[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by Ksingh544

Hi Buddy,

seems like you and i are in the exact same boat. i am looking to sell my 2008 2.6 CRDE Scorpio LX and go in for the Thar. I have been obsessed with the Thar since launch and even booked it once before cancelling it.

My only fear is that i end up driving 1500 odd kms a month on the highways across North India and am used to the comfort of the Scorpio. How much of that will i be losing out when switching to the Thar ?

My other choices are the new Scorpio, which is a fine vehicle but i feel i maybe a bit bored having used a Scorpio for 7 years now.

With the new interiors upgraded in the Thar it looks much better and im happy to drop the money (and time) to get the Mahindra HT put in Mumbai.

Waiting for 10th September now to see what the TUV300 is gonna be all about.

Looking forward to see which direction you proceed with.

cheers

Kundan

Kundan,
Let me answer that for you.

As a owner of a 2014 Thar and a 2010 Scorpio Mhawk.
I would recommend that for 1500kms trip across highways everymonth, go in for the new Scorpio and not the Thar. The only place where thar would beat a scorpio on a highway is its image and character, every thing else Scorpio will beat it hands down. Thar is best used as a recreational vehicle for occasional cross country trips, and not as your regular commuter.

[Ksingh544]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Kundan,
Let me answer that for you.

As a owner of a 2014 Thar and a 2010 Scorpio Mhawk.
I would recommend that for 1500kms trip across highways everymonth, go in for the new Scorpio and not the Thar. The only place where thar would beat a scorpio on a highway is its image and character, every thing else Scorpio will beat it hands down. Thar is best used as a recreational vehicle for occasional cross country trips, and not as your regular commuter.

Thanks Akshay,

i do understand what you're saying but its one of those heart over head decisions that im stuck with.

Also having driven then Scorpio for 7 years im looking for a bit of a change.

Thanks for your inputs. will check out your Thar the next time in in the Chandigarh area

cheers

Kundan

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by Ksingh544

Thanks Akshay,

i do understand what you're saying but its one of those heart over head decisions that im stuck with.

Also having driven then Scorpio for 7 years im looking for a bit of a change.

Thanks for your inputs. will check out your Thar the next time in in the Chandigarh area

cheers

Kundan

Sure, any time, just give me a heads up.
Check out the Scorpio S4+ 4WD as well.
If you buy a thar, for your usage i would recommend that you get a HT, and spruce up the interiors.

[hellraiSEr_007]

Originally Posted by rajamuneeb

Hi buddy and welcome to the forum. Bimbra and Azad are the two customization shops which co
me to my mind in Delhi NCR region. Hope it helps you.

Thank you @rajamuneeb. I have heard of both Bimbra and Azad, but their hardtops do not have any sunroof or any similar arrangement. I would prefer something that looks like the Jeep Wrangler JK Mopar hard top. Something that can be removed when required. Hyderabad Hard Top is the closest match.

Originally Posted by Ksingh544

Hi Buddy,

seems like you and i are in the exact same boat. i am looking to sell my 2008 2.6 CRDE Scorpio LX and go in for the Thar. I have been obsessed with the Thar since launch and even booked it once before cancelling it.

My only fear is that i end up driving 1500 odd kms a month on the highways across North India and am used to the comfort of the Scorpio. How much of that will i be losing out when switching to the Thar ?

My other choices are the new Scorpio, which is a fine vehicle but i feel i maybe a bit bored having used a Scorpio for 7 years now.

With the new interiors upgraded in the Thar it looks much better and im happy to drop the money (and time) to get the Mahindra HT put in Mumbai.

Waiting for 10th September now to see what the TUV300 is gonna be all about.

