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-   -   Mahindra Thar Review : First Drive (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/227434-mahindra-thar-review-first-drive-31.html)

Sir - a quick question - I believe you are located in NCR.
I stay in Agra and I have booked a LX Diesel HT AT. You say 17.xx L OTR. It is going to be around the 15.xx mark and not 17.xx as you state.

I am going to get the official quotation shortly and shall share it.

Here is the quick breakdown from my understanding -

Ex - 13.65 lacs
Reg Charges - 10% - 1.4 Lacs
Insurance - roughly between 50-60k depending on company / your own history etc.
Handling - debatable - 4k
1% some charge on vehicles over 10 Lacs - 13k

Brings it to a total of - 15.70 Approximate OTR

Accessories Like Mudflaps / matting etc - another 5 - 10k

What am I missing ?

Eagerly waiting to get time to do the TD of Thar. Waiting for the initial fanboy rush to go down. However, anybody planning to explore a petrol manual. Being in Bangalore, the OTR prices are scary, so need to assess all LX models in Hard Top (minus Petrol AT).

Is Petrol manual worth a thought for the benefit of a refined more powerful engine and possibly better FE than Auto?
I am more inclined towards Auto though, but diesel auto goes all the way to 17.5 OTR here and that is steep.

Since I only glanced through the pricing chart at the dealership, I saw the total being mentioned as 17.**L

I agree that there was a whole list of charges that I did not understand and some I even questioned with the sales rep. His response was that he will send me the complete list on whatsapp since I had refused to stick around for an hour or so and wait for a TD and a sales rep to talk numbers with me.

I knew negotiation will have to be done. Hard negotiations. :deadhorse

But my friend if you have booked in Delhi for 15.7L, I am extremely grateful to you to point this out for me. Thank you so very much. You have made my day. Dil se [heart had the rope sliding from its grip]:D

Ps. Kindly let me know the dealership where you booked. Thanks

Mr. Kochar, thanking you once again since you have helped me get one step closer to gifting myself the Thar as a mid thirties birthday gift, which incidentally is this month. :uncontrol

That was the plan all along. Perhaps can be achieved now.

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That's where my eyes are on too. :)
Was excited when at last minute learnt that they are launching this version as well, against what was originally published during unveil.

Looking for some inputs from experts in this segment to describe the pros and cons of this variant - LX P M HT

I was in the same dilemma. But then , I said ‘ having waited for decades , If not now, when ? ‘ and booked the Diesel Auto

I booked at Ananth cars at BG road yesterday. Whilst people were flocking to the red that as though attracted by a magnet , the dealership was doing their best in sanitising the car. They were handing out disposable gloves to all those entering the showroom.

They also promised me a test drive at home. It was around 9 pm or so when they called asking if I was willing to do a TD then. I politely declined ( though my enthusiasm was very high ) and requested they get the vehicle a different day and at a better time. Promise is now for the Wednesday. I’m fully convinced that they will adhere to the date now. The SA was quite engaging despite the crowd. I never expected a pleasant or a memorable experience given the rush , but Anant Cars definitely gave me a pleasant surprise.

I understand the time wasn't a very convenient one and hence you declined. But wasn't that a good opportunity to test drive Thar in the dark and could check the efficacy of headlights, luminosity etc? Many prospective owners never get them to take test drive in the night before signing the cheque. I feel one should do a test drive in the night too so as to avoid any surprises later.

I recently experienced a certain manufacturer's "power to surprise" when I first took my car on a long night drive stupid:

Did a test drive this morning at India Garage. Since it as before 10 AM, there was no one else waiting and I could do a leisurely 20-25 minute test drive. They had a black LX Diesel MT for test drives. Few observations:

