[justwheels]

How it all began

I was born in Dehradun, a town known for it's schools and the large military establishment, amongst other accolades for the place. It used to be the gateway to the Himalayas (atleast till connectivity was not so good up to the hills). Why is this relevant? Well it is because staying in Dehradun meant every other vehicle I saw on the road was an army Gypsy, Jonga (old days) and the Mahindra Jeeps.

That was my stint with the off-roaders - Olive Green Jeeps and Gypsy. A ride in the Jeep was always special and it kindled the dream very early in life to own one someday. While the Jeeps slowly vanished from the Army contingent, fast forward to 2006, I got my second stint with the Mahindra.

This was at my first job at Bhilai Steel Plant and being in projects we had to travel to remote areas and hence we had 2 Jeeps at our disposal - one MM540 and one very old CJ3B, which had a 3 speed manual gearbox. The CJ3B was my ride, rattling to the core, had no power to push it through any steep ascent (thanks to the great maintenance done). But it was my ride and my first love.

While I do not have any pic of those iconic Jeeps, the feeling to drive the mechanical beauty is still fresh in my heart. It was special everytime I would push through the roads/no roads inside the plant. A 23 year old engineer driving a CJ3B was no common sight for many.

The rationale mind of a married man

As life took many turns in future years, I moved jobs, moved cities, states and eventually the Jeep took a backseat. Jeeps turned from oldies to Commander, Major, Classic, Armada, Bolero and Thar, but somehow I lost the touch. Practicality of the Jazz with magic seats, dynamics of the Ford and frugality of the Maruti slowly crept into the rationale mind.

The first car had to be a Maruti

With no offence intended to any of the owners, I had to be content with a Celerio VXI AMT as my first car. This was after I had to cancel 2nd gen Jazz booking as it was nowhere near to the love of the 1st gen Jazz, non- affordability of the Duster 110 AWD and Polo GT-TSI. The feeling of my first Car was to some extent clouded by the compromise.
But Celerio never disappointed and clocked 22k in first year, took me and my wife to so many places, including long journeys of 3000 kms round trips to central India. The pocket friendly Celerio brought many smiles to me and my wife and laid the road for our travel adventures.
How we travelled, the pic says it all:


I tricked my wife to get a Ford

While the Celerio was a great companion, I got bitten by the Ford story. This was the time of the Ecosport, and I desperately wanted the TDCI in my garage. But how do I convince my wife to let go of our Celerio which had clocked ~26k in less than 1.5 years. After lots of planning, I mustered the courage to have the below conversation:

Me: Dear, I was just thinking (her eyebrows already raised hearing the word thinking).... For the 26k we have clocked and if we continue to clock 20k per year on the petrol car, it will cost us a lot.
Mrs: Come to the point!
Me: No No, I mean we should do our maths and see what is better for us
Mrs: And what does your maths say?
Me: with 20k or even more (as we love to drive), we will be better off with a diesel and I presented her with some concocted, exaggerated numbers to calculate the break even point
Mrs: Not convinced but she knew where this would go, she just nodded

Without wasting time, I booked the Ecosport for a test drive. 2 days flat, we had a booking confirmed. ~30 days later, we had the Mars Red Ecosport Trend+ TDCI in our garage after bidding bye to our Celerio. And did it not bring even more smiles to our face than the Celerio. Smiles that made us cover 26k in the first year and ~22k in the 2nd year. The Martian (as I used to call it) took us from Bangalore to Dehradun, Bangalore to Kolkata and many trips with round trips of 3000 to 4000kms without breaking any sweat.

Ecosport took it all in it's stride. No road was unconquered.



Beyond it's ability to crunch miles, it also kept us safe in the travels. A hit in Mysore from the rear says it all:



Circa 2020 - the strange times of COVID hit the world. Ecosport had completed 40k in 2 years and was all ready to cross the 50k mark but the travels halted and the Martian silently parked itself in the garage, waiting for the travel to begin. Next ~1 year saw only 8k kms covered and it slowly touched the 50k mark around March 2021. It saw 2 Covid waves, helped us move in safety and stood strong, but the end of this ownership was near.

