[Pankaj_Ahlawat]

Congratulations !!

Finally a real ownership review of legendary 'Thar'. The articulation is fantastic, so are the pictures.

The euphoria and exclusivity this beast will bestow upon you is truly majestic.
Takes me down the memory lane when I picked up the first XUV is Delhi in 2011. The attention it grabbed and instant celebrity like status of initial owners, has been repeated by new Thar, almost after a decade from the Mahindra stable.

Also, the initial niggles in version 1 are a typical Mahindra trait. I had my share of part failure/ replacement issues, which though were rectified with full support and zeal from Mahindra, in the real world test of their product in early life cycle.

So, wish you happy thrilling miles and more serendipitous discoveries with the product (which hopefully get sorted for future owners), btw in my case, i did not know the clutch could be soft too, until 6 months down after long wait another friend got an XUV and i took his ride. Upon realising and raising the issue, they immediately replaced the whole clutch assembly without a charge.


link to my experience, just in case:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...oondust+silver (Mahindra XUV 500 - Moondust Silver - Loaded with chrome - first in Delhi)

[ash22]

Oh Wow. Well written and excellent review man.Wish you happy motoring with this mile muncher.

Will you be booking one? I keep my best poker face, and ask him what the booking amount is. 21,000 sir. My wife is now having a few lines on her forehead, and I avoid her general direction. Okay, give me the booking form, what are the documents you need from me?

You seriously got guts to handle this situation

[sabujsen]

Congratulations ph03n!x. What an amazing review. I donot intend to buy the Thar, but feel like getting one now. And good point about the ride quality, a lot of journos seem to skimp over that point. Wish you many miles and memories with your new beast!

[GhostRider28]

Finally, an ownership thread on the new Thar, and what a fantastic piece of writeup! Rated 5 stars. A fitting ownership post for the legend!

Don't worry on the Fuel filter, my Duster AWD (2014) suffered an ECU failure within the first month (and the replacement was faulty as well ). Cars will have some of these.

Thank you for such a detailed post. This will become the goto Wiki page for many prospective Thar buyers! You mentioned that the key can be taken out in N mode. Can the car be pushed while in N mode? If not, can it be pushed with the auto tranny and 4wd lever both in N mode? Asking from a tight parallel parking scenario perspective.

Also, do you think safety (from theft) is an issue with the CT?

[highwaypatrol]

Over the last 10 years, i have used Ford, VW, Fiat, Mahindra and Hyundai. If there is one company which never put a big hole in my pocket, that is Mahindra. Yes, it comes with its own tiny little niggles and quality issues, but all can be sorted out pretty easily and economically as well. Being said that, I just changed steering rack & 4 faulty abs sensors on my Polo and gave away 25 big gandhis just now at the showroom and fondly remembering my old Bolero which i have driven over a lakh kilometer without spending not more than 5000 rupees over years apart from the regular service at the showroom. Wishing you many happy miles with this mean machine !

[Breathe2drive]

Congratulations Phoenix on your possession of the Exceptionally Beautiful Black Beast. Awesome write-up. Wishing you a great partnership with your amazing Thar.

[DieselWanderer]

Many Congratulations on your Thar! The review was a joy to read. Just a few questions
1. Is this the same Aisin AT which comes in the XUV500?
2. How the gearbox react in its initial speeds? 0-40kmph?
3. Since youre from chennai where did u get your thar serviced? I got a notification from India Garage that theyve shut their Guindy service centre. And im not comfortable with anyother ones as they have bad reviews.

[justwheels]

Many many congratulations!

And what a beautiful write up. Loved every word. Thanks a lot for bringing Thar a bit more closer to those who have a long wait to enjoy the Mighty Thar.

Guess what's the most important aspect of a Thar ownership is to enjoy for the car it is, and not for the car you want it to be. The earlier the owner gets that in his mind, earlier he or she can enjoy owning one. And you have got that so rightly depicted in your write up.

A Thar has to be driven like a Thar, and when done so, you can extract the maximum pleasure. Its the same when you a drive a petrol vs a diesel, you need to adapt to the engine characteristics.

It's great to see your Thar ownership has been great till now barring the one off incidence of fuel and CEL fault. Hope that too gets sorted soon. Looking forward to hear more from you as you progress more in your mile crunching. Your valuable experiences will be of utmost importance for people like me who would only get their Thar in 2021.

I too would have loved to get a convertible but could not muster the courage owing to safety and flapping noises at highway speeds, so ended up booking the Hard Top. Now waiting while drooling over your beast.

Congrats again and wishing you many happy miles and smiles with the beast.

[Puneet0051]

Absolutely fantastic review Phoenix. Loved it.

You are an SUV person from the previous XUV you owned, how is it to own Thar when it's not as good highway manners as XUV, it triumps in off road but with most of driving on city roads and highways (which was the case with you). Can it be a daily driver or what to expect from a Non SUV person

And which the off road location you planning to go

Happy munching miles with your Thar.

Plan to upgrade your tyres.

