch. Upon a closer look, I could figure that it was the spot welding beneath, exposed as bumps on the body. I could figure similar welding spot bumps elsewhere as well. Sad to see the quality taking a hit here

The left hand side of the Thar's body always had uneven lines, right from the first day. I believe it was discussed in the original Thar thread too. It is clearly visible in dark glossy black color. Looks like someone put a lot of dents down the side of the car. It was said it is due to the old dies being used to press the jeep body.

[arunrajk81]

I feel these are welcome for me except the changes in Bumper. If they could have provided a front facing seats, atleast a few Thar/Jeep enthusiasts, who may not be true offroaders, might have opted Thar as a Primary vehicle. Its fine even if its a four seater instead of six. Many people in city cant even imagine of having a second car due to parking restrictions might have opted in that case. Hard top from Mahindra is also great for these class of people.

Again those are not to true offroad enthusiasts taste, but definitely sales might have improved a bit more

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear all - crash norms will come a little sooner than anticipated, in India. Many vehicles will die. You all may now like to continue your discussion. I have given this information to you only for your information! The smilies below convey everything else!

ENJOY!

.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[johy]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear all - crash norms will come a little sooner than anticipated, in India.

Well put sir. As has been discussed time and again, as there is no other vehicle currently in India that caters to this (niche) market of off-roaders/off-road capable vehicles like the Thar, I would dare say that Mahindra has been complacent in their approach to safety (aren't many other manufacturers that way?) If there was competition from one other manufacturer, hopefully things would have been different. That said, I think as an automobile manufacturer, there should be some effort/stress/focus on safety. Are these (and all companies) run only by bottom lines? How I wish there was a pro-active move made towards providing safety to their customers.

The only other Jeep that would be coming is the Jeep Wrangler itself, and at an expected pricing of around 25 to 30 Lacs, which is going to be 3 times the cost of a Thar, the Mahindra still won't have any competition!

I myself have been on the lookout for the new Thar, but it is yet to arrive here. In fact, when I asked at the local showrooms, they said it was available only on order. Someone ordered one and a half months back and hopefully one specimen should arrive at the end of this month and they said they would permit me to take a look at the Thar then.

Problem is enthusiasts types like us who somehow end up looking for rare hard-to-find cars. Speaking for myself, first the T-Jet and now I am considering buying a Thar for recreational use. It is indeed difficult, especially when you live in smaller towns.

On another note, is it possible to "expedite" the delivery of the Thar, once booked? The local showroom told me they manufacture it a month after the order and then another month for transit!

[renegade004]

All said and done, the face lift probably does bring the Thar into the ambit of more buyers who would not have purchased it earlier, for want of creature comforts. Many, as has been stated in several earlier comments, will now be able to buy and use it every day, instead of having it as a 'second' car used for recreational/off-road driving purposes.

However, for the hardcore jeep lover (part of a small minority as can be judged from the comments in this thread), it is rather heartbreaking to see so much plastic used to 'cover up' a jeep so as to make it look more like a 'car'.

Aren't Mahindra earning enough profit out of the sales of their other products to want to mess with an iconic vehicle like the Thar? Haven't they heard the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

P.S.: One is glad to note that the face lift is limited to the CRDe and the DI has been left untouched.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by johy

I have been on the lookout for the new Thar, but it is yet to arrive here. In fact, when I asked at the local showrooms, they said it was available only on order. Someone ordered one and a half months back and hopefully one specimen should arrive at the end of this month and they said they would permit me to take a look at the Thar then. It is indeed difficult, especially when you live in smaller towns. On another note, is it possible to "expedite" the delivery of the Thar, once booked? The local showroom told me they manufacture it a month after the order and then another month for transit!

Dear Johy - hello to you. See, this is the real-on-the-ground situation, in which you as a CUSTOMER find yourself in. You want to buy the thing by paying good money for it, but you are having the feeling of helplessness. Sad! Maybe, one of the "presentation specialists" can suddenly feel a little patriotic and "do something" (at least talk)! Nowadays, I am sure there must be a dime-a-dozen of "them" floating around "in there", pretending to "work". When (if at all) you do get a call from somebody other than a call center, please ask why "local showrooms" give you the "replies that they do"? I would be "very much interested" (ahem!) to know the "answer", if the guy indeed continues to talk and does not hang up! Again two smilies are called for, this time I'll use the "uncontrolled laughter" smilies, because I just can't control my laughter, hahaha! ENJOY!

.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[VTEC POWER]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear all - crash norms will come a little sooner than anticipated, in India. Many vehicles will die. You all may now like to continue your discussion. I have given this information to you only for your information! The smilies below convey everything else!

ENJOY!

.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Hello Sir,
I love Thar and plan to buy it despite knowing the shortcomings and being absolutely honest in my expectations, just hope the finances fall in place. Sir, when you said and i quote "Many vehicles will die" due to crash norms, does that mean any vehicle not falling into the required category will be stopped from even running on the road like current NGT stopped over 15+ vehicles (damm them for my OHC VTEC will be 15 next year) or will just the production stop for such vehicles? Does Thar falls into this category which will/might be impacted.