Hope I haven't bored you all with the long prologue, but hope you do read below the story of 15th August 2020!

[justwheels]

15th August 2020, the day it all started

Most auto enthusiasts and TBHPians will remember this date. Apart from the usual Independence celebrations, there was one very critical event scheduled for this day. Mahindra was showcasing the All New Thar.

Reminiscing the old CJ3B days, I was glued to Youtube to check on the launch event when Mrs. pops into the room. The world was still adjusting to the Covid wave and the only news people were watching was tracking Covid numbers, while here I was glued on a Saturday morning to a Youtube video.

Mrs: What's the story now? (She knew it was something to do with cars)
Me: Naah, nothing, they are launching the new Thar.
Mrs: You mean those rural jeep thing
Me: Yes and No... Jeep yes, Rural, no more. This one is supposed to be modern.
Mrs: Ok, and?
Me: Mustering courage, and very candidly yet manipulatively, I told her the story of my love for Jeeps, the Dehradun stories, my escapades with the CJ3B etc. and this time I just said it. I want to own one (I was overflowing with emotions), and I know it makes no financial sense to let go of the Ecosport but this is heart over head.

Before Mrs. could react, I added my side of conditions too:
We get the Thar only if:
1. It's modern enough to own (not as industrial as previous generations), I am no sunroof or feature lover, but it had to be a modern rendering of a Jeep, not just a capable offroader built for abuse. It had to be my daily driver and primary vehicle afterall.
2. It's price - Should be around 13lakhs exshowroom. Anything more, I will shut my eye

This took her by surprise, I had been emotional, wanting yet practical all in one conversation. Seems even God could not resist and made Mrs yield.

Mrs: One life, live your dream, but the conditions said above are non-negotiable
Me: Aye Aye Captain!!! (with an uncanny smile)

Well the conversation might have ended positively, it still had to pass the litmus test of what Mahindra had done in all these years with this product. The youtube video started, and after briefs from Mr. Pawan Goenka and Mr. Veejay Nakra, the Thar's were unveiled from the satin covers. And man, did they not look beautiful. Frankly, it looked like a baby wrangler, and honestly I wasn't complaining a bit. Very wierdly, the look (or pic) that bowled me over was the one below (not the front, side , 3 quarter profile, but this one).
(apologies as I only have the screengrab from the launch video on youtube)



The feeling to have an open Jeep, in Red and drive through the mountain twisties was just phenomenal.
With all the features reviewed, condition 1 was met. But, the price reveal was supposed to be only on Oct 2nd, so the next 2 and half months were spent on the Internet. DIY's to make the boot more usable, ingress and egress videos, videos that talked about every small screw in the Thar. Oh man, could I not do a PhD on Thar (social media friendly )

Most eagerly awaited Oct 2nd

The price is revealed. The top end was launched at 13.75 lakhs, while the Top end Convertible was 13.65 lakhs exshowroom. Condition 2 was price to be around 13 lakhs. I could be cheeky about this now.

Conditions met, All New Thar was a go. Mrs. gave a thumbs up too.
Bookings had been opened only for a few cities and was to be opened to 100 cities post 10th Oct (if I remember correctly). After all the exuberance, enthusiasm, I somehow hit a wave of procrastination. I was feeling jittery, don't know why. I was about to change my primary vehicle from a Ford Ecosport to a 3 door Thar. Which meant, miniscule boot, massive issues with ingress and egress of passengers, special worry about aged parents/in-laws (all 70+), spending ~17lakhs when the world was fighting a deadly virus. Was I being sane? Remembered what Mrs. had said on 15th Aug, One life, live it. I immediately booked the Red Thar in LX HT AT variant on the website and called up the nearest Mahindra Showroom (Sireesh Auto, Silk Board, Bengaluru) to get it confirmed. All this on 10th Oct 2020, last day when the bookings were to open to 100 more cities, making waiting times go crazy.

