[ph03n!x]

CONGRATS ON THE MYSTIC BEAUTY, @84.monsoon! The car looks amazing, and your review is so very detailed. Wishing you many, many years of memories!

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

...
...
Particular Dislikes
...

• The wiper controls do not have sufficient variability of controls to modulate the speed and frequency, as much as one would like. While driving in the rain, I found that the very first speed that the wipers engage in is already too fast, when there is only a slight drizzle. There are only three possible wiper speed positions and there are no sub-gradient positions for adjustment within a speed range, which means that fine-grain adjustment of the wiper speed and frequency based on level of and intensity of rain is just not possible. You have to choose between the three standard speeds provided. Although the wiper stalk does seem to have what looks like the usual rotary knob for the sub-speed selection, this is purely cosmetic and does not engage.

...
...

Thought I'll pitch in here - I had posted about this in my ownership review. The 1st speed of the wiper is actually a programmable intermittent setting. To use it,

1. Turn on the wiper to the first speed
2. Turn it off after the first wipe
3. Turn it back on with the delay you want (within 60 secs)

This will program the wiper to wipe at the delay you've set, until you switch it off (or change the delay by repeating this). From the manual -

[diwakarmuthu]

Many congratulations on the new acquisition. The Mystic Copper looks dashing.

For your road trips how many bags were you able to put in the boot? Can it hold 2 medium sized suitcases?

[Iyyer]

Congrats @84.monsoon! Wishing you happy and safe miles ahead!!

Hats off to your brilliant description and analysis. Your description seems like the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle titled "what can you expect while owning a Thar?" It was informative and interesting.

Members like @ph03n!x and yourself have made it quite clear for potential owners and for fence-sitters alike what to look for and what to look out for.

Since @ph03n!x also is active on this threat, my questions are directed to both of you since you guys now have a clear idea of owning the beast.

I have booked my Thar LX Petrol Manual Hardtop and just like the rest of the mortals I am waiting for the delivery. In the meanwhile I have just been reading the Thar threads on this forum or watching YouTube videos. Since I reside in Delhi, my drives would include daily commute within the city and trips to desert and hills. The dream is to drive to Ladakh. We are a family of two, so all the trips would be just the two of us driving around. If there are friends joining us on any trip, then I have already made it clear that they would have to get their own vehicle if they intend to still remain friends after the trip.

After reading the initial review posted on this forum by @Aditya, and the ownership review posted by @ph03n!x and you, I have a fair idea of what to expect. However, there are some questions that linger in my mind and no better people to ask than you guys. So here it is:

1. @84.monsoon, you posted that "Bumpy ride on anything but the smoothest of roads. If you are considering a long road trip over highways that are in poor condition, risk your vertebrae or choose another car!". So if I am to drive on state highways that are not so well maintained, would it be a problem for all the occupants, i.e. including the driver and front passenger? I am not even considering rear passengers since I am well aware of the fact that the Thar is not meant for rear comfort, but what about the front occupants, could you and @ph03n!x shed some light on this aspect?

2. While driving on the hills, did you engage the hill hold/descent control? And how did the other passengers feel while you were driving on the hills?

3. This question is for @84.monsoon and @ph03n!x - while driving on highway, did you'll feel more exhausted than driving any other category of vehicle due to the ride quality?

I am sure that I will have more questions and a lot more to figure out when I receive my Thar, but until then I am trying to gather all the information that I can by reading up on informative pieces such as these.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by Iyyer

Congrats @84.monsoon! Wishing you happy and safe miles ahead!!
...
...
1. @84.monsoon, you posted that "Bumpy ride on anything but the smoothest of roads. If you are considering a long road trip over highways that are in poor condition, risk your vertebrae or choose another car!". So if I am to drive on state highways that are not so well maintained, would it be a problem for all the occupants, i.e. including the driver and front passenger? I am not even considering rear passengers since I am well aware of the fact that the Thar is not meant for rear comfort, but what about the front occupants, could you and @ph03n!x shed some light on this aspect?

2. While driving on the hills, did you engage the hill hold/descent control? And how did the other passengers feel while you were driving on the hills?

3. This question is for @84.monsoon and @ph03n!x - while driving on highway, did you'll feel more exhausted than driving any other category of vehicle due to the ride quality?
...
...

Let me give you my view - I'm at 9,800KM on the clock now...