• Getting into the car and getting seated is like ascending the throne. Once seated you definitely feel like a king!
• The steering wheel is quite close to the dash and is not adjustable for reach. It feel a little odd at first, with the steering so close to the body of the car. The dials are clearly visible though, once the angle of the rake is set right. The rake adjustment range is quite good, though.
• The display is basic and functional, though everything is very clearly visible. The readouts of trip metrics, mileage etc. in the center is very clear. The test drive car had done 380 kms and was showing an average fuel economy of 9 kmpl. If this is a true reading, it is very respectable in my view, the showroom is located on Mount Road - a section with very busy traffic and I am sure there would have been a lot of short trips done with bumper-to-bumper traffic. However, the trip mileage readout stayed absolutely constant throughout the drive - I would have expected it to drop a bit given I was darting into gaps of traffic and trying hard acceleration wherever I could find an empty stretch.
• The engine is not noisy at all. You can hear a gentle diesel thrum if you listen closely, but it is not otherwise noticeable.
• I was always worried about vibrations felt inside on Mahindra Diesels - the new Thar has none of it, I could not feel any vibes on the gear lever, or any of the foot pedals.
• The clutch is long travel, though butter-soft. There is linear modulation, and the bite point is not sudden at all. I had no problems with engine stalling even once, though I was coming from driving a Diesel Ecosport. The clutch in fact felt twice as soft as that on my Ecopsort, despite the fact that I changed to a brand new clutch in the Ecosport only 9 months ago!
• The reverse gear is engaged by lifting up a ring and going far left and up. There is quite a bit of travel to go there and this gear along is a bit notchy to engage, so it is not possible to accidentally engage reverse at all.
• The gear lever is longer throw than my Ecosport (of course), but the slotting action is pretty sure and clean for all gears 1-4 that I could use on the test drive.
• Once you engage first gear and take your foot off the clutch, the vehicle moves forward cleanly. There is absolutely zero lag and no fuss in taking off from standstill or low speeds, thanks to a large engine with probably mild level of turbocharging. The car can stay in a higher gear even at lower speeds. It will easily clear the speed-breaker test in second gear.
• The Diesel is very linear and each gear manages to accommodate a wide range of speeds. I could easily go from 5 kmph to 45 kmph in second (did not test any higher) - without the engine seeing strained. Power delivery is absolutely linear and there was no sudden speed surge due to the turbocharger.
• If you try hard acceleration in second or third, the car responds without lag, and picks up speed cleanly, but the process is very linear and predictable. You can definitely dart into gaps in the traffic but not instantly, it will take a bit of planning. This is Ok, in any case, as the Thar is a wide vehicle, and one cannot expect to drive it like a hatchback!
• Overall, the Thar Diesel moves in an amazingly nimble way, belying its size. You would not need too may gear changes in the city, second and third is adequate for drives in the traffic. I did not feel it to be much less maneuverable than my Ecosport.
• Ripples from the road are definitely felt, but on the Mount Road (which is in reasonably good condition) I did not feel any uncomfortable body movements. Small undulations are tackled pretty well. But the moment you hit large pot holes or projections, you do feel them magnified in the cabin in terms so vertical movements. If one of the wheels go though a bump when the other does not, you do get pitched side-to-side about quite a lot. So if you live in a city with very poor roads, beware. But I feel, in our metros like Chennai, which have reasonably good roads overall, with a fair mix of bad roads, the Thar should do quite OK.
• What is lost due to the discomfort of the ride, is gained through the majestic way you feel as you drive. Everything about the traffic, except buses, is below your eye level, people make way for you and the Thar moves like a chariot!
• Steering ply is quite a lot as others pointed out, but I got used to it within minutes.
• Brakes are not too bad - yes, they are not confidence inspiring, but reasonably predictable under city driving conditions. Not sure how it will fare in the highway, since I did not get a chance for a highway drive test.
• The vehicle is quite wide, and one has to be careful not to knock the left front corner anywhere, especially if you are sued to smaller and narrower car like the Ecosport.
• The Horn is quite loud but plain (I think it might be single tone) - sounds a bit like horns on buses. Could use a more sophisticated after-market horn replacement for such a large and mighty vehicle.
• The seat cushion did feel a bit soft at the back after today's ride. The seat base seemed OK. Could probably use more firm support in the backrest.
• The car felt surprisingly nimble in the city drive. Acceleration in 3rd gear from 20 - 60 or so, seemed no better and no worse than my Ecosport TDCI - that is saying something, for a vehicle which is probably half a ton more heavy! The Diesel engine is rewarding to drive overall - very smooth, always ready with torque, predictable and calm.
• Overall interior quality is acceptable, the A/C Controls felt a bit cheap. The Audio system sounds better than what some of the reviews spoke of. However, it is weird to have the sound coming from the top - a bit like traveling in a bus on the rural areas of the country, with a loudspeaker perched just above your head.
• Turning the car around sharp bends and U-turns at low speeds is quite an effort - the steering felt heavy when doing this.
• The flippy key felt quite solid - it is large an heavy so you are unlikely to lose it accidentally!
• Overall I felt the vehicle drove just as expected - very solid, smooth, reasonably punchy and actually relaxing, due to the high seating position, excellent visibility, soft clutch and easy gear level action, predictable and responsive engine and the strong A/C. I had to turn the A/C down to the lowest blower speed after 10 minutes, even in the Chennai heat.
• I actually felt the difference in the driving experience when I got back to my Ecosport after the test drive - somehow felt I had a significantly downgraded driving experience in the Ecosport, with an engine that feels like it is working harder, a harder clutch, and lower seating position. The steering though, is unmatched on the Ecosport - far lighter and more accurate than the Thar!

Attaching a few more pictures of the beast!

Congratulations.

This is a vehicle that I will book without test drive. All first impressions, initial reports by magazines and YouTubers are overwhelmingly positive. One walk through of the car in the dealership and it becomes apparent this is a quality, no non sense vehicle that is unapologetic about it's position and is so purposeful.
Kudos to Mahindra for coming out with a product with such strong character.

Could someone please post the price list for Bangalore? Thanks in advance...

Came back impressed after driving this. Black remains my favourite colour and so is the engine and manual gearbox. Diesel pulls like crazy, but the vehicle floats as speeds progress. Production version doesnt have white tyre lettering though the stock tyres deserve an upgrade. In the accessories there is also a machined black 17" alloy available which I would personally prefer.

A Thar alongside an Abarth? Should it happen?

I was about to reply when I saw these posts. I would definitely wait for some good options to come. Another big plus of a hardtop is safety, especially on open highways. Atleast you have a helmet kind of plastic sitting over your head and that for me is a huge plus.

A removable hard top is anyday better compared to the canoppy. :thumbs up

Here you go.

OTR : 12.15L to 17.45L

Attached.

Thar Price list.pdf

Glad to see Bhpians liking the new Thar.
Just a question. GTO confirmed that the cooling from the Automatic AC is more that enough. My query is that does it vary depending on whether it is Hardtop or Softtop. Does it have a noticeable difference in the feel?

To book or Not to book, the eternal question is bugging me to no end. I honestly do not have a practical use of the Thar , but the looks and the allure is so strong that I might end up booking one. I will drop into Ananth cars on the BGT road for a test drive shortly.