Why HT and not CT

Practicality - Period. Being my primary driver, it had to serve many purposes. A grocery runner, office commuter, highway mile cruncher and parked beauty. Me and my wife debated a lot about the love of convertible vs the practicality of the Hard Top. The HT won the debate for it's safety and security, lesser hassles and better protection from the elements. The open top Thar that started all of this, had to give way to a more practical and sensible version.

Waiting period and Covid - two to tango

While I was surely regretting my procrastination for booking the Thar on 10th (eventual order booking by showroom was 12th Oct), it was a blessing in disguise as delays meant surfacing of more niggles and hence more proactiveness of Mahindra to solve the issues right from the factory. In the meantime I took the test ride, visited the showroom umpteen number of times to ogle on the Thar, did 100's of measurements of the boot to plan luggage for the travel. The customer promise date (CPD) kept on increasing from May 2022 to April 2022.
After pestering the SA more than probably his wife (pun intended), I finally got an update from SA, rather a call from him in April.

SA : Sir, congratulations, your Thar will be delivered by end of April
Me: in a faint voice - glad to hear that, how long can you keep it in the stockyard.
SA: All ok Sir?
Me: Me and wife are battling Covid and not in a good state currently. Will have to wait till we are recovered. Covid had hit us badly.

It was a precarious situation for us. We had the Thar available, but we were still fighting COVID. After 21 days of recuperating and finally able to go out, Government announced a lockdown. Post that when lockdowns were eased, Showrooms could only open for 2 hours in the morning. Argh... what a nightmare.

Finally, on 18 Jun 2021, I completed the PDI and took the delivery on 24 Jun 2021. The day had finally arrived, and I was absolutely ecstatic to lay my hands on the Red Rage, LX HT AT All New Thar. The dream that started ages back, rekindled after driving the CJ3B and one that had been dormant since many years had finally come true.

On 24 Jun, the red beast was standing like a new bride under the veils of the red satin 'dupatta' (scarf). Quite melodramatic I must say.




Hope you have enjoyed the long story of how I ended up with my red beast, the Thar. Subsequent posts will cover the escapades of my Thar.

Stay tuned for experiences on the Thar on the many journeys taken and experience so far:
- Maiden voyage Bengaluru - Dehradun (5000kms trip)
- Round Tripping: Bengaluru - Kolkata - Dehradun - Jaipur - Sagar - Bengaluru (6500kms trip)
- Thar Bengaluru group - my gateway to Offroading
- All Thar Spiti Trip in Dec 2022: Bengaluru - Kaza - Amritsar - Bengaluru (7500kms trip)

My redbeast currently stands at more than 39000 kms on the odo in less than 2 years of ownership (no bragging rights here I know), and loads of memories. Look forward to sharing more of its escapades and the experiences on and offroad.

Till then, enjoy a few teaser pics of this 39k journey:











Thanks,
Deb

[justwheels]

My thoughts on the All New Thar
My vehicle is the Thar LX Hard Top (HT), AT, Diesel 4x4 2021 model

All New Thar has been thoroughly reviewed by TBHP and other fellow owners, so I will limit my review/observations to things that caught my eye in positive as well as not so positive way. I have completed more than 39000 kms now, but would like to share my story of owning the Thar finally.
My Thar is my daily driver, takes me to office daily, grocery shopping, mall crawler, weekend runs and long trips. On average I cover about 1500 to 2000 kms every month. It has seen packed boots more than Mahindra can imagine it was designed for. It has taken newborns, young kids, adults and senior citizens (70+ yrs) for many thousand km road trips. It has been special owning one.

Any alternatives considered when buying the Thar

Answer is None. For the sole reason that the Thar honestly did not have any direct competition. (Gurkha and Jimny were not launched at the time of the All New Thar launch in 2021). This was a pure heart over head decision to fulfill lifelong dream of owning a Jeep.

Booking Experience

The issue with enthusiasts (if I may call myself one) that we are so well versed with the features and the offering from the product we want, the SA kind of merely fills in the dots if any. With the Thar just launched the SA's were busy managing multiple customers and I did not bother them much with any questions. I and wife quietly checked the Black Thar on display, sat in all seats and enjoyed the product we had already made our minds to get.

