Mahindra Thar : Test Drive & Review

[Sudarshan]

Originally Posted by eagle888

It needs to be said...Mahindra offer great aftersales service. Here in South Africa we have a 24 / 7 Mahindra road assist helpline. Never had to use it in 10 months, but nice to know it is there. The servicing on my THAR 4x4 has been perfect.

Lucky , better not talk about the MM dealers here ( Indian )

Half of them are not willing/interested to sell , many are not interested in touching old vehicles for service .

IMHO dealerships are with few rich/connected people who actually are in no need of business,( it appears so ) so they behave in a very strange way.

Sudarshan

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by Sudarshan

Lucky , better not talk about the MM dealers here ( Indian )

Half of them are not willing/interested to sell , many are not interested in touching old vehicles for service .

IMHO dealerships are with few rich/connected people who actually are in no need of business,( it appears so ) so they behave in a very strange way.

Sudarshan

Sudarshan,
+ 1 million to that. Very well said, especially the rich/connected part. I guess as per eagle888's endorsement, we should import sales guys from South Africa to ensure Thar sells the expected numbers.
You will find it hard to believe the nonchalant attitude of the dealer here in Hyderabad.
Regards,

[navpreet318]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

The THAR ADventure version has already been launched. The procedure is to buy the THAR and then send it to Mahindra Customisation in Mumbai along with the DD for fabrication.

The fabrication will cost about 2.6 L + Taxes!

Cheers

The exact cost is 2.75 lakhs which does NOT include alloys or tires or that winch.

if you add the hard top and AC it exceeds 5 lakhs.

I love the thar adventure but the costs are really very high.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

The exact cost is 2.75 lakhs which does NOT include alloys or tires or that winch.

if you add the hard top and AC it exceeds 5 lakhs.

I love the thar adventure but the costs are really very high.

Which makes the Thar Adventure more expensive than even the full loaded and customized Tata Xenon (with the full cover rear load bay and crome front and rear guards.).

Though as an offroader the Adventure would do much better than the Xenon, I do think as a lifestyle vehicle the Xenon is a much better and more comfortable option than the Thar adventure especially if they are in the same price band as in the case of the adventure.

The customization pricing is way too high.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

The exact cost is 2.75 lakhs which does NOT include alloys or tires or that winch.

if you add the hard top and AC it exceeds 5 lakhs.

I love the thar adventure but the costs are really very high.

Originally Posted by ACM

...
The customization pricing is way too high.

With these kind of pricing it looks like M&M has no interest in customization at all. They may be hoping that nobody approaches them after looking at the cost of customization. I hope they are not subcontracting the vehicles to DC and company.

[speedy]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

You will find it hard to believe the nonchalant attitude of the dealer here in Hyderabad.

In Bombay too. I still have not recieved a Booking no from the dealer here and after 10 calls the sales person comes once on the phone and has one standard reply. Mahindra has still not opened the Booking thing on computer so they have sent the booking via email. I had booked the day the Thar was launched. They have also postponed the Delivery by two weeks without prior intimidation. I was to get the car on the 25th and now they say second week of Feb. They also keep insisting on me taking the Red Thar that they have in the showroom and say they can give me the car in 2 days. I had planned to take the car for the 26th OTR that we were having and now that seems bleek. I informed the guy who is seeing my sales that i shall wait till the 30TH or then i am canceling my purchase. I did not have to wait this long for my other car that i had imported.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Dear Spikeji and BD sir,

Why have neither of you commented on this sound?:

YouTube - Thar Squeaking Noise.mov

I'm pretty sure you guys must have examined it in the vehicle itself. What was the cause?

[shankar.balan]

take a good look at the customization on offer
I do believe that it is mostly cosmetic and less functional

same story with the much vaunted Bolero Stinger and so on
I think the customization dept helps poseurs to get a machine that looks mean and so on but whose looks belie the capability because the functional aspects appear to be largely ignored/ de-prioritized.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

The THAR ADventure version has already been launched. The procedure is to buy the THAR and then send it to Mahindra Customisation in Mumbai along with the DD for fabrication.

The fabrication will cost about 2.6 L + Taxes!

Cheers

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

I'm pretty sure you guys must have examined it in the vehicle itself. What was the cause?

