Re: Mahindra Thar Roxx Review Hi all! super excited about posting on this forum for the first time after being a regular reader for 10+ years.
We welcomed Forest Green AX7L Thar Roxx (Petrol) to our family on December 25th (such a wonderful Christmas present!). The car just cross 1000KM mark today, and I want to share the journey that got us here. I’ll cover some pros/cons - but will try and limit to what (I believe) hasn’t been covered already. Also have a question or two at the end. Background:
I own a Creta (2017, Petrol 1.5) - was my primary commute horse, Honda City (2015, Petrol) - wife’s primary vehicle, and a XUV700 (2022, Petrol) - for the kids and family.
I had my eyes on Thar since it launched, but the two door version just didn't work out for our family. We even rented one during our last trip to Goa in 2023, but that unfortunately cemented the feeling: Getting in and out of the backseat was a challenge, and wasn't the most comfortable with kids. However, when Thar Roxx was announced - my hopes were renewed, but given my Creta was running in pristine condition - I wasn’t really thinking of a new car. My wife’s City on the other hand was showing its age, and we agreed to start looking at other sedans to replace her City. Then, one magical day, somehow we were talking about Thar Roxx - and she mentioned that we could check it out - and if I like it, she could take over my Creta, and I could get the Thar Roxx and sell off the Honda city. After that, things started rolling quite quickly; We booked the Thar Roxx on November 2nd - and got the delivery on December 25th. I’ll cover a few points on what helped me get an early delivery below. Delivery timeline and things that helped:
1. I went and test drove the vehicle at a dealer nearby (South Delhi).
2. The dealer was very noncommittal on delivery timeline - so I had second thoughts about booking offline, and just went to the Mahindra website to book.
3. I then visited the dealer again - and told them that I’d buy insurance, accessories through them if they could prioritize delivery.
4. I believe the not-so-common colour (forest green; I believe Black and White are the most common) in Petrol (not diesel) from a relatively smaller dealer showroom helped with the delivery timeline.
5. Even then, dealer wasn’t giving me any timeline at all. In parallel, I was also talking to 2-3 other dealers in case they had any cancelation.
6. Then, suddenly, on December 21st, I got a call from the dealer (I had booked with) - that my car was in transit, and I should complete all formalities.
7. Given the time of the year - I pushed my luck, and asked them if they could deliver on the 25th - and they said they could.
8. For loan and insurance - I shopped around to find the best rates I was getting, and asked the dealer to match - which they did mostly.
9. I completed formalities, did a PDI before making the payment, and everything just aligned, and we brought home the car on 25th. Pros/Cons (not covered earlier - unless I missed reading): Pros:
1. Even though it’s as big, or bigger than XUV700 - it doesn’t feel big/bulky to drive. Whenever I am driving the XUV, I feel like I am driving a big car. With Thar Roxx - I don’t get that feeling. The steering is amazing, the view is commanding - and overall, I don’t feel worried even when driving in bumper to bumper traffic on narrow roads.
2. I often joke that it feels like I am sitting on the first floor and driving - the view is just that great.
3. Though I avoid the ‘zoom’ mode to save fuel, driving in that mode just puts a smile on my face. Zip mode which gets selected by default each time you start the car is good too, but feels sluggish after you drive on Zoom mode for a while. Cons:
1. Still waiting for Apple Car Play - I had to re-use an old Android phone for the time-being to compensate. I just like viewing Google Maps while driving to get an idea of congestions on route, and ETA.
2. There are two things I miss from Creta, and even XUV which I wish were ported over to Thar Roxx (minor inconveniences - not deal breakers):
(a) Keyless entry - Each time I have to find my keys, and press a button on the key FOB to open the door-lock instead of touching the pad on the door, it feels like an extra effort. Of course I am happy to do it - Thar Roxx is worth it. And I am assuming they didn’t offer this feature to make car more water resilient.
(b) Sun-glass holder - I saw a lot of people complaining about lack of enough space for water bottles (which I agree with) - I miss the sun-glass holder on top. I got used to putting my sun-glasses that way in both Creta and XUV. In this one, I have to pull them out of the car glove box; again, more than happy to do it.
3. Fuel Guzzler - I knew what I was getting into, so no surprises or complaints. In bumper to bumper Delhi NCR traffic, I am barely getting 6 KM/L. My running is less than 30-40 KM/day, so I still think petrol makes sense for me (vs Diesel).
It’s just such a magical car to drive. I get this feeling of being indestructible when driving it (though I am a careful, and sedate driver). I hope this one stays with us for decades. Questions:
1. I am confused by engine start/stop and auto hold features on an automatic variant - I am assuming you can only use one at a time. Using both of these together doesn’t make sense, right?
2. Are there any settings that enable the 360 camera to turn on automatically each time you are at crawling speed? Asking because i find myself hustling to switch to 360 camera when in a tight spot, and the screen reverts back to earlier screen once the car speeds up beyond 20-30KM/hr.
Thank you for reading, and I am just so happy to be posting here for the first time. |