I had booked my Thar online and just reached out to Sireesh Auto (Silk Board) to ensure the order was confirmed. Ubiquitous to all Mahindra online booking experiences, there was lot of issues with transparency and order confirmation. With bookings increasing everyday, I was worried mine would get pushed further on. After pestering the SA to confirm my order, he finally gave me my Order ID with order punched for 12th Oct 2021. (my online booking was 10th Oct, so not sure why 12th was stamped on my order id). Normally 2 days would never be an issue, but the strange times we live in nowadays, the waiting time scare is a bit too much to handle. Nonetheless, booking was confirmed and CPD (customer promise date) was intimated to be in Feb 2022.

Test Drive and Delivery Experience

After a lot of follow ups for test drive (very common now with these hyped launches where getting one is like a VIP pass), I managed to drive the Thar in its new avatar.
While I had booked AT, we got a MT to test drive. I have driven the old Scorpio earlier, hence new a bit about the mHawk engine. But man, did it not surprise me when I turned the key. Silent and butter smooth engine, my mind was already processing the feeling of owning one. Put it in the first gear, and Thar lunged forward with all eagerness. My smile turned into a grin. While the TD was short, yet it gave me and wife enough confidence that we are going to love owning one. Usual checks on sound stage, features etc. were completed by wife and we were done. 10 mins later when I sat in my Ecosport, it felt like a toy to me.

Delivery was nondescript. It was still COVID times and we were also not too keen to spend a long time at the showroom. Formalities were completed on time and we were ready to take the delivery. Usual handover of pleasantries, presented a wallet to my SA and we cut the ribbon. Thar was under a red veil till then which just rolled back at an orchestrated rhythm of the SA. The Red beast had arrived.

We left the showroom in another 10 mins and I and my wife were super excited.

An incident to remember : We had just completed the delivery process and I was familiarizing myself with every control in the Thar before leaving the showroom when someone reached out to me. He was on a bike with his wife (later revealed) at the rear. He congratulated me and told that he too was taking the delivery of a Black Thar in a few days and today had come for the PDI. We both shared the love for the New Thar and during the conversation he told about the Thar Bengaluru group which was getting formed. He took my number and we soon left after bidding goodbye. That meeting was a turning point in my ownership of the Thar. Thar Bengaluru group (now with 400+ members) opened a new experience for me. Today as a proud member, we have done many offroad trails, overnight camping, shared numerous experiences and driven to Kaza (Spiti) from Bengaluru as a group of ~35 Thars in peak winter. (more on this in later posts)

On-Road Price/Discounts/Warranties

I was fortunate to get the Thar at the launch price itself and the red beast cost ~INR 17.3L OTR Bengaluru, thanks to Karnataka taxes. We bought the LX AT HT Diesel Thar in RED.
Discounts - None
Extended Warranty - Took 4th year extended warranty on day 1
Accessories - We opted for the side cladding only which adds a character to the doors, did not fit the Mahindra rear view camera as I already planned to put the 70mai dual channel dashcam with IRVM mounted screen cum mirror. I was not very fond of the over the top dark lord edition or chrome packs on offer. There was a lot of hard sell for accessories but I stood my ground.

Living everyday with a Thar
Since official reviews are very exhaustive, I would like to share my experiences from an everyday driver perspective

Overall build quality - the new Thar has come of age and is very well put together product. Hard plastics are expected in such a vehicle and nothing really bothered me ever. Thar is built like a tank and takes abuse like accolades. No complaints how it has been put together, and a Jeep with 4 stars safety rating is icing on the cake.

Interiors - I got the Grey Leatherite/PVC seat covers as a protection from the offroad mud and dirt and they have served well till now. They are not of good quality and the material does get hot in sun. But is easy to clean and whenever I have returned from a trail especially, it has been super easy to get the slushy mud cleaned up. Apart from that, the all black interiors does make things very dark and you can feel a bit hemmed in, especially at the rear.

