[Aditya]

Mahindra Thar Roxx Review

Mahindra Thar Roxx Pros

• Handsome styling, brute character & tough build. Has an air of desirability around it
• Far more user-friendly and upmarket than the 3-door Thar, due to its superior interiors, amenities & the 2 rear doors
• Superbly equipped. Loaded with almost every possible feature we could think of (9-speaker Harman Kardon system, panoramic sunroof, 360-degree cam, ventilated front seats…)!
• Very competent, refined and quick petrol / diesel engine range
• Butter-smooth 6-speed AT available with both engines
• Ride, handling and steering are much improved over the 3-door. Feels more Scorpio-N-like to drive than a Thar. Gets a light EPS (not heavy hydraulic steering like the 3-door Thar)
• 4x4 hardware, off-road capability & high GC. Get ready for slush, muck, deserts, jungles & the mountains!
• Practical cabin with seating for 5 and a fair amount of storage
• 447 litres of boot space is sufficient for holiday luggage
• Top-notch safety kit includes 6 airbags, Level 2 ADAS, ESP, hill descent control and more
• We feel the Thar Roxx is well-priced for the package on offer

Mahindra Thar Roxx Cons

• While the ride quality is significantly better than the 3-door Thar, it is not as plush as say, the XUV700 & other monocoque crossovers. The 19” wheels are a contributor too. Ride quality is liveable though and we’ll give it a 7/10 rating
• Some styling elements are either too polarising or too “busy”
• Light-coloured interiors with white seats (!!!) will get dirty easily. Keep the cleaning apparatus ready
• Ingress / egress to the rear is difficult, particularly for the elderly
• No 3rd row of seats, which the Scorpio-N & XUV700 offer
• Petrol AT is thirsty due to its hefty weight, 174 BHP & torque-converter AT
• Inexplicably, 4x4 option just on the diesel. Petrol is available with RWD only. Mahindra needs to correct this ASAP
• No option of a convertible soft-top (like Thar) or removeable hard-top (like Wrangler) for those who love open-top motoring
• Some missing features such as reach-adjustable steering, keyless entry, rear window shades…
• Niggles are a given with a fresh new Mahindra model. Just ask owners of the 3-door Thar



Jaggu and I got to spend some time with the Mahindra Thar Roxx during the media drive in Kochi. Here are our quick and brief observations:

• The Mahindra Thar has been the dominant off-roader in India for a very long time. Its competitors have found it very difficult to challenge it due to the strong overall package that it is. Whatever aspect it was found wanting, has been addressed by the Thar Roxx - the 5-door version of the Thar.

• The Thar Roxx is based on a modified version of the platform that underpins the Scorpio-N. Mahindra calls it the M_GLYDE platform. It has a mass of 179 kg, a bending frequency of 39.9 Hz and a torsional frequency of 34.3 Hz. Mahindra claims it is light and stiff. There have been changes made to the suspension and steering. The NVH levels have improved as well.

• The Thar Roxx has 5 doors, which means getting into the rear seat is much easier than before. It can now take on the Maruti Jimny and Force Gurkha 5-door on even terms. It gets a bench seat in the rear that can accommodate 3 passengers and a useable boot. Many features that were missing in the 3-door Thar have been included in the Roxx.

• The car is powered by the same petrol and diesel engines that are found in the Scorpio-N (albeit in different states of tune) with 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions and rear-wheel drive (petrol & diesel) and four-wheel drive (diesel only).


• Mahindra has equipped the Thar Roxx with 35+ safety features including 6 airbags, 3-point seat belts and seat-belt reminder for all seats along, ISOFIX child seat anchors, TPMS and tyre direction monitoring, ESP, brake locking differential, vehicle dynamics control, traction control, rollover mitigation and more. The car also comes with Level 2 ADAS with 10 features including automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, smart pilot assist, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, traffic signal recognition, high beam assist, 360-degree view system with blind view monitor and adaptive cruise control.

• The Roxx will be available in MX1, MX3, AX3L, MX5, AX5L and AX7L variants.

