[cool_dube]

Test drove the all-new Thar diesel MT and petrol AT variants back to back today. Enough and more has already been said about all aspects of the Thar in general, so will skip that. Coming to petrol vs. diesel for the Thar:

Drove the diesel first and was surprised at the refinement M&M has been able to achieve with this motor, both in terms of sound and vibrations. One can hardly hear the motor inside the cabin and even outside, the note is quite pleasing, quite opposite to the typical diesel clatter that one would expect of a "Mahindra jeep". Power delivery, as expected, is very good and the motor has enough and more grunt at all revs. All in all, very satisfying experience.

Coming to the petrol - I was floored within a minute of starting my drive. The engine is super-silent and butter-smooth! Forget in-cabin noise, I was barely able to hear it outside as well!! The motor is VERY refined and has more than enough grunt across the rev range - right from the low-end pull needed for city driving to the mid and high range muscle needed for those highway drives. The gearbox is a gem and I could hardly feel the shifts! I could not help notice the raw power being churned out by this amazing turbo-petrol across the RPM range.

The overall feel of the new Thar, coupled with the amazing motor/gearbox combination was almost enough for me to book the Thar right there! However, decided to wait it out for some more time till the initial teething issues are sorted.

For the purpose of this poll, petrol it is all the way if one is okay with the relatively lower FE and consequent low tank range.

Edit: as per the SA, "official" waiting period across all variants is now being quoted as 9 months! Realistically though, one can expect delivery between 6-8 months, depending on the variant.

[cool_dube]

It is well known by now that Mahindra has garnered 75,000-plus bookings for the new Thar within a year of its launch - https://www.rushlane.com/mahindra-th...-12414205.html

Quoting from the article:

50% of Thar buyers are for the automatic variant while 25% buyers have opted for petrol

What is interesting to note is the (almost direct) correlation of actual diesel/petrol sales statistic to our poll results

[airguitar]

Thanks for this very useful thread, certainly made choices easier, however a few more questions to help me complete my purchase

1) I'm heavily leaning towards Diesel LX MT ( resale, FE and tried and test mhawk ). FE being the most important point. Can someone share what's the FE been for diesel and petrol in real-life conditions ?

2) Where can I look at the current Petrol vs Diesel sales numbers for the Thar ?

3) The most popular colours - red and black - are ruled out due to family preferences. What's the next best colour from a looks/resale perspective / which other colour has sold the most ?

4) Based on your personal experiences, can you recommend the top 3 sales outlets in Bangalore east or central?

For some reason, Petrol MT is not avaialable for test drives in so many places.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by airguitar

Thanks for this very useful thread, certainly made choices easier, however a few more questions to help me complete my purchase

I'm heavily leaning towards Diesel LX MT ( resale, FE and tried and test mhawk ). FE being the most important point. Can someone share what's the FE been for diesel and petrol in real-life conditions ?

On a Petrol AT, do not expect more than 8-9 km/lit in city and 10-11 km/lit on highways. On a Diesel MT, you should easily be able to extract 12-13 km/lit in city and 15-plus km/lit on highways, depending on your driving style.

Where can I look at the current Petrol vs Diesel sales numbers for the Thar?

Not sure how/why would that influence your choice.

The most popular colours - red and black - are ruled out due to family preferences. What's the next best colour from a looks/resale perspective / which other colour has sold the most ?

This is a very personal choice but my pick would be Galaxy Grey or Rocky Beige.

Based on your personal experiences, can you recommend the top 3 sales outlets in Bangalore east or central?

Many on the forum have had good experience with Sireesh Auto.

[airguitar]

Thank you! I had eventually ended up choosing the same set of atts as your responses over the last couple of days.

Diesel + HT + MT + LX + Galaxy Grey + Sireesh is what I was going with.

Regarding the colours, both red and black were ruled out by the family ( woudl have been my top choices ) and the next black-yet-not-black colour was Galaxy Grey. Colours were a consideration not from a personal standpoint ( I liked all colours that the thar is available in ), but in case of a resale later ( though it's not a consideration at all), I was ensuring that I was not disadvantaged.

The stats on diesel vs petrol was not going to influence my decision but just and understanding of how the sales were ( and to have an understanding of waiting periods etc )

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by airguitar

The stats on diesel vs petrol was not going to influence my decision but just and understanding of how the sales were ( and to have an understanding of waiting periods etc )

It's roughly 75:25 in favor of diesel. A petrol Thar can be had as quick as within a month or two of booking.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

*SNIP*

On a Diesel MT, you should easily be able to extract 12-13 km/lit in city and 15-plus km/lit on highways, depending on your driving style.

My experience does not match your numbers at all. Diesel automatic, city has been 7.6 though the MID shows 10.9. Highway has been 12.6 though MID shows 13.x.

My driving until now has been very gentle acceleration and top speed not exceeding 110, once or twice touching 120.

And oh yes, AC was switched on while taking delivery and has not been switched off at all.

Originally Posted by cool_dube

This is a very personal choice but my pick would be Galaxy Grey or Rocky Beige.

My exact choices too. Picked Grey but received Olive Green (I refuse to call it Beige in any form).

Cheers

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by tilt

My experience does not match your numbers at all

It won't because my numbers were for diesel MT