[Parm]

trust me on this, watch M&M screw up with the pricing of the 'Thar'!

right now there is no vehicle in this segment, except Gypsy which is petrol engine.

M&M tried with invader, but that didnt set the sales charts on fire. now there is SUV craze in india and M&M sees the opurtunity of this kind of vehicle, thats why its being launched.

and this kind of vehicle will be only one in this catagory, M&M will cash it on the higher price.

M&M guys much have see how 4x4 enthusiasts build their own jeeps from ex-army disposal scrap. and thats how they are now introducing 'Thar'!

also the army surplus of M&M jeeps, Thar not being exported in large numbers is compelling M&M to launch Thar!

let keep our fingers crossed for a with in reach price of Thar, otherwise

[Torque-ative]

How high could they go.

8-9 lacs ??

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Torque-ative

How high could they go.

6-7 lakhs OTR. Bare Basic, no frills.

8-9 lakhs? No one will take it offroad. LOL. Kills the point of having one in the first place. Hope they are thinking on those lines.

[vinod_nookala]

trust me on this, watch M&M screw up with the pricing of the 'Thar'!

Lets hope not!

now there is SUV craze in india and M&M sees the opurtunity of this kind of vehicle, thats why its being launched.

This vehicle is purely conceived for international markets only. Indian market was never its primary market and still it is not!

M&M guys much have see how 4x4 enthusiasts build their own jeeps from ex-army disposal scrap. and thats how they are now introducing 'Thar'!

Wish M&M had so much of thought. Army disposal rebuild market is too small for them to care for. Hence as i said before this is primarily developed for export market where morden-retro vehicle demand is picking up

also the army surplus of M&M jeeps, Thar not being exported in large numbers is compelling M&M to launch Thar!

Army surplus jeeps have altogether different drive train as you may know including chassis. Thar hasnt been launched anywhere in the world. Hence Thar not being received well in export markets is not M&M's concern

let keep our fingers crossed for a with in reach price of Thar

Lets hope for the best!

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by Parm

...M&M sees the opurtunity of this kind of vehicle, thats why its being launched.

IMHO, nothing could be farther from the truth -- both from M&M and customers perspective. A potential customer base of ~100 odd enthusiasts doesn't make for a business case to launch a new vehicle. At best a limited edition of an existing model (like the Legend)

and this kind of vehicle will be only one in this catagory, M&M will cash it on the higher price.

The costs for launching a vehicle that would have just ~100 customers would be much more than any profits that M&M can have here.

The market has moved on and so has M&M. People who bought MM 5x0's in the city during the mid 90's have now moved on to Scorpios and in the rural towns it is the excellent bolero platform.

M&M guys much have see how 4x4 enthusiasts build their own jeeps from ex-army disposal scrap. and thats how they are now introducing 'Thar'!

Again, IMHO, M&M cares a damn about 4x4 enthusiasts.

[xtreme power]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

Again, IMHO, M&M cares a damn about 4x4 enthusiasts.

could not have said it any better
exactly my opinion

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

Again, IMHO, M&M cares a damn about 4x4 enthusiasts.

Maybe Mr Behram Dhabar will notice this.

All the excitement is due to some posts by Behram sir in the 540/50 wishlist thread and now the pics.

Maybe just maybe... we live on hope anyways.

[vinod_nookala]

Guys,
What do you think? Are the front and rear tracks same? Or are they different like in a Bolero? From picture it suggests they are same. If yes it is good for competitve events and wood log driving.

Also i would have liked beffier looking fender covers like on MM550 NGCS. Rear fender extension is so simple nothing to write home about.

[genesis]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

Again, IMHO, M&M cares a damn about 4x4 enthusiasts.

From what I understood in conversation with a senior person at Mahindra, the Thar is 'under consideration' for the export market and there are no plans for it in even in the distant future for the Indian market.

I told him I would start my hunt for a CJ3B!

[Ym-enjn]

If it is coming to India then it should be priced well below Bolero otherwise it wouldn't have any chance of getting huge success in rural areas, which is going to be its biggest market. That brings the price to around 5 L. That is the ideal price for us offroaders too. If it comes in that price it would be a pleasant surprise. Ofcourse M&M we will pay extra for hard top and A/C but pls offer them as options..

[Sabareesh]

The thar should be definitely priced below the bolero. but, think of the advantages that we would get in this price range.

1. NGCS (New generation chassis and suspension)
2. CRDe with NGT530 (the vehicle has electronic F.W. Hubs)
3. Aircon (Again a guess because its being driven with windows rolled up and I can faintly see the bolero dash)

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Mahindra don't screw this up like you'll did with the Classic by pricing it too high.

How was the Classic priced high? Mine was 345,904 ex-showroom and (IIRC) about 371,xxx on the road in 1997. That was lower than the Gypsy, this with a diesel and far better level of equipment.

Back to the topic, I don't expect the Thar to be less than 6.5 lakhs ex-showroom. Considering the larger size & diesel engine advantage over the Gypsy, I'd say it will be well worth it to 4x4 enthusiasts. Rather get a reliable brand new Jeep than a used one for 2 - 3 lakhs and spend a good $$$ on repairs.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Sabareesh

2. CRDe with NGT530 (the vehicle has electronic F.W. Hubs)
3. Aircon (Again a guess because its being driven with windows rolled up and I can faintly see the bolero dash)

Thar will have manual 4x4 system and no A/C.

[4x4addict]

The one caught testing has Electric FW hubs. If the T-case is manual, then there must be 1) either a change in the production model or 2) a switch to engage the electric hubs like in the Ford Endeavour.

[JeepMkd]

Here is an article from a year ago on a Croatian web site.

Index.hr

Here the Thar is quoted at 12.000 Euros which is almost the same price as the Bolero offered here. It also mentions that the new Thar will be available in spring 2009 which is definetly not true. That's why I'm not so optimistic about the price.

New Lada Nivas which are more common cost around 8000 Euros, but they're not worth it. I would buy this Mahindra if it costs 12.000 Euros anytime.

About the drive train. I've seen photos of the interior which show only transmission lever, so I assume the transfer case is electrically operated like the ones in the Scorpio and the Pick-up. Personally I'm fan of the manual 4x4 system, so I hope Mahindra will go with that one.