• The RWD variants are priced between Rs. 12.99 - 20.49 lakhs (ex-showroom). Test drives are scheduled to start on September 14, 2024. Bookings will open on October 3, 2024, while deliveries will start on Dussera (October 12, 2024).

Exterior

• While the overall shape of the front end hasn't been changed, there are some noteworthy changes - a redesigned radiator grille, LED headlamps with DRLs, LED turn-indicators, reworked bumper and LED fog lamps.


• At the rear, there are new tail-lamps, a revised bumper and liftgate.


• The biggest change to the side is the addition of a door. The Roxx measures 4,428 mm in length, 1,870 mm in width, and 1,923 mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,850 mm. This makes it 443 mm longer, 15 mm wider and 3 mm taller than the Thar 3-door, while its wheelbase is longer by 400 mm. Approach, departure and ramp over angles are rated at 41.7, 36.1 and 23.9 degrees, respectively.


• The Thar Roxx gets projector LED headlights with bright C-shaped LED DRLs around them. These add to the road presence of the car. Follow me home and lead me to car functions have been provided. Headlights are not set as deep into the radiator grille as the Thar 3-door.


• LED turn indicators are placed on the front fenders.


• Radiator grille gets vertical plastic slats with a honeycomb mesh grille behind. IMO, Mahindra just can't seem to get the grille design right. This design just looks odd on a butch off-roader like this. Notice the "Mahindra" lettering embossed at the top and the front camera just underneath it, nicely concealed in the grille. Yes, the Thar Roxx gets a 360-degree camera system.


• The front bumper has been reworked and the brushed silver portion protrudes into the black portions on the sides. There is no "THAR" lettering on top of the bumper just below the radiator grille like you get in the 3-door. Fog lamps are LED projectors.


• Sturdy skid plate provided at the front. The design is different from the Thar 3-door.


• "THAR ROXX" badge is pasted on the front right panel. There is no engine badge anywhere on the car.


• The ORVMs are electrically foldable. Cameras for the 360-degree camera system are located underneath the ORVMs.


• The top variant comes with 19" diamond cut alloy wheels shod with 255/60 section MRF Wanderer A/T tyres. Ventilated disc brakes have been provided at the front.


• Disc brakes have been provided at the rear as well.


• The glass area is healthy. Notice the white section above the rear door which breaks the flow of the roof. The C-pillar thickens as you go downwards from the roof. While I hated some of these design elements, Jaggu made peace with them.


• The rear door handle is located on the C-pillar.


• The roof is metal and painted black. A large panoramic sunroof has been provided. The roof is ribbed at the rear. The liftgate is clad with FRP and houses the stop lamp at the top.


• Triangular rear glasses come with camel and Thar Roxx markings.


• The tail lamps get C-shaped LED position lights and LED turn indicators. The stop lamps and reversing lamps get halogen bulbs.


• The reversing camera is neatly integrated into the spare wheel.


• A well-concealed rear wiper+washer setup has been provided.


• Rear bumper gets two parking sensors and reflectors.


• Apart from the Everest White colour seen on our test car, the Thar Roxx comes in 6 shades - Battleship Grey...


...Tango Red...


...Stealth Black...


...Burnt Sienna...


...Deep Forest...


...and Nebula Blue. All come with black roofs.

[Aditya]

Interior

• The interior features a dual-tone black and ivory (white) dashboard with leatherette inserts, and soft-touch materials. This is easily the best interior we have seen in any version of the Thar in both design and quality. The dashboard has a leatherette cladding with contrast stitching along with piano black and chrome inserts. While all this looks very plush, we couldn't help wondering about how soiled the light-coloured parts would get during off-roading or even daily use. Ambient lighting has been provided.


• Chunky grab handle on the A-pillar is useful for hauling yourself into the cabin.


• The Thar Roxx comes with a starter button. Pity there is still no keyless entry & go. You still need to use the buttons on the keyfob to lock / unlock the car.


• Flat-bottom, leather-wrapped steering wheel with silver and piano black inserts and thumb contours is nice to hold. However, it is adjustable for height only.