Looking forward to see which direction you proceed with.

cheers

Kundan

Hey Kundan,

We indeed are in the same boat, and it truly is a heart over head decision to go for this. I have been in such situation long back and I can vouch that in the long run, heart matters more . Long back, my dilemma was about Honda Dazzler (head) and Apache RTR 180 (heart). I went for my heart, and trust me... Every time I slot my bike to the 1st gear, I can't help smiling

Also, I have already contacted the Mahindra Customization in Mumbai and received the quotation for customization to Mahindra Midnight edition. All the customization came out to be about Rs. 6.5 lakhs (vat extra), not including the transport. This cost was calculated on the older variant, and the newer variant should incur less expense. The time taken would be 5-7 weeks.

Even then, with the Thar retailing for 9.5 odd lakhs, spending another 6 lakh just takes away whatever little value-for-money appeal that it has. Since this would be my primary vehicle (would sell off my 2011 Chevy Beat Petrol), it wouldn't be a viable option for me. Hence, I would rather find out the options I have for the Hard top in Delhi NCR itself.

Scorpio Refresh, although a great vehicle, doesn't appeal my heart. Neither does the Quanto-TUV300. Or, any other Mahindra vehicle. Am yet to get a test-drive of the new Thar. Would update once I take a test ride of the same.

[Ksingh544]

Originally Posted by hellraiSEr_007

Scorpio Refresh, although a great vehicle, doesn't appeal my heart. Neither does the Quanto-TUV300. Or, any other Mahindra vehicle. Am yet to get a test-drive of the new Thar. Would update once I take a test ride of the same.

Did you speak to Mr Vaibhav at Mahindra Customization ? The cost of the HT with the rear Bolero door which was quoted to me last year was about Rs. 1.25L.

I guess what you are referring to is the total package for the Midnight edition. Honestly with the upgraded interiors you dont need all those upgrades.

Check out Azad 4x4, Bimbra in Delhi and even Hyderabad Hard Top. I know someone on this forum who is based in Gurgaon who ordered a Hyderabad HT from them and they shipped it to him.

Sadly last week in Delhi none of the dealerships had a test drive vehicle. In Jammu where i am currently its even worse as the vehicle hasnt been passed by the RTO, so im in for a long wait.

Look forward to your feedback post the test drive.

cheers

Kundan

[Ksingh544]

Originally Posted by hellraiSEr_007

Am yet to get a test-drive of the new Thar. Would update once I take a test ride of the same.

Hi i thought i'd update you and everyone else on the forum that i managed to get a test drive of the new Thar today in Jammu. Drove for about 25-30 kms on the Jammu-Pathankot Highway this afternoon.

Some interesting things happened, so Jammu City has 2 Dealers, for their sake lets refer to them as Dealer A & Dealer B.

Dealer A for the last month has not got a TD vehicle or any vehicles in stock. He claims the vehicle has not been passed by the RTO hence not ordered.

Dealer B has 3 vehicles in stock and has already sold 2 of them. Delivery pending since " Tara dooba hua hai" (im not sure the religious connotation of that but I was told in this period no business transactions are done)

So after being turned down by Dealer A many times with the RTO excuse i landed up at Dealer B today. To find a shiny new Black Thar 2015 (upgraded) with a sold sticker on it. (could have been to hype up demand)

I asked for TD and was told there wasnt a TD vehicle. Anyway managed to sweet talk the person incharge. And guess what ?

He allowed me to take the "sold" vehicle for a spin. Now this was pretty awesome AND pretty unethical at the same time.
But im not complaining since I got to drive the vehicle finally !! M&M have an interesting quandary do you fire the guy or promote him ?? (MBA programs should have this as a case study)

So off i went for a 30 km drive down the Jammu-Pathankot highway. And here are my thoughts -

