[volkman10]

More details of the 2020 Thar!

A more premium cabin.

Expect a variety of features like a touchscreen system and auto AC.

Mahindra might offer an automatic transmission with the petrol engine.

The new Thar will continue to be offered with a 4x4 drivetrain.

Likely to command a premium over its predecessor owing to BS6 engines

Link

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by volkman10

More details of the 2020 Thar!





Link

Glad to hear it will be offered with a petrol engine option. Hope AT is also on the cards.

Now, since the Armed Forces do not have any proper alternative at the present moment, to the Gypsy, this new generation Petrol AT Thar could potentially fill that gap if offered in Soft top or Open top for quick troop deployment and in a Petrol engine with Auto transmission and 4WD H/L for deployment across all kinds of terrain. (The AT will simply make it easier on the driver).

I mean we all know the Tata Safari Storme is useful to the Army at HQ and at BASE, but is not the best vehicle for combat or seriously narrow roads and rough terrain situations because it is just too wide, large, ponderous and heavy.

So the Thar may be in with a chance, if they come in with a viable alternative which impresses the Armed Forces.

[SR7]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Glad to hear it will be offered with a petrol engine option. Hope AT is also on the cards.

I mean we all know the Tata Safari Storme is useful to the Army at HQ and at BASE, but is not the best vehicle for combat or seriously narrow roads and rough terrain situations because it is just too wide, large, ponderous and heavy.

So the Thar may be in with a chance, if they come in with a viable alternative which impresses the Armed Forces.

The upcoming Thar seems to be quite wide, I would place the ballpark at around 1800-1850 mm, that puts it in the width of Safari / Innova Crysta / Fortuner / Endeavour territory, this is considered wide by Indian standards.

I also doubt if the Defence forces would go for an AT - Govt. departments would have specific & minimum requirement / specs for vehicle procurement unless they revise the requirements for an AT.

Petrol AT would make it useful in the city traffic for urban owners and it does seem attractive, but I wonder how it would affect the off-roading prowess as we would not have full control!

What do you speculate about the pricing?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by SR7

The upcoming Thar seems to be quite wide, I would place the ballpark at around 1800-1850 mm,
I also doubt if the Defence forces would go for an AT -ut I wonder how it would affect the off-roading prowess as we would not have full control!

What do you speculate about the pricing?

If too wide it wont work on those narrow mountain trails.
I wonder why Defence cant consider an AT. It may actually help them optimise time and effort - all the driver has to do it stomp on the accelerator or brake as needed. The only reason the Defence chaps may not have so far considered an AT in these light vehicles is the simple lack of imagination. Indeed I do believe the latest Tanks and other heavy stuff in modern armies are all AT.
I disagree about the off road prowess being affected if the vehicle has an AT.
Most of the American Wranglers that go up and down MOAB and the RUBICON trail etc are all AT. So there is no reason why our Indian Jeeps used by the Armed Forces should not be AT. I am sure they will go most of the places where the Gypsy currently goes.
Ref pricing, I would be quite pleasantly surprised if the fully loaded, AT Petrol New Thar with all the bells and whistles and Safety kit etc, comes in at an ON ROAD price of anything less that 14 lacs in Bangalore.

[SR7]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I disagree about the off road prowess being affected if the vehicle has an AT.
Most of the American Wranglers that go up and down MOAB and the RUBICON trail etc are all AT. So there is no reason why our Indian Jeeps used by the Armed Forces should not be AT. I am sure they will go most of the places where the Gypsy currently goes.
Ref pricing, I would be quite pleasantly surprised if the fully loaded, AT Petrol New Thar with all the bells and whistles and Safety kit etc, comes in at an ON ROAD price of anything less that 14 lacs in Bangalore.

The Wrangler will obviously use superior tech compared to the upcoming Thar! The Thar will not have all the equipment of the former, so in it’s AT guise it may be less capable than the MT variant, so my statement is only with respect to the Thar. I may be wrong, but let us wait and watch! I feel having an MT gives better / direct clutch and RPM control over an AT in certain situations than letting the ECU decide.

₹14 lakh OTR Bangalore is optimistic, considering M&M will offer 4x4 and AT on it and the trend of car prices being inflated. Touchscreen unit is a welcome addition along with climate control and a few comfort features. Let us hope they price it reasonably.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by SR7

The Wrangler will obviously use superior tech compared to the upcoming Thar!! I feel having an MT gives better / direct clutch and RPM control over an AT in certain situations than letting the ECU decide.

₹14 lakh OTR Bangalore is optimistic, Let us hope they price it reasonably.

Wrangler certainly has invested more in better Tech. Yes. They have reinvented the Jeep for Modern times. The Thar has not yet done so.

AT is not such a problem on the standard off road scenarios. All over America and Australia and South Africa and other places, it is not as if all the commonly used Off Road trails are always managed better by MT.