• The instrument cluster is fully digital. It comes with three view modes and a comprehensive MID.


• Wiper and light stalks are taken from the Scorpio-N. The Thar Roxx gets rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlights.


• The Thar Roxx, thankfully, gets a remote fuel lid release. Switches for the idling start-stop feature and driver aids are placed to the right of the steering wheel. The switch in the right bottom corner activates the IntelliTurn Assist feature (more on this later).


• The doorpads have leather inserts with contrast stitching. The tops are wide and comfortable to rest your arm. The power window switches have been shifted to the doorpads. They have a piano black console. A speaker and tweeter are housed on each of the front doorpads. The door pockets can hold a 1-litre bottle and a little more.


• A wide footboard helps during ingress and egress.


• The seats are draped in ivory leatherette upholstery with "Thar" embossing on the backrest and have prominent bolstering on the sides. They are comfortable and supportive. However, larger users might find them snug. The driver seat is electrically adjustable and seatbelts are adjustable for height. The front seats are ventilated - a boon in India.


• As mentioned earlier, 6 airbags are standard across all variants of the Thar Roxx.


• The pedals are aluminium with rubber inserts. A wide and useful dead pedal has been provided.


• The ADAS sensor console is located behind the IRVM.


• The IRVM is large enough to cover the rear windshield. Mahindra has provided an auto-dimming IRVM in the Thar Roxx. The all-round visibility is acceptable.


• The centre fascia consists of a 10.25" touchscreen head unit at the top, a climate control system with a carbon filter, and a wireless phone charging pad at the bottom. Switches for the ventilated seats and Type-C & Type-A USB ports are located on the centre fascia. The climate control was effective on a hot and humid day in Kochi.


• The touchscreen head unit is easy to use. It has a pretty good resolution and the response is adequately fast. It gets wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity and connected car tech (Adrenox and Alexa). We like the fact that Mahindra has given physical buttons below the touchscreen which are very useful while driving. It's paired with a 9-speaker Harman Kardon Quantum Logic sound system. You can adjust the sound settings to your liking. Like before, Adventure statistics are displayed too.


• Leather-wrapped gear shifter and transfer lever are carried over from the Thar 3-door.


• Two cupholders are located next to the driver seat on the centre console. They have a chrome border and rubberised base. An electric parking brake along with auto-hold has been provided.


• Centre armrest is leather-wrapped. The driver's armrest can be extended.


• Under the centre armrest is a small storage bin.


• The passenger side of the dashboard is leather-wrapped with contrast stitching and a grab handle. The glovebox gets a button to push and release the lid. It is fiddly to use and I could never open the lid at the first attempt throughout the drive. The lid has a damped opening action.


• The glovebox is medium-sized. It gets a cooling vent but no illumination.


• Both sun visors are wrapped in fabric and feel nice to touch. They get vanity mirrors with covers and illumination.


• The sunroof (or skyroof as Mahindra calls it) is massive with a glass area measuring 1,450 x 900 mm. It lets a lot of light into the cabin. A 636 x 731 mm section opens to the sky.


• The rear doors open wide. The doorpads have the same theme as the front units. There are no tweeters here though. The door pockets are smaller and can hold a 1-litre bottle at the most.


• Useful grab handles have been provided on the B-pillars - useful while getting into a car that is so high off the ground.


• The gap between the B-pillar and the rear seat base is adequate but not abundant. A very short portion of the footboard is available to step on while getting into the cabin. This, along with the height of the car makes ingress and egress into the rear not a very easy task, particularly for larger or elderly people.


• A proper bench seat for 3 occupants has been provided. Leg room, head room, shoulder room and hip room are healthy at 930 mm, 985 mm, 1,434 mm and 1,343 mm respectively. Even so, 3 adults will find sitting here a squeeze.


• Under-thigh support is adequate for most, but taller occupants find themselves sitting in a knees-up position. There is room under the front seats to slide your feet into.


• 3-point seatbelts have been provided for all three occupants. The seat base and backrests are mildly contoured. ISOFIX child seat anchors have been provided on both sides.


