[Sabareesh]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

THAR.
Personally I feel if the pricing can be kept at 7.5L, it would be value for money. Any day!

Fazal Sir,

I doubt that Thar would be a V.F.M at 7.5 lacs because :-

No A/C or Power Steering
No Hard Top
No Differential Locks

If a person had 7.5 lacs at his disposal, I am sure he would have waited for some time, accumulated money and would have brought a Gurkha Hard Top which has all the aforementioned features.

Anything more than 6 - 6.5 lacs would not be affordable for off-roaders like us.

[teamveevee]

Also keep in mind, some point the Original (Chrysler) Jeep will be coming to India ( Thru Fiat/Tata or by Chrysler India). If there is enough demand for Thar, i am sure, the Jeep will arrive earlier than planned as Knocked Down Kit. It wont be as cheap as Mahindra, but will be more of a life style vehicle for the rich. Now they even have a 4 door version of the hard top Jeep in Chrysler stable, which is really cool, and doing reasonably good in recession hit US market when compared to other Chrysler models.

[Ym-enjn]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

7.5 L? how many would want an open top offroad car at that price? i dont think there would be many in Indian market who would move from watching to booking after that

6 to 6.5 onroad for a loaded 4x4 would be reasonable, below that a pleasent surprise anything over it will make it unattractive for us offroaders. Seeing the equipment todays cars offer at 6.5 L or below that makes this one look over priced even at this price. (Desire, Aveo, Fiesta, and most of the hatchs including Swift, Ritz and i10 AT) (Even safari has a variant at 6.XX ex showroom)

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

6 to 6.5 onroad for a loaded 4x4 would be reasonable,
=========
(Even safari has a variant at 6.XX ex showroom)

Precisely my point, we Indians are a tough lot to cut a deal with

[Ym-enjn]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Precisely my point, we Indians are a tough lot to cut a deal with

Yes correct, when we will go out there to buy it our family won't compare it with gypsys, they will compare it with every other thing available in market, including Nano..

[amit V8]

why again?? same car with a huge price tag. there's no point in this, same foolishness as the Souvenir.

[hgnishanth]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Hi Nishant,

The final version is expected to come with the 2.5 liter xylo engine rather than a 2.0 liter diesel as mentioned in the pdf document. It seems to be a much earlier document.

Hey buddy..

Yes even i've heard the same. This was a PDF i found on the net when i was searching for some info about the Thar. Just wanted to share with all.

The price 6-6.5 L for the Thar. Yes the Thar has its own advantages and i might add lots of it. But like many of us have opined here how many of us are willing to shell out that much just for an Off road vechile? I think very few.
Moreover when you buy an ex army 550 and rebuild it.. the knowledge gained in the process.. Priceless!! at least for a JEEP enthusist!

Cheers
Nishanth

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear all - all this is just "wow" for me. Keep going guys! Also pray! With me!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

PS - its not done till its done dammit!

[arun1100]

Sir, the suspense has only increased now. I expected some leads from your post..

[beejay]

At 7.5L it would never be VFM.

OT. I am still not able to know how many CL340/Classic got sold in the domestic market.

[4x4addict]

In my view this is not purely an off-road vehicle only. If you wanted only for off-road you are better off getting a second hand 4x4 jeep or gypsy for under 2 lakhs. Thar on the other hand is a capable off-road vehicle which also has many refinements for on-road use. So it is something that you can keep as your only vehicle. Most jeepers end up having to keep another vehicle for family/long distance use.

[Jaggu]

Lets take a realistic look at Thar, when compared to Gypsy:

+ ive's

• Diesel power plant
• High speed cruising
• Better ride
• Convenient to drive, i.e if it comes with power steering, front disc etc

- ive's

• More complicated engine
• Not time tested
• Reliability, in comparison to Jap's
• No hard top option

So what do you think, an addition of 1-2 lakh is really justified for this vehicle? where by atleast 90% of them will be a second car in the family and not a regular commute?

See i dont mind such a vehicle as a primary one, but am sure not many will go nuts like me LOL

If it comes out as lifestyle thingie, how many will really go for it? As in priced premium at 7 ish, again not many in my view. They would go for camper models from Scorp or Bolero which will offer them better "lifestyle".

This has to work, then it has to be pitched in as proper offroad, bare bone but easy on hands and wallet with "Options" for upgrade. Thats just my 2 paise worth.

EDIT Just saw 4x4addict's post, I dont think so sir. It may not fit the bill for only vehicle for families. Unless one is a newly wed adventure couple

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

In my view this is not purely an off-road vehicle only. If you wanted only for off-road you are better off getting a second hand 4x4 jeep or gypsy for under 2 lakhs. Thar on the other hand is a capable off-road vehicle which also has many refinements for on-road use. So it is something that you can keep as your only vehicle. Most jeepers end up having to keep another vehicle for family/long distance use.

I completely agree on this point with 4x4 addict. So many active offroad people whom i know have car as thier daily run about plus a jeep for off roading. Many dont even dare to venture 100 kms out of city due to crude nature and reliabilitiy of these old vehicles ending up in finding ditches around city and feeling satisfied.

Thar/Gurkha (if affordable) will truly give that extra leg to explore places in real sense. Plus you pay EMI for only one 4x4 instead of maintaining 2 vehicles which is costly as you know a jeep rebuild never ends!

Most of us may have small cars at home and must be paying EMI of about 6,000 a month on an average. A jeep what ever condition it may be needs atleast 2,000 expence every month (some spend even more) considering maintenance and upgrades we do to it over a persiod of 3 years. Add to this insurance, fitness tax, green tax etc etc every year it costs a bomb.

A Thar if taken on loan of about 4 kahs and rest down payment by selling your old jeep will amount up to about 8k every month for about 5 years. All you will have is one vehicle with next to nil maintenance. All this will make sense even if the vehicle is priced 6.5 to 7 lakhs on road



P.s- Iam dropping Munnar off road plan only for the fact that i will have to drive 2000+ kms for about 36 kms offroad. If it was Thar/ Gurkha kind of a vehicle i wouldnt have minded, but with MM540 it is a little too much!

[Spitfire]

CRDe, modern engine, etc etc means sophisticated. Means if something goes kaput you need to tow this to a nearby Mahindra Service Center.

Compared to the ancient IDI and DI engines in our MM540/550, Classics, Major etc the benefits of newer would might be a source of doubt before taking the THAR offroad.

But not that it would be a showstopper, I am sure Mahindra has sorted this out.

My only concern with pricing it at 7.5-8 lakhs, how many would take it offroad and risk significant repair bills.

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Lets take a realistic look at Thar, when compared to Gypsy:

- ive's

• More complicated engine
• Not time tested
• Reliability, in comparison to Jap's
• No hard top option

EDIT Just saw 4x4addict's post, I dont think so sir. It may not fit the bill for only vehicle for families. Unless one is a newly wed adventure couple

Jaggu
You are right about suitability for adventure couple and unlucky wife in my case. Thar will be particularly difficuilt for elderly people and for those who travel long distance with family often.

regarding -ves what you have spoken about thar i disagree about few-

1. complicated engine- I dont think so. This is as complicated or simple as any other CRdi motor, but if you compare it with a petrol yes it is complicated, but Petrol is expensive as well. If complexity was the issue then petrol innovas would have sold more than Diesel innovas/ safari

2.Not time tested- Mahindras 2.5 litre engines have undergone testing in africa for past 4 years and are relaiable

3. Reliability compared to jap vehicle- Only time will tell.

4. Hard top option dont have many takers. If demend is good from govt organisation it is not difficuilt for M&M to start its old FRP shop