[NarediAni7518]

Oh man! Probably one of the best reviews I’ve come across. Beautiful, excellent write-up. It was a long thread but I read each and every word of it ! Congratulations on the new car and I wish that you create a lot of beautiful memories with it

[ruzbehxyz]

Dear ph03n!x

Thats a wonderful review of the Thar.
I agree that the Thar 2020 is leagues ahead than the older version. Let's hope Mahindra lives upto the expectations and this vehicle goes long. Currently long term reliability is a question, but I'm sure Thar is a tough one.
Wish you many miles in the Thar.

[ph03n!x]

Thank you for all the encouraging words and appreciations, folks! I am humbled!

Here is a to-date update on the Water-in-Fuel issue.

Like I've said, it has been intermittent and comes on and off without any cause or reason. After my call with M&M's CCM yesterday (who triaged me the head of service in my dealership, in spite me insisting that the dealership's service team is handling the issue perfectly), they offered to pick up my Thar to have the RCA assessed for a day. I preferred to take my Thar in personally, and hang around in case there is an early resolution.

You have heard of a certain Mr. Murphy, right? No, not the original "If anything can go wrong..." version. One of the various adages that can conveniently be accredited to him - "When you get to the service center, the issue will disappear!". Well, that happened. I started the Thar at about 11 AM to head to M&M service center, and yeah - no Water-in-Filter light (CEL had any way disappeared the second day). And my Thar performed like beast-unleashed. No more limp mode, no more muted acceleration. I took a longer route, turned off the ignition and what not. I was actually running low on fuel, so headed in to service - in case they wanted to empty the tank too.

They ran their own tests, and no error codes. Did test drives, and still nada. So they reflashed the ECU and gave it to me, confirming the fuel filter assembly is anyway arriving on Monday, and said I can tank up.

Side note: The Thar's DTE goes to --- when DTE goes below 30 KM.

I headed to my trusted fuel station - those who're familiar with Coimbatore, it is SSS Singanallur.

After tanking up, there it was - smiling its evil grin at me. Water in Fuel.

So I called up the service head of my dealership and tell him - he immediately dispatches two technicians to my home, and they capture the error codes. They confirm that there is no water in the filter, and they had emptied the filter just in case when had I gone in earlier today. They ask for the Thar to be taken to the service center, and they will try and replicate the issue with the Demo vehicle's filter (they have two - one for display and one for TD). I hand over the key and see my Thar drive away. Without me in it.

Side note again: You cannot help but admire how the beast makes an appearance, moves past you, and disappears in to the horizon (in my case, the street corner). Even if it is being taken to the service center for surgery. Hat's off - "Father of Thar" Shri Behram sir, Shri. Pawan Goenka, Shri. Veejay Nakra, and of course THE MAN, Shri. Velusamy! We can't thank you enough

After a few hours I get the confirmation that they were able to replicate the issue, and my Thar is perfect with the swapped fuel filter assembly. Probably a sensor going kaput, and I am assured that once the part arrives on Monday, they will replace it and give my Thar back with urgency.

So the first time my Thar is not home overnight happened - this separation anxiety usually occurs much, much later in a car's lifecycle - but for me and my Thar, it was today. I was assured multiple times that the Thar is safely parked in the service floor, will not leave the premises, and they will take good care of it - this is after I expressed my intent to pick it up and bring it back Monday morning.

Again, I cannot express how satisfied and encouraged I am with how this episode is being handled. When @GTO spoke about waiting two years, I pointed out how the XUV3OO's suspension was sorted swiftly (The 2020 next-gen Mahindra Thar : Driving report on page 86), this is no less. Though is only an isolated issue (at least for now), they have gone all out. I am sure that it would have taken hours if the part was in stock - but none can blame them for that either, it was not expected to be needed till a Thar completes 30k KM! And compared to how certain manufactures try to shift the blame on the customer, or some others close their eyes to the issue - M&M are on the top of their game.

I will hopefully post a closure post on Monday, and my jeep life will unpause!

Originally Posted by GTO

Man, take a bow! You have a heck of a writing style. Read your review word-to-word while it was still in the Assembly Line . A fitting thread for a very special 4x4. Enjoy the Thar, man! Wishing you minimum 1.5 lakh km of enjoyable motoring with it.

Thank you GTO! I'm planning to keep this jeep for much much longer (The XUV was on company lease, and hence the sale to prep for relocate - this is on my own tax-paid EMI!)

I did realize that there are a bunch of mistakes - spelling and otherwise. While I am controlling my perfection OCD (hey, I own a jeep now!), would it be not a good idea to let thread owners continue editing their posts (maybe with a moderation in place)? Forums like XDA do not have any duration limit to edit one's posts. It so happens that I have been "close to the writing" until it was published, and then when I read it back afresh, I ended up face palming at each mistake!

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Can we have pictures of the Bushranger Dirt blocker mats? Are they worth the money?

Sorry mate, one of the mistakes I've made - I missed adding that the order is being placed and I was awaiting delivery of the mat. The dealer's accessories person called worriedly today and informed me that each mat is Rs. 2020 - So the entire set is Rs. 8080. No way I am paying that kind of money for the mats, I will wait for good aftermarket 3D mats.