+1 to that. Is it something as bad as broken bearings, or something as simple as a silencer assy. bolt scraping against the propshaft?

[roy_libran]

A bit OT, but came across this FUNNY on Zigwheels:

Excerpt: "If you just like the way it looks and want to add some might to your garage without ever taking the Thar off-road, Mahindra also offers the car in two-wheel-drive configuration with the 3.0 DI engine for Rs 4.77 lakh ex-showroom. But that would just be poser value in the end – after all, the Thar is meant to be taken off-road. That’s where it truly belongs."
Link: Mahindra Thar : Roadtest Page - 2 Zigwheels
Have a nice laugh boyz. :-)

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

Im sorry, Mahindra spending money on marketing and brand buliding is wrong but Volkswagen spending a hundred crores on its TOI marketing campaign is OK??

Im sorry, but you guys should get YOUR priorities straight.

My point of view as a probable owner :

Spend as much money as you like on marketing, that is your prerogative. But then do not complain that there was not much budget for development.

Marketing will get you so far and no further, the product has to be a VFM for people to want it, and spend money on it. If more budget had gone to the development, then a lot of small (and in my opinion silly) shortcomings would not have been there.

After all does it take rocket science to have a rust proof body, or to have more pleasing plastics? If you are positioning Thar as a Life Style Product, please spend some money on market research to find what "life style" product is desired by your target audience. As every one in this review laments, an option for hard top, AC and lockable compartment is missing. If you can provide that in your other vehicles why not here?

The product seems to be ideal for pure Offroaders and Armed Forces, but deficient for the "Life Style" users, who want to off road, but do not want sweat it out reaching there. Time was when a Jeep on an estate could be bare bones and all would accept it. Today we have advanced a lot in terms of vehicle capabilities, been exposed to a lot of luxuries and refinements. What was luxury in past (basic vehicle, AC, power stearing, ABS etc) is deemed a necessity, so stop living in WW-II era and cater to 21st Century!

With the country getting younger each day, there is a lot of disposable income with youth. Now is the time to cash in the idea of the Great Outdoor Adventure, with a rugged, but refined product. From what I read in this post, you have nothing to loose but the dismal reception to Thar if you deliver a true "Life Style Product"

[howler]

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

Im sorry, Mahindra spending money on marketing and brand buliding is wrong but Volkswagen spending a hundred crores on its TOI marketing campaign is OK??

Im sorry, but you guys should get YOUR priorities straight.

how about M&M getting their priorities right for a start.

[eagle888]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Dear Spikeji and BD sir,

Why have neither of you commented on this sound?:

I'm pretty sure you guys must have examined it in the vehicle itself. What was the cause?

I have heard that sound, but nowhere as loud! It seems to come only whilst 4x4 low range is engaged. It concerned my 10 000km ago, but now it has gone. Maybe a new vehicle thing?...coming from the front wheels for sure.

Just some info for future design. Someone else has also mentioned it in these pages, but I would like to confirm it. It concerns the area for your left foot (RH drive vehicle). Once you take your foot off the clutch there is, need for more space so that your leg and foot can rest comfortably. I have found a spot for my foot, resting it up just behind the low/high range gear lever, but that might not be good for other people. I am also going to add those pedal "wideners". I have a slightly strange left leg after spine opps, so a larger surface area on the pedals will assist. Small issue, that an be improved going forward. My friends and family have driven my Thar, and now it seems there will be a TEAM OF THAR's buzzing around this town of ours.

[eagle888]

Originally Posted by eagle888

I have heard that sound, but nowhere as loud! It seems to come only whilst 4x4 low range is engaged. It concerned my 10 000km ago, but now it has gone. Maybe a new vehicle thing?...coming from the front wheels for sure.

Just returned from Gwahumbe Reserve Game & Spa with some Swedish guests from Europe. Got chased by a rhino, saw may Giraffe, literally 15m from the Thar. Epic..just to mention that during our approx 4 hrs of 4x4ing, river crossing etc...I believe that little squeek has gone. We did not hear it at all. Must be a New vehicle trait

[georgev]

any chance of a Thar Unlimited in the cards ? a family 4 door 4x4 offroader !! even a small door like in the FJ Crusier will do...what say ?? "Two full doors and two access doors"

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