[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by A350XWB

I was thinking about the source of inspiration for this new interior and realized that it is indeed the Jeep Wrangler.

Would have been even more striking if you had mirrored the Wrangler pic.

Regards
Sutripta

[lugnut]

My 0.02$. Ouch. That is a hurtful price tag. The question 'how much car for the money?' goes abegging.

Let's see ..(my crude estimates, how the price would stack up for the changes I'd like, YMMV)

1. Thar on the road in Mumbai ~9.75L
2. Replace with off-road bumper - 8000
3. 5 good 31" AT tires - 50000, let's leave the blingy alloys in
4. a hard top - ~60000
5. + labor
= ~11,00,000
+ more as I keep adding basic accessories (lights, music etc..)

That is getting a shockingly very little car for the money (and I'm not even getting into the build quality etc.. yet).

Looks like Mr.Goenka is offloading losses on other Mahindra vehicles onto lifestyle Thar.. with trinkets thrown at the consumer.

Makes me think - start saving up... the real deal (Jeep) will be here soon. It would be pricey, but would be real - with solid axles front and back, and coilover suspension. Not an expensive poser.

Lastly, manual lockers - both front and back - are standard issue on the Gurkha. Hmm.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Would have been even more striking if you had mirrored the Wrangler pic.

Regards
Sutripta

Here you go (Quick and dirty job from office ). The resemblance is too hard to go unnoticed. Everything from the steering to the gear lever positions kind of exactly fit the Wrangler.

[himanshugoswami]

i think M&M missed a trick by not giving a 2 din HU as default- that would have lifted the cabin ambiance considerably, even if it is the basic HU from the Xylo. Alas....Greed makes one do silly things.

[AWD]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

i think M&M missed a trick by not giving a 2 din HU as default- that would have lifted the cabin ambiance considerably, even if it is the basic HU from the Xylo. Alas....Greed makes one do silly things.

Double DIN in a soft-top vehicle I wont even suggest a single din in here.Period.

[harikrishnanm]

Visited the Sireesh Auto to take a look at the new Thar that is showcased there. The test drive is not yet available, but is expected this week.

Some of my observations. The steering wheel is now properly centered, or atleast feels so. I took the following picture from the drivers seat after having 'centered' myself as much as possible.


The Wiper Controls are now properly placed and the dash does not interfere with them as with the earlier version


The gear lever and the 4wd shifter look much better and the quality of the gear boot and the console are fairly good. However there is no way one can rest the left foot on the side of the clutch since there is not enough room between the console and the clutch pedal to let your foot through. The picture below is when the clutch pedal is depressed.


The lockable glove box seems to be much more usable.


There are 4 bottle holders out of which the two in the front are barely usable because you have to reach down too far and the gear lever stands in the way as well. The ones in the rear are usable. The handbrake also 'felt' like it was engaging well (this is from the same feel that I get in the Scorpio). However I will check the effectiveness during the test drive.



Apart from this, there are these other points (that interested me) as well.

1. The seats are much better. I am 6'4" and heavily built. I could fit in well.
2. The canopy is supposed to be easily removable, although the salesman had no idea how that was to be done.
3. Overall finish seems much better
4. The front fender looks hideous; but the accessories shop has the OEM accessory that can replace this.
5. The alloys in the promotional video are available as an accessory and are not standard. Cost is 44k for 5 pieces.

Last but not the least, with the facelift, the better half was sold without me having had to do any convincing at all. So going ahead with the plunge.

Apparently there are 37 bookings already at Sireesh auto, and the salesman wanted me to book one soon for early delivery. Although I'm half certain that is a 'month-end sales' strategy. I intend to do a full test drive this weekend and then go ahead with the booking.

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by AWD

Double DIN in a soft-top vehicle I wont even suggest a single din in here.Period.

and why not? dont the wranglers have that and much more? don't soft top cabriolets have audio and AVN systems and a plethora of other luxuries

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Nilay

The New Thar CRDe. here is the video link. Looks great in this video

well made promo video. the music is quite nice. in fact it's a track called Futile Futility.
link below just in case somebody likes to take a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u82tVWglfLk

[4x4addict]

There is so much negative comments about the Thar CRDe, and people cribbing about front bumper, which can be easily replaced. To be a little reasonable, let us compare the the hardcore 4x4 offerings from other Indian manufacturers for ex-showroom of about 8 Lakhs. Can someone start evaluating. I cannot, cause I don't seem to find any alternatives for the Thar..

[AWD]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

and why not? dont the wranglers have that and much more? don't soft top cabriolets have audio and AVN systems and a plethora of other luxuries

Please compare the vehicle to a vehicle in the same price category. Wranglers, etc. when in india will cost around thrice the Thar. Car stereos are stolen from locked vehicles, do you think it would remain safe in an open/softtop vehicle in india ?

As the vehicle is built for oftoads & doesnt have the best of suspensions, such equipment will only increase the vibration clutter. Also as the fit & finish is not great, such objects could come loose & cause more noises.

While going open top or wading through deep waters there's an added risk of electrical damage with water.

So there's not one reason to have these gimmicks, lets be reasonable & ask for what is really required.

[harikrishnanm]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

There is so much negative comments about the Thar CRDe, and people cribbing about front bumper, which can be easily replaced. To be a little reasonable, let us compare the the hardcore 4x4 offerings from other Indian manufacturers for ex-showroom of about 8 Lakhs. Can someone start evaluating. I cannot, cause I don't seem to find any alternatives for the Thar..

The bumper assessment is subjective. I hated it, my wife said its not that bad. There was another person who was admiring the front bumper when I went to take a look at the vehicle. And as 4x4addict said, its an easy piece of customization. In fact the price quote that I got from the dealer had the replacement even without me asking for it.