Dead Pedal - Now a lot has been said in various forums about the wheel well size and need for a dead pedal. Honestly, I have never had any issues. I wear an 8/9 boot size and have enough space. In the 39000 kms which includes many 12-14 hour runs, I never felt the need of a dead pedal (may be something is wrong with me)

Storage - Interior storage is very limited as we all know, so I have found my own ways. I have an Armoro passenger grab handle organizer bag, seat back organizer from Armoro and a generic sun visor organizer as below (all images from internet):





Tyres - The stock CEAT Czars AT have served me well. They are a balanced tyre and have decent grips on and offroad. I have never felt an obstacle I could not do which a Thar with BF Goodrich could do (just based on tyres). So super happy. Just changed my first set to MRF wanderers at 39000kms and I was happy they lasted that long, lets see what difference I find.

Turning Radius - That's one pain point that really bothers (I mean you surely get used to it). Coming from a flickable Ford Ecosport, Thar turning radius looks like it needs a football field. Overall maneuverability is good but the mammoth shows its size when turning. 3 pointers are very common.

Audio - I am no audiophile, but I found the speakers to be adequate if not the great. Yes the top down sound stage does take time to get used to and fellow rear passengers often want the volume to be reduced. But as such no complaints.

Parking - Now this is unusual but the width and height of the Thar needs to be factored in sometimes. There are multilevel parkings in Bengaluru where I have been asked to park outside as they fear the ramp height might not be sufficient. Not much of a hassle but something to keep in mind.

Boot Space - Now it is small, period. But my experience says, you can pack a lot if you chose the right luggage. Hard trolleys are difficult but soft ones do fit. Large sizes of soft trolleys fit if kept horizontal, and better use a lot of canvas bags instead. The below pic is of my trip from Bengaluru to Dehradun with 4 adults (2 senior citizens at 70+ age, me and my wife). You can pack a lot if you use the boot vertically to the roof. I extensively use bungee cords, velcro straps and luggage nets to secure the luggage when packing the boot to the full and increasing space utilization.




And to ensure I have full rear visibility during driving, I have a permanently on rear camera fixed on the rear bumper relaying live feed on my IRVM, so no safety bypass here.

Ride Quality on Tarmac - It is bouncy for sure, especially if you are sitting in the rear. The suspension is soft (for offroad purposes) and hence you feel the body roll and the waviness on the road. Though it absorbs bumps like a monster, no issues if roads are bad. But it's not unnerving once you get hold of it. Long corners need a small dip in speed, sudden lane changes are not very welcome. But Thar will munch miles like crazy. I have done many 1000kms in a day stints almost non-stop (only fuel and bio breaks) and not felt tired.

Offroad Performance - Here is where the Thar outshines any nearby competition. Needless to say the ground clearance and the torque ensures you just keeping going through any trail whatsoever. Slight slippery terrain, 4H makes it look easy to the core. You need the 4L only in extreme circumstances or those tough rock crawls. Thar just glides through obstacles effortlessly. The MLD (mechanically locking differential) works like a charm and gets you out of tricky situations mostly with ease. I fall in love with this machine everytime I venture offroad. As part of the Thar Bengaluru group, I have had the opportunity to test the 4x4 set up quite extensively in snow, slush, ruts and rock climbing and never has the vehicle disappointed. Mostly, it just does its work with no fuss at all.

Torque Converter (AT) and the mHawk 130 Engine - I love this automatic so much that I would want this rugged version of the automatic transmission (the TC) in every car I would own. It's just blissful. Shifts fast, has never let me down in any circumstance on the tarmac or offroad situation. You don't even need to shift to Manual to get the punch, it holds gears so well. Of-course it is no race car but reaches 3 digit speeds in no time and settles to a comfortable cruise in 6th gear with RPM just around 1700 or so. Top speeds can be crazy in this top heavy boxy vehicle, but cruising at 120/130 is easy.
The engine is very silent and it never feels like a diesel (when compared to some of the louder oil burners in the market). The grunt is enough for any situation and I have never felt lack of power at any circumstance. Yes the mStallion (petrol) is in a different league altogether, but the instant Torque of the diesel is addictive.

