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-   -   Mahindra Thar CRDe - Forged in Hell! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-vehicles/145444-mahindra-thar-crde-forged-hell.html)

The alternative to not doing something that truly excites you, is to cope with something you don't like until the next opportunity comes. You realize that there are only a handful of opportunities that can come by, which can change the direction of your life, or at-least make you think that you are in control!

It was a similar philosophy that made me buy the Thar and it definitely is a big decision for me because it costs so much!

There are very few vehicles that excite me and all of them have one thing in common: they somehow inspire me to drive, without me even getting into the vehicle.



Most of the time I wish some of the older cars were still manufactured with newer and efficient engines. I like a car that makes me want to drive forever. Sometimes, the way the car looks can be the most important part of that equation. Sorry to say, but the newer space age designs of most cars don't appeal to me at all. For someone like me, the Thar CRDe makes a lot of sense!

Many years ago, I had already decided to get a rugged SUV someday and travel with it across the country.

My requirement (yes I had a requirement!) :

• It has to be bea-u-ti-ful!! It should want to make me drive. It should make me dream of long trips to nowhere, while I watch it quietly parked in my porch.
• 4 wheel drive - enables me to take part in offroad events and travel to non-touristy places
• comfortable ride - should atleast meet the capabilities of a decent hatchback
• under 4 meter - living in bangalore has taught me this, I really don't need the extra length.
• good tourer - should be capable of doing 100kmh comfortably on long trips

I have been driving a used 2004 Palio ELPS for the past 5-6 years. I have driven my brothers IndigoCS extensively (which has crossed 1L kms now). I do not have much exposure to various different manufacturers and vehicles across the different markets. I will be comparing the Thar with these vehicles with which I have experience with. I have never driven a jeep or been off-road ever.

Sadly, there were only two vehicles which fit my requirement, because I did not want a long car:

• Mahindra Thar CRDe
• Force Gurkha 2013

The Thar was not even a consideration until August/September 2013. I was completely sold on the Gurkha's capabilities. Come September and I have some money and I call Force motors for test drives. The people responded well, but it looked like the Gurkha launch was still far away. I finally got official confirmation that the Gurkha would launch only in Jan/Feb 2014. I am glad I did not wait, because it hasn't been launched yet!

That changed the whole equation in favor of the Thar. So again I went back to my excel sheet, making comparisons between the two and finally decided to go for the Thar.
Until this point, the entire comparison was only on paper. Diff Locks, Hardtop, 3year warranty, etc are great features! But the truth is this - THAR is a real vehicle available for purchase, the new Gurkha is still a mythical creature.

Finally I took a test drive of the Thar. Liked it. Booked it. I had dreamed of converting the Gurkha to make it look like the G-Wagen, I had it down to what parts of the grill to remove and replace. But that never happened. Nevertheless, the THAR is an amazing experience by itself, right out of the showroom!

I was amazed by the response of Mahindra, be it the emails I had sent to ask about the updated Thar (the one with crossmember etc) and then by the follow up calls regarding satisfaction of the delivery experience. Took the delivery from Sireesh Auto, near Silk Board. The sales rep was friendly. The team there also helped me get the loan quickly. On the other hand Anant cars and India garage tried hard to convince me that there is no updated Thar!

Chose to go for the Toreador Red color as we did not like the other colors so much. Even Palio is similar color (bought used so no choice there).

The Loooaaaan process! :

Sireesh guys could have gotten the SBI loan easier, but I misunderstood that they don’t handle SBI and applied for it on my own. Took a long-long time for it to process. To top it off, it was the worst time for me to apply for a loan cos I had just changed my job and my first payslip was for only 21 days, which led to a lower eligibility. Then the Sireesh guys helped get a loan at SBM, which happened in 2 days flat – I went to the bank as late as 7:30pm to sign the documents and meet the manager!