MT is great. No doubt. But in today’s world, given the more generic NON-EXTREME use cases, I think AT is more than enough and especially with all the new Electronic aids, the on board computers can judge things to a nicety. A Petrol engine will be welcome.

Perhaps if this new THAR really does pass muster, they can offer the MT Petrol version to our Armed Forces as a worthy alternative in really rough terrain up at the borders.

The kerb weight of this M&M New Thar has to be kept reasonable else it will end up drinking petrol.

Pricing is terribly important. If the present gen THAR is sitting at 11 lacs, that is actually an insanely exorbitant and larcenous pricing, because those Thar body panels and chassis and all, are more than 30 years old...I mean even my Dad was remarking whats so great about the Thar, considering that it looks and feels exactly like our old MM540DP of the 1980’s.

Yes then engine and dials and facia etc are different but everything else more or less is the same. Even the 4WD lever is horribly placed in the present Gen Thar, as compared to our old MM540DP.

Hence, this New Thar MUST be careful with its pricing.
But let us wait and see what they have in store for us. I do hope they take the necessary care with the fit, finish, finesse and quality aspects of this.
It is an unique opportunity for M&M to give us common people a proper jeep type vehicle at a fair price.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Now, since the Armed Forces do not have any proper alternative at the present moment, to the Gypsy, this new generation Petrol AT Thar could potentially fill that gap if offered in Soft top or Open top for quick troop deployment and in a Petrol engine with Auto transmission and 4WD H/L for deployment across all kinds of terrain. (The AT will simply make it easier on the driver).

Wonder why the Indian army didnt consider the Force Gurkha which I believe is a very capable vehicle.
On the other hand glad to note that the new Thar would come with a company fitted Hard top.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Wonder why the Indian army didnt consider the Force Gurkha which I believe is a very capable vehicle.
On the other hand glad to note that the new Thar would come with a company fitted Hard top.

No idea. But Armed forces vehicle purchases are a murky world. Maruti made sense when it came in. And remained the “choice” for ages.
Till the Storme de-throned it. And then sort of failed in operationally difficult areas, causing them to go back to Maruti.
Trouble is that this is not a transparent process and probably in my lifetime, never will ever be.
Entering CSD is not easy. So I’m assuming entering Armed Forces OEM Supply must be 10 times more difficult.

Irrespective of MERIT.

India is a country of “RESERVATION” Policy. Do we really believe we will EVER achieve clean Meritocracy and Transparency?

Maybe - but it is still a long way off.

[navpreet318]

Force Gurkha 4x4 with difflocks is being supplied to the Indian Army as the Light Strike Vehicle. This was already known last year. Happened in 2018.

Please go through the following PDF declaration by Force Motors.

Supply to the Army is a prestigious point and I'm sure Mahindra would have had this in their mind at all times. And I'm sure that there would be testing and preparation being done for the same as well.

https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...Mix1sGUJbMzIbA

[shankar.balan]

Glad the Forces are looking at the Gurkha - that IS a beast.
Hope the All New Thar also gets a look in.

[Vmv]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

More images are surfacing as the launch is nearing. It's quite an upgrade from the current generation Thar.

Source: MotorWorldIndia

All new Meter console with MID too.
Source : https://www.motorworldindia.com/excl...ed-inside-out/

[manjunathkl]

Thar is an iconic off-roader whose origins are from Jeep long long ago. Most manufacturers use their iconic products to their marketing advantage by creating new products retaining visual characteristics, adding creature comforts to stay relevant with current standards and retaining the old name.
E.g. VW Beetle, Mini Cooper, Fiat 500, Jeep Wrangler, Land Rovers.

Mahindra will all its glorious SUV heritage (like even before the term SUV was coined), needs to come up a fitting product that is instantly recognizable as a Thar, but has modern creature comforts with a premium fit and finish.

Can Mahindra do it? Absolutely - they already did it for Jawa motorcycles. But should it do that? Short answer: Yes.

Long Answer: Mahindra is fighting for market share in India where Maruti take-up ~50% share. Mahindra needs an image make-over to compete with giants like Maruti. Plus, markets are SUV crazy now - its the right time to capitalize on Mahindra's strengths. What is the best way to demonstrate to the market about Mahindra's SUV credentials - launch a modern, well-designed, feature-packed Thar for the enthusiasts. It may not sell in great numbers, but it will scream and tell the markets that SUV = Mahindra. Also, it demonstrates the Mahindra on its own can build world-class icons without doing badge engineering.

How about an Electric Thar?

[r_devakumar]

Today morning saw a new Thar with DRL (@35 seconds)

https://youtu.be/H2i39-dghrk

[slalom]

https://youtu.be/Th2dto9cW3s

[Sandeep500]

The one thing Mahindra vehicles have edge over other manufacturers is that have very good and strong engines that punch above their class of vehicles. That is one of reasons of their good standing. Hope Thar in its new avataar continues their this legacy.