[Kapany]

Wow. I have never heard/seen anyone experience that. Have you ever gotten a cracked screen because of air pressure?

[dr_TJ]

Originally Posted by Kapany

Wow. I have never heard/seen anyone experience that. Have you ever gotten a cracked screen because of air pressure?

https://youtu.be/V01OuuGlbbo

Watch this video by Chris Fix. Here he explains about the air extractors and how to check for blocked air extractors. Also blocked air extractor/vents might cause car glass to crack or break

[Kapany]

Oh wow. Thank you for sharing this. Never even knew something like this happened!

[abhi_tjet]

Congratulations Dr_TJ on your latest acquisition. It seems straight from the heart buy especially with problem in old car loan foreclosure, etc.

Those Mercedes type air-vent looks supercool. Wishing happy kilometres to you on Thar!

[dr_TJ]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Congratulations Dr_TJ on your latest acquisition. It seems straight from the heart buy especially with problem in old car loan foreclosure, etc.

Those Mercedes type air-vent looks supercool. Wishing happy kilometres to you on Thar!

Thank You.

Yes, the buying decision was straight from the heart. We also need to make some compromises with the Thar cause of its lack of features for a vehicle of its price range.

[Prakritij]

Congratulations once again doc.
Nice report. Rated 5 stars.
Hope the shortcomings you have stated will grow on you with time and you detect the rattle soon.
Waiting to meet the Gray ghost and you in person.
Wishing you many many Happy and safe miles with the Thar.

[dr_TJ]

Originally Posted by Prakritij

Congratulations once again doc.
Nice report. Rated 5 stars.
Hope the shortcomings you have stated will grow on you with time and you detect the rattle soon.
Waiting to meet the Gray ghost and you in person.
Wishing you many many Happy and safe miles with the Thar.

Rattle is weird. Sometimes it completely vanishes, and then after a bump, it starts again.
Surely, will meet

[soloTraveller]

dr_TJ

Have you installed front arm rest in your Thar?

I checked many options including what Mahindra is offering and Bimbra 4X4 but none of them looked professional, they either looked like a wooden box screwed on centre console or had metal clamps exposed and whole thing took space from rear seat leg room.

[dr_TJ]

Originally Posted by soloTraveller

dr_TJ

Have you installed front arm rest in your Thar?

I checked many options including what Mahindra is offering and Bimbra 4X4 but none of them looked professional, they either looked like a wooden box screwed on centre console or had metal clamps exposed and whole thing took space from rear seat leg room.

No I have not installed any front arm rest and I have no plans to get one.
Yes, most of the Front arm rests are made of wood (Plywood) and are screwed to the center console. Few of the Arm rests are better built plastic units but again drilling is required

https://youtu.be/m3KfbvNKC3w

Check out this video, the Armrest shown here looks good, installed at Classic Service Point Noida

Although as far as arm rests are concerned, the arms rest above the rear wheel arches for the rear passengers are in consideration.

[nitinralli]

Originally Posted by dr_TJ

No I have not installed any front arm rest and I have no plans to get one.
Yes, most of the Front arm rests are made of wood (Plywood) and are screwed to the center console. Few of the Arm rests are better built plastic units but again drilling is required

https://Youtu.be/m3KfbvNKC3w
Check out this video, the Armrest shown here looks good, installed at Classic Service Point Noida

Although as far as arm rests are concerned, the arms rest above the rear wheel arches for the rear passengers are in consideration.

The only drawback with these kinda center armrest is that they make cup holders useless. I am looking for the individual ones for both front seats. Something like Scorpio. Though not able to find it.

[dr_TJ]

Originally Posted by nitinralli

The only drawback with these kinda center armrest is that they make cup holders useless. I am looking for the individual ones for both front seats. Something like Scorpio. Though not able to find it.

Yes, seat mounted arm rests are lot better but needs to be well implemented. I guess there are few examples of such installations on Youtube and Instagram.

[BhaskarG]

Great review. Thanks again. However, can you elaborate what difference you felt compared to the Ecosport:
1. As a daily driver,
2. As a highway cruiser?