1 - the ride. Depends on what you compare it with, I'd say not too bad (Fortuner/ Endeavour), great (gen 1 Thar/ CJ/ MM/ Classic) or bad (against most other sub 15 lakh cars). That said, my family (wife and 2 young kids) didn't complain at all in city, highway speeds, winding ghat sections or up-hill climbs. I think it's a matter of accepting the ride, and getting used to it. Funny story - my cousin has motion sickness, and we've had to stop for her to relieve herself when travelling in an Innova, a XUV5OO, even a 3. But she was doing fine for about 70 KM on the highway in the back seat of my Thar. If I switch between the Thar n one of the sedans in the family, I do feel the difference. If I don't, I get used to its ride - no problemo

2 - I did that once, but felt the braking is too aggressive/ noisy. The autobox does a great job of holding to gears even if the RPM is shooting across, and engine braking with the right gear and tapping on brakes do the job for me. My family or friends, like I said above, didn't complain at all.

3 - Not at all. And I've done enough by now to say that this is at times a better highway ride - most jumping jacks n wanna be Road Runners and Wile E Coyotes stop dead on their tracks the moment the glance at your general direction. Of course, driver skill is a little more in demand in the jeep compared to a hatch or sedan (or derivatives), but nothing you can't master.

[navpreet318]

I'd like to ask a question to both the owners active here.

How is the heat insulation from the Hard Top? Does the roof feel hot when you touch in while driving in the afternoon?

Does the heat feel radiating down from the Hard Top?

Thanks in advance.

[Iyyer]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Let me give you my view - I'm at 9,800KM on the clock now...
=======
3 - Not at all. Of course, driver skill is a little more in demand in the jeep compared to a hatch or sedan (or derivatives), but nothing you can't master.

Thanks a lot @ph03n!x for you insight and answers, this definitely helps.

The ride comparison would be with the following cars:
(a) Maruti A-Star [was initially my daily commute vehicle, and later it was more like a secondary car for commuting within the city before I sold it recently],
(b) Honda City 4th generation [which is mostly chauffeur driven but at times I drive it around within the city], and
(c) Hyundai i20 Sport [which is what we have been using for our out-station trips, but mostly it is parked at my in-laws' place].

So the Thar would essentially be replacing all these vehicles for me and would be driven exclusively by me. And yes, all these fall in the category of sub-15 lakhs, so the comparison might be a bit unfavourable towards Thar, but the question would be - should we be comparing the Thar with other tarmac centric vehicles or see it independently for its capabilities?.

Before booking the Thar I test drove Seltos and Thar, while the former felt like any other car (honestly, I felt it behaved like a sub-15 lakh sedan with a design of an SUV) the Thar was like love at first sight. Although the test drive had to be wrapped up soon due to the waiting line for test drive, the connect was instant, it was like the scene from Avatar where the protagonist connects with banshee. The last time I felt such a connect was with my Bullet.

After a lot of deliberation, we took the leap of faith and booked our Thar. Anyway, the waiting period was long enough so in case we changed our minds, we could do it any time.

Later somewhere in December when the test drive craze had reduced and the test cars were just parked in front of the showroom I test drove it for a longer period of time but within the city. It was then I could get a better feel of the ride quality on tarmac and in traffic. The love for Thar just increased with every minute that I was driving, but again was it heart over mind and sensory failure while in love?

Now, your answers have cleared most of the doubts that I have been having (during the waiting period) and I am more confident about the decision. And your family's experience in the Thar, especially your cousin's, does inspire confidence.

Thank you @ph03n!x, once again! Truly appreciate your inputs

If I was still in Bangalore, probably I would have made a trip to Allepey sometime and would pass through Coimbatore and catch up with you.

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

I'd like to ask a question to both the owners active here.

How is the heat insulation from the Hard Top? Does the roof feel hot when you touch in while driving in the afternoon?

Does the heat feel radiating down from the Hard Top?

Thanks in advance.

Navpreet- I can chime in here. My Thar is black. Unfortunately I have to park it in sunshine. When I do take it out at, say for example 2 pm, the cabin definitely is hot. That said, what I do know is that the Thar A/C cooks the cabin quite fast. In fact, I feel it cools faster than my other car, the Crysta.

I haven’t had the chance to do highway runs in the heat. Maybe, that experience will help get a much clearer answer to your question.

Meanwhile, I’m equally curious to hear from the Thar owners.