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

I really need tips from you on how did you convince your family on to buying this? My dad really hated (amd still hates) bumpy rides on my TUV. He was so glad that I sold it. He is not very excited about the new Thar, he is ok with XUV 300.

Also please do share Tank full to Tank full method mileage for city and highway drives. My TUV used to give me 15 on highway with AC and 80 kmph speed. In city it was a diesel gussler ranging from 9-11 kmpl.

Wishing you happy miles on the beast.

Thanks mate! I didn't really convince anyone - they are as unconvinced as ever. I know this buy will bite my bottom for years to come, but hey - One Life, bottom be damned!

I intend to take them to the hills or valley or any of the awesome places and show them what a top down jeep means, and hope the bite becomes less potent.

My mileage in the first tankful to tankful was 11.55 KMPL and second is 12.20 KMPL - but both will not be accurate because of the testing and stuff that is going on. I maintain a tracker, and will share the numbers every now and then when things get back to normal.

Originally Posted by Slipstream11

Many congratulations!!
Can you please share the costing on the PPF and under-carriage coating?
Thanks.

It costed me about 30k including taxes, after discounts. I think we used about 45 or 46 units of PPF sheet (approx.), and these are the regular ones, not the nano, self-healing tech.

Originally Posted by GhostRider28

You mentioned that the key can be taken out in N mode. Can the car be pushed while in N mode? If not, can it be pushed with the auto tranny and 4wd lever both in N mode? Asking from a tight parallel parking scenario perspective.

Also, do you think safety (from theft) is an issue with the CT?

Yes, the Thar can be pushed with the auto tranny in N and the transfer case in 2H.

I am worried about the safety aspect, but then I was paranoid with all my cars - I ensure there are safe parking available when I plan my travels, and even if we are going shopping, I have made my family walk a few 100 meters because a safe parking slot is not available!

Originally Posted by DieselWanderer

1. Is this the same Aisin AT which comes in the XUV500?
2. How the gearbox react in its initial speeds? 0-40kmph?
3. Since youre from chennai where did u get your thar serviced?

I wrote about the gear box in the Thar in another thread, linking it for reference (Mahindra Thar Review : First Drive). No, it is not the same as the one in XUV5OO, as the engine layout in Thar is longitudinal RWD (XUV is transverse FWD). But it is equally competent, and is probably one that is used in the current gen Fortuner/ Innova (among others).

The gearbox is brilliant, and shift smoothly - you won't know unless you are watching for the RPM (and listening to the engine note). I usually let the RPM rise to the gear's optimal range and let go the throttle a bit to let it upshift earlier instead of pinning down the throttle (which will lead to upshifts at higher RPM), and this works brilliantly in the Thar too. Like I said in my review, the only time I felt the transmission was aggressive was when it downshifts from 4th to 3rd - could have been a bit later (wait for the RPM to get lower a bit), but there maybe other factors that M&M considered - and maybe it is just early days and I will get around it.

You can take me out of Madras, but you cannot take Madras out of me! I am not living in Madras anymore - in Coimbatore now.

Originally Posted by Puneet0051

You are an SUV person from the previous XUV you owned, how is it to own Thar when it's not as good highway manners as XUV, it triumps in off road but with most of driving on city roads and highways (which was the case with you). Can it be a daily driver or what to expect from a Non SUV person

And which the off road location you planning to go

Plan to upgrade your tyres.

Thanks! If other vehicles think twice before cutting you or crossing the road when you are coming towards them in the XUV, with the Thar, they just stop unless they are sure the beast won't bite them!

For highway drives, the XUV is any day a better vehicle - the Thar can, but XUV belongs there. For daily driver, yes - I do not have any problem with the Thar, except that I have plan U turns (or turns in general) better owing to the bigger turning radius.

I have not planned any off-roads yet, but I will check in with our good friend @ex670c and the Terra Tigers soon!

I do not intend to upgrade the tyres for now - there are no good options available except the CEAT and MRF (which I've seen in the November manufactured Thars - did not have the white lettering), and I do not want to upsize the tyres. But then, if tyres are becoming a bottleneck off the road, this might change!

[ramnaresh_2000]

Your issues sound DejaVu to me, why do they sound so similar? because this is exactly what happened to me as well.

I get error message on MID, when I take to MASS, all is fine. Then they do 60 km road teet, still no issues. Then on my way back to home it resurfaces again. This time I recorded everything, went to MASS they still insist no issues. Then bang, comes M Night Shayamalan twist, I show them the video.

They then changed my Input/Output sensor and fly wheel kit. Issue was resolved to some extent. Please record the issues as soon as you experience them. These recordings will go long way in bending MASS.

[G-One]

Brilliant candid review. Anand Mahindra might offer you a job of reviewing and trouble shooting their cars. What can I say, you just blew my socks off with that kind of attention to detail review.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by G-One

Brilliant candid review...

Thanks! I am planning a road trip to your city sometime next year - let's see if this 13,000 KM trip materializes!