Warning: its a long post!
Have tried to capture my initial experience so far with my Thar, with candor.
Some of the points here maybe repetitive in some form from the test drive posts, but have captured them to keep the flow. Kindly read this entire post as my experience & observations only and not any generic statement. You are welcome to comment on any observation or provide inputs to help me learn more.
Why Thar: I have been wanting a Jeep for a long time, but never did get down to buying one. When the Thar was launched, I fell for its looks first and then the mechanicals per description in the website. When I wanted to test drive, Mahindra folks helped immediately and that drive was the clincher.
Booking experience: Sireesh Auto were very professional in their approach. As an existing customer I did not expect anything less. +ve or -ve experience is a 2-way street anyways.
Delivery: About 2 months to get it from booking date. It was my B'day gift from my wife and got delivered around that. Really appreciate this gesture in spite of heavy demand as some folks in Mahindra did put this on expedite to meet the date as I understand. Without naming anyone, thanks to all there.
Run till date: 800kms by me as on date. It had run 500kms on delivery as it came by road from Dharwad. Net 1300kms till date.
What's good:
Ride quality is good. With the right tyre pressure, there are absolutely no complaints on the ride quality for me.
The steering is light and town driving is a pleasure. Thar Hates Tar? Not really!
Front seats are good, though a little more lumbar support can help.
The stability is very good. Most of the time I am driving alone with no other weight in the car. Its still stable. With weight, especially 2-3 adults in the car, it hugs the road and rides well.
The soft top is very good compared to what I have seen over the years on various other vehicles. I like the reinforcements provided on the frame with the broader channels.
The engine is quite silent and the NHV is better than what I expected.
Runs at 100-120kmph very smoothly. Last week I ran it at 135kmph for about 2 kms and its very stable.
Ran on a very curvaceous dirt & gravel road for about 4 kms net and it rode with confidence on the patch. The roll is significantly lower than the Scorpio on which I have run on this stretch about 20-25 times. The steering being light needs attention though due to low feedback. On a 35 degree gradient, which is also a turn of 70 degrees, the over-steer uphill and under-steer downhill was decent without losing traction.
The enormous power on tap is extremely useful and enjoyable.
Its a true head-turner
, period.
When the AC gets fit, it will be the coolest one to drive:-). Now its my daily commute vehicle and suits me fine.
What needs attention and improvement:
The car assembly at the shop floor needs a more Tender Loving Care
. This itself will solve a lot of issues, I feel.
The vehicle had a few scratches when I went to take delivery. Since I was desperate to get it, I waived my anger. I believe it's fixable and will be attended to on first service. Did mention this in the Mahindra feedback form though. Not sure if someone has looked at it since no one has called from their CS dept so far.
The body has uneven surfaces which can be seen in reflected light. This is not expected from a high-tech manufacturing facility like Mahindra's.
The fasteners on the door panels had been over-tightened leading to breakage in many washers. The panel is also of poor quality.
The door lock has disconnected twice till now due to slightly hard key turn, first time being on day 2 of ownership. Have had to fix it myself opening the door panel.
The beadings are unevenly fit in many places like the doors, window channel top, dash board, etc. This is only due to low attention I feel as there is nothing wrong per se with the beading or the channels/wedges. When I pressed them evenly, they did sit in. only the window edge beading is crooked and may have to be re-fit later.
The inside door lock handles are a little flimsy. I feel they will not last too long.
The window rollers are tight and maybe need to be smoothened. A little more care while assembling this entire part with the glass, will ensure the window shuts properly all the time. Right now, in my vehicle, the passenger side window is not well set.
There was a loud noise being generated from the passenger door side, which turned out that the door was not seated correctly, the roof frame above the door had to be re-fit and also the door itself was bent. Had it all corrected yesterday and things have improved. It still shuts with effort, but is way better. Many of the rattles and hums have also disappeared after yesterday's repairs:-)
A simple cover for the seat belt roller will ensure that dust and mud dont settle on it. I feel its not given due to carelessness, as cost will not be much. It can at least be in the options for those who want to buy it, right?
There are some wires hanging free under the dashboard and inside the bonnet. Using a tie-bind while finishing the vehicle will help.
Because of the alloy wheel spare tire, the rear-door operation is a little harder. Needs more pressure inwards to release the latch and open it. This is only an input for those who will buy with Alloys so that they dont think it was caused by faulty door/latch.
The blower was not fit properly and used to make a lot of noise. It was shocking to see that the blower was not even fitted into the airflow channels and was hanging loose. Had it corrected subsequently.
When the blower runs at Speed 3, the entire dashboard vibrates with a loud hum. The blower is mounted in the passenger foot-well and must be causing a lot of vibration at Speed 3. Its irritating and hence I run it at max speed 2! Hope it can be solved.
The air vent control on the driver side door has stopped functioning, it always open though! Am told the dashboard has to be removed to correct it!!! Will get it done
The Velcro bands for the holding the rear flap rolled up are of very poor/cheap quality. They dont hold it in place very well and need effort to get it right. Really takes a while to get it to hold the flap.
The glove compartment finish is bad. Period.
The carpet doesnt sit snug on the floor. Edges are raised in the inside ends. Looks bad.
The horn button on the right side does not function properly, needs to be pressed hard to make it work. Its an alignment issue I presume. Needs to be fixed.
Head-lamps are not aligned properly. They converge a lot and narrows the light band for visibility on the sides. Not sure whether factory is responsible or the dealer during PDI. It's been missed.
Braking is inadequate at higher speeds and I have to pump it to slow down in shorter braking distances (manual ABS?). Am used to this in the older Scorpio and hence am not uncomfortable doing it. For someone seated next to me its is "seat-squeezing" experience before the vehicle stops!
The finishing under the rear seats is not good. Has a lot of open clips and this can hurt fingers while folding or lowering them.
Here the big one for me in terms of poor quality control, so far: There has been some oil leak noticed since day before yesterday in my parking floor and I asked the service center to check that. The gearbox seals needed replacement and it has been done last evening. Will have to monitor this for a while. I am terribly disappointed with Mahindra quality when I heard this issue post inspection. hope it's a one-off issue and others don't have to face it. Only Mahindra's candid feedback to all of us can confirm this.
Across 9 different vehicles I have owned in 12 years, this is the first time that a new vehicle of mine has visited the garage twice in 3 weeks from delivery. That bothers me since it's a Mahindra product and I have been happy with their other products for over 6 yrs now. I hope all our inputs help Mahindra and team improve the product.
I feel that someone from the Scorpio interiors team must be given
ownership to make sure the fitting/finish, using current materials itself, is done well. This may not affect cost and ensure higher quality on the finished product.
That's all for now folks. Hope this helps in a positive way.