[navpreet318]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Navpreet- I can chime in here. My Thar is black. Unfortunately I have to park it in sunshine. When I do take it out at, say for example 2 pm, the cabin definitely is hot. That said, what I do know is that the Thar A/C cooks the cabin quite fast. In fact, I feel it cools faster than my other car, the Crysta.

I haven’t had the chance to do highway runs in the heat. Maybe, that experience will help get a much clearer answer to your question.

Meanwhile, I’m equally curious to hear from the Thar owners.

Thanks!! Well my question particularly arose because I test drove another vehicle with a Hard Top. A Rubicon.
I took a long long TD. So a while into my TD I started feeling sweat on my forehead whereas my hands were being chilled from the AC. I found my head hot! And then realized that the heat is coming from the HT which was Hot!!
Normally in our cars we have headliners which keep things insulated. Now here was a proper warm HT which was radiating heat onto my head.
Now this is the Sun in Dehradun yesterday. It's not even that hot now a days. I shudder thinking what will happen in May in Delhi!!

That's why I wanted to know what is the condition of the Thar HT. Mine has now reached my dealer friend and is ready for me to pick. Just doing some final queries before jumping into it.

[Xaos636]

Great review. I just read it in a flow and took quite a long time. Well written and explained in detail. You have put in a lot of effort to create this absolutely wonderful thread. Congrats and wishing you happy and safe miles on the Thar.

I just noticed that the meter console does not look aligned to the outer cover. Doesn't look like photo angle too. I checked other Thar images and couldn't see this irregularity. Maybe its just me. I have marked the areas in the attached pics. Do check on it

[car_guy1998]

Overall, a well written review from your side!

The Thar is the vehicle which stole my heart since its launch and in fact, I've TD'ed the Thar for couple of times, albeit MT version as AT TD vehicle was not available when I went to the dealer.

And, even my dad loves the Thar as it looks menacing and he wants to get one so that he can drive the vehicle whenever he goes to our village.

Maybe in near future, we might purchase the Thar as a second car replacing our Honda City Diesel, which has run more than 1L Kms.

And, BTW, is Thar suitable for ladies for doing daily commutes in the city traffic?

[Iyyer]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Thanks!! Well my question particularly arose because I test drove another vehicle with a Hard Top. A Rubicon.
I took a long long TD. So a while into my TD I started feeling sweat on my forehead whereas my hands were being chilled from the AC. I found my head hot! And then realized that the heat is coming from the HT which was Hot!!
Normally in our cars we have headliners which keep things insulated. Now here was a proper warm HT which was radiating heat onto my head.
Now this is the Sun in Dehradun yesterday. It's not even that hot now a days. I shudder thinking what will happen in May in Delhi!!

I had the same apprehension, and I did try looking for some sort of workaround or even a solution. I found these two videos on YouTube, one of them is for Rubicon and the other for Thar:

https://youtu.be/fndfrbzrlrQ

This one is of the Rubicon interior upgrade. The relevant part is at 2:45.

https://youtu.be/bRvNiNClRig

This one is of the Thar.

I am hoping that this can help at least a bit during the Delhi scorching summer.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Wow! And I mean WOW! For your thread, let alone for your car. Rating it 5 stars for the lack of any more. Wishing you many happy, safe & fun filled miles with one of the most aspirational cars on our roads. Cheers.

Hi Reinhard, Thanks very much! I am glad you liked the review.

Originally Posted by amol4184

Congratulations! After driving my V1 Thar, a friend said the AC output is so out of place in this car (considering how rudimentary everything else is) and defies all logic.

Hi Amol, Yes, I went for another long drive last week and although it was very hot weather (38-degree-plus) for the most part, I never had to increase the A/C beyond the first setting. The blowers offer a very wide range of positions, both laterally and vertically and by adjusting them, I found a way to be comfortable in most conditions. For instance, during early mornings and evenings, point the blowers straight up towards the roof and you are saved from freezing cold draft. When it gets hot outside, point the right side blower at the face level and the left side one at the torso level. This seems to work well.

Originally Posted by PioneerNB

Thank you thank you thank you... I was searching for such a review... but your review just helped bring my brain back from my heart

Hi Pioneer, I am glad it helped, the Thar works equally on the brain and the heart! It is quite a capable and high-VFM car for single folks or small families who like the outdoors and also want to use it inside the city with the convenience of an auto transmission.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

CONGRATS ON THE MYSTIC BEAUTY, @84.monsoon! The car looks amazing, and your review is so very detailed.
The 1st speed of the wiper is actually a programmable intermittent setting. To use it...

