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Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM I can only smile, looking at the mismatch between the body and the front fender! Some things never change, no matter how hard you try. |
There was a 2012 Thar being worked at Druk in Leh, it was a RJ plate white color (new, apparently in the 2012 line up, otherwise available only in the DI model) with a door panel issue. The mech was banging away with a hammer to fix the problem. That's really sad.
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Originally Posted by pjbiju Good feedback there. How did you find the performance of the brakes? Also I was thinking that the Thar should be faster around corners. Is the Gypsy lighter (definitely yes) and having a lower CG (not sure about this) than the Thar, aiding it to go faster around the corners? And the stiffer suspension also helps it in this regard while the IFS of the Thar is working against it? |
I have heard no complaints about the brakes from my friend and I guess both him and I drive mostly by working around shortcomings, but one place where I did see a bit of a difference was that they Gypsy was a lot more surefooted coming down a lot of the shortcuts created by local drivers at both Photi La and Gata Loops. This could also be because I was in 4L (1st or 2nd gear) on the really steep inclines. The Thar was rarely on 4L and always on higher gears than the Gypsy.
I do not know why the Gypsy is faster around corners, maybe the experts can shed some light on it. I find it a lot more chuckable than even my Swift. It has a sort of oversteer for folks like me who are used to power steering, but even with that I can turn in tighter around a corner or go wider with much more grip to spare than most other vehicles. The Thar was running 255 section Maxxis Bravo AT and has an aftermarket AC, while the Gypsy is running Tiger Type 2 Kamanis and 215 Yoko Geolander AT/S. Otherwise, both vehicles are bone stock.
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Originally Posted by starter Dear Codelust,
Thank you very much for this report.
I was waiting to hear some feedback from Thar owners who've taken it to the mountains.
It is great to hear that Thar has no overheating/power-loss problems up the hills.
As you say, it is just the hard-top that M&M has to add to the Thar now and we've got an amazing tourer.
It is also great to hear that your Gypsy also did well. Not to forget that he is close to 12 years old now!
Get an additional fan and a baleno radiator to sort out your over-heating issues.
Would be looking forward to read your travelogue.
Cheers,
Deepak |
The Thar did not overheat, but it did experience power loss while going up to South Pullu. Same was the case with Wari La, with the significant difference being that the Thar was doing almost every section in 4H that the Gypsy was doing in 4L. The Gypsy did well way beyond my expectation, but there is little left in it from the original vehicle, even the engine block is a brand new one! Will be getting the bigger radiator soon.
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Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR
Was the 4WD lever deployed anytime?
Spike |
It was almost never used on Sringar-Leh and Manali-Leh (other than when we took to the steep short cuts). It was used extensively in the rarely-used tracks from Hanle to Tso Moriri via Chumur. There were deep sand banks out there with the middle ridge easily covering the diffs. We were literally ploughing through it.
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Originally Posted by headers Adding a HT to the Thar is not happening IMO - These reasons why M&M would not do a HT in FF form are:
1. Costs of development and testing is very high.
2. Bolero market would be killed if HT THAR comes from factory
3. A percentage of scorpio market would take a beating
So would M&M want to do it? Answer is obvious |
Don't think 2 & 3 are valid for a simple reason that it is impossible to have anything more than 2-people and enough luggage in the Thar. In fact, this is a major shortcoming I had missed. The loops we want to do require about 700 - 1000 KMs of driving without fuel options available along the way. With a 60L tank the Thar will still need close to 40 more liters of fuel to be carried, the saner option for which is two 20L cans. You keep that and luggage for 2 people and you've run out of space in a Thar. A Scorpio and a Bolero can carry all that and two more people in the back.
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Originally Posted by niks_devil666 i also saw a black thar at fotula which was cornering like hell. I didnt notice any body roll in that thar at those speeds (60+ uphill) |
Was that a DL plate black on in the night?
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Originally Posted by navpreet318 I think you can now ask Sunny Sidhu for his reviews on that. Taking curves on the Leh road at 90 to 100+ would actually be insanity for normal drivers. Even if they are driving a state of the art sports SUV. I just want to know can the gypsy do it on Leh roads at 90 to 100+? Provided the driver is a normal one and not a rally pro or a rally pro wannabe? |
Rally guys do it on roads where they're reasonably sure of no oncoming traffic or other obstacles (even though both have occurred in rallies). If you take the standard speedy line, enter narrow and exit wide, with normal traffic you'll eventually have a head-on.
60 is easily doable in a Gypsy which is only very happy to let its tail out and once you get the hang of it, it becomes the most natural thing to do. Not pushed it much beyond that. I don't have a death-wish