- The vehicle is MUCH more stable than the previous editions. In the past i have driven the 2012 and 2014 models and always felt i couldn't drive them for a long distance over a highway
- This particular model had the 235/17 alloys which Mahindra sells. Maybe that helped with the stability
- the alloys look good (these are the ones in the official TVC on the red thar). Personally i'd upgrade to the 245
- The braking is as good as my Scorpio 2.6 crde, i did ask them if the brake booster had been upgraded. the sales staff had no idea. Can someone confirm if it has been ? BD sir ?
- The Steering wheel is in the centre and nice to hold. Tad small compared to my scorpio but overall a big improvement on the previous off-centre wheel
- The new dash and console is a huge improvement. the front two cubby holess are way to deep, almost under the dash and you have to do a full stretch to place or get anything. the storage space under the hand brake and water bottle holders behind it are useful
- The hand brake is improved and very slightly touches with the gear shift when you slot into 4th
- the rev counter which is on the right side of the console, is partially hidden if you drive with your right hand in 2 o clock position
- Interior bits like the door locks, opening handles are still of cheap quality.
- the new flared wheel arches are well built and will accommodate after market tyres and alloys with ease
- That much maligned bumper looks better in person than in pictures. Also this was a black color model so it kind of merged in with the body shell. But yes it has to be replaced for sure
- I was surprised by how much i enjoyed the drive. With the canopy not completely zipped up, speeds of 90 kmph with ac on, i could have an easy conversation with the sales rep and not be drowned in flappy noises
- Having said that a hardtop is needed for the extreme weather conditions in North India
- Left & Right stalks for wipers and indicators feel more solid and not like they will come off any minute.
- I'm 6 feet tall and when i put the seat belt on, it kind of gets in the way of my right shoulder. my personal take is that the seat belt socket is positioned too low, not sure?

Caveat -

Sedan owners, cross over owners (duster, ecosport variety), luxury car owners - you will still find this vehicle to be crude, bare bones and hard to handle. so please dont even compare it.
Reason why im saying this is because last month i saw an online ad for a brand new Thar in Jammu. So i went to visit the seller and asked him why he was selling a 3 month old Thar on which he had dropped some serious money (sound system, woofer, seats, LED bars, sound proofing, alloys etc).
His response because his current garage was - Audi A4, Q5 and XUV and couldnt hack driving the Thar.
I didnt know what to say to him.

All in all a very decent upgrade by M&M.

cheers

Kundan

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by hellraiSEr_007

...Since this would be my primary vehicle (would sell off my 2011 Chevy Beat Petrol),..

With all due respect sir, please don't buy Thar as a primary 4 wheeler in the family. The Thar CRDe is at best a recreational vehicle, and it does its job very well.

[hellraiSEr_007]

Originally Posted by Ksingh544

Hi i thought i'd update you and everyone else on the forum that i managed to get a test drive of the new Thar today in Jammu. Drove for about 25-30 kms on the Jammu-Pathankot Highway this afternoon.

Some interesting things happened, so Jammu City has 2 Dealers, for their sake lets refer to them as Dealer A & Dealer B.

Dealer A for the last month has not got a TD vehicle or any vehicles in stock. He claims the vehicle has not been passed by the RTO hence not ordered.

Dealer B has 3 vehicles in stock and has already sold 2 of them. Delivery pending since " Tara dooba hua hai" (im not sure the religious connotation of that but I was told in this period no business transactions are done)

So after being turned down by Dealer A many times with the RTO excuse i landed up at Dealer B today. To find a shiny new Black Thar 2015 (upgraded) with a sold sticker on it. (could have been to hype up demand)

I asked for TD and was told there wasnt a TD vehicle. Anyway managed to sweet talk the person incharge. And guess what ?

He allowed me to take the "sold" vehicle for a spin. Now this was pretty awesome AND pretty unethical at the same time.
But im not complaining since I got to drive the vehicle finally !! M&M have an interesting quandary do you fire the guy or promote him ?? (MBA programs should have this as a case study)

So off i went for a 30 km drive down the Jammu-Pathankot highway. And here are my thoughts -