Hi Phoenix, this is very helpful thank you very much!
It defines logic a bit, why Mahindra would go for such a convoluted way to implement this, rather than use the rotary element in the wiper stalk as others do, however, I am glad there is a way to use it. Will try it out next time.

Originally Posted by diwakarmuthu

Many congratulations on the new acquisition. The Mystic Copper looks dashing. For your road trips how many bags were you able to put in the boot? Can it hold 2 medium sized suitcases?

Hi Diwakar, I did not load it to the max, as it was only me traveling this time. You can load a large suitcase and a duffel bag vertically along the side. Anything more is a problem. Alternatively, multiple soft duffel bags can be stacked on top of each other in two columns.

Originally Posted by Iyyer

Congrats @84.monsoon! Wishing you happy and safe miles ahead!!...
1. @84.monsoon, you posted that "[u]Bumpy ride on anything but the smoothest of roads. So if I am to drive on state highways that are not so well maintained, would it be a problem?
2. While driving on the hills, did you engage the hill hold/descent control?
3. While driving on highway, did you'll feel more exhausted than driving any other category of vehicle due to the ride quality?

Hi Iyyer, as long as the road is well paved it is not a problem. I drove on many two lane SHs recently, the roads were in good condition and I was doing 110 KPH very easily with no discomfort. However, if there are undulations on the road, like uneven surfacing, expansion joints, etc., these will start to transmit quite a bit of movement inside the cabin. Larger undulations such a potholes, rutted roads, broken tar exposing pebbles and stones gathered inside etc. it will cause the car to lurch quite a bit and is not comfortable at all. Medium to large bumps, taken at speed, will unsettle the ride and may cause the car to fly off and land with a shock. On one such incident, the car was being driven at close to 120 KPH by a friend on ECR, and crossed an unmarked speed-breaker (which was decent sized bump). Another friend sitting in the back seat hit his head on the roof (yes, this did happen although the roof is quite high, this is the level of bounciness this type of incident causes.
One does not need HDC or HHA unless going up a very steep hill, typically in off-road conditions. Normal motorable roads in hill stations, do not need anything more than 2H. While parked mid-way up a steep slope and starting the car from Park and moving to Drive, the HHA automatically holds the car in place for a second or so until you take your foot off the brake and press the accelerator to engage the engine fully to go up.
After an 8 hour drive in the Thar, I felt a little more tired than I would in my Sedan. It also took 25-30 minutes more for the journey than my sedan would. A funny thing I noticed after such a long drive is that for a few hours afterwards, you get a feeling of having a constant up-down movement of the body.

Originally Posted by navpreet318

How is the heat insulation from the Hard Top? Does the roof feel hot when you touch in while driving in the afternoon? Does the heat feel radiating down from the Hard Top?
.

The heat insulation is quite good in my view. I checked after driving in the Sun a few hours and yes, it did feel hot, but not so much hotter than other cars.

Originally Posted by Xaos636

Great review. I just read it in a flow and took quite a long time. Well written and explained in detail. You
I just noticed that the meter console does not look aligned to the outer cover. Doesn't look like photo angle too.

Thanks Xaos - you are right, there is a slight mis-alignment in the meter console. I noticed this as well and will be pointing it out to the service folks. Not sure if it is worth correcting, I fear rattles may arise if they try to remove and re-assemble. Any opinions, anyone, if this is worth fixing?

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

Overall, a well written review from your side! And, BTW, is Thar suitable for ladies for doing daily commutes in the city traffic?

Thanks car-guy. My wife found the Automatic car very easy to drive. The controls are very light and the visibility is great! The only aspect she had to get used to was the width of the car, which is quite a bot more than what she is used to.

[84.monsoon]

Hi all, posting a brief update and a few other observations:

Took the Thar for another 1000 km round trip. By now, I have got used to how the car behaves and am more confident to drive reasonably fast on the smooth Tamil Nadu National highways at 115 KPH. At this speed, the car is very stable and can take most curves well. Fuel efficiency goes for a toss though, the onward run at an average of 110 KPH fetched 11 KPL and the return run mostly done with cruise control set to 115 KPH returned just 10.6 KPL.

