[Gurkeerat Singh]

Introduction
The last 17 months have seen an over abundant series of change in the status quo. The only thing which has persisted in the midst of this epidemic for me has been the bewildered state of mind my father set me in last September. I scored exceptionally well in my X boards (well, a little more than what was expected) and was promised to be bought a car of my choice before I turn 18. From then on started the drill, extensively reading the Indian car scene, following new car launches intimately and making lists after lists. Oh! In the midst of writing this I overlooked the fact that I haven’t introduced myself on this forum before. So hey!
My name is Gurkeerat and I happen to be a 12th grader at Welham Boys’. I have been passionate about cars ever since I’ve gained conscience and have been visualising about my first car from time immemorial. My dad has been a regular reader of this forum for far too many years and that’s where the bug to be a member of this forum started. Thanks to the moderators for approving my profile at the first attempt!

The car
To cut it short we zeroed in on the Mahindra Thar LX in a couple of weeks. For a moment I started to reason out things and do a cost-benefit analysis of cars in this price segment where the Thar would prove to be at the bottom of each list without fail. However, no car was half as aspirational as it was and by then I had already fallen in love with it. Another influence in this process was that lately, everyone in my family has started to like only and only low slung sedans and truth be told, even I don’t see myself in a BOF SUV a decade from now so this might have been my only chance. We had a similar garage situation to 84.monsoon so his review helped a lot in this decision!

We wanted the LX hardtop diesel. We were initially fixed upon the AT but after test driving both the transmissions we felt that the MT did more justice to Thar’s character. The variant soon got finalised manual top end variant- LX HT MT mHawk. Initially, we were quoted a waiting period of 8-9 months but the caveat was that the car would have been enjoyed the most in these few months only; because if the college I get admitted to does not allow student cars on campus then the car would, for the most part become a weekend ride. A few calls here and there, with some dealers and mutual friends and my dad got me the Thar in just over a week.

Brief review
The Thar towers over the monocoque SUVs and crossovers. No car near this price point can give you the road presence it does. It drives well in straight lines, it does not corner half as good as the Ecosport I learned to drive in, it eats bad roads for breakfast, the visibility is unlike any car I’ve driven. While running in the engine, I drove it at sedate speeds and low rpm in the city, it fetched me an average of 11.5 kmpl which IMO is okay for a 1.7 tonne behemoth. Ergonomics are almost spot on (apart from missing armrests, almost non existent boot and glove box etc.).

I’ll write a comprehensive ownership review after the 10k service. Until then here’s a list of aesthetic and functional mods I’ve done:

1. Wrangler style Grille: The original one initially felt out of place to my eyes and I felt that the big 7 slats suited it better. First we got it fit with Matt black paint(original) but after seeing the gloss black in person we got ours painted too.

Attachment 2185382
2. LED taillight indicators with a swooping animation



3. Amplifier: We bought this one a few years back for our Ecosport and IMHO its bass can not even be paralleled by the Harman/kardons in our 5 series! The stock sound system otherwise is decent enough.


4. Front armrest with some storage: with its tall gearing, I found my left elbow constantly looking for a place to rest. I chose one with some storage because its glove box can literally hold nothing more than a pair of training gloves.


5. Red coloured radium tape inserts on the alloys: purely aesthetic.


6. Floor Mats: the OEM mats were a joke, I wouldn’t even use them in my truck! Regular ones didn’t work for me and we had tried the 7D ones in our Endeavour but they would always entangle with the pedals. Ultimately, we got a big and heavy(since its floor is quite slippery) rug and cut that according to our taste, got its sides stitched and added a layer of foam underneath them for sound insulation and better feel (BTW that’s what we’ve been practising in all our cars for nearly a decade).




7. Bigger IRVM: better rearwards view, looks good.

8. Red hand towels for the seats

9. Rear view camera: this is a must, I feel it should have come with the car. We went for the one in the official accessories list and it’s really good, the picture quality is excellent.


10. Heads up display: it was also one of the official accessories, and seemed good to me in pictures, but it’s extremely gimmicky. I’ll probably get it removed before the first service itself.


11. Stitched tissue paper holder at the back: it doubles up as a paper +mask holder, I keep the car’s RC, pollution, etc in this to avoid folding them in the glove box.


12. Multi colour Ambient lighting: these are LED strips which can’t be seen after installation and work really well. The only caveat is that it has to be operated by a remote since our mechanic couldn’t connect it to the door lock.

13. DIY ceramic coating: we used the Meguiar car wax and the Thar was gleaming in all its glory post that.


14. Blind spot mirrors on the orvm: there’s a particular cut I’ve to take everyday where these help a lot.


15. PU leather Steering wheel cover( black with red stitching)


16. Upgrading the bulbs in the headlight: the stock bulbs were okay, however, an upgrade was required. I switched to 125W bulbs from Osram with a relay. They work really well!

17. 4*Blue Angel eye fog lamps under the bumper(the blue outline works along the DRLs while the fog lights work with the oem fog lights)


18. 3M green tint on the windows,less intensity*(Looks like the green UV cut glasses on the Rapid and Baleno)



19. Soft head rests


Next on list:
1. Hella rallye 3000s
2. After market bumper: I’m a little apprehensive to its notion because despite the manufacturers claim of it getting crumpled at the slightest of crash; I doubt it.
3. Stage 1 remap/Dieseltronic: the petrol Thar makes 152 horses and 320Nm so I believe this one would be able to manage those figures too.

ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE MORE THAN WELCOME!

[Aditya]

Good stuff Gurkeerat. The Thar is a really desirable vehicle. With modifications, it just gets better.

The first thing any Thar owner is likely to do, is change the radiator grille. The design you have chosen is just perfect. I also like the larger IRVM, blind spot mirrors, rear view camera and ambient lighting. The car will look amazing when you fit the Rallye 3000s. They will just suit the Thar a lot better than the flashers and fog lamps that are currently on the car.

Get custom off-road bumpers if you can. They are much less likely to get damaged than these plastic ones.

[PetrolHead2272]

W-O-W

I love the Thar in stock form and I used to hate the idea of modification. After reading your thread and seeing one beautifully modified Thar, I know love the idea of modifying cars. Thats a wonderful car you've got yourself, plus all the accessories you have added are great (except heads up display).

The only thing I didn't like the Thar in stock form was the plain grille. The Wrangler styled grille you've gotten for your Thar looks amazing.

Once again, Congrats bud. May you cover many happy miles with the Thar.
Thanks

[Levi]

It is illegal for personal vehicles to use red/blue strobe lights on public roads. In your case it looks like you are trying to impersonate the police which is a punishable offence. If you have to use strobe lights, you can use amber lights instead.

[puneetakhouri]

Good job mate, I really liked the rugs converted to floor mats concept and might probably try them in my car too. But the led flasher lights (#19), are they legal? I mean will it not create a false impression to anyone that there is a police jeep or an ambulance coming?

[tsgoutham]

Congratulations on the new car! Wish you many happy and safe miles.

I'm sorry but I think the blue-red flashers would just cause unnecessary distraction for others on the road. It misleads the lay into thinking it is law enforcement, which is not correct. Legality is another concern. I think it's ethically wrong firstly.

[petrogeek]

Very nice modifications! However you may want to rethink:-

1. The blue fog lights

2. The red and blue flasher

These are definitely not legal and in violation of the provisions of the CMV Act.

@ Team BHP- We may consider moderating images on the forum which may be in violation of certain rules lest the forum be charged with publicizing violations.- Just my thoughts.

[RedTerrano]

Absolutely beautiful!
Loved all mods, except the red blue flashers.

And the ceramic coating is simply wow.
Please do update after you install those Hella rallyes

[som9729]

Originally Posted by Gurkeerat Singh

Introduction

ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE MORE THAN WELCOME!

Hey, Great jeep!
Looks really good!

Do keep in mind that the Red & Blue lights are actually border-line illegal.
Abroad, its definitely illegal!
In India, some RTOs/police might enforce it and some may not.

Just be careful with it!

[Gurkeerat Singh]

Thanks for all the great responses! I’ve got my fog lamps shipped today and would get them installed this coming week. All your concerns regarding the flashers make quite a lot of sense to me too plus they don’t look good with the Hella lamps! I’ll probably get rid of them while installing the fog lamps.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Congrats on the New car, wishing you many happy miles!

You could also get bigger ORVMs, I think they call them 'Wrangler style ORVMs'. You wouldn't need the blind spot mirrors then, which any way have a tendency to fall off after a few years.

Could you also please tell us a bit more about your Sierra? would be lovely to have a thread on that one; there are no longer any active Sierra threads on the forum, but a lot of people still love that icon!

[OPMaurya]

Originally Posted by Gurkeerat Singh

Attachment 2185415

Nice execution!

I concur with everyone here on the use of flasher...won't be if any use other than being harassed, particularly if travelling out of your place (where almost everyone knows you) or running in a police checkpost.

Slightly off topic: is that a Sierra in the background?

[Gurkeerat Singh]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

Could you also please tell us a bit more about your Sierra? would be lovely to have a thread on that one; there are no longer any active Sierra threads on the forum, but a lot of people still love that icon!

I must say that you’ve got a really keen eye! The Sierra happens to be my dad’s project car. I’d surely post about it in detail sometime soon

Originally Posted by OPMaurya

Slightly off topic: is that a Sierra in the background?

Yes, indeed! It has been in our family for over 2 decades now. A couple of years back we took upon restoring it and today we stand very close to what we had expected. I’ll share a detailed write up as soon as we’re done!

[yatesh.92]

First of all, many congratulations for the Thar!!! Wishing you a pleasant ownership experience. In terms of mods, they are good enough. I'd agree with others though on the red & blue flashers. You could land in trouble. Hellas IMO would be a good add on only if you are frequently doing highway travel in monsoon and foggy conditions. A few suggestions from my side on the mods ONLY if you love off roading:
1. Off road bumper (Bimbra 4x4 has many designs)
2. Go for slightly tougher all terrain tyres (BF Goodrich KO2s/Ultramile 4x4 AT bull/Maxxis Bravo AT 980). Please note though that ride comfort may reduce since these are tough hard compound tyres while the stock ones are a softer compound.

[nerdgalore]

Will these carpets mats not be a pain to clean every time as I assume these are not waterproof? I am not sure about the red-blue flashers, they might be illegal is some areas.