On road price was 8.7L inclusive of a discount of 6k corporate discount. I did not opt for any of their accessories except the Insect Mesh and a 12v charging socket. I was saving up for one BIG accessory – the hardtop! The alloys, bumper, rollbar etc would have cost me an extra 50-60k!

One negative point about the Insect Mesh. After it was fitted, I asked how to remove it later if I wanted to. The service guys said it cannot be removed without breaking the rivets. The clearly lied! It can be removed and refitted. And when you remove it, you can see the number of deep scratches they have put on your paint when they first fitted it. When you see those scratches, you will continue to keep the mesh on just to hide them.

So guys, please buy the mesh separately and install it yourself after applying tape on the contact points of the mesh and the jeep grill.



First stop after delivery was a visit to Car Care India. Got the following done:

• anti rust coating
• paint protection - helps during car wash at home as the water just slides off!
• engine sealant
• Took pictures with a CaymanS !!
• Took pictures with a Hillman Minx!!

This Hillman Minx was next to the place where we were getting the underchassis coating done.

I made sure I am getting the recently updated model with the cross bar, fixed flange, updated door handles, updated rear seat fixtures. When doing the PDI, I saw that there was a bonus - UPGRADED BRAKE BOOSTER! The brake booster upgrade was on my list of must-do activities after I got the Thar, I am glad I didn't have to do this on my own.

Maybe Mahindra could have given us a little bit more because they took away the auto locking hubs which cost a lot more than the fixed flanges. But hey, atleast they upgraded the brakes.

The guy who had come to give the demo of my vehicle did not know that the auto locking hubs were replaced with fixed flanges. He said he will get back with more info but did not. I made sure he noted down the slight crack on the radiator cover.

There are no gadgets or gizmos in this vehicle. Its got 4 wheel drive. Its got a nice CRDe engine. I'm glad it has a digital trip meter! Remember, I'm coming from a Palio ELPS. Ha Ha – low expectations help!
I'm fine with the manual window winders (never had power windows in the Palio). It winds up in 4 rotations, but power windows is on the list of future upgrades (waaay into the future)

I had driven about 750 kms in the first month, all within Bangalore. Now I have clocked around 5000 kms. Driven to Salem twice and Hyderabad once. Been to the BODA 2014 offroad event.

Checked mileage many times - averaging 10 kmpl in the city. Less than 11 in highway. Before 1st service, in highway it gave my 7-8 also!

There was a day when I thought I had made a terrible mistake:
First day I drove the Thar to work, I came back home really tired and with a slight back pain. I slept thinking this could have been a really bad decision because it felt that the vehicle was really shaking me up. By the time I woke up in the morning, my mind was already worrying about my decision and its consequences. Luckily reducing the tire pressure helped to a good extent. And after a few days, I was thinking what the hell was I worrying about!

First 1000 kms I drove it around in the city. Took a couple of days to get used to the massive form factor! Power steering makes it comfortable to drive like any other car. First long trip after crossing 1000kms was to Hyderabad (guess why!). I was able to do 120 comfortably. It did not feel unsafe at any time. Power steering at higher speeds needs a little getting used to. Once you get used to it, you can make it move exactly where you want it to. Changing lanes on the highway is super fun! After getting used to Thar, Palio steering felt weird! So its just a matter of getting used to.

CRDe engine feels very modern and reliable, ofcourse its too early to tell. There was an error code that was persisted in the ECU, when I checked with my obd2 tool. It said clutch switch input circuit malfunction. No check engine light though. Got it checked in first service. No issues were found they said. Sometimes the engine sounds like a truck during idle on long trips. The sound subsides when I press the clutch in fully. Could not reproduce at ASC. (Clutch release bearing type sound)

Driving it on the highway feels great. It has enough power to overtake at will. Can cruise comfortably between 100-120. Never really put the pedal to the metal, just a bit of throttle is all it takes.

