[ZaZeR24]

So while I was waiting for the Gurkha 2020, Force’s strategy to shift back to the 2.6l 89 bhp engine from the 140 bhp 2.2 in extreme and those auto rickshaw inspired rear lights forced me to consider alternate options. While I had never really considered Thar as a viable contender between the Gurkha, used Fortuner, Endeavour and used Land Cruisers, but between 15th Aug and 2nd Oct it slowly grew on me. A large part of the credit goes to the media drive and the associated verbatim from the journalists.

I took the plunge and the pitch was made on the morning of 2nd Oct and by the end of day I had the go ahead from majority shareholder err my wife. So off I transferred 21k and booked a Petrol AT LX HT, which was changed into a Diesel AT LX HT on 6th Oct. While I still don’t have even a tentative delivery data, I presume it would be mostly the year after.

Why Thar?

1. We needed an SUV to have added peace of mind while traversing the flooded Mumbai roads on those select days of the year. My GT Tsi is an excellent vehicle for the roads but those odd days when the rain gods unleash their fury it is a pain. The feeling of helplessness and lack of security in spite of no real impact on my life is a feeling that I have not been brush aside. 650mm of water wading depth is a reassuring number here.
2. With a new member added to the family in July this year, we hope this vehicle will serve as a good weekend vehicle and will help us have gather a bunch of memories overlanding, off-roading or retreating in places away from the bustling city life.
3. Most importantly, since the time I sold off the Mondeo and moved to Mumbai from Bangalore a few years ago, life has been a little for lack of better words let me call it monotonous. This is where Thar 2020 fits in perfectly. With those 100+ accessories Mahindra has already given enough for folks like me to get started with the weekend tinkering and customisation process.

The added fact that Thar and Wrangler SWB share a lot of similarities in design hopefully means a lot of accessories from the other side of the globe can be used here as well. Time to say hello to my foreign cousins.

Planned Mods

1. Luggage Space –While the aftermarket is busy at work, I think a quick fix would be a spare tyre carrier (view attachment). This may not make up for the loss of boot space and a proper roof carrier, but should help provide that additional bit of space that could make living with the new Thar better. However the legality aspect needs to be confirmed.
   
2. Interiors – As is the general opinion the Thar needs a centre armrest preferably with a wireless charging pad and lots of usb points in the front and back. A good example for reference would be this but definitely without the chrome.
   https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3290...archweb201603_
   
3. The interior dashboard needs to wrapped in leather. While this may be contrary to what folks would expect in a Thar, since I spend over 3 hours a day in a vehicle I like to feel cocooned in luxury. Heck I don’t mind those seats with massage function too.
4. The A/C vents are getting replaced by one of these deep dish brushed aluminium pieces.
   https://www.restomodair.com/product-...ing/deep-dish/
   On the same lines would anyone know what is the diameter of the current Thar 2020 AC vents?
   
5. Headlights – Will replace the stock with these Morimoto’s Super 7 Led Projector headlights. One of the biggest challenges I face is with the visibility in those night drives on the highways. I have seen a good powerful headlight such a bi-xenon makes night drives much safer and less stressful.
   Is the current headlight size also the same generic 7inches?
   
6. Music – I have no idea what those stock speakers are (could be Vibe given the accessory upgrade kit has Vibe Sub-woofers, Amplifiers and Components) but they getting replaced with a good pair of components. Good music is the only thing that makes the Mumbai traffic bearable 
   On this would anyone know what size are the current speakers?
   
7. Seat Covers – I have always fancied those Tartan seat covers in GTI. While I couldn’t put those in my GT, I might actually get a darker shade of Tartan and slap it up on the Thar.
   
8. Sunroof/No Roof – Will definitely toy around with the idea of removing the roof panel above the first row. Maybe have a quick bolt on/off mechanism in the future.

Thar 2020 gives me a very good vehicle that I can use to build upon and probably use it to have fun as I continue learning and tinker.

[Venkatesh]

Mahindra Thar Hard Top has the longest waiting period



https://www.rushlane.com/mahindra-th...-12379860.html

[CalmConquests]

What an excellent review ! It almost makes me feel like i've had the vehicle for a couple of days & did a few hundred kms myself.

I have decided to go ahead & add this to the garage. While i understand that this can never be as "family friendly" as Mahindra or indeed some of our journalists want us to believe, it is probably the 4th or 5th vehicle in our garage. It is something that will be bought purely for the joy of owning a jeep & not for practical reasons. Infact, i think there is no practical reason for any family to own more than two cars

That said, i plan to buy the Thar Diesel AT LX HT. While I'm going to wait at least 6 months before i pull the trigger, i am a bit concerned about the longterm reliability of the AT.

With the Thar being has hardcore as it is, will the AT have been strengthened to take the abuse that off-roading can have on an automatic transmission ? Has this AT been used before in any other off-road vehicle before?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

[84.monsoon]

I don't believe Mahindra had any intention of delivering volumes before 2021. The worries about parts sourcing delays from China etc. were expressed very early by various top brass, including Mr. Pawan Goenka in interviews. However, they did a master stroke by launching at a good price point and parading the car around the country well before the festive season. A good number of prospective customers, who may have gone for a Creta, Duster or other cars during the festive season put their deposit down on the Thar, and the initial promises made by the dealers made it sound like the first lot of customers who booked in the first few days will get their cars before Diwali. However, after an eerie silence, the news is coming out now, in fits and starts, that no meaningful numbers of deliveries will be done before Q1 and the real ramp-up will happen in Q2 next year!

There is absolutely no sense in giving a different range of delivery dates to hard tops - it is not as though these are much more complex to make or need many more parts than the soft tops! All it needs it a couple of plastic panels and I don't believe there can be any constraints in sourcing just these parts when all other complex parts have been sourced already! IMO, Mahindra is just throwing some straw to clutch for customers to blame themselves for choosing an 'in-demand" variant, and so deflect some blame from themselves We all very well know that 80%+ of the bookings are probably for the hard top anyway, with a lot of mainstream buyers switching purchase decisions from compact SUVs and the like to the Thar!

[indian21r]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Mahindra Thar Hard Top has the longest waiting period

If I am Maruti / Force, this is the time I would want my car to enter and cash on the space. If Jimny comes first I am sure it can eat some bookings wit the 3 door.

Heck I think even force will be able to push the Gurkha if the really want to sell it.

Rear spear is the clincher and these are the perfect products with the G wagon looks with their own identity.

[TusharK]

The new Mahindra Thar (Mahindra Thar : Official Review) has received a very positive response from the market. The carmaker has now received more than 15,000 bookings since its launch on October 2, 2020.



According to Mahindra, 57% of all buyers of the new Thar are first time car buyers. Besides, a majority of the customers have chosen the automatic variants.

Since, the off-roader's launch, Mahindra has received over 65,000 enquiries and more than 8 lakh website visitors.

The new Thar comes in two trim levels - AX (Adventure Series) and LX (Lifestyle Series) and prices start at Rs. 9.80 lakh (ex-showroom, India).

The Thar is available with two engine options. These include a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder mStallion petrol that produces 150 BHP and 320 Nm and a 2.2-litre mHawk diesel that makes 130 BHP and 320 Nm. Both engines are available with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission. Four-wheel drive with a manual shift transfer case is standard across all variants.

The Thar gets an independent front suspension and a multi-link rear set-up. It has Shift-on-the-Fly 4x4, a mechanical locking differential, brake locking differential and electromechanical driveline disconnect.

Link to Team-BHP News

[indian21r]

Whoa looks like whoever missed or waited to book will be automatically get a a V2 only. M&M should cash on this fully as early as possible. I just hope they don't raise the prices as it already not too cheap.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by indian21r

Whoa looks like whoever missed or waited to book will be automatically get a a V2 only.

The planned production capacity was 2000 - 2500 units per month.

With the overwhelming bookings - Mahindra has increased this to 3500 per month temporarily - which still makes a backlog of almost 5 months.

Automatics with hardtop option are in maximum demand, and would see more wait times.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by TusharK

According to Mahindra, 57% of all buyers of the new Thar are first time car buyers.

Oh boy. This is new. Buyers are getting adventurous or the Thar is just too magnetic. Who could have thought that?!

Either way I hope first timers don't find it too hard core. Even if they do and sell it off I feel this vehicle will retain resale value greatly.

[21Archer84]

Wow!! that's an amazing response. 57% , about 8000 bookings from New Car Buyers is definitely a big number for the Thar. Happy for Mahindra.
OT: Does it mean Jeep would have still had an opportunity to sell in decent numbers, had they localized the Wrangler and put the Bare-bones Base variant for around 20lakhs? That would have been interesting contest between the Thar and it's Grand-Fa'Thar'

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by TusharK

The new Mahindra Thar (Mahindra Thar : Official Review) has received a very positive response from the market. The carmaker has now received more than 15,000 bookings since its launch on October 2, 2020.

That's really superb considering its a proper SUV. I hope it stays that way.

According to Mahindra, 57% of all buyers of the new Thar are first time car buyers. Besides, a majority of the customers have chosen the automatic variants.

Now this is what reminds me of what GTO had said, we may end up seeing many Thars in used car market in a couple of years. It's an aspirational vehicle, although may not solve the issue of getting a first car for many.

[greendream]

57% of buyers being first time car buyers, sounds exaggerating. Even if it’s true it looks like those first timers got their priorities wrong. With its limitation set as a primary vehicle, Thar should be lower down on their consideration list. Don’t think off roading where Thar is competent, suddenly is on all those buyers itinerary.
The majority of bookings are for AT. It was obvious. But then 2 weeks after launch we only had a few AT Td cars across the country. When people are primarily booking At (without TD) as expected, Mahindra should have had the courtesy of making Td of AT available earlier.
Those who booked are not clear when their delivery is. The waiting for hardtops is 6 months as per new news. My brothers convertible top arrives hopefully in 3 months.
It’s painful to see customers treated like this. Reminds me of license raj days. Being an Indian manufacturer it is better Mahindra learns to respect its countrymen. After all it might be a different and VFM offering but not a steal at those prices. It’s quite foolish on their part to say this level of demand is unexpected.
They designed the product, gave it a wider appeal, publicised strongly, so its silly not to look at the supply logistics. Why create demand when such confusion exists concerning supply.
I wish the Thar was sold by some other maker. It looks and feels very little like jeeps people know off.
First timers or others like that presence, engines and AT. I would wish the Jimny to arrive earlier or Some other maker to benefit from this craze. Even without 4*4, such cars will taste success.
My family would buy the Thar. Sorry to say Mahindra with this confusing sales experience, doesn’t deserve the Thar.

[saikarthik]

Hope they ramp up the production, and follow past lessons and what Kia was able to pull off when it saw the demand initially with Seltos launch.

Mahindra should divert all the possible resources and push supply chain to meet the demand, else its possible that bookings might get cancelled.

[TorqueIndia]

Great achievement for Mahindra , but it's not a surprise either ! What's surprising is that 67% first time buyers , shocked !

I'm expecting these numbers to grow much higher and Thar will do better volume than even the XUV300.

It's good that Mahindra shed some of its ruggedness on the new Thar and it's a good sign on its future products especially XUV 500!

[saikarthik]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

The planned production capacity was 2000 - 2500 units per month.

With the overwhelming bookings - Mahindra has increased this to 3500 per month temporarily - which still makes a backlog of almost 5 months.

I have few friends in Mahindra Nashik plant, and I just got information that the per day production plan for Thar is 100 numbers (3 shifts put together), but the assembly line is also shared with Scorpio, so Its tricky for the production planning department to balance both the volumes.

But I would say that they should prioritize Thar and deliver to the new product to customers on time.