Thanks!

VTECPOWER!

[barcode]

Most important question for me...

Is it possible to bolt on the new dash into the outgoing Thar? I just want it. Cannot look at the old dash any more.

[BlackPearl]

I had a chance to drive the new Thar last week. Overall it is a much improved vehicle. The seats are better, the pedals have been moved to the left by about an inch, indicators for 4WD High and Low, better sound insulation, better quality wiper and light stalks, lockable glove box, and then MLD!! Even the ride quality seemed to have improved, but not too sure about this as I could not find any difference between my Thar and the new one on the suspension front. Maybe the tyres were under inflated. The new side steps are good looking as well. The only quirk that I found was the placement of the handbrake lever. I kept hitting it while changing gears and no, I was not driving with the handbrake pulled

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by VTEC POWER

1. When you said "Many vehicles will die" due to crash norms, does that mean any vehicle not falling into the required category will be stopped from even running on the road? 2. Does Thar fall into this category which will / might be impacted?

Dear VTEC POWER - 1. When BS4 got introduced, did BS1 and BS2 vehicles go off the road? No! You can't register, so nobody will produce and nobody will buy. 2. Yes, unless they pull a rabbit out of the hat, which is highly unlikely otherwise they would have done the front end by now! .

By the way, I am seriously thinking of getting myself a pristine OHC VTEC or buying one and making it pristine. Can you guide me?

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[tomraven99]

Originally Posted by barcode

Most important question for me...

Is it possible to bolt on the new dash into the outgoing Thar? I just want it. Cannot look at the old dash any more.

I guess it would be too expensive as the wiring,connectors may have to be replaced.

[barcode]

Originally Posted by tomraven99

I guess it would be too expensive as the wiring,connectors may have to be replaced.

Thanks Tom. What would you rate as expensive? Since the "electronics" lol are fairly rudimentary, I didn't think it would have been. Any thoughts?

The dashboard for the outgoing Thar is for Rs.10k. Even 2x for the incoming version means 20k.

Front wiring harness and wires kit for modern cars are in the 20k range.

Labour, nuts, steering etc for another 10-15k.

Okay, I got to stop! I just reached my 50k budget.

[VTEC POWER]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear VTEC POWER - 1. When BS4 got introduced, did BS1 and BS2 vehicles go off the road? No! You can't register, so nobody will produce and nobody will buy. 2. Yes, unless they pull a rabbit out of the hat, which is highly unlikely otherwise they would have done the front end by now! .

By the way, I am seriously thinking of getting myself a pristine OHC VTEC or buying one and making it pristine. Can you guide me?

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Hello Sir,
Thank you! I knew I was being silly asking that question but one could never imagine what lawmakers (read silly) could do. I bought my VTEC 3 years ago and not having to know in my wildest dreams that some day due to some silly rule I would be stopped from using it. Here in Delhi they have stopped registering over 15+ vehicles, so I am left with no option but to transfer her to Lucknow hoping they don't kill it there too.
The newest VTEC today will still be 13 years old, and they are a rare sight in running condition leave alone pristine. I see a few lying around unused for a long time, though you can find 1.3/1.5 very often. I see you are based out of Mumbai/Pune, experts from that region can be of more assistance to you sir. Seems like you have been bitten by the VTEC bug too!!

Thanks!

VTECPOWER

[Living2Drive]

Fellow Bhipians, my friends 4 year old Thar started developing rust on wind shield corners and doors, the service guys have refused to consider it as quality issue. Just wanted to know has any one had similar issue.

[johy]

I have a few observations and a few questions with regards to the Thar, the 2015 face-lift and would be glad to have them answered.

1) Is there any improvement in the braking compared to the earlier model? If not, what is the best and easily available upgrade which can be done?

2) I have read on the old Thar thread that for buyers who will eventually go with a hard top + front facing rear seats, it is better to zero in and decide on the hardtop at the outset. I am assuming the seat belts have to be aligned with the hard top.

3) How heavy (in kgs) are these hardtops and do they change the driving dynamics of the Thar?

4) Even for "removable" hard-tops, are they easily removed in say 20-30 minutes? Is the Mahindra hard-top removable?

5) For a soft top, the South Africa type roll bar, is there a specific design? Or a specific accessory from Mahindra add-on? Or does it have to be fabricated from scratch at the local garage?

6) For people not located near to the Nasik factory (for the Mahindra customized hardtop) and who have little access to hard tops like the Hyderabad or Bimbra one, maybe the boxy one from Mahindra is the best bet at purchase (it would save a lot of time to send the Thar to the workshop and back). How much would it cost? Even though it looks boxy, it would go well with a Black Thar.



Picture source: Team-bhp.

7) For non-folding rear front-facing seats (not the Innova 3rd row seats), which seats are the best option for the rear? From the Honda City? Xylo? or Scorpio?

8) Are arm rests available for both front seats?

9) The new Thar again seems to ride a bit better. Could be the wider size. So does it need any suspension upgrade (not going to off-road, only rough road).

10) Tyre change? Again, if not off-roading, but rough roads, is it really needed? Then again, which tyre would help with the ride quality?

Thanks in advance.