[Mike_Schumacher]

Came back from a 550ish kms drive comprising highways and decent amount of Eastern ghats section. I think I better understand the car now. Some of the noticeable observations:

1. Steady highway manners at 100kmph. I kept mostly at 80-100 with highest being 120.
2. The zip drive feels really slow after using the zoom mode. Zoom makes the car adequately rapid , but don't expect to win too many races on the open highways.
3. The climb ups and downs in the ghats section were absolutely effortless. Negotiating hairpin bends felt like a breeze. Hill hold assist, hill descent control work as intended.
4. I found it difficult to find a comfortable seating position. Quite a bit of lower back stress while going. I found a better position after some adjustments and it was much better while coming back, but I think I will try additional lumbar supports going forward.
5. 3-4 times within 12 hrs of driving, android auto got disconnected. Needed to disconnect the phone and reconnect. Seems like a minor software glitch.
6. Overall mileage was just about 10. This is including city traffic, 130 odd kilometers on the ghats section and remaining 350-370 kms on the highway.
6. Last but not the least, wherever the car was parked, in the hotel, in the restaurants, there was almost always a small crowd gathered around the car.

Overall it was a hoot to drive, and I thoroughly enjoyed the car.

[Karthik Mathur]

Originally Posted by Mike_Schumacher

Came back from a 550ish kms drive comprising highways and decent amount of Eastern ghats section. I think I better understand the car now. Some of the noticeable observations:

1. Steady highway manners at 100kmph. I kept mostly at 80-100 with highest being 125.

How was the suspension and ride quality? Since there has been quite a lot of talk about it

[MyGoRa]

Originally Posted by Mike_Schumacher

Came back from a 550ish kms drive comprising highways and decent amount of Eastern ghats section.

6. Overall mileage was just about 10. This is including city traffic, 130 odd kilometers on the ghats section and remaining 350-370 kms on the highway.

Thank you for the short drive review; it’s just what I was expecting from you. Was the average mileage of '10' based on the MID reading or tank-to-tank measurement?

[Mike_Schumacher]

Originally Posted by Karthik Mathur

How was the suspension and ride quality? Since there has been quite a lot of talk about it

I found it pretty acceptable. Fellow passenger in the front seat was quite happy with the ride quality.

Originally Posted by MyGoRa

Thank you for the short drive review; it’s just what I was expecting from you. Was the average mileage of '10' based on the MID reading or tank-to-tank measurement?

Thank you.

The number is from the MID. Just to add, AC was on all the time, and ventilated seats were active for at least 75% of the journey.

[Jayhawker]

Originally Posted by Mike_Schumacher

2. The zip drive feels really slow after using the zoom mode. Zoom makes the car adequately rapid , but don't expect to win too many races on the open highways.

Agreed, zip mode feels lethargic after using zoom mode. What percentage of the trip would you say zoom mode was used to get a mileage of 10?

Also, do let us know if you find a solution for the lack of lumbar support. Have found a better seating position but not completely happy.

[traveldogg]

Hi, amazing review!!

I have a very weird question about the ride quality. So I live in the hilly areas of the country and did a short commute of 30 kms in a Fortuner Legender; that car couldn’t corner the bends of the road, I mean I'm a hatchback driver and I've been riding those roads pretty easily, but sitting on the front seat I felt that it was very unstable and the car couldn’t even turn comfortably at 30 to 40 kmph.

Is this the case with the Thar Roxx too? Do all the so called BOF SUVs are so bad on normal hilly roads?

[Mike_Schumacher]

Originally Posted by Jayhawker

Agreed, zip mode feels lethargic after using zoom mode. What percentage of the trip would you say zoom mode was used to get a mileage of 10?

Also, do let us know if you find a solution for the lack of lumbar support. Have found a better seating position but not completely happy.

I think around 60-70 percent. I did not feel there's a big difference in mileage between zip and zoom. I was keeping an eye the fuel info while changing the drivw modes and the change wasn't significant enough.

Yes I will update the lumbar support situation. Its not completely the Roxxs fault though. In my last couple of trips I was feeling the stress driving my other car as well,but definitely to a lower extent. Maybe I am getting old, maybe I need to strengthen my lower back instead of just fitting an after market cushion. Let's see.

Originally Posted by traveldogg

Hi, amazing review!!

Is this the case with the Thar Roxx too? Do all the so called BOF SUVs are so bad on normal hilly roads?

I have very limited experience on Fortuner, but with the Roxx you can definitely turn comfortably at 30-40 kmph and even more. Not a deal breaker at all

[comprakash]

Wanted a car for India touring, but lack of lumbar support and steering reach adjustments were a setback. Also, the busy and uneven ride on our highways (which are not always smooth, especially concrete ones) was a letdown. I just wished they copied the seats from XUV 700.