The car is a mountain goat. The hill hold features works so well on the steep and narrow lanes at the hill station, where you have to start, stop and reverse the car from steep gradients. The HHC works like a charm and I observed zero risk of rolling back even in some tough situations. You feel really confident with this car on hilly terrain, with pot-holed roads and hair-pin bends. The car is absolutely in control even in 2WD mode.

Someone asked the question about whether the hard-top roof got hot and transmitted heat to the head level. It does get hot but not much more than other dark colored vehicles with a metal roof.

The Thar's sunshades are tiny compared to the window size! When the sun is shining from the driver side, there is simply no way to block it blazing into your eyes. The sun-shades should have been extendible:


The front windscreen tends to fog a bit lower down towards the middle on using the AC in humid Chennai weather:



At the end of going downhill for 50 kilometers, the MID went from 11.5 KPL at the start to 21.5 KPL by the time I reached the foothills!



The Thar, resting atop a plateau on the way back:






That alloy wheel is simply yumm! I still can't help stopping and admiring it every once in a while!



The Thar resting at the destination after a long drive over the plains and up the hills!


It is a calming feeling to have a long and quiet road ahead and a car as ready and eager to go as the Thar!



The fog lamps on the Thar are quite powerful. Made a big difference driving in the early morning with some significant mist on the road.

[84.monsoon]

Autocar report on the real-life fuel efficiency of the Thar Petrol AT, Diesel AT and Diesel MT.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...plained-420757

I would say the Diesel AT figures are fairly accurate (11.3 city and 11.5 highway) as far as the city mileage is concerned. As for the highway fuel efficiency, they do not state the target speed at which the vehicle is being driven in the highway - my guess is around 100 KPH. A slightly slower speed of say 90 KPH should see 1-1.5 KPL higher efficiency. Also, being the heaviest variant at 1783 kg, the Diesel AT has a natural disadvantage.

[84.monsoon]

My Thar is nearing 6 months of ownership. It has covered nearly 5000 kilometers so far and it has been a fairly trouble free and niggle free experience.

• The engine is getting even smoother as she runs more. During a long 1000 kms round trip last week, the car was just gliding along the smooth and traffic-free Tamil Nadu highways with cruise control set to 110 kph. Tank-to-tank fuel efficiency delivered was 11.6 kpl at that speed, while the MID showed 1 kpl more, i.e., 12.6 kpl.
  
• Wind noise is no longer much is a bother to me in my long trips, have kind of got send to it.
  
• Tweaking the sound equalizer in the ICE improves the sound quality quite considerably. The default setting is boomy with the low and high ends amplified and the voice frequencies set quite flat. I set it to lower bass and heigher mid range and higher treble and the quality of sound was more enjoyable.
  
• Did more night driving this time and I found the stock headlamps to be of acceptable intensity. I don’t plan to upgrade them anytime soon.
  
• On past trips, I had found the upright position of the seats a bit tough on the lower back after a couple of hours of non-stop driving. This time, I set the seat to its lowest possible position, pushed it back a bit more and increased recline. The visibility was still quite good, being a taller person and the vehicle’s cabin itself being so high-set helps. I found this relaxed sofa-style seating position a lot more comfortable for long journeys.
  
• The Tiretronics display has gone a bit bonkers lately. Good thing is, it does measure the pressure on the spare wheel too. However, I stated getting low pressure warnings on the various tires inexplicably. I inflated to 34 PSI on all tires and the warnings went away, but the ride got really harsh then. Now I am back to 32 PSI, but tiretronics displays a pressure of only 28-29 on various tires and once it drops below 29, it immediately logs a warning in the system that lights up the driver warning light. It is mildly irritating (more because I have to keep checking the warning details screen, lest I miss a more important warning that has come up in the meantime!) - I hope to get it fixed during the 10K service.
  
• Overall I am enjoying the ownership experience. Other than the minor issue with the Tiretronics warnings, I have had no other problems lately. The car is great to drive around the city for shopping and errands, since it is so easy to park. It is also quite a fast cruiser on the highways and can easily keep up with rest of the traffic without breaking a sweat. It stays planted and balanced at speeds up to 120 KPH on highways. On twisty hill roads, I did not notice any more body roll than in the Innova Crysta in the extended family. Looking forward to some off-roading in the coming months

A few pics from the recent trip: The first one shows the Cauvery river in full flow near Trichy- very rare to see the river with water all along its width.