• Centre armrest is wide and soft and houses 2 cupholders.


• The backrest has a 60:40 split and can be reclined with levers located on each side to find a comfortable seating position.


• Each of the front seatbacks gets multiple pockets for the rear seat occupants to use.


• Rear A/C vents have a chrome border. A Type-C USB port and slot to keep a smartphone have been provided below.


• With the additional length over the Thar 3-door, the Thar Roxx gets a very useable boot. The luggage volume up to the backrest is rated at 447 litres. The luggage volume up to the roof is rated at 644 litres. A woofer is placed on the right along with a 12V power outlet. Cargo hooks have been provided in the corners. Tools are stowed away in a Styrofoam casing under the boot floor.


• Folding the rear seats down gives you enormous cargo space.


• The doorpad of the tailgate gets horizontal slats. I feel Mahindra could have provided a chrome door handle, just to keep it uniform with the other doors.


• One speaker is mounted in the corner, at the top of each D-pillar.


• Just when we thought a boot lamp was missing, we spotted it at an unusual location.

[Aditya]

Driving the Mahindra Thar Roxx 2.2L Diesel AT 4WD

• Powering the Mahindra Thar Roxx is a 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder mHawk diesel engine that makes 173 BHP @ 3,500 rpm and 370 Nm @ 1,500 - 3,000 rpm. It has a 6-speed AISIN torque converter automatic transmission.


• There is some body shake experienced on start-up. NVH levels are good overall. At idle, the engine noise is heard in the cabin, but it's not bothersome. Faint vibrations are felt on the steering, pedals and the armrest.

• Shift to D, lift off the brake and the Thar Roxx gets off the line smoothly. It crawls at 9 km/h, which makes it easy to drive with just one pedal in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The engine feels city-friendly as you build up speed in a very linear manner and can keep up with traffic.

• Like other Mahindra cars, driving modes have been provided in the rear-wheel drive variants.

• The turbo kicks in pretty early and the lag is masked well by the automatic transmission. The throttle response is also good and you can drive smoothly without too many jerks or a sudden kick from the turbo. The linear power delivery helps in the overall driveability of the Thar Roxx.

• On the highway, the Thar Roxx builds up speed strongly. Mahindra claims that the turbo-diesel can hit 60 km/h from a standstill in 4.8 seconds (0.2 seconds quicker than the petrol). Before you know it, the car will reach triple-digit speeds. While it is not lightning-fast, it's quick enough. It is a heavy SUV and also the AT saps some of the power, which is why it is quick, but not fast.

• The mid-range has enough punch for getting you past slow-moving traffic with ease. Also, a neat trick that has always worked for the Thar is that when small cars see it in their rear view mirror, they give way.

• Floor the throttle in D mode and the engine revs till ~4,000 rpm before upshifting. In manual mode, you can push the engine revs till ~5,000 in M mode and the gearbox will hold on to the gear until you upshift.

• In terms of cruisability, the Thar Roxx can cruise calmly at 80 km/h with the rev-counter reading 1,500 rpm in 5th gear.

• The torque converter automatic is very smooth in its shifts. You won't notice the upshifts happening with a steady foot on the throttle.

• However, while driving with varying throttle inputs, the gearbox does get confused. It downshifts suddenly when you don't expect it to, which can get irritating at times. But overall, for everyday usage, there's not much to complain about as the gearbox does its job just fine.

• M mode isn't very intuitive if you are trying to push the car. It's better to just leave it in D. M mode is useful while off-roading.

• Wind noise starts to creep in at 90 km/h. Our test car was shod with MRF Wanderer A/T tyres. While the road noise was controlled on tar surfaces, it was very pronounced on paver blocks and concrete surfaces. Engine noise is never too loud, even at higher revs. At cruising speeds, all you hear is a hum.

• The diesel tank's capacity is 57 litres.

• We saw a fuel efficiency figure of 10.3 km/l on the MID. Do note that the car was put through hard acceleration & braking and was idling for a long time as well during the photo shoot. Better driving should see higher FE figures.

