[kenneyjacob]

I had almost decided on buying a Thar and then I read this thread. Now Im confused. Im not used to a 4WD vehicle, my cars are a Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Ikon and a Tata Nano. Im from Kerala and I have a lot of places for off-roading a couple of hours away from where I live. Also a few of my school mates have started off-roading regularly on weekends mainly of an MM540. A friend is selling a gypsy, a modified one, should I buy that or should I go for a brand new Thar. I have two daughters, they are going to inherit these

[pyrodrive]

Originally Posted by kenneyjacob

I had almost decided on buying a Thar and then I read this thread. Now Im confused. Im not used to a 4WD vehicle, my cars are a Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Ikon and a Tata Nano. Im from Kerala and I have a lot of places for off-roading a couple of hours away from where I live. Also a few of my school mates have started off-roading regularly on weekends mainly of an MM540. A friend is selling a gypsy, a modified one, should I buy that or should I go for a brand new Thar. I have two daughters, they are going to inherit these

If you are going to use the vehicle only for nearby offroading with friends, I would recommend going for the used gypsy. It
will be cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain. Fuel bills also wont hurt too much because your offroading trips are only "couple of hours away".
Thar will be better if you want a jeep that can go long distances, the AC, PS and IFS means you will be very comfortable in the cabin. But since you are new to offroading, and in case you damage the IFS, autolocking hubs etc during the offroading, the repair bills are going to be high. For example, a single autolocking hub costs 19k ,excluding labour.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by kenneyjacob

I had almost decided on buying a Thar and then I read this thread

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

If you are going to use the vehicle only for nearby offroading with friends, I would recommend going for the used gypsy

Kenney - pyrodrive has already provided some good pointers. More food for though available here. Please feel free to ask more questions.

[Pradshiv]

I recently booked a Gypsy HT in Bangalore... 2 days later, Maruti sales got back to me saying only the soft top version is available at the moment...
I am very particular about getting the Hardtop version... Should I go for it anyways? or should I buy the Thar instead...

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Pradshiv

I recently booked a Gypsy HT in Bangalore... 2 days later, Maruti sales got back to me saying only the soft top version is available at the moment...
I am very particular about getting the Hardtop version... Should I go for it anyways? or should I buy the Thar instead...

As expected, they are BS-ing you. A brand new H/T Gypsy just got delivered in KL - please refer to this post. Tell them that you are ready to wait for the H/T if it is a matter of a month or two.

Coming to the option of Thar - I am amused by the fact that you are ready to switch over from Gypsy to Thar just for the hard top You can easily find a used HT in the market and get it fitted on your S/T Gypsy, in case you decide to buy a S/T.

[Pradshiv]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

As expected, they are BS-ing you. A brand new H/T Gypsy just got delivered in KL - please refer to this post. Tell them that you are ready to wait for the H/T if it is a matter of a month or two.

Coming to the option of Thar - I am amused by the fact that you are ready to switch over from Gypsy to Thar just for the hard top You can easily find a used HT in the market and get it fitted on your S/T Gypsy, in case you decide to buy a S/T.

Thanks, Cool_Dube... Pratham Motors has agreed to source it for me... will probably get it sometime in 2018

[Sawyer]

A friend just bought a new Thar. First impressions before even a drive in it - the car is BIG. Much larger than the Gypsy. So driving in the city/parking might be more of a challenge unless it has a smaller turning circle than the horrendously large one the Gypsy has.

And though bigger, it is a 6 seater compared to the 8 seater Gypsy, though this will rarely be a factor for the typical buyer profile of a new Thar/Gypsy. Or for most used car buyers either.

Because of its width, it looks not as long as the Gypsy, but I suspect there isn't any difference. The Gypsy has longer benches at the back because of better packaging.