Comfort from rear suspension has become better after fitting the hard top. The added weight at the rear definitely helps. I have observed this even with the soft top. It is quite comfortable, even at the back seats, when 2-3 people are seated at the back. Any suspension is truly effective only when it is slightly compressed, else it just acts like a stone! Maybe the stock suspension setup is not compressed enough to be fully effective I guess. The extra load helps.

New brakes are excellent. In city traffic speeds, you would not have to worry about lack of bite. In highway speeds too, I find it quite adequate, but I always use gearbox to slow down along with my regular breaking. Using only the brakes could cause worry at highway speeds. I am not concerned about the brakes anymore, but the handbrake is pretty useless.

I attempted BODA 2014 with stock vehicle, before first service, and I did most of the obstacles – major let down was HT tires and my lack of experience. It felt great using the 4-lo and crawling down at speeds lower than gravity! That was truly amazing! I did get beached in couple of places, but that was because I did not know how fast to go over those obstacles.



More pics from the BODA event here.

Likes

• Looks great. I like it with the insect mesh – looks closer to an army look that I desire.
• It just flies sometimes. The pull at certain RPMs in midrange is amazing!
• Clutch is super light. Lighter than petrol Palio.
• Side facing seats! Yes – I like it. I’ll tell you why later.
• Lots of nuts and bolts everywhere (now you think I’m crazy) – I keep getting ideas on what all I can attach to these exposed nuts and bolts, truly a boon for a DIY-er.
• Decent off-roader in stock form.
• Build quality is good, but better keep a close watch.
• Great view from the drivers seat. Cannot drive a hatchback now!
• I like that it is barebones, as there are so many things I want to custom build and install.
• My wife loves it

.

Dislikes

• Can get yourself cut in sharp edges in unknown locations.
• AC air flow cannot be directed to the top.
• Bonnet holding thingy makes scratches on the paint.
• No sump guard. Service station has no clue if there is a part for this.
• NO WHEEL COVER for the stepney. Can’t even buy one separately! Gotta buy 4, are you kidding me!?
• Gearbox is hard to operate only during 1st and 5th gear.
• Handbrake is useless. I use 4wd-low in tricky situations.
• ASCs attitude about this vehicle - "It is like that only sir"
• I think my cat hates it! But he hates Palio as well.

Mods done:

• Hyderabad Hard Top
• Central Locking fitted with Hard Top
• Paint protection / Under chassis treatment / Engine sealant at CarCare India.
• Painted number plate frame black.
• Painted wheel covers black
• Put 'Jeep' stepney cover, which flew off when I was driving on the highway recently.
• 12v charger socket.
• PC USB speakers which runs off 5v charger. To it I connect my phone. Decent sound with the hardtop.

The hard top and the black wheel covers


Dual socket charger - 1 for usb speakers, and 1 for phone


My Motorola Defy phone with Car Home ultra app


PC speakers powered by usb 5v. Fixed using double sided tape.



Future mods:

• Door trigger for central locking system. Currently autocop cannot detect if you opened the door after disarming. So it will lock the car automatically after 1 minute.
• Roof rack

Issues that need to be checked:

• When traveling at 80-90 kmph, I can feel a certain grinding, like some low frequency sound during a certain part of a rotation. Somebody else mentioned this too. Could it be the fixed flanges? I don’t know how to describe this.
• Clutch sound at idle. Goes away when I push the pedal in. Happens only when I drive on the highway. Possibly clutch releaser bearing? Sounds like a truck!
• Headlight beam adjustment. Not done properly at first service.
• Radiator cover has a crack which I showed to the concerned person during the demo of the vehicle. Part not available.

Issues that were rectified at first service:

• Coolant was leaking at a joint above the diff. Fixed
• Squeaking noise from front wheels. Fixed.
• Huge gap at the top of the front door between the beading. Fixed.

Others:

Put tape between insect mesh and body
Fixed a piece of rubber between bonnet clamp and body


Planning to drive to Ladakh during August 2014. I have got to design and install the roof rack before that.