Suspension

• At the front, the Thar Roxx comes with an independent double-wishbone suspension with coil springs and at the rear, there's a rigid axle with coil springs and Watt's linkage. In cars with higher suspension travel like the Thar Roxx, the Watt's linkage works better in controlling the lateral movement under load. In simple terms, it offers better stability in corners.


• Additionally, the dampers come with FDD and MTV-CL. FDD is just Mahindra's term for frequency selective damping, which varies the damping force according to the frequency of bumps. MTV-CL stands for Multi-Tune Valve with Concentric Land, which essentially further fine-tunes the damping force by controlling the fluid through piston valves. The rear suspension also gets an HRS (hydraulic rebound stopper).


• The low-speed ride, particularly on bad roads, like most body-on-frame SUVs, is jiggly. However, compared to the Thar 3-door, the ride feels much smoother. The longer wheelbase helps here too. Body movement is a lot more controlled as well.

• Our test car was fitted with 19" wheels & 255/60 section tyres. Lower variants with 18" wheels and taller sidewalls should have a better ride.

• Potholes and bad roads are handled very well at higher speeds. As you would expect from a Mahindra, the suspension is very abuse friendly.

• At highway speeds, the ride becomes more composed. Expansion joints are handled nicely and the vertical movement is also well-controlled.

• Go around curves at speed and there's the obvious body roll given the height of the car. However, the body roll is much more controlled than the 3-door. The car feels a lot more sure-footed. Do note that in the interest of safety, we didn't push the car too hard on Kerala's narrow and winding country roads.

• The Thar Roxx gets electric power steering. At city speeds, the steering is very light, which makes manoeuvring this SUV pretty easy. The steering weighs up fairly well as the speed increases. The return to centre action is strong as well.

• Except for some lower variants, the Thar Roxx gets ventilated disc brakes all-round. They do a great job of stopping this SUV safely.

• When it comes to off-roading, the Thar Roxx comes with a proper four-wheel drive transfer case with 4H and 4L modes, 3 terrain modes - Snow, Sand and Mud. It has a water wading depth of 650 mm and an electronic locking differential. Mahindra has also equipped the Thar Roxx with a "CrawlSmart" feature which detects obstacles and automatically adjusts throttle response. Then there is the "IntelliTurn Assist" feature which can be engaged in 4L mode. It reduces the TCD by 15%. These, along with the impressive approach, departure and ramp over angles, make the Thar Roxx a potent off-roader. We were given a demonstration on a muddy off-road trail with multiple obstacles and the car managed to clear them without breaking a sweat.

Disclaimer: Mahindra invited Team-BHP for the Thar Roxx test drive. They covered all the travel expenses for this driving event.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[GTO]

Fantastic review, guys . Especially considering you had just 1 day to write the report. Thank you!

Some points as an owner & lover of the Thar:

- 3-door Thar built the Thar’s image, 5-door will encash it to the fullest extent. The lure of the Thar brand is evident by the fact that the 3-door Thar was doing over 5000 sales / month! It was previously unimaginable for any car with 2 passenger doors. Never in the history of India.

- 80% of Jeep Wrangler sales in the USA come from the 5-door version. In India too, we will see similar patterns. Mahindra is already predicting a 70:30 split, and they are planning their production accordingly. Approximately 10,000 Thars will be built each month, with 70% of the production going to the 5-door and just 30% to the 3-door. The 3-door Thar will still have its followers due to the style (2-door sexiness is 2-door sexiness, cheaper starting price, more fun nature, convertible), but its sales are going to be drastically affected. Even the resale value of 3-door Thars just went out the window.

- Was looking at posts on the launch thread and I have to say, I have NEVER seen any new car launch with so many BHPians saying “I want to buy it”, “I want to book it”, “I don’t need it, but I still want one”. This SUV has an air of desirability around it.