Still, could have compromised, if the car was available within Feb to March, as we are planning Himalayas trip in April. Had booked the car within 30 seconds, but still got the delivery date as end of May. So finally cancelled the booking today.

Looking forward for second generation Skoda Kodiaq or XUV 7XO launch...

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by Mike_Schumacher

Yes I will update the lumbar support situation. Its not completely the Roxxs fault though. In my last couple of trips I was feeling the stress driving my other car as well,but definitely to a lower extent. Maybe I am getting old, maybe I need to strengthen my lower back instead of just fitting an after market cushion. Let's see.

It is not necessarily the presence or absence of lumbar support that determines back pain in my experience. I have the 3 door Thar and a BMW sedan, the Thar has adjustable lumbar support and the BMW does not. However, find I have much lesser lower back pain during long 7-8 hour drives in the sedan. It is down to the relaxed and laid back sofa style seating that sedans offer that seem to make a difference, at least for me.

On my long journeys in the Thar, I now set the seat to its lowest height, recline the setback a bit more and try to emulate the sedan seating position and it seems to work for me, since I less back pain in that case.

Also a couple of cardinal rules to prevent aches and pains on long drives, especially for the older ones among us - always take a break every 2-3 hours and stertch your body especially legs. Also try changing your seating position (more or less recline, higher or lower seating position etc. by small degrees every hour or so. This helps make sure the same muscles and ligaments are not being over-used or over-compressed. And use cruise control for 2-3 minutes when you can, to take your right off the pedal once in a while and flex your foot.

[alokk0912]

Just had a look at Roxx and was bit short of expectations on looks front for all of us in the family. I have Thar 3 D and we as a family were ready for swap with bigger one. White interior is anyways beaten to death so no point talking about that. However, one thing which I did not like at all was the rear door looks compared to 3 D. in 3D, the grey plastic on the side of glass on the rear door is well proportioned compared to Roxx which was a bit of let down for us.

[Pee.Kay]

Originally Posted by Mike_Schumacher

Came back from a 550ish kms drive

Does the small bottle holders or/and the lack of storage spaces here and there, really bothered you or is it just an over-hyped thing?

[Mike_Schumacher]

Originally Posted by Pee.Kay

Does the small bottle holders or/and the lack of storage spaces here and there, really bothered you or is it just an over-hyped thing?

Not going to lie, it's a tad bothersome, I carried a few small bottles instead of the 1 liter ones, as a workaround. The glovebox can accommodate mid-sized bottles but didn't want to take any chance lest the car documents get wet.

[Laks]

Generally speaking, the higher variants of a vehicle are supposed to offer better features, comfort, etc. In the case of the Thar Roxx, ironically, the lower variants seem to be better in some departments such as normal fabric upholstery vs soiling-prone beige leatherette seating, lower variants are better equipped to carry water bottles in the door storage, harman/kardon tweeters integrated on the front door handles may interfere with the leg space for some drivers with a heavy built or long legs. I also picked-up earlier in this thread that auto-hold is jerky and not implemented well (proud early owners can confirm from their own experience). So, it is better to be wary of where your hard earned money is being spent and whether these additional features have been implemented well to be enjoyed or will turn out to be an annoying factor once you are past the initial novelty of wanting to buy a top-end variant.

[Mike_Schumacher]

Originally Posted by Laks

harman/kardon tweeters integrated on the front door handles may interfere with the leg space for some drivers with a heavy built or long legs. I also picked-up earlier in this thread that auto-hold is jerky and not implemented well (proud early owners can confirm from their own experience).

I am just under 6 feet, moderately built. The tweeters didn't bother me.

The auto hold is good for slopes and congested areas. I would not use it while parking where I am more comfortable using the brakes manually.

[Bluebird_7]

One of the flaw which is not discussed is the low hanging member of Watt link suspension. This is a big concern on a 4X4 vehicle which will do rocky trails. Generally we try to take wheels over rocks to avoid underbody scrapping but with this member one will have to be very careful doing that. Also in slushy situations, a user talked about this getting stuck in mud and putting additional strain on vehicle and holding its move. Even if you get out, there is going to be tremendous strain on suspension and engine plus transmission since this part will be ploughing through mud.

This reminds me of earlier version of Force Gurkha which had low front lower control arms that would scrap through surfaces effectively making GC lower than 165 cm.

It is surprising how the engineering team at Mahindra miss these basics and none of the thousand reviewers pointed this out, either they are paid, or too smitten by the product marketing or simply ignorant.

Once the initial euphoria fades, most will see better value in products like Creta/Seltos and Scorpio N. For off-roading, 3D Thar and Jimny is the way to go, have my delivery scheduled for May, will see whether to go ahead with Roxx or drop the plan.

Pic credit:Automotiv17