[hydraulicsteer]

From the looks of it, price could be upwards of 15 lacs onroad for a diesel. I feel Mahindra is again targeting it at a pure lifestyle vehicle audience and not to the mass market unlike what Mr. Goenka said in a recent interview. Currently i see V-Cross as the only remote competitor to New Thar. But a serious standing ovation to Mahindra for putting in so much of effort on a non mass market vehicle . Guys in UP-Punjab- Kerala must be warming up their bank accounts!

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by swami69

ST - soft top
HT - hard top
MT - manual tranny
AT - auto tranny

No HT MT configuration in your list?
There will surely be a fan base for that.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by adamkathy23

Agreed, My point however, was if other manufacturers(Jeep, Ford) could do it, Mahindra could too.

Oh yes of course they could technically. But the investment needed for the LWB design, testing, production & support, will never be justified & reciprocated by the sales numbers it would see. Jeep & Ford have the NAM market to sell their product in. M&M only has India. No way they can make a solid profit with 2 options of the Thar. (Sad reality.) And IMO, the LWB 4+1 door Wrangler looks nowhere near as cool & capable as the SWB one. So the points for looks, macho appeal are lost with the added 2 doors too. For reference - imagine a 4 door Gypsy. It just doesn't get accepted in the mind.

No matter how refined & "modern" the THAR is appearing, IMO its not a car to take your family touring in. Its a lifestyle vehicle for true enthusiasts of the Jeep form. No family is safe in a Jeep with a plastic top and hardly any provable safety features for long distance or high speed travels. And the rear doors are only for those family members most of the time.

It would be better to simply buy a next generation 4 door Scorpio that would share this platform while giving better comfort, safety for occupants.

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by Gladiator_1

Looking at the different spy shots of rear portion of hard top varients, two different type of rear glass lifting mechanism can be seen ( one with the 2 hinges over the rear glass & one with two rubber). Can someone please explain the reason behind this.

There are 2 hinges on the top suggesting that the rear door will open like a hatch. But that will not be possible with a heavy spare tire attached to it.
Also there is a handle on the left side of the rear door suggesting that it will open sideways with hidden hinges to the right.
I think it will be a combination of both - the lower part with the attached spare tire will open sideways and the rear glass will open like a hatch. Only problem is this may make the glass prone to shattering. Let's see what the final version has.

[Lowflyer23]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Trust me - it is a good placement, especially in our conditions. And most certainly in what is a thoroughbred 4x4 off roader. When windows are opened - rain water, mud anything falls on the switchgear in door panels. These electronic buttons are better off away from all of it.

Sir I deeply appreciate your attention to detail and knowledge . I was simply amazed that you thought of it in line with the use of the vehicle . Man oh man my love and respect for this forum is increasing day by day.

[hydraulicsteer]

A clearer image of the sculpted rear. They’ve played with the design as well and not blindly copied the wrangler.

Notice the key holed fuel lid.

Source: Motorbeam

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by Lowflyer23

However are those the window controls besides the handbrake? If so then that is not a very ergonomic position.

Power window switches are provided in the centre deliberately because doors are reportedly removable. Heard this on a youtube reporting. Not sure if it's true.

[airbus]

New THAR looks promising. I will definitely take a test drive to check if this can replace my TUV3OO.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by ohaak

They lost out badly in the Roxxor case in the USA. The new front grills for the Roxxor after the case was lost weren't bad at all.
Why can't they use this opportunity to create a unique identity?

Case 1 - Lost decades

Take any legacy off-roaders. You can trace every one of them as ' inspired' from jeep, or licensed, or even copied from jeep. Mahindra ofcourse licensed them and continued making them for half a century.
While other off-roaders got their individuality with each passing generations, the license raj and captive market meant Mahindra couldn't/needn't do anything well until the 90s.
Can't say till it's been fully unveiled, but Mahindra may have wanted to create some connect between the Thar generations. By the third gen Thar, Mahindra would have fully stopped piggybacking on the jeep legacy.

Case 2 - Not on my turf

The jeep vehicle is close to Mahindra's DNA, and though not much of a volume seller, they wanted the Thar to be there as a halo vehicle, a hark back to the past.
As much as JEEP has the rights over the name and grille, in India the jeep vehicle is synonymous with Mahindra and is a generic term. Even not just India, across the world. Open top, utilitarian shape, with round lights and fenders. Let it be an indian, japanese, european, korean, chinese, Soviet model. It would be called a Jeep. Heck, other than enthusiasts guess no one would even use the Thar name. General populace will still call it a jeep. Maybe even Mahindra jeep.