[Sawyer]

First time driving the Thar and the first impression is of a car built in a cottage by a DIY enthusiast with a one dimensional auto design knowledge . Ergonomics are missing. The low gear selector stick is placed where the only way to get to it is by first parking on the side of the road. With the front seats set as far back as they go, as they need to for 6 feet driver/passenger, it is still a struggle to get into the front seat. And then, when sitting in the front seat, the front side window frame rear edge is ahead of one's shoulder! A rear passenger that reached up to hold on to one of the cross bars on a speed breaker, cut her hand on a sharp metal edge.

Build quality of the body seems abysmally bad even if it was for half the price; the stick for unlocking the door broke in two when it was pulled up. And the doors have to be slammed to be sure they are closed securely.

The only plus I can see over the Gypsy is the OE air con - assuming that will keep working well - with a ride that is a lot more gentle on the backs of at least the front seaters. And the engine feels capable.

To sell such a car today for the price asked for it takes a certain amount of shamelessness. Other than the weight of the metal being sold, there is no justifying it.

[Pradshiv]

Originally Posted by Pradshiv

Thanks, Cool_Dube... Pratham Motors has agreed to source it for me... will probably get it sometime in 2018

Trying to buy a Gypsy has been as difficult as many people have suggested.
I have so far spoken with 3 dealers and I'm still not sure if they'll sell me one.
Bimal, kalyani and pratham (Bangalore)... Pratham guys have collected a cheque but, haven't deposited it or confirmed anything yet...

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Pradshiv

Trying to buy a Gypsy has been as difficult as many people have suggested.
I have so far spoken with 3 dealers and I'm still not sure if they'll sell me one.
Bimal, kalyani and pratham (Bangalore)... Pratham guys have collected a cheque but, haven't deposited it or confirmed anything yet...

Try Kalyani. Let me know if you need help.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

First time driving the Thar and the first impression is of a car built in a cottage by a DIY enthusiast with a one dimensional auto design knowledge . Ergonomics are missing. The low gear selector stick is placed where the only way to get to it is by first parking on the side of the road. With the front seats set as far back as they go, as they need to for 6 feet driver/passenger, it is still a struggle to get into the front seat. And then, when sitting in the front seat, the front side window frame rear edge is ahead of one's shoulder! A rear passenger that reached up to hold on to one of the cross bars on a speed breaker, cut her hand on a sharp metal edge.

Build quality of the body seems abysmally bad even if it was for half the price; the stick for unlocking the door broke in two when it was pulled up. And the doors have to be slammed to be sure they are closed securely.

The only plus I can see over the Gypsy is the OE air con - assuming that will keep working well - with a ride that is a lot more gentle on the backs of at least the front seaters. And the engine feels capable.

To sell such a car today for the price asked for it takes a certain amount of shamelessness. Other than the weight of the metal being sold, there is no justifying it.

Spot on with almost all the points regarding the Thar. Only thing is that one gets used to the 4WD selector with time, so one can easily engage it even on the fly without getting eyes off the road. The position is like that in both my Bolero and Thar, so I have got used to them. But of course the one in the Gypsy is superbly placed and much smoother as well.

[Sawyer]

Since it was a short drive in city traffic/tarmac I had two reasons for not using the 4WD selector, but if you think the Gypsy is smooth, I am glad I did not try it out! I find the Gypsy to be balky a times compared to its regular shifts, but since it is well placed, changing over on the fly is still possible with no risk to anyone or to the car.

The other irritating thing I remember about Thar is how the centre AC vent surround kept getting in the way while taking the hand away from the regular lever after a change. Something one could get used to and avoid in use, but another example of bad ergonomics.

My little granddaughter has a magnetic board that is a face on which one can stick eyes, noses, ears and mouths from a collection of such parts, to make all sorts of faces. Thar reminds me of the outcomes one sees from that.

There is a good reason why the auto companies have different engineering teams looking after different aspects of car design. Interiors, power and transmission units, ride/handling etc are all specialised subjects now, much as in medicine. Thar shows no evidence of this approach.