There is a world of difference (atleast in the interiors) between the new and the old versions. I had evaluated the Thar earlier and had decided against it primarily on the basis of the old interiors and overall feel of quality.

Now, however, I get the impression that the Thar has matured enough for my to go get it.

[Nilay]

Wait for crdi gurkha which is very capable vehicle hampered by force motor engineering. It is very stable vehicle compare to thar crde. I had used thar crde for around 1200 km and ride felt very bumpy even on good road with undulating surface. There was to much rattled noise from rear. AC was not effective due to soft top. Yes it is hardcore off road vehicle at 8.00 L but still Indian market is not mature enough to let go some basic future and build quality for off roading purpose.

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by AWD

Please compare the vehicle to a vehicle in the same price category. Wranglers, etc. when in india will cost around thrice the Thar. Car stereos are stolen from locked vehicles, do you think it would remain safe in an open/softtop vehicle in india ?

As the vehicle is built for oftoads & doesnt have the best of suspensions, such equipment will only increase the vibration clutter. Also as the fit & finish is not great, such objects could come loose & cause more noises.

While going open top or wading through deep waters there's an added risk of electrical damage with water.

So there's not one reason to have these gimmicks, lets be reasonable & ask for what is really required.

I dont know where to even begin . so by your argument, M&M, instead of providing a flush fit stereo to eliminate vibes, should not provide one at all? Ive taken my safari on some pretty extreme off road trails but never has my stereo rattled!

As re. safety of soft tops, that argument should also extend to mini coopers, Audi A3 convertible, r8 convertible, Rolls royce et al. these cars are also sold in India and are driven around in cities so should be as susceptible to theft of stereos as thar.

[jayded]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

As re. safety of soft tops, that argument should also extend to mini coopers, Audi A3 convertible, r8 convertible, Rolls royce et al. these cars are also sold in India and are driven around in cities so should be as susceptible to theft of stereos as thar.

The kind of places the Thar visits and the crowd it encounters is going to be vastly different from the kind that a Mini or Rolls Royce does. The latter kind of cars in most certainty are not going to see anything else except upmarket and safe surroundings.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by harikrishnanm

The test drive is not yet available, but is expected this week.

Some of my observations. The steering wheel is now properly centered, or atleast feels so. I took the following picture from the drivers seat after having 'centered' myself as much as possible.

Apart from this, there are these other points (that interested me) as well.

1. The seats are much better. I am 6'4" and heavily built. I could fit in well.
2. The canopy is supposed to be easily removable, although the salesman had no idea how that was to be done.
3. Overall finish seems much better
4. The front fender looks hideous; but the accessories shop has the OEM accessory that can replace this.
5. The alloys in the promotional video are available as an accessory and are not standard. Cost is 44k for 5 pieces.

Last but not the least, with the facelift, the better half was sold without me having had to do any convincing at all. So going ahead with the plunge.

I intend to do a full test drive this weekend and then go ahead with the booking.

Yes do take the test drive before booking. Congratulation on the home department approval.

6'4'' well built & fitting in - Good News

The Center mismatch problem of the Steering was not w.r.t the Instrumentation and dials but the Seat + Steering and Pedals - So do recheck that while taking the test drive.

The Bumpers do look a lot like the current Wrangler Bumpers in shape though I guess not in quality, you might want to keep them.

I guess the Vehicle will demand another 75k-1L of customization for the Music System plus Tyres and Rims if one wishes to get it near to the one in the video.

Suggest you do check out the Scorpio S4 4X4 as well. But then I guess if real off road trips are planned often or even once a year then Thar is the only option.

Originally Posted by AWD

Please compare the vehicle to a vehicle in the same price category. Wranglers, etc. when in india will cost around thrice the Thar. Car stereos are stolen from locked vehicles, do you think it would remain safe in an open/softtop vehicle in india ?

As the vehicle is built for oftoads & doesnt have the best of suspensions, such equipment will only increase the vibration clutter. Also as the fit & finish is not great, such objects could come loose & cause more noises.

While going open top or wading through deep waters there's an added risk of electrical damage with water.

I would tend to disagree.

1) Open top vehicle in India do have expensive electronics.
2) A well designed vehicle would not have the 2 din Deck unit rattle irrespective of the conditions in which it is driven even at the Thar price point.
3) The Jeep Wrangler which meets a similar aspiration and role in the USA and other western markets does have all the bells and whistles. Let us not compare the prices in India due to CBU level taxes.
4) The way to make a vehicle capable of going in water is not to simply do away with all the electronics.
5) A tangential Example of a softroader: When EcoSport trumps the Duster in water wading levels at 500 mm vs the Dusters 300 it does not reduce the electronics to gain this ability, it places them correctly and water proofs them where required at a significantly lower cost infact. Yeah, Yeah am aware that the EcoSport is not 4X4 or even AWD in India but the Duster is. How many (5%?) of the Thars customers would actually take it through Deep Waters?
6) The current measures by M&M to make the Interiors a really pleasant place to live in is aimed at a certain TG and to this TG the Deck and other features would matter. The Deck could simply have been given with a removable face plate to keep it safe it required. Or they could have made full removal of the deck a 5 hr job through internal hard to reach locks.
7) Why just a Deck in an open top vehicle one can steal the steering, the AC Blower, the seats itself and a lot more and sell them of in the Chor Bazzar the same way as a Music / Deck.
8) If you park in the wrong places the doers will steal the wheels of your car itself and leave it standing on bricks and in the right place nothing will be touched.
9) Why just the Deck wish it had Power Windows. A Deck can be added even later but Power Windows are best factory fitted.
10) Why go far does the Scorpio not have both a S4 & a S10 variant in 4X4 form i.e. with and without Gizmos as the customer would want?