Regarding the Wrangler look alikeness, in Mahindra's defence there is only such much to do to modernise a jeep design. Would end up looking like a modern day Wrangler anyway.
Also may not have wanted to alienate the customers who demand the jeep look, though IMHO they could have done something with the grille. The round headlights, fenders and overall shape are enough for most to get the jeep styling. No need to keep the seven vertical slots.

And looking at the kinda stupid US judgement; CJ models no longer made by Jeep and the overtly general trade dress. The new Thar already seems to skirt through any future allegations. Except for the grille. Jeep was crazy enough to sue Hummer for using seven vertical slots. Maybe Mahindra is confident enough of a lawsuit in India and it's their way of showing the finger to FCA

That said, hope the 2nd gen Thar becomes mainstream and a huge success, by the time the 3rd gen comes, it would have developed its own identity than piggybacking Jeeps legacy.
Looking at the Marazzo design language, any fears of the old Mahindra wierd designs are unfounded.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by adamkathy23

Now this is what is expected from a 21st century motor company! If only Mahindra could stretch it a bit and slap 2 more doors.


Peace.

Already in the works and goes by the code name Z101. And it is called Scorpio

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...t-testing.html

[diwakarmuthu]

Lovely pictures. Thanks for sharing with the community. My initial observations:

1. Miles ahead of current gen Thar. The interiors are a breath of fresh air, as one member pointed out, the door pads looks flush and inviting

2. I don't know the cost difference in putting a plastic grab handle versus a nylon grip that doesn't look the part. Hope this is one of the stuff that will get sorted out during the launch

3. The coverage of the left wheel arch in the rear. Could this turn out to be difficult for people who are sitting at the rear, maybe noise or even heat generated from the wheels.

4. Coming to the driver seat the center console, even in an AT trim I am not seeing an opportunity for a hand rest. If you notice the cup holders and the hand brake comes in the way. Maybe the AT should have a electronic parking brake, but not sure how it would perform in the harsh 4x4 scenarios.

5. I hope the OEM CEATs drive good. When I got my Scorpio, I was provided with Apollos and they didn't even last for 30,000 kms. Alternatively, they can provide other options too - Bridgestone, MRF or Michelin AT's

6. In the earlier spyshots, I did notice that the spare wheels were placed a bit higher almost disturbing your rear view. But in the current photographs, it is nicely lowered hopefully providing a good view.

7. I am expecting better quality plastics from Mahindra. Typically the ones provided lose color in a couple of years and they turn grey. With the expectation of a plastic hardtop, bumpers, wheel arches, dash and the door pads, there is generous use of plastic. As a owner who looks at minimum ownership of 10 years, they better hold their color or we will need to find jugaad to keep them to their original shades

8. The rear seat looks too upright for me, not sure if you can adjust it for the rear passengers. Will they provide a 60:40 split to increase cargo space and reclining angles so that long distance travel can be comfortable. I hope they provide some storage under the seats like how the Bronco or the new F-150

9. The front seats looks plush and comfy. One doubt though is the speaker pod that is placed right above, would it be a discomfort if the driver is 6ft or more, and the need to push the seat back to get the right driving position.

10. Finally the powertrain, as is the wish of this community, I just hope Mahindra goes big bang and launches all the options, including OEM customization

I am super excited now. Having driven the barebones Scorpio LX for the last 10 years, this looks a big upgrade on it, just hope that it drives the same or better.

All set for Aug 15 now!!

[KkVaidya]

Wannabe Wrangler - Looks like M&M has got a winner in its hands.
Hope the engine variants are equally powerful as they are smaller compared to the outgoing 2.5 CRDe
Prices would be upwards of INR 12-13 Lakhs i believe which sounds perfectly reasonable as THAR has always been a lifestyle vehicle

[discoverwild]

Is it just me that finds these areas to be "jugaad" work in an otherwise seemingly better made vehicle?

1. L-angles with screws to hold the hard top.
2. Ugly rivets for the door pad.
3. Uneven contouring of the door carpeting.

[Ferruccio]

Originally Posted by yrwagh

At the rear, looks a crude finish on the sides or is it because this is still a test mule. Dear Mahindra, Dont disappoint this time

I expect that there will be quite an after-market industry making Thars liveable and suitable for human usage as is the case with Enfields.Think of it as a good blank canvas to do your thing and everything is fine!

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Power window switches are provided in the centre deliberately because doors are reportedly removable. Heard this on a Youtube reporting. Not sure if it's true.

Just where it's supposed to be in Jeep terms

If you look closely many Mahindra products have followed the American Jeep brand products, older ones of course.

The Jeep derived products have a grab handle on the passenger side dashboard, The front speaker provision under the side AC vents on dashboard, Amber Reflectors on the side of headlight, rear speakers above the tailgate on the roof , doors do not cover the running board, two vertical projections on the front bumper , character line that connects front and rear lights etc that I can remember, I'm sure there is more.