What are the compromises you had to make, coming from a dynamically sorted car like the Ecosport?

Also, how convenient will it be as the only vehicle in the garage? I am not considering off roading requirements for this question, just city rides and weekend trips.

[dr_TJ]

Originally Posted by BhaskarG

Great review. Thanks again. However, can you elaborate what difference you felt compared to the Ecosport:
1. As a daily driver,
2. As a highway cruiser?

What are the compromises you had to make, coming from a dynamically sorted car like the Ecosport?

Also, how convenient will it be as the only vehicle in the garage? I am not considering off roading requirements for this question, just city rides and weekend trips.

As you said, Ecosport is a Dynamically sorted car and in comparison, the Thar is just a big heavy old school SUV

1. As a daily Driver, For daily commute both Ecosport and Thar is good. Ecosport AT being petorl causes no worries of DPF in short city/town daily commutes like in the Thar Diesel, low FE numbers might cause some worry though.
But road visibility is better in the Thar. Ecosport has super thick A-Pillars and high set dashboard, and bonnet is not visible. Whereas Thar has pretty good frontal visibility.

2. As a high cruiser, no question, Ecosport will be a better choice by a big margin. Pretty sorted ride and handling, with slightly stiff suspension. Front seat has very good underthigh support (Infact, too much of underthigh support), although Ecosport lacks adjustable lumbar support, whereas Thar lacks underthigh support but gets adjustable lumbar support. In comparison, Thar is just about adequate as a Highway cruiser. With the hardtop, Wind noise is controlled and the mHawk 130 is a superb engine.
Engine wise, mHawk 130 will be my pick and ride & handling wise, the Ecosport. For Automatic transmission, Thar's 6 speed AT is by far the better one.


Compromises made for having the Thar over the Ecosport

1. I miss the passive keyless entry system of the Ecosport, which was awesome, no buttons to press, just touch the door handle. Same for the push button start on the Ecosport, which the Thar lacks.
Although not a massive compromise.

2. Rear Wash and Wipe was a good to have feature on the Ecosport which the Thar lacks. In our weather conditions, Rear wash and wipe would have been a nice addition on the Thar.

3. The Ecosport has a better sounding HU and speaker setup. Thar with its atypical speaker placement is not able to come close. Although compared to my Celerio, Thar has better sounding setup

4. Boot space is the biggest compromise on the Thar compared to any car, not just my Ecosport or Celerio, any car. As I said, boot is microscopic

5. Ride comfort is another compromise on the Thar compared to any car. And we have to adjust our driving style accordingly. Vertical and side to side movement on the Thar is not to everyone's liking.


Thar as the only car in the Garage

This is the big question, and a simple answer is, Thar as the only car in the garage wil be impractical. Even for a family of 3, Space wise, Thar is good enough, but ride comfort wise, ingress-egress wise, not very practical.
But if we consider the Thar for daily commute, it is pretty good option. Great engine and gearbox combination, Pretty good fuel economy numbers and tank range on the Diesel AT as well.
Practicality wise, for two person, Thar is a good option. Front seat view is very impressive.

[dr_TJ]

I recently installed iPH Bi-LED Projector Fog lights. These projectors have 3 color modes, 3000K, 4300K and 6000K. It was a DIY installation and will write down about the DIY process in full details soon. It required a custom mounting plate and a lot of trail and error.

[batish]

Originally Posted by dr_TJ

[*]Puddle lamps for the Doors. I plan to tap the power wire from the cabin lamp (Door open position). Will place the LEDs below the door, that will keep the wiring within the cabin. Or should I place the LEDs below the side foot steps? That will require channeling the wires through the Firewall.
Which one would be better?

Better would be to place the LEDs below the door. Instead of tapping the cabin lamp take power directly from fuse box with 12v fuse tap. Use the negative terminal with the door jamb switch. So whenever you open that specific door only that puddle lamp would switch on. Ofcourse, irrespective of your cabin light.

Do let us know which lamps you have shortlisted for this DIY!