[fine69]

Hard Top all the way. Safety, pollution levels, parking menace, general infra etc. make owing a convertible more of a novelty.

I'm from NCR so cannot imagine driving with the top down ever.

[drpavan]

Voted for Soft top.

Let us consider this way. Young bachelor who already has 2 cars at their residence. Priority - Fun factor in life, In 2 nd decade of life. Wonderful option to have a Soft top.

B) Those is 3rd decade who love to go on adventures, those who travel hundreds of kilometres to experience an off road. Those who have a separate car for the rest of family and journeys, can have soft top.

C) Those who love adventures but gets tagged along with family and kids during journeys, multiple factors come into play and hard top makes it sensible option.

D) Those who live in coastal region, those who have huge farms, those staying nearer to rivers or estuaries, again a wonderful option to have soft top.

E) The happiness of traveling in an open top jeep, watching clear skies in the evening, staying at a village, country side, that has to be experienced rather than words.

Anyways even if you have hundred reasons to avoid a soft top, that one point of having a pleasure while driving can overcome all other reasons.

According to me a hardtop Is almost as similar as to having a capable 4x4 with huge sunroof.

The above are my opinions, not to hurt others sentiments.

[Karan_n8]

I'm not an off-road enthusiast , but I am a prospective buyer for this badass just for the novelty of it. Even though I do have stilt parking at the residence but I cannot imagine driving an open top in NCR. Heck In my 2 years of being with the 3GT, not once have I opened the sunroof. In my opinion with , the removal of doors would sort of compensate for the hard top in a hardcore off road scenario ?

That said , the back row needs some aftermarket modification to make it useable.

[VRJ]

Although the convertible is a tempting proposition, I do have a couple of doubts, which the soft top owners could answer:

1. Do you actually get the wind in the face feeling that M&M are marketing? Doesn’t the windshield block the air from hitting your face? I’ve personally never drove a convertible, the closest I got is driving a car with a panoramic sunroof. I was expecting the wind to hit my face, but absolutely zero. Even in the back seat I couldn’t feel the wind. The reason being the wind deflector that was placed at an angle that diverted all the air up and none in to the cabin. The Thar has no wind deflector, however, the windshield is probably taller than the passenger, thus blocking the wind from hitting your face. What am I missing? Of course, you get wind in your face when the windows are rolled down, but what’s special with the convertible/open-top?

2. Apart from the security issues and the cabin not staying cool during summers, does the smoke/smell while in traffic enter the cabin on a soft top? That could be a major con for me personally. Reminds me of this thread that GTO started:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...y-bad-you.html (Driving with the windows down is really bad for you)

It's hard to vote at the moment because I'm guessing M&M might have improved the quality of the soft top and made it more durable. However, keeping all the pros and cons in mind, I'd go for the hard top only because it'll serve me well for the life of the car (we tend to keep our cars for at least 5 years) and it's one less thing to worry about. I would have opted for a convertible, if i had an off-roading place close to my home, which i don't. So, hard top for me.

Cheers!

[Ulysses]

I would say soft top or convertible is more suitable for temperate climates, mostly in European countries. Temperate weather is not only pleasant, but there is less dust around (irrespective of pollution) which makes sense to have an open air drive. In tropical or arid countries (e.g. India or Africa) open top vehicles are not only uncomfortable to drive but also cost more to maintain, because of weather damage to the equipment inside.
I have a question for those who owns hard top Thar (aftermarket conversion). How is the insulation of the bare bone FRP shell (which is being offered in the 2020 Thar). In peak summer of India, does it capable of protecting from heat? Or it will need another layer of insulation (which will be additional mod cost for Thar buyers)

[Trojan]

I feel that Soft top is more aspirational in nature, alluring to one and all but practicality in our country for such a vehicle is predominantly decided by the location at which the person and vehicle is at and that too for a fairly short amount of time.

For the rest of the time, it just can't function the way you aspire it too, it is great for photo-shoots, macho image, forest drives and a little bit of showoff too (c'mon we all love to flaunt our cars) and then that's it.

