Mahindra Thar : Test Drive & Review

[star_aqua]

Originally Posted by manasm

The dealer had no idea about warranty for self fitting AC and Hardtop - the roll cage will cost 18,000 including installation.

Regards,
Manas

I just received a call from my friend asking whether the THAR DI comes with a full time 4wd. he was told by the dealer that THAR MDI is a full time 4wd and THAR Crde is a part time 4wd.
Because of the auto locking hub in crde, the sales guy thinks MDI is full time 4wd and confusing the customers.
manufacturer, dealer and consumer, all are confused with this vehicle. Nobody knows what is this vehicle for.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

So true again, just like the silent Indian consumer getting taken for a ride, time and again by manufacturers. What will the vocal minority do in this country? lo

Very true in this case. the seller knows that the buyer has no other choice.

[Ym-enjn]

Jaipur Thar Bumper back on track..



The tyre is still stepney. I am Surprised how quickly the bumper is back. DB Spike my question- is it detachable?? This photo was up on facebook by 5 in evening. It seems easy to repair..

The owner is very satisfied with the performance and is going in for K & N filter, HELLA / LIGHT FORCE Lights & WARN Winch.. He has removed the plastic fender parts..

The one near Thar is a petrol MM 550.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Yogesh - thank you. I feel sad for the owner.

Dear all - an accident is like a game of chess. The result is always unpredictable. Therefore, you can understand the great detail in which we work to ensure "crashworthiness" of a vehicle. Can't say more.

By the way - NO ISSUE WITH IFS. HERE'S MY SMILEY! .

Spike and I are going to be in Chandigarh from tomorrow afternoon to day after tomorrow afternoon. Chandigarh TeamBHPians, please contact. It is our pleasure to meet you.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

The IFS was no problem at all, during all the session.. Even the larger 245 R 16 tyres were not brushing with such hard abuse.

I must compliment u have made a great machine.. Sorry I missed your guys and Spike in Jaipur,was on my trip to Daman and Silvassa..

[rajamuneeb]

http://http://www.jeep.com/en/2010/w...exterior/tops/. Is this kind of top possible for the Thar and what would be an estimated cost?

[starter]

OK Friends, Here is my take on Thar, being a Gypsy owner.

Like i've mentioned in my ownership thread already, i did try a lot to buy a new 550 from showroom and din't get anything but dirty stares from the mahindra showrooms. Finally decided to buy myself a Major and the doorless jeep idea just din't click at home. In the end, wrote to Behram asking him about Thar and all he suggested to me was to wait (This was in March 2009, close to 2 years now). I ended up buying a Gypsy because i din't want to wait and end up with a hatch.

Now, coming to the Thar, from a price point of view. Personally, i consider Thar to be a serious bang on every buck. Compare it to any car in the market today, you would immediately realize that its serious value for money. I've compared it to an i20 CRDI, E4 Xylo, Storm, Gypsy (Gypsy, it comes with some silver panels somewhere in the inside, i guess.. I dunno how else can anybody explain the price of it. When you look at the super cheap prices of its spares, this becomes all the more complicated) and in every case, Thar wins! If you are not into serious offroading, this car is really a go anywhere do anything vehicle! Looks great, drives great, priced great, good efficiency, what more could one need. You can do all your nature trails, jungle trails, safaris, birding, camping, leh/sikkim trips, smoke dash at traffic signals, mile munching on highways et.al..

Now, coming to the Thar, from interiors point of view. Again, talking from personal experience. Owning a Jeep/Gypsy (Thar is still a Jeep) isn't like a car. So, until you own one and experience, you wouldn't really understand the problems.

Starting with the poor dash: An open/soft top jeep would let so much dust inside it even after having the windows rolled up, that they turn brown after one mud-road drive. I wouldn't get them cleaned with a dashboard cleaning solution after every drive. If the dashboard is replacable easily and cheap, i am ok with it. So, learn to live with it as long as they are functional and cheap to replace.
As an example: the front bumper of a Gypsy costs 1200Rs and mind you, it is a metal bumper. If it is 1200 Rs, i wouldn't mind a few dents on it when OTRing. After an year or so, as part of the upkeep expenses, i could get its bumper replaced with new.

Coming to the hardtop: This is a serious gap. Imagine taking Thar to a trip where your main idea is to hike. You have to literally empty the car before goin anywhere. Mid-way on road, if you even want to take a leak, you always have to leave one person in the car to look after it. This is simply not practical and hence has to be a prio 1 thing for a life style vehicle and can also be acheived quite easily (relatively).

The next most important thing missing is the AC. With this, many other things start coming in. How easy is it to make the current Thar with a hard-top heat-insulated and dust-insulated (to maximum extent possible). Why i come here is for the follwing reason. My gypsy, being a factory-fit hard-top already, lets water inside the cabin during rains (yes, i've already sealed my air vents in the front but still..). With the current winshield (roll-up points, foldable joints..), from the doors, at the b-pillar joins, can Thar be sealed from water leaking in? If yes, great. If not, please do take care of this.

Everything else which are relatively simple, i would learn to live with or fix it myself.

Finally, if i had to choose the Thar, would i? 100% Yes* with the hard-top and an AC. I would've taken my family out to enjoy nature in car-like comfort, at car-like speeds and on jeep-like trails. But, i would not have been into trails where i know that my front-end could get damaged. Let me clarify here: There is no shame for me to say that i would not do such a trail. I don't like breaking expensive things in the car just for the heck of completing a trail.

