[car_guy1998]

Had TD'ed this beast in the month of December as I was passing near the Mahindra showroom.

My initial impressions of the vehicle:

-The Thar has tremendous power and the engine has the good pull as well
-The turning radius is way lighter than our Innova
-The rear camera quality is ok
-This car has good road presence
-I felt this car more easier to drive in city
-The clutch is lighter than what I've expected
-Can easily touch 100 Kmph in 4th gear as well

All in all,I had 5 Kms TD of the Thar Diesel MT and came back impressed after the TD.Wanted to book one but due to practicality reasons,had to drop this vehicle from the list.

But,I wish that the Thar will enter into our garage someday!

[Bhushanrulz]

Hi Guys,

After lots of pondering and and bickering, have finally booked a Black Diesel MT HT variant.

The long wait for about 40 odd weeks starts.

While I did the booking yesterday, I had a few questions if anyone could help it would be great.

My current daily ride is a 2013 Hyundai Creta and a 2011 innova and at best the running is around 25 odd kms per day, within the city limits.

I wanted a fun to drive, purely from the heart kind of a purchase.

And its quite random that the number of options considered have ranged from a Kia Seltos GT to a used 2017 fortuner to the new jeep compass face lift, and then even considering a brand new ford endeavour.

A car big enough to accomodate my pet dog for weekend short drives for a family of 2 is what i was primarily looking for, and maybe try my hand at off roading at times.

I personally am an avid motorcycle enthusiast and instead of plonking my money on a brand new endeavor, i thought maybe a triumph rocket 3r and the new thar are a better fit for me within the same budget.

Now the question is, im quite confused if i have made the right choice with the diesel MT.

Why the diesel MT?
-Im not sure how experienced mahindra is with the petrol engines.
-Im not sure if the petrol would face a similar propotionate resale value as the diesel
-Ive never been a fan of AT transmissions except for the ones on cars upwards of 50L
-Going old school MT with lesser complexities with an indian brand is what i prefer, specially after having experienced the several mechanical failures in my manual Safari Dicor issues from 2006 to 2011
- ive been a bullet owner and spenind time at the workshop with my hands greased up really doesnt bother me

Why the confusion?
- All the auto reviewers have suddenly since the past month or so, started praising the Petrol AT
- Mileage is not a concern to me
- outright performance is what matters to me, since its anyway meant to be a fun car and would probably not replace any of my existing cars
- is the AT really that good over the MT? Specially since I would prefer the MT from mahindra (lack of faith on their AT, for no specific reason as such)
- is the performance significantly higher from the 0 to 100 between the petrol and diesel
- will the petrol have lesser waiting time?

Inspite of the doubts i thought the diesel MT is a safe bet and decided to atleast go ahead with the booking and figure the exact variant later.

Any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance, cheers!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by Bhushanrulz

Now the question is, im quite confused if i have made the right choice with the diesel MT.

I would strongly recommend picking the AT over the MT, whether it is petrol or diesel. The MT is not very smooth shifting, somewhat noisy and has long throws. Also the clutch pedal, through soft enough is long-travel and consumes too much of the precious space in the footwell, leaving too little for your left foot.

The AT from Aisin is truly world class and I have tested it in all conditions highway, off-road and in the mountains. It is smooth, responsive and due to the shorter gearing, does not feel any slower than the MT. In fact some of the media tests put the Diesel AT a tad faster than the Diesel MT in a 0-100 run. The Diesel AT also gives very good fuel mileage of around 14-15 in reasonably fast highway runs and ~12 in pretty busy city traffic.

You mentioned you did not trust AT's unless it is in the 50 lakh price bracket. Well, the Thar AT is pretty much the same unit as in the 50 lakh Fortuner! Aisin is part of the Toyota family and makes very reliable transmissions.

When it comes to Petrol versus Diesel AT, if speed is your sole criteria, Petrol may have a slight edge of being, say, a second faster to 100 KPH. However, city fuel efficiency is abysmal - many owners are reporting 7 kpl on the Thar owners groups in Facebook. Though you may not care about the cost of fuel per-se, it is still pretty inconvenient to have to fuel up every 350KM. On a highway trip also, you would have to fuel up every 4-5 hours as the trange would be around 400-450 kms on a full tank versus the 700 odd KMs the Diesel can go on a full tank. Range anxiety is not fun at all on a driving holiday

[Slipstream11]

Originally Posted by Bhushanrulz

Inspite of the doubts i thought the diesel MT is a safe bet and decided to atleast go ahead with the booking and figure the exact variant later.

Gone the Diesel MT way myself.

A change in the variant later will lead to your original (current) booking being cancelled (and registering a fresh booking). So your 40+ week waiting period will start afresh, please be mindful of that.

[jkrishnakj]

Hi Bhushan -

Like 84.monsoon rightly pointed out, please go with the AT. Its so much more easier to drive and you will enjoy it a lot more. Technicalities of the Aisin aside, which is having its own credibility, you will love the AT. There are many off-road videos of the AT Thar that does some off-road segments look so easy.

On the Petrol Vs Diesel, it is a fact that the Petrol engine is very smooth. So quiet as well, so much so that when I got to drive one last week, I didn't realise that the engine was already turned on when I climbed into the driver seat.

Where the Petrol takes a hit is a mileage of about 6-7 km/hour. If you really don't care about mileage, the Petrol may tick. That said, also remember that this is Mahindra's first Petrol engine.

So, my recommendation will be an AT and a Diesel.

[Bhushanrulz]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

You mentioned you did not trust AT's unless it is in the 50 lakh price bracket. Well, the Thar AT is pretty much the same unit as in the 50 lakh Fortuner! Aisin is part of the Toyota family and makes very reliable transmissions.

Though you may not care about the cost of fuel per-se, it is still pretty inconvenient to have to fuel up every 350KM. On a highway trip also, you would have to fuel up every 4-5 hours as the trange would be around 400-450 kms on a full tank versus the 700 odd KMs the Diesel can go on a full tank. Range anxiety is not fun at all on a driving holiday

Thank you soo much for your valuable insight Mr.84, and yes when you do put things in that perspective, it sure is a bummer to be always on the ook out for a fuel pump when you are such low on mileage.

Also I will research on the Aisin transmission as well, and as long as its associated to toyota, I think the reliability issue can now be put at ease.

I guess if I cancel within 48hrs I get the full refund, which otherwise would attract a refund charge of Rs.2100 post 48hrs.

I think I will go ahead and book a Diesel AT version with the same config as well and then take a call as to how my research on both the cars pans out, and which ever promises an early delivery.

Thank you!

[Bhushanrulz]

Originally Posted by Slipstream11

Gone the Diesel MT way myself.

A change in the variant later will lead to your original (current) booking being cancelled (and registering a fresh booking). So your 40+ week waiting period will start afresh, please be mindful of that.

I checked with the team and you are correct. Rather I was given an understanding that variant changes arent allowed anymore, you need to cancel and rebook. Earning on extra interest over the 20 days refund policy maybe?

Since its anyway just been 1 day since Ive booked, the delay wont impact much to me, also the waiting for the AT vairant is 37-40 weeks as compared to the 40-43 weeks on the MT, as per their website.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Hi Bhushan -

Like 84.monsoon rightly pointed out, please go with the AT. Its so much more easier to drive and you will enjoy it a lot more. Technicalities of the Aisin aside, which is having its own credibility, you will love the AT. There are many off-road videos of the AT Thar that does some off-road segments look so easy.

Where the Petrol takes a hit is a mileage of about 6-7 km/hour. If you really don't care about mileage, the Petrol may tick. That said, also remember that this is Mahindra's first Petrol engine.

So, my recommendation will be an AT and a Diesel.

Done sir! Have booked the AT version as well. Will take a final call once I test drive both the variants soon enough. Thanks a bunch for your inputs.

[MithunSathianat]

Few owners are facing the below problem (got the info from WhatsApp group):

Loss of power in 4H mode on sharp bends, especially on the inclines when the car is steered completely to any one of the side.

Does some one here faced this issue? Request the owners to check this issue.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by MithunSathianat

Loss of power in 4H mode on sharp bends, especially on the inclines when the car is steered completely to any one of the side

This behavior is typical of part-time 4WD vehicles if driven on tarmac in 4WD mode (4H or 4L), wherein the driver experiences significant understeer! Are these "reports" coming with regards to tarmac driving or trail driving?

[techfreak]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

This behavior is typical of part-time 4WD vehicles if driven on tarmac in 4WD mode (4H or 4L), wherein the driver experiences significant understeer! Are these "reports" coming with regards to tarmac driving or trail driving?

4wd engaged in tarmac? It itlsef is sacrilege. Who in good sense or knowledge engages 4WD mode on tarmac?
I am no off road or 4x4 expert but my work entails driving quite a bit n mostly it's 4x4 vehicles n never ever have I had to use 4WD mode on tarmac in last 23 odd years.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by techfreak

4wd engaged in tarmac? It itlsef is sacrilege

Of course it is a big no-no, but I guess a significant section of Thar buyers would be driving a part-time 4wd for the first time and I won't be surprised if these reports are from this segment! Hence the question.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by techfreak

4wd engaged in tarmac? It itlsef is sacrilege. Who in good sense or knowledge engages 4WD mode on tarmac?
I am no off road or 4x4 expert but my work entails driving quite a bit n mostly it's 4x4 vehicles n never ever have I had to use 4WD mode on tarmac in last 23 odd years.

I plead guilty. My Grand Vitara is full time 4WD and that is how I drive it(in 4H) on long highway runs. It helps that it has a central differential that is very effective. And yes, the center diff can be locked for those treacherous dirt trails provided you are at a reasonable speed. But as I have gained experience I tackle almost everything in 4H.

[Slipstream11]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

I plead guilty.

Your case is valid because it's a full time 4WD. For part time 4WD it's criminal to drive on 4H and 4L on tarmac. Simply because there is high traction available on tarmac and on low range you need some amount of wheel spin. Especially on turns, because your wheels on the outside are not doing the same number of rotations as compared to the wheels on the inside.

Experts please correct me if I wrong.

Majority of the new buyers are indeed using 4H/L on tarmac. My SA at the dealership was talking about quite a few cases which have come in at the service centre with people having problems because they shifted to the low range while driving on tarmac.

Found this interesting video on the topic.

https://youtu.be/yYAw79386WI

[braveheart_77]

I’m more of a reader than writer on this forum and a member since long of this wonderful community (team bhp).

For your info guys I booked my thar (convertible at)on 20 th of October and was given a timeline of delivery of 24 th of March but the thar has arrived at the dealership sans the infotainment system so the delay, the moment it arrives I’ll get the delivery.

Regards
Braveheart

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by Slipstream11

Your case is valid because it's a full time 4WD. For part time 4WD it's criminal to drive on 4H and 4L on tarmac. Simply because there is high traction available on tarmac and on low range you need some amount of wheel spin. Especially on turns, because your wheels on the outside are not doing the same number of rotations as compared to the wheels on the inside.

The rotation difference between inner and outer wheels, during turns, is taken care of by the differential in each axle. Wind up between front and rear axles is mitigated by an open differential in between ie. the center diff.
But locking the center diff. for high speed driving, on any terrain, is not a good idea. Even the Grand Vitara has speed limits for 2High-Lock and 2Low-Lock.