[humyum]

When I saw the test mules of the Thar going around with those massive 18 inch alloy wheels, it looked so aspirational, something I would want to buy at some point in life soon.

When it was unveiled too, it set my heat racing, the black bumpers with the grey color body looked so marvelous, specially with the alloy wheel color and design matching the whole look. The interiors were a revelation too, so well done as compared to what the Thar was before.

But as soon as the driving dynamics came into the picture, things started to go downhill for me. I saw reviewers moving the steering left and right by quite some amount with the car continuing in a straight line as if no input was given, secondly, when the car was being driven, a continuous steering input was needed to keep her going straight, a very tiring thing on highway drives. I want to hold the steering straight and move it only left and right when the road turns or I have to change direction, not keep giving inputs to it all the time.

I know these are just observations from video's but these observations are when comparing it to say Brezza or Eco sport when it comes to how a steering should behave in a straight line or when being driven around.

No, I will not buy 'this is an offroader' argument on this at all, its a lifestyle vehicle, so is an Isuzu Dmax and so are many other SUV's. If Mahindra is serious about making this a lifestyle vehicle which people aspire to buy, its on road dynamics are 1000000 times more important than its off-roading one. This vehicle will be bought by someone looking at a Brezza, Eco-Sport, Sonet, Venue or even a Creta or Seltos to buy.

Now let me get to the last part, the price, from the figures I hear, its something 10 to 15 lakh ex-showroom, which makes the lowest variant around 12.5 lakhs on road. I will readily go for a Seltos or a Creta if its priced at these marks, there is too much to give up on for this lifestyle vehicle.

These are just my opinions

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Are you sure of this? Where did you get this information ? Because if ESP is switched off, I don't know how the brake locking differential will work. Guess we will know after October. Mahindra should explain it better.

I do not think Brake - lock - Diff is a marketing lipstick. This was used by Landrover models of the past (disliked by offroaders) and perhaps a function of the ESP /TC /ABS module itself in case of Thar so no extra cost associated with it. Whoever is the vendor for this module will be the same as it is for other global car brands that have this feature, so we can expect it to work as intended.

On a front axle that needs to steer, its better to put a Brake-lock-diff than an MLD which does not engage or disengage predictably enough for a steer axle. When a front wheel is up in the air, brake lock diff can brake that individual wheel and transfer power over to the other side differentialy.

TC , ESP , ABS functions are being integrated these days - in the earlier days ESP was dependent on brakes , TC was controlling the engine power to prevent wheel slip.

In 4L mode, an abrupt braking on a spinning wheel by brake-lock-diff or a person itself may break the axle, most offroad vehicles will disable such features on 4L.

A true locking diff has no equal - it is for expert users only. Chances of someone driving on the road with locked diff is very real and will mess with all the other driver aids and of course steering input as well.

[dsr_rpm]

If the real wheel arch needs to match the front. It will take away more interior space.

They could have tried to match the front wheel arch with the rear.

[DBeast]

I was waiting for it, and the new Thar is actually an upgrade from the outgoing model. I found one thing very interesting while watching n number of Thar first look reviews on youtube, that one channel host mentioned that "Thar has WASHABLE interiors". Is it true as I only heard it on one channel only. Anyone else also heard about it? @Aditya (Moderator) whats your say?

[Axe77]

Any idea which hard top will be the most expensive model. Petrol LX AT or diesel LX AT? I am assuming within LX hard top will be costliest.

[DriveOnceMore]

Originally Posted by DBeast

I was waiting for it, and the new Thar is actually an upgrade from the outgoing model. I found one thing very interesting while watching n number of Thar first look reviews on Youtube, that one channel host mentioned that "Thar has WASHABLE interiors". Is it true as I only heard it on one channel only. Anyone else also heard about it? @Aditya (Moderator) whats your say?

Yes the interiors are WATER PROOF and rated IP54 (not the toughest standards though)
Refer to Thar's website: https://auto.mahindra.com/suv/thar/s...tions-features and go to Technology tab.
There company has specified the same.
I was quite surprised yet happy to see that.
Good attention to details!