Braking and Steering Experience - I just love the steering rack of the Thar. The hydraulic steering is wonderful and love how it connects me to what's happening on the wheels. Yes it is heavy at slow speeds, but it is an inconvenience that you will outgrow soon. But if you love the Hyundai'ish steering feel, you will be royally disappointed. The brakes too have worked great and never given me any nervous moments. I got the brake pads replaced in the latest 40k service and I would say they lasted well after all the severe braking during the offroad trails etc.

DEF/DPF - The BS6 Drama - BS6 brought a phase of cleanest diesel engines but also brought with it the headache of the DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) and DPF (diesel particulate filter) issues. Indian traffic conditions with lot of stop go traffic is surely not the most suitable driving condition for this set up. So if you really have everyday travel in peak traffic, please ensure you stretch the Thar's legs atleast once a week on a highway or open stretch for sometime, else be ready for the DPF issues. What is not helping is also this whole drama of Regen that is not very intuitive and straight forward in the Thar. The situation becomes terrible in extreme cold conditions especially when coupled with hill driving where speeds and driving styles add up to the DPF woes. A feature we have to live with, so apart from usual rant, no solution in place. Luckily I have not had a DPF issue but many friends have experienced this, so it is a real problem or an irritance that you should be aware of.

Hard Top Experience - We have heard a couple of niggle stories about leaks etc. in the HT in the initial lot, but luckily for me it has worked without any issues. It has held well, no significant discoloring of the FRP and no leaks at all. Mahindra did do leak tests with a pressure wash during initial service and it was found to be ok. The HT does allow a lot of wind noise to creep in and it gets quite noisy post 100kmph speeds. But kind of expected from such a boxy vehicle which will put to shame any wind tunnel testing I suppose.

Ingress / Egress issues - Now we all know that a 2 door vehicle with that ground clearance will be a pain for the rear passengers to enter and exit and Thar is no different. The issue is aggravated by the lack of tumble fold of the passenger seat. So you literally have to squeeze in through the gap. What adds to this ordeal is that the floor around the entry area behind the passenger seat is not flat. You have the seat slider rails and the wheel well bulge which means you need to carefully put your foot while entering and exiting. Doing this in the night is even more difficult, when the overhead light is blocked by your body while moving in or out. But honestly, I don't think much can be done about this. I do plan to put a better grab handle on the A pillar for rear passengers to hold onto when moving out, a footwell light to allow some visibility and a puddle light to light up the step in the night. Let's see if that eases the pain of ingress and egress.
But I must confess, I have been blessed with some very supportive parents and in-laws (70+ years seniors) who have happily enjoyed traveling in the rear seats for hours (including 2 day 3000 kms trips) without complaining apart from the usual leg pull about the ordeal.

Issues experienced till now - Luckily I have not had many major issues in the 39k kms I have driven, but a one to highlight is as below:

- There was a huge jolting noise often when I would move from P to D on the gear shift. As if the gears were stuck. Pointed to Service guys and they did a test drive, acknowledged the issue and then figured it was a lose wiring harness for the Auto box. They fixed the existing part tightly and delivered me the vehicle after 5 kms of test drive. It failed within 200 mtrs from the service station and I called them back asap. This time, forget about the jolt, all the tell tale lights were on and I had Engine light and HHC (Hill Hold control) error and Auto Transmission error light up. The vehicle though was running fine. Went back, gave a bit of my mind to the SA, and he took the car back. 2 days later delivered back with a changed wiring harness. Issue resolved and has never occurred again.

Apart from this one issue, have not faced any issue that has kept the Thar is the service station more than the usual service time ever (fingers crossed).

Service Experience - My Thar has always been serviced at Sireesh Service Centre Singasandra, Bengaluru and has completed 40,000 km service recently. Overall I have been satisfied with the service experience and I would owe that to building a relationship with Mr. Anil, the floor in-charge at that service station. I firmly believe that apart from some unusual circumstances, people at the service station do want to help (limited to things/knowledge at their disposal) and a good relationship helps it in a long way. My issues have been resolved proactively and I have never had to leave Thar longer than needed (apart from the above detailed issue with wiring harness). Surely all is not hunky-dory, but it has been livable and I don't complain. Service cost at Mahindra is fair and many components are dirt cheap also (quality might be questionable sometimes). Overall, very manageable ownership cost overall.

