[locusjag]

Just heard from an esteemed fellow forum member that he and the offroading group that he's part of had trained Chennai-based Mahindra dealers on what the new Thar is capable of offroad.

I felt giddy with awe at our esteemed fellow members (this offroading group was established by another fellow member) would be asked by Mahindra to train their dealers. It really speaks to their credibility as offroaders and their skill levels. I mean, I'm just some random guy who loves to drive. I couldn't imagine myself being asked by an automotive OEM to educate their dealers on anything!

And initially, I couldn't help but wonder why Mahindra wouldn't train their dealers themselves...but come to think of it; all manner of companies cutting across industries often utilize the best possible locally available talent to get whatever job needs doing.

[Dieselite]

Test drove the LX Diesel Manual in Black colour today !

First impressions -

1. Very well put together car inside out !
2. Very tractable diesel engine. Linear spread of torque
3. Ride was a little bouncy but not a deal breaker !
4. Street presence is mindblowingly fantastic !!

Mahindra has delivered on most counts for the Thar . Desperately waiting to test drive both the ATs and make a choice between the Petrol and Diesel !

[Ross]

Spot on observations by @vigneshkumar and @karanddd. Thar cannot be only vehicle in the normal family household. Too many compromises to be made in terms of comfort, luggage space and access to rear seats etc. It is not cheap with top end Petrol/ diesel touching 16L to 17.5L OTR in Bangalore. Question is how many of us can afford a second vehicle at this price?

Instead of getting overexcited, people should look at this as niche vehicle meant for certain lifestyle and usage and stop comparing with other practical and family oriented four door CSUVs with 350L of boot space and justifying the price point.

Many will fall for the lure of the Thar and we may have some great examples coming up in used car market in couple of years of time. It is just like RE classic motorcycles which people buy for the oomph and realise over time that it is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Having said all that, why my mind is thinking of Thar as second car for the city instead of practical sub 10L automatic hatch back? Lure of the Thar is too strong. Let’s see if I can resist the same.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Wonderful pricing. I am definitely in for Thar.
However, I would like to know about real world performance comparison of petrol and diesel AT. Both variants are priced quite close. Should diesel AT just be chosen for better fuel economy?
What are the weight differences? There is no mention in brochure. As on paper, Petrol AT should be better since all important specs are in its favour, plus the weight advantage(hopefully).

Any insights?

Don't know the exact weights but I don't believe they would be very different:

• The engines are of a similar size
• Unlike previous diesels, this is an all new unit with an aluminum block instead of cast iron block.
• 4X4 gear is exactly the same between the two
• Urea tank, DPF etc. will add some weight to the Diesel but should be marginal (~25kg)

So overall, I don't see the Diesel and Petrol being very different in terms of weight - Say 50 kg max difference on vehicles weighing close to 1850 KG (assumption based on the fact that these are Broad and Tall trucks with heavy build, full 4X4 gear, and a fairly large fuel tank of 57 liters - the old Thar weighed 1750 KG and this one is certainly larger and has a lot more equipment and creature comforts as well as safety gear so I assume 100 KG more)

Given the weight and poor aerodynamics plus the efficiency-sapping nature of TC auto transmissions, I would definitely expect a significant difference in FE. The Diesel should be at least 50% more efficient. As GTO mentioned in the drive report, even if you do not mind the cost of buying more fuel, the convenience/safety factor due to the longer range would be enough to justify the Diesel. 57 liters if a fairly good tank size but if you are going to remote places and off-roading the average trip fuel economy of the petrol can drop to 6-7 kmpl and then you only have a range of 300 KM or so, which is not much at all! On the other hand, the Diesel will not fall below 9-10 kpl even in such circumstances as far as overall trip fuel economy is concerned and you will get 75% higher range of close to 500 KM that makes a huge difference.

[topse]

This is an all capable 4x4, but still priced better than most of the so called cSUVS available in the market. It has looks, great color, solid build and reliability of Mahindra. As there is a phrase that says 'no one is perfect', so this Mahindra too. It's a mighty real capable machine but there is lack of one thing, that's the space, be it the rear passenger space or the boot. Desperately expecting that Mahindra will launch a 5-door version of this new Thar in 2021 itself to make this off-roader complete in terms of contemporary parameters as a real and practical 4x4. Although I must admit that, a Thar in any form is a dream machine for me.