- The combination of style, practicality, features, great engines, smooth ATs and sorted mechanicals is unbeatable. Especially at this price-point! Shows why Mahindra is the UNDISPUTED KING of big-size body-on-frame SUVs. Surprisingly, they don’t have a real, direct competitor in this class of vehicle. Tata has long abandoned the body-on-frame SUV format. Gurkha is backed by a weak parent, while the Fortuner is twice the price.

- @ BHPians: This was a short test-drive in Kochi where we didn’t even get the chance to do any high-speed running. We will be driving it in and around Bombay once the media fleet reaches here, and will expand the Thar Roxx review to include more review observations.

- Modifications, modifications, modifications. The Thar is built to be modified. If the stock Thar Roxx looks so darn good, tasteful modifications will transform the car into a total head-turner. The best part about Mahindra SUVs is how mod-friendly they are, and the level to which you can personalize your own car. Sharing pics for ready reference . For those not constrained by budget, keep aside 4 - 5 lakhs and make your Thar Roxx one-of-a-kind. The aftermarket is going to be flooded with modifications & accessories for the Thar Roxx:

[Axe77]

Fantastic review Addy and Jaggu and in super quick timelines too. Please do let me know when you get it in Mumbai - can’t wait to get an up close look and feel. I’ve been drooling over the images of the 5 door Thar and can’t wait to read this in more detail. That new grey color looks absolutely fantastic.

My only product planning gripes with the Roxx are - I wish they’d also offered a 4x4 variant on the petrol automatic. I feel they could have created two different top of line options for the petrol automatic variant. A “lux variant” 4x2 like the currently specc’d AX7 and a rough road “Trail” version which could have done without ADAS and sunroof, sported 4x4 capability and had a more dirt friendly interior. Now that would have been perfect!

There are enough petrol biased buyers who might want to daily a Thar during the week, have proper off road fun on the weekends and can’t afford or don’t require a 2 or 3 car garage. The 5 door Thar would have been properly versatile for such needs.

Anyway, these are minor minor gripes and honestly, I’m well and properly smitten, as are many others. Totally relate to the “I don’t need one but I still want one” sorta sentiment.

[batish]

Oh man! Wish features like ventilated seats and leather steering along with armrest could be retrofitted in 3 door version. Been driving 3 Door since the past two years, these features do make me drool, ngl!

I hope Mahindra has resolved the Android Auto disconnection issues and out of the blue DPF niggles in this version.

[DCEite]

Nice and crisp review !

From a long term strategy point of view, I don't see Mahindra continuing with the Thar 3 door for long now (at least the RWD version).

My personal opinion is that the 5 door version of the Thar would garner good response in terms of bookings and sales, and the cannibalization of the Thar 3 door would be so much that it would not make business sense to continue with it for long.

Consider this, a typical Thar 3 door buyer, when looks and feels the Thar 5 Door at the same showroom, is sure to be impressed, because he gets a bigger vehicle (the bigger the better in Indian context, as we all know), more seating capacity and cargo space and all the positives of the previous Thar's with the modern touches like the panoramic sunroof, ADAS, ventilated seats et al. Given the price difference is not so much between the 3D and 5D Thar, and the genre of customer base that the Thar 3D attracts, at least 8 out of 10 prospective Thar 3 door customers would instantly convert to the Thar 5 Door, and would not mind paying extra for the 5 Door.

Even from Mahindra's own cost of manufacturing point of view, given the fact that the Thar 5 door shares a lot of equipment with the other models in the stable like the steering, instrument console, music system, speakers etc from 3XO, Scorpio-N, XUV700, it makes much more economic sense to sell only the 5 door in the long term, and also to streamline the manufacturing costs.

Personally I feel Mahindra might discontinue the Thar 3 door RWD completely by Q1 2025, and eventually also the Thar 3 Door 4WD , till the niche demand for the 4WD ceases to exist and all stocks are offloaded.

[fhdowntheline]

With the present trims in the Thar 5D, Somehow I feel the 4WD petrol Thar 3D may become a VFM offering , pitted against the less powerful and diminutive Jimny.
PS- I find the name "Thar Roxx" very cheap, totally unbecoming of a marquee brand.

[asingh1977]

Excellent review, which clears all doubts.

Many thanks to the team. Out in it's natural habitat: the grill, perpendicular door handle, second door horizontal strip*, and triangle shaped window, look less polarizing. Full justice to the vehicle. The cabin is seriously done really well. All feedback garnered and incorporated by M&M.

*seems to be a stressed member to hold the weight of the roof above. The Roxx does not seem to have a skeletal metal structure for the frame augmented to the original Thar.

[arnav17]

Excellent review and contrary to public opinion I really like the six pack grill which adds muscle to the car. The headlamps too are designed really well. Perfect all rounder but the name has ruined its appeal. Thar Armada would have been a killer of a name.

[amit_2025]

Someone remind me, why should one buy the Fortuner over this?

Jokes aside, While the Fortuner has no direct competition (not counting Gloster), this one will definitely get some attention from potential Fortuner Buyers too, especially the ones who don't really need those last row seats.

Been drooling over the pictures and can't wait to get my hands on it

Not giving a 4x4 Petrol AT is a downer for the NCR folks, but I suspect Mahindra will address that soon. Heck, on the positive side it does give you the confidence to drive through the craters and rivulets that needs to forcefully navigate during the Monsoons

Add me to the I don't need it be I want it list please

[Dr.AD]

Great report by the TeamBHP team! This report, published just in 1 day or so, is quite comprehensive and covers all the important points and details. Loved reading it while the car launch is still so fresh. Awesome work!

Now coming to this car (ROXX name is still too awkward - even to type; I seriously wish it had a better name), almost everything is already said in the report and a few comments above. Nothing more to say. But still, let me state a couple of views from my side, which are of course my personal views.

1. The biggest bummer is no 4x4 in Petrol. That is a deal-breaker for someone like me, especially in the BS6 era where diesel engines are a huge headache. This was the biggest reason why Scorpio N was off my list (or someone like me who is now back to petrol forever, and still wants a 4X4), and sad that Thar 5D (can't type that actual name again!) has the same problem.

2. The design elements are way too odd and weird, especially at the rear. Mahindra tired to overdo the design and totally lost the simplicity and coolness of the 3D Thar design. Some parts of the car look straight out of an accessories shop!

3. However, I think the Black color hides the design quirks to a large extent, and in my personal view, this Thar 5D looks the best (relatively) in Black. The other colors, especially the brighter ones like White and Red only highlight the design issues in the rear.

4. As my personal summary, if someone could get past the weird looks, the weird name, and most importantly lack of 4x4 in Petrol, then this could be a great car for multi-purpose use in Indian driving conditions and for those long distance adventure drives!

Looking forward to a detailed Test Drive now at the earliest possible opportunity!

[amoi]

One thing i have noticed is that mahindra cars often lack storage space, even the scorpioN gets a single cup holder! On the Roxx, the door bins are too small. Come on mahindra, this is a lifestyle vehicle, its owners are more likely to carry stuff and nicknacks.

I do like the interior though, looks very plush and upmarket. Wonder when these features and interior trims will make its way onto the xuv700 and the ScorpioN

Also, the centre armrest is already dirty!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Personally I feel Mahindra might discontinue the Thar 3 door RWD completely by Q1 2025, and eventually also the Thar 3 Door 4WD , till the niche demand for the 4WD ceases to exist and all stocks are offloaded.

Impossible.

- It is the 3-door Thar that built the Thar's image. It is a very important car to the brand perception.

- Mahindra has shown that it will build 3-door offroaders, even if demand is low. 1st-gen Thar did under 1000 units / month, yet was consistently on sale for a long time.

- Jeep too, internationally, builds the 3-door Wranger, even though its sales are poor compared to the 5-door. Land Rover keeps building the 3-door Defender.

- Mahindra knows the 3-door does offer lifestyle advantages that the 5-door doesn't (convertible, 2-door style, shorter wheelbase is more fun offroad, cheaper entry price).

- Mahindra has a long track record of building 2-door offroaders, even if the sales have been minuscule (going back to the CJ340 & Classic days). It's all for the branding & image, not the bottomline.