- The vehicle is MUCH more stable than the previous editions. In the past i have driven the 2012 and 2014 models and always felt i couldn't drive them for a long distance over a highway
- This particular model had the 235/17 alloys which Mahindra sells. Maybe that helped with the stability
- the alloys look good (these are the ones in the official TVC on the red thar). Personally i'd upgrade to the 245
- The braking is as good as my Scorpio 2.6 crde, i did ask them if the brake booster had been upgraded. the sales staff had no idea. Can someone confirm if it has been ? BD sir ?
- The Steering wheel is in the centre and nice to hold. Tad small compared to my scorpio but overall a big improvement on the previous off-centre wheel
- The new dash and console is a huge improvement. the front two cubby holess are way to deep, almost under the dash and you have to do a full stretch to place or get anything. the storage space under the hand brake and water bottle holders behind it are useful
- The hand brake is improved and very slightly touches with the gear shift when you slot into 4th
- the rev counter which is on the right side of the console, is partially hidden if you drive with your right hand in 2 o clock position
- Interior bits like the door locks, opening handles are still of cheap quality.
- the new flared wheel arches are well built and will accommodate after market tyres and alloys with ease
- That much maligned bumper looks better in person than in pictures. Also this was a black color model so it kind of merged in with the body shell. But yes it has to be replaced for sure
- I was surprised by how much i enjoyed the drive. With the canopy not completely zipped up, speeds of 90 kmph with ac on, i could have an easy conversation with the sales rep and not be drowned in flappy noises
- Having said that a hardtop is needed for the extreme weather conditions in North India
- Left & Right stalks for wipers and indicators feel more solid and not like they will come off any minute.
- I'm 6 feet tall and when i put the seat belt on, it kind of gets in the way of my right shoulder. my personal take is that the seat belt socket is positioned too low, not sure?

Caveat -

Sedan owners, cross over owners (duster, ecosport variety), luxury car owners - you will still find this vehicle to be crude, bare bones and hard to handle. so please dont even compare it.
Reason why im saying this is because last month i saw an online ad for a brand new Thar in Jammu. So i went to visit the seller and asked him why he was selling a 3 month old Thar on which he had dropped some serious money (sound system, woofer, seats, LED bars, sound proofing, alloys etc).
His response because his current garage was - Audi A4, Q5 and XUV and couldnt hack driving the Thar.
I didnt know what to say to him.

All in all a very decent upgrade by M&M.

cheers

Kundan

Thanks for the update Kundan !! I talked to the dealer here, and even I might get a test ride this weekend. Fingers crossed

Will try to contact Bimbra over the weekend for more details about hardtop options. I think the only internal modification done was the addition of the differential lock. Brakes are still the same. However, I would rather wait for BD sir to enlighten us.

@dhanushs: Please don't call me sir I do agree that it is a recreational vehicle and is not the perfect car. Its just that, I got married recently and hence, my family comprises of me and my wife (parents are in my hometown). When my relatives / parents / in-laws come, I can take a car on rent from Myles or Zoomcar. Keeping this in mind, I thought that I would rather take the Thar right now, and a family car can follow later rather than going vice-versa.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by hellraiSEr_007

@dhanushs: Please don't call me sir I do agree that it is a recreational vehicle and is not the perfect car. Its just that, I got married recently and hence, my family comprises of me and my wife (parents are in my hometown). When my relatives / parents / in-laws come, I can take a car on rent from Myles or Zoomcar. Keeping this in mind, I thought that I would rather take the Thar right now, and a family car can follow later rather than going vice-versa.

Dhanush is right. Your answer does not seem to be too practical. Request you to please think over it again. And pre-owned THARs depreciate quickly

[hellraiSEr_007]

Hello KkVaidya !! I do agree, that its a bit impractical. But then... Its again a question of heart vs. head. I would have loved to go for a pre-owned Thar, but I have had a very bad experience with my existing pre-owned Beat. Thats the sole reason why pre-owned is not my preference now. However, all the Thars in the pre-owned market are way costlier than other vehicles of the same age. Not just that, even the number of Thars are less. Hence, I feel that the depreciation of Thar is less than other vehicles.

That aside, since you yourself are a '14 Thar owner, please shed some light on why you feel this to be impractical. And also, your story of getting 'Thar-ed'.