I would love to own one and keep it purely for forest use, where it will be actually useful for seeing around and then I would have the trees to protect me from the sun.
But for the rest of the time, it will be pretty much impractical.

I used to own a MM540 and I can totally relate to all the points put in the opening post plus a few more.

This was one of the most important points when we were purchasing our latest vehicle (a few months back) a decider between the Thar and the Gurkha and you can see who won!

[H Karter]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Can't believe a bunch of us are discussing a decision-of-the-heart purchase's pros and cons when it comes to the roof.

Rightly said, why not go for a midway in between and have half roof with easily removable FRP top and some removable and sliding back.



Also the arrangement for putting up remaining soft top be kept intact for passengers greater than two. This way both the parties will be rightly addressed. The AC will be more than effective in two door version and the safety concerns can be rightly addressed.

For removal of doors and storage as in the Bronco, some aftermarket jugaad is needed in Thar:



Voted for Convertible to carry out above stuff.

[Maedhros]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

If there was no hard-top option, I wouldn't be even interested in the new Thar.

This goes for me too. If ever the Thar comes home, it will be the primary vehicle. Hence, it should be able to cater to multiple needs. Plus, where I'm from, the threat of rains is ever present the whole year round. And it gets really cold during the winter. Its a no-brainer for the hard top.
On the other hand, the lure of a soft top is undeniable. Even if its only usable for 1 or 2 months out of the year.

[windiesel]

[quote=Samurai;4877644]I've had the privilege of owning both soft-top & hardtop Jeeps.

I drove a doorless soft-top for 5 years regularly doing 200kms-400kms, once even 700kms both-ways. It is an amazing feeling that can come closest to horseback travelling from the pre-automobile era.]


Kawasaki Versys 1000 will be closer to the 'Horse'!

[dicor]

I've voted for convertible (If it's my auxillary drive). If it's single car in garage, then I would stick to HT.

Originally Posted by GTO

I have always been a soft-top guy for 4x4s

The M&M classic is a barebone vehicle. There was no glued matting on the floor, no fragile electricals exposed. We had a commander and we used dip in pond to wash the floor.

I am not sure if the new That has glued matting. If yes, possibly it would not sustain in the water.

[Sanjivvohra]

Hard top for me.

I've had the 'privilege' of driving and being driven in the Army version of the jeep, in both its RCL and reccee versions ( basically, open, no roof, soft or hard), in driving snow, and sandstorms . I still fail to see the romance in it, even after so many years of shedding the uniform.

I see the Thar as a third vehicle, after the Endevour and Superb, in my garage but would still go for the hard top for peace of mind of safety of valuables and the vagaries of weather.

In the end, the hear wants what the heart wants, and I leave it to a personal choice.

[RaceHorse]

Voted for Hardtop, I am looking at Thar as only lifestyle vehicle and 90% of my running will be in the city.

It's a daily off roading situation for me in my city as the roads are pathetic and full of pot holes.
So I need a vehicle with off roading capabilities and Thar suits the bill.

So for pure city usage Hardtop version makes more sense.

[Sumanyu17]

Hard top is the practical choice here imo. But Mahindra should have made the hard top easily removable. They have taken so much inspiration from jeep already, they should have also copied the design of the hard top for the wrangler rubicon. With that kind of hard top it would have been a no brainer.

[sgmuser]

I drive a Wrangler 4 door 2019 with a hardtop which can be removed when needed! I would have chosen that if there was an option in the poll. Thar is still in the scheme of things and just waiting for some idea about the pricing!

[sharad_kmc]

The new Thar ticks all the right boxes as a desirable second car. Most of us would have dreams of open top wind in air late night drives. A few may have already planned the vaunted mountain getaways (once things improve). Head says Hard top for all the practicality but as this is likely to be a second car for most of us, the convertible top is probably a good option. As ours friends have rightly said,If Mahindra Do hard top with removable section, it would probably win the poll hands down.