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore

Yes the interiors are WATER PROOF and rated IP54 (not the toughest standards though)
Refer to Thar's website: https://auto.mahindra.com/suv/thar/s...tions-features and go to Technology tab.
There company has specified the same.
I was quite surprised yet happy to see that.
Good attention to details!

Its NOT water proof. The button etc on the insides are resistant to light drizzle or light splashes.

[desertfox]

Originally Posted by tilt

OK, does this mean that in the manual transmission, there is no way to "lock" the front hubs at all? Does this mean that the front would essentially be like an open diff?

I am sure Mahindra, with their off-road history, would have another way to accomplish a lock in the manual version.

Cheers

The front hubs remain unchanged. Self locking. In MT there won't be much change from the present set up.

[NDK286]

Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore

Yes the interiors are WATER PROOF and rated IP54 (not the toughest standards though)
Refer to Thar's website: https://auto.mahindra.com/suv/thar/s...tions-features and go to Technology tab.
There company has specified the same.
I was quite surprised yet happy to see that.
Good attention to details!

The reviewer from Overdrive was enthusiastic about being able to "hose down the dashboard"

Can imagine someone literally doing that and arguing with the dealer when everything stops working !

[Dry Ice]

I guess the interiors need to be able to withstand some amount of water since they have doubled down on the "wind in the hair" motoring. That's logical.

What it's definitely not designed to withstand is if someone tries to actually pressure wash the dashboard and electronics.

Maybe the floors would be OK, since it doesn't have fabric carpets, but has drain plugs. This too only if the owner doesn't install a underseat amp, woofer etc.

I think there should be a clear warning in the manual about what you can or can't hose down!

[DriveOnceMore]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Its NOT water proof. The button etc on the insides are resistant to light drizzle or light splashes.

Brother it's IP54 rated, so it has upper limits of handling the amount of water for specific amount of time with specific pressure.
I already stated in my comment that IP54 doesn't mean great water proofing too.
For your reference, Nowadays mobiles have IP67 rating.
But it's definitely drizzle resistant.

[avishar]

The real behind the scenes footage of Mahindra's design "inspiration" before copying the Wrangler to the last nut.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by Ferruccio

...thanks to my left knee.

I have owned 5 VW DSG cars in succession, own a Nano AMT and currently a Hexa AT with no complaints whatsoever. . . never a problem. India had no cell-phone mechanics 15 years ago. Now it is easier to get cell phones repaired than an Umbrella. With 35% Plus adoption of 'clutchless technologies' in India (i.e. the entire alphabet soup of automatic tranny types) there will be soon more AT technicians than MT

I have to tell you, I find this opinion of yours more than a little unsupported by clear evidence. Just look around this site and read a few of the technical posts. Look at the horror stories car owners relate by the thousands right here on this site about mechanics who have butchered their cars. There is today in India a great lack of automotive know how both in dealer and private shops as far as service and repair. That being the case, do you REALLY believe that somehow automatic transmission technicians are just going to appear magically and mysteriously when after decades it's still hard to find good general mechanics?

[vkochar]

Any news on bookings ? I would be placing a booking immediately for a Black AX hardtop AT.

I contacted my car dealer who does everything from finance to insurance to resell and he said to hold for 1 or 2 days more.

Has anyone booked here and what is the amount ? I presume refundable.

I love this vehicle so far and the price would be the deciding factor. Been a silent follower but am blown away by the offering and all videos seen so far. Seems a fun vehicle to add to an existing exciting garage.
I expect a low price and a surprising wow costing from Mahindra. Wishful thinking but one that makes sense in these extremely uncertain times.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by vkochar

Any news on bookings ? I would be placing a booking immediately for a Black AX hardtop AT.

Official bookings are slated to start in October after launch - as per some dealers. Some un-official pre-bookings are happening with some dealers (Rs. 10/15K). Probably just to make some quick bucks.

By the way, does AX have AT? Automatic comes only in LX variant I guess.