[navpreet318]

By the way did anyone spot those traditional 7 slat grills on any of the Thars on display or on TD?
Would love to see those grills. Also would love to see someone actually develop a full on Wrangler style grill with the last slats slightly cut off by the headlight curves.

[airbus]

Looks like Mahindra got the pricing right for Thar. While absence of rear doors is a concern for us, but now we plan to go for a test drive to feel the ride quality. If ride quality is fine for our occasional highway drives, then I might be able to convince my wife to compromise on rear doors

[Malhi]

Originally Posted by Dieselite

Test drove the LX Diesel Manual in Black colour today !

First impressions -

1. Very well put together car inside out !
2. Very tractable diesel engine. Linear spread of torque
3. Ride was a little bouncy but not a deal breaker !
4. Street presence is mindblowingly fantastic !!

Quick questions.

1. What does the bouncy ride feel like? Is it more of a wavy ride or does one feel sharp thuds and jerks?

2. How often does one need to change gears in city traffic? Does it have the ability to pull comfortably in higher gears in slow moving traffic or is it more car-like and always requires one hand on the gear liver?

[abhinavsureka]

I have booked mine today. Test drives haven't started yet anywhere in Madhya Pradesh. We are a group of 6-7 people planning to buy and 2 of us have booked.
Both are diesel manual LX. One is a hard top and one is convertible.

Prices in my opinion are very fair and people who want it should book soon as there might be a loooong waiting list looking at the number of variants and options they have come up with. Or it will be a compromise on what exactly you want.

They said deliveries will begin on 1st November. If the dealerships get the cars before that will they start delivering early ?

[Ravi_chd]

Finally.

Booked two identical Thars today.
Diesel.
Manual Transmission.
Convertible Soft Top.
Red Color.

[Sanjivvohra]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

I was wrong. The vehicle is there now. Go ahead, explore..

Ouch! Went away for the weekend. Will try visiting them during the week. Hopefully less crowd.

[indian21r]

I went to the VVC motors dealership but decided not to book yet. I want to see all the colours before deciding. Too long queue so will test drive on Monday. Big rush at the dealership with families coming together to experience the car.

Road presence is incredible. 18” tires were not bad looking. Ingress to the rear is not really as bad as I expected it to be. Kids will have fun sitting at the back. But it will be a punishment for someone wearing a saree to enter and exit.

Grab handles area necessity. Hard top seems to have a dent above the rear passenger seat. Is it design as it was the same in 2 cars. It did not feel easy to remove at all.

Overall as a 2 seater it is a very good proposition.

[Dieselite]

Originally Posted by Malhi

Quick questions.

1. What does the bouncy ride feel like? Is it more of a wavy ride or does one feel sharp thuds and jerks?

2. How often does one need to change gears in city traffic? Does it have the ability to pull comfortably in higher gears in slow moving traffic or is it more car-like and always requires one hand on the gear liver?

1. The suspension and rubber take the sharp edge off the road imperfections. The bounce feels like it comes more from the geometry of a short wheelbase. The car itself is a bit soft sprung and so its all short waves. It is similar to the initial generations of the Scorpio.

2. You could trundle around town in a high gear all day long ! The clutch travel is very high though.

Hope this answers your queries

[Iceman33]

With a price tag of 16-17L, Thar does not make sense for most people.

Most of the buyers would have to overlook following major factors
- Spending almost 0.2Crore on an Indian brand
- Not great practical usage( with 2 doors, climb to the seat)
- ‘Wanna be’ factor(exact copy of a Jeep)
- Doubtful ride quality, manufacturing quality, reliability

Keeping Thar as a second car would have eliminated few of the constraints, but with 17L price, monthly depreciation of this car would be like 15,000. Too much for a car that would be used maybe only twice for adventure trips in a year.

M&M should have kept the price at least 20-30 % lower than this. Giving discounts later could also be their strategy.

[jigarm]

Amazing car. Alas, a lot of people, like me, who can only own one car, this won't cut it. Alternately I think this is a great car to rent from Rent-A-Car companies for those fun weekend trip. If zoom car or the likes can get these in the fleet, it would SELL!