@Ksingh544 : I did get a chance to have a test ride of Thar, although it was not as long as your test ride (mine was about 5 kms). For the short while that I took it on highways, here are my observations:

- I felt that the brakes were a bit underpowered. No improvements in this regard.

- The acceleration was good, and since the vehicle was new, it was more responsive than the older one which was probably bashed up a lot in the test drives.

- The steering is now centered properly.

- Overall, it feels more refined but definitely not in the league of sedans or hatchback. Ride quality still hasn't changed much. It still feels a bit bumpy in the cabin.

- A very commanding view is at your disposal from the front seat. However, the B-pillar spoils the visibility a bit. I am 5 ft 9", and with the seats pushed behind, the B-pillar obstructed visibility.

- Soft top is not quite effective in preventing dust from entering the cabin. In a particularly dusty stretch of road, the occupants could smell the dust in the air.


Apart from that, I also had a word with Taran Bimbra from Bimbra 4x4, and I would be visiting him shortly for finding details on various hardtops for Thar. Will keep you updated.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by hellraiSEr_007

That aside, since you yourself are a '14 Thar owner, please shed some light on why you feel this to be impractical. And also, your story of getting 'Thar-ed'.

Hello Hellraiser: Note below the cons of THAR and you can decide if it suits your family.
1. It is not air-tight as you said you could breathe dust inside the cabin. This also affects AC cooling in peak summer. I don't know if your better half can tolerate that as women usually like 'chilled' cars esp. in peak summer
2. The flapping noise is intrusive after 60kmph. In a way it is good that she keeps on but..
3. If you have other members in your familiy who drive, THAR might be too tall for daily commuting
4. As you said, When you have parents visiting over, you cannot use your OWN car. That is OK that you get cabs easily these days but the convenience is lost somewhere- you will know it once you start doing it. Plus in case of 'elderly' emergencies, your OWN car will be very convenient. And dealing with emergencies on the other side (in-laws i mean), it will be hard to convince you better half once they start cribbing.
5. The ride is bumpy so don't expect a sedan like ride.
6. The image it carries is best suited as a 2nd or 3rd vehicle.

I will give you a classic example of my uncle. Way back in 1993, he got himself a MM540. With 2 kids aged around 8 to 10yrs it was his first car. That was heart over head in his case. All was hunky dory initially and then things started to come out. My aunt disliked going to social functions like marriages (with a saree on) in a JEEP as it was cumbersome to climb up/down. The kids found it too noisy and jumpy. When my aunt told that she wanted to learn driving, my uncle said this is all we have - I mean she was not ready to drive a JEEP to run errands or drop kids to school. When the daughters grew up, they also learned driving but they stayed off the JEEP. Lastly, my uncle sold it with a heavy heart and brought a Tata Indica as he could not afford 2 cars. He now confesses that he was impractical in his early decision.

So I would say you buy the THAR as a 2nd vehicle by keeping the existing car or else don't buy. If you still want a new car, check out the new crossovers that are all the rage. Trust me - your better half would love it more then the THAR.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

2. The flapping noise is intrusive after 60kmph. In a way it is good that she keeps on but..

Any idea if the flapping sound is eliminated (Reduced will be a sensible term!) with the new soft top design?

[Ksingh544]

Originally Posted by hellraiSEr_007

@Ksingh544 : I did get a chance to have a test ride of Thar, although it was not as long as your test ride (mine was about 5 kms). For the short while that I took it on highways, here are my observations:

Apart from that, I also had a word with Taran Bimbra from Bimbra 4x4, and I would be visiting him shortly for finding details on various hardtops for Thar. Will keep you updated.

hi could you let me know from which dealer you managed to get the test drive. i am in delhi these days and wouldnt mind a second crack at the vehicle.

thanks

[tomraven99]

Are the Thar doors same as the Bolero ones? I need to fit some door visors. The visors are available online only for the Bolero.

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by tomraven99

Are the Thar doors same as the Bolero ones? I need to fit some door visors. The visors are available online only for the Bolero.

The doors are the same as that of an MM540, not a Bolero!