@BD Sir's team: Please try to make it dust-insulated, water-sealed HT + AC and stuff, if not, a lot of life-styler/non-offroad customers would be very unhappy with the vehicle.
On the other hand, had you left this car with a solid axle**, the offroad crowd would've jumped on it and would've never complained about leaks or squeaks

Sincerely wishing Thar a big success.
Cheers and applause to BD & Spikey & rest of the team,
Deepak

*- I would've still bought a Gypsy purely for OTRs and for those remote Leh escapades.
**- Had this happened, you could forget about *

[SafeDrive]

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

I am Surprised how quickly the bumper is back. DB Spike my question- is it detachable??

That looks like the old bumper itself, so it should be designed to fall off during accidents. Any idea how much it cost to get it back on?

Originally Posted by starter

@BD Sir's team: Please try to make it dust-insulated, water-sealed HT + AC and stuff, if not, a lot of life-styler/non-offroad customers would be very unhappy with the vehicle.
On the other hand, had you left this car with a solid axle**, the offroad crowd would've jumped on it and would've never complained about leaks or squeaks

Considering tha there would be a handful of hardcore offroaders to possibly thousands of life-style entusiasts, I guess you know which way Mahindra will go

[DKG]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Considering tha there would be a handful of hardcore offroaders to possibly thousands of life-style entusiasts, I guess you know which way Mahindra will go

I wouldn't be surprised if the Thar becomes a regular face at "hardcore offroad" events too !

[eagle888]

Originally Posted by starter

OK Friends, Here is my take on Thar, being a Gypsy owner.

@starter, I totally agree with what you have to say about the THAR.
I have had the privilage of owning one and I am extremely happy. AC is no big deal for me, small issues about interior are no issue at all. I was pushed towards a hardtop, which I am very happy with, very well made. For me the THAR is a fun vehicle, very powerful and has incredible oof-road abilities when driven properly. Soft-top is the way to go. Good weather = GO TOPLESS BABY

I say, "Thank you MAHINDRA for a wonderful Vehicle, it is sincerely appreciated"

By the way, I have heard of a lady helicopter pilot here is my country who bought a THAR at first sight, she fell in love with it!! ...
Must also say, after reading all the posts about the THAR....THE POSITIVES FOR THE THAR far outweigh the negatives. THAR 4X4 = BEST BUY

[navpreet318]

this is a very impressive hardtop.

Question for Mahindra Reps:can this be done in india?is this in india?

YouTube - JEEP THAR-MAHINDRA

Also please check this:

http://mahindra.panda.hr/index.php?o...d=44&Itemid=98

is this available in india.can this be made available in india?

[eagle888]

Originally Posted by rajamuneeb

http://http://www.jeep.com/en/2010/w...exterior/tops/. Is this kind of top possible for the Thar and what would be an estimated cost?

Hi

Your Hyperlink just needed the 1st http:// removed

Wow that is a nice soft top

I am sure Mahindra have something as good

Does anyone have a pic or two

of the latest soft-top developed for the THAR?

Jeep - 2010 Jeep Wrangler - Exterior - Tops

[kr.vikram]

Dear Sultan,

Many thankS for an incredible and more importantly a complete review of the Mahindra Thar.I personally feel that the THAR Adventure(price unknown ) seems a more attractive package (as far as the looks go...)
But if Mahindra can improve the interiors ,provide better lookin alloys and can offer fog lamps/Rally lamps as standard fitment on the THAR crde model than it would really make the THAR worth a buy and give the vehicle the drool qoutient that it lacks right now.
I personally own a Red MAHINDRA CJ 340 SPORTS JEEP 4X4(1993 model) . and believe me ,even now it is still a head turner and looks better than the THAR.Will post the pictures of my red Beauty very soon.
But thanks again for the review and would request you to post the review for the THAR DI 4x4 version as well.
Regards,
Kr.Vikram Shekhawat

[eagle888]

See the faceook group 'THAR 4X4' for lost of pics and videos of the THAR in action in South Africa



Welcome to Facebook

[svsantosh]

The FAQ's from the bangy showroom does not cover the FFRA and 57/53 and OKBJ

Seriously, that excel sheet is 'oh-so-similar and compiled' from the last 5 thar threads and 1000 posts on Tbhp...!!

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by manasm

Just got this attachment in a mail from a dealership in Bangalore.

Interesting take on the Thar from a marketing viewpoint!

Has a FAQ, a Thar vs Gypsy and Thar vs MM550/CJ3B comparo as well as Thar spec sheet...and the pricelist calls it a "Bolero Thar" - could that be because of the shared dash?

Can anyone confirm the colors available in the CRDE - no silver mentioned - instead it says Arctic White

DB Sir, Spike & Vinod,

The new marketing effort shows the Heat is ON.

Nice comparisons. I guess the Marketing Dept. has hit an all time low.

Since the Thar is an international model, why don't you get some other vehicles into the comparison list.

But why are you guys showing the Pics of the Solid Axle Thar, with photoshopped Wheels & Winch Bumper, etc, etc?

Please note the following correction.

The CJ3B/MM540 - KMT90 4+1 gears.

Engines 38-76BHP

Gypsy T-Case you guys forgot is DIVORCED (constant mesh).

Regards,

Arka

PS - The Solid Axle Thar pics look like they have been copied from Team BHP.

[SafeDrive]

Originally Posted by ex670c

The new marketing effort shows the Heat is ON.

I don't think the Excel is a Mahindra thing - looks more like something done at the Dealer end. I'm sure Mahindra has the resources to come up with something much better and jazzier. But if this is from Mahindra, then they really need to have a second look at their MBAs in their marketing department.

[2theMax]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Ah. Marketing!

Btw, Why don't you and the other guy drop in to Chennai for some promotion?

+1 from a prospect. Maybe a TD @ Palar ?

I have reserved my comments till I TD one.Cheers.