Living with it:

You will have to keep some things in mind while living with this car:

If you use it as your secondary vehicle - you will slowly but steadily grow to hate it. You have to use the vehicle everyday or as your primary 4 wheeler. This is because once you get used to a more refined car, you will find something or the other to complain about in the Thar, which may be true, but you're only making things worse for yourself. On the other hand, if you drive it everyday or most times a week, you will get used to the small things that are different about the Thar, and the way it handles and the ride comfort etc and you will automatically change your driving style to make the Thar seem more comfortable.

Over time, you will be able to identify which type of road undulations make your Thar seem uncomfortable! And you will go slowly on those bumps!

Elderly people may not be able to get into the car from the rear, but be creative and come up with a way in which they can comfortably enter the car. This does not require modding, just careful planning and a set of steps to follow to get in and out properly and carefully.

The above are from the perspective of an average car user. If this is a separate vehicle to be used only for off-roading, then the expectations would be different. For me, this has been the primary car since the last six months. Palio will be back next month.

Congrats on owning your dream SUV. In my opinion this color suites this beast a lot. One question, are you running this on the stock tyres or upgraded?

Happy miles ahead!

Thanks,

Wish you many happy miles with your Thar. Your car is very tastefully modified, especially the hard top.

The JEEP wheel cover seems to be a bit over sized for your spare wheel.

Congratulations Mate, nice choice of mods you have done so far. Must appreciate your bravery in taking a new car to an off-road event.

Nice color and mods on the jeep! Thar looks good in red! clap:

Is it the adventure version?? And could you please provide more information regarding the hardtop?(Where and how much was the cost?)

Congrats on the Thar. Welcome to the gang and yes I agree with your choice of colour. I also felt the same so removed an intermediate leaf at the back

Agree with you on all the above likes

Just mentioned about same in my last post in my thread

I put some black insulation tape to prevent same

That's strange because I have personally taken delivery of three thars including my own and they came with five wheel covers. Your dealer may be pulling a fast one.







Have already done that. Its an easy DIY. See my thread..my li'l red thar... For more info.

On my to do list also

Can be easily tackled with a small screw driver. There are two screws at the back of the HL inside the bonnet for the adjustment (covered with rubber caps)



I did a trip to ladakh in Sep 13 with my wife and a 3 year old kid so maybe I can help you with the prep.

Congratulations! Really liked your attitude towards the THAR, you seem to be quite clear about the utility and expectations from the vehicle and surely will be happy with this. The mods done are also very purposeful.
Heartening to know that the brakes have been upgraded, which should have been there at the first place. Also good decision not to wait for the Gurkha which will continue to be a myth till the next decade i suppose!

Thanks guys! Feels like I have just taken delivery of the new vehicle!

Tires are stock. Bridgestone Dueler HT. Wanted to trade-in for AT earlier, but I was saving up for the hardtop, so skipped it.

Felt that too, but it has a string around the edge which can be used to make it tight. I was lazy to tighten it after filling in air the last time! And it flew away!

Thanks! The bravery ended once I reached the venue. At many points during the off-road trail, I was thinking what have I gotten myself into! Trust me, I was thinking about my life and not about the scratches on the new vehicle. But when it was over, I wanted to do it all over again!

No this is not the adventure version. Normal Thar with hardtop.

The top is the Hyderabad Hard Top with openable panels. There's a thread about it here: Hyderabad hard top
I paid arnd 77k (non-opening type costs less). You should check for the current prices.

You have very useful thread running! I haven't read all of it yet. Will be picking up more than a few pointers! Starting with door trigger.

Strange people! The same dealer who denied me the wheel cover invited my wife and me for a customer event at Wonderla, paying more than a full set of wheel covers. In the end I really liked the Jeep Cover, until it flew away, gotta buy one more!

Thanks for the offer! Will get back with questions.

Thanks for the appreciation!

Thanks for the info!! Can we buy the hard top and get it fixed in bangalore as well? Was planning to buy a thar and hence the questions! please: