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-   -   Mahindra Thar 1.5L RWD Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/262141-mahindra-thar-1-5l-rwd-review-2.html)

Thar like most BoF vehicles, is based on a RWD powertrain, for most high torque applications RWD is preferred. Due to scale of economies, Mahindra can't re-engineer 2WD Thar to be FWD. FWD excels in packaging efficiency and less drive-train losses, hence used for most economy cars.

Once Jimmy ownership reviews are out, it would be interesting to see the battle between these two for city riders.

As per the review, Thar RWD is more suited for city rides. I believe, Jimmy will have the advantage and will sell in higher numbers in city oriented riders, especially fairer sex, Thar will continue to be the default entry-level lifestyle SUV. Reasons I see are:

• Compactness and easier manoeuvrability
• usual Maruti benefits (TCO, parts availability, higher resale value, etc.)
• Catchy colors (Thar is already catching up)
• Seems more likely to be the 'only car' in the garage

I am probably quite shallow like that but I want one quite badly just for the looks. Couldn't care less about taking the thing off road and scratching up the paintwork :)

If the 1.5 L diesel generates 117 bhp, that's awesome for the present day . Yes, rightly said the 2190 cc sibling is only a wee bit powerful bhp wise. And the older 2008 MHawk of 2190 cc generates 120 bhp.

But the Almighty (not creator but destroyer), the NGT and the Apex court shall make it mortal after its full life of ten years in the NCR unless it gets a new home elsewhere, well on time.

And it's now official that M&M are now going the Bajaj way. Yes, like the Pulsar is available in engine sizes from 125 to 200 cc plus capacities, we get the Thar with 1.5 and 2.2 L engines.

Marazzo and Bolero, both with the 1.5 L engine had DEF at the start of BS6 itself.

Lack of space in the driver and passenger side footwells and the absence of the dead pedal are the deal breakers that forced me to cancel my booking.

It'll be interesting to compare Thar ride quality with that of Jimny. Thar at least has independent front suspension; Jimny comes with a rigid front axle and should therefore have a harsher ride.

Today the 10 year rule applies only to Diesels; tomorrow it could be extended to Petrol vehicles as well, who knows! NGT may tomorrow want people to shift to electric!

Yes the footwells are not the most spacious. But they are adequate. If you are a tall person with long legs the dead pedal is a hindrance.As a tall person myself I am very happy that the dead pedal is not a standard fitment. However this is a very easy and simple bolt-on after-market fix for less tall persons. I actually had it installed in my Thar and very quickly realised it was a bad idea (for me), so had it un-bolted immediately.

As I thought so, I am 6 4.A dead pedal is not the most important of needs. If needed, an aftermarket fitment can be done!

I booked on the 9th Jan online and after being clueless initially following up with Mahindra CC got a call from dealership that my car is in the yard on the 29th. Took delivery on the 1 st.

I was confused initially whether to go for it but the heart ruled over the head. Everyone said being a doctor it doesn’t suit my profession but the same things were said when i bought my TT and i was happy with my decision. Having had a two door earlier i wanted a two door and small car which makes city commutes easy.

This car though is very wide and has a bigger turning radius than the duster not exactly very City friendly.

Having a duster and nexon and having had an Audi TT Mk 2 in the past ( while i was in Ireland) I can say that though the ride is not the best but u get used to it very fast.

It pulls clean on highways and has sufficient Punch for daily driving and not to mention the smile u get when you just overtake effortlessly in a two tonne jeep.

Classic looks that wont age , a good interior acceptable for what the car is meant. Big Tyres take most potholes easily.

I love two doors but they are not practical but i knew this fact and this car is basically my daily commute plus school drop.

Mom is a fan of the duster but got in the front seat with a little effort and did not complain only remark being the side facing rear seats would be better for ingress ( she has had a willys in her family and still has it ) …

MID shows 16 as FE for 250 km in the last 4 days and i am not complaining as its all the city.

Waiting to install the reverse cam as the software needs update in the RWD.

I always wanted a 2 WD as I have no use for a 4x4 but this will manage well even in the kinds of tricky situations we have in daily use due to high ground clearance.

As for the Ride nothing beats a duster.

It’s not to be driven fast or pushed around corners but its good for 110-110 on the highways.

Looking for upgrades to lights , Cam and ordered some grab handles from bodmo.

Would love good headlights with ring DRLs but looking at reviews I am keeping the stock and thinking of Bulbs for now.

As for booking booked black because the deafult colour was only red and black ( as base was on top ) it was only later that i realised that all coour options were there for LX.

Changing colour meant cancelling booking and going down the preference line. Black is the all time favourite but a high maintenance colour but wife likes Aquamarine and I like grey and surprisingly now like Red because of the contrast it offers .

Its a lovely car and makes me smile … my son is super happy. Its not for everyone and certainly we miss the two doors but for me i wanted a two door and short wheel base and am happy as i knew what i was getting.

One problem with the tall nature of the car is that small cars driving parallel to in city traffic and bikes are not visible and this creates dangerous blind spots. Be careful while driving and frequently check mirrors and windows.

Thank you Team BHP it was I spend hours on this site each day.

Happy motoring to all and we will see alot of Thars on the Road. Lets be safe and not drive rash. Lets give way and put more smiles on the road

Congrats man! Do post some pics. Here in NCR, the dealers still do not have any update about deliveries, even for people who booked in 9th Jan. We all 9th'ers are still waiting for updates, least for deliveries.
Congrats once again. It was indeed a go-happy decision. :thumbs up:thumbs up

I have a BS6 XUV300 which I bought in 2021, and it doesn't have DEF. That's what made me curious.

The Bolero Neo doesn't have the same 1.5, but it's still curious why it has a DEF tank.

Here are my thoughts on the RWD variant based on my knowledge and experience.
1- On the downsized engine

CC is not the only thing that matters. If you notice the final drive ratio of the RWD variant, it has been increased compared to the 4x4 variant. This should make it easier for the 1.5 L engine to move the Thar's weight around.
As a bonus, the torque figure remains unchanged (300 NM) so it should have a similar acceleration sensation. Lag, if any, would depend on where in the RPM range this torque is produced. Mahindra has put this somewhere between 1700 to 2500 RPM which should be good for daily driving and mild off-roading. Power figure is down by only 13 BHP and this would be barely noticeable as most of us dont use the whole power band 99% of the times (or during regular driving). So don't worry about a smaller engine. Enjoy the cost reduction instead.

2 - Off-road capability
Now this is where things get interesting.
You don't need 4x4 to go off road (I know this is a controversial statement but hear me out) .
I didn't believe the above statement until recently when I went to Mandalpatti in Coorg-Karnataka.
That was the toughest off road track that I have experienced in my life so far. When I saw what a capable driver could do behind the wheel of a RWD bolero with an open differential, it changed my perspective on 4x4s completely.
If you have adequate ground clearance, grippy tyres and an engine with good low end torque you can do a lot more than just city driving and dirt tracks!
Add to it the brake locking differential that the Thar RWD has and you've got something quite capable in the right hands.
All you have to do is to ensure that the driven wheels (rear) always contact the ground or in the worst case, one of them does and you'll be good.
When I reached back home (Goa), I asked all my friends who owned 4x4s and went off-roading, about how many times they had to use the 4x4 mode to get out of tricky situations. The answer was less than 10% of the times. None of them had to use low range on their regular off road trails.
Now I thought about why I was buying the Thar. It was for mild off-roading when I go for treking in remote areas with no roads or to handle bad and flooded roads during rains (which Goa is famous for). Honestly the trekking spots can be tricky with places that can swallow a hatchback whole. But all that was nothing compared to what I had seen in Mandalpatti (and that too in a Bolero!).
With all that in mind, I headed to the showroom as soon as the bookings opened and booked the RWD Diesel variant, putting my money where my mouth is. I am happy to save 6-7 lakhs and have a capable and rugged Thar (minus the 4x4).

The day they introduced the new Thar and I saw a length of sub 4m, I knew this was the plan all along. But the 4-cylinder 1.5 diesel in the rear-wheel drive is a new combination.

Thanks to the Jimny, we have this fantastic combination of powertrain, drivetrain, road presence, fuel efficiency, and value-for-money pricing. I'm usually not into products with mass appeal but this one is very easy to recommend. We'll see the base model hold its value quite well in 5-7 years (inflation aside).

Even if you sell me the top variant with the fancy alloys and more features for the same price, I'll still take the base variant with the taller sidewall and lower rotating mass in wheels for the larger contact patch and more torque-on-the-ground.

Off-road

Believe it or not, with:

- an experienced driver,
- right set of tires, and
- appropriate tire pressure

the Thar 2WD will do obstacles an inexperienced driver won't even attempt to do with stock Thar 4WD top variant.

I have driven the Diesel AT 4WD top model on broken village roads, in the city, and on the highway. The highway drive is pathetic because of the bouncy nature of the soft suspension. I was feeling tired in 40 min of highway driving while in my Nano, I start feeling it in 1 hr.
In the city with mixed road conditions, it's a non-issue. But its soft suspension SHINES on bad roads. On patches where I have to drive the Beat at 5-10kmph, I drive the Nano at around 20-25kmph. With the Nano, I have to either keep it too slow or too fast to get through smoothly. But with the Thar, I could drive over the same patches at any speed and it ate up everything easily.

Based on what I'm hearing, the Jimny may not have an abuse-friendly suspension. But it'll offer better comfort for daily use (city and highway) with the option of going off-road once in a while.