Mods added - I am not a fan of cosmetic mods in my Thar and whatever minimal things I have done are for functional reasons only. To name a few:

- Under Body Protection:
Got a full underbody protection from Swastik Fabs in Bengaluru which includes a Radiator guard, full 3 piece under body guard, diesel tank guard, differential guard and DEF tank guard. The UBP (under body protection) is made of Mild Steel and has served me well having seen couple of rock crawling sessions and has taken a couple of hits but saved critical equipment in the belly. Only negative is that underbody washing has become cumbersome and needs extra effort to put in the washer nozzles through the side gaps to flush out any mud etc. especially after a mud/slush trail. There are holes provided for engine oil replacement and coolant change, but I plan to get them machined to make them slightly bigger for ease. The below pic shows before and after UBP fitment (it does not have the differential guard fitted as the pic was taken prematurely by me).


- Lights upgrade:
Thar lights are insufficient, period. With the amount of highway running my Thar sees, I needed an upgrade but I don't buy in the LED craze of today at all. I still feel nothing beats the versatility of the yellowish halogens especially if your car sees different times of the day regularly. LEDs (white ones) are useless in fog and misty environments and blind the traffic a bit too much. I went for a wattage upgrade and got the 110/90 bulb upgrade with a relay cable. It has made the light brighter, although I still am not happy with the reach of the light, but manageable for now.
Also got the fogs upgraded to AOZOOM LED bulbs with tricolour pattern. It gives me the availability to switch the fogs from white (never used for reasons explained above), Warm white (default for me) and Yellow (used in extreme winter fogs in the North often). Happy with the 2 upgrades on the lights department.

- Foldable rear seat:
Until recently Thar was the only car we had in family and hence the 4 seats were used on a regular basis. However, last November, we got Tata Punch added to the garage for the Mrs. which now also serves as the family car when parents or more than 2 people are to travel. Thar now is only for my daily usage and when me and wife are tripping around the country. This made the rear seats redundant. However, I did not want to completely remove them, as I wanted to have the flexibility to have them when needed (neither do I have space to store the seats anywhere). So I got the rear seat modded to fold forward completely. The mod was done at Azad 4wd at Hoskote, near Bengaluru. I have modified T bolts to manually unscrew the seats when needed to be folded. The folded seat is secured by a contraption built out of an old seat belt to ensure the seat is firmly tied when folded. This avoids use of bungee cords that eventually slack and become loose.
The below pic should give you an idea of how it looks when folded (seat belt contraption is missing in the pics). :



Overall Summary of my life with the Thar:

It's been a dream come true to own the Thar and my summarization of the experiences will (not might) be biased by my love for the machine.
- It's a one of a kind vehicle with commendable offroad performance and very much livable everyday usage.
- The ownership is purely from the heart and not from the head and in that case everytime I hop into this tank, I have a wild grin on my face.
- It has practical limitations, and as an owner you should know it. Plan around those limitations and you will be happy ever after.
- Do NOT have an overhang of your previous car experiences when driving the Thar. Thar can never be your low slung sedan or the pseudo SUV. Do NOT expect it to be one. It is a tall boy, Body on Frame, heavy, boxy Jeep and you can enjoy it when you acknowledge these characteristics.
- It can be your daily driver, mall crawler, highway mile cruncher. Yes you can live with it daily, I do it happily and have lived with it as the only car in family for more than an year. (unless you have physical challenges with parents or fellow passengers, so please be mindful, respect their limitations).
- It will open up new possibilities for you. Will let you meet like minded people, give you the confidence to venture into the unknown a lot more
- The respect you get on the road due to its road presence is commendable, owing to its sheer size. You will everyday appreciate the commanding view and high seating.

Do NOT buy or resist buying if you:
- have to ferry older parents or anyone with physical challenges on a daily basis and you have no alternative. Ingress / Egress is a real issue for many
- are in love with driving dynamics of sedans and love to take high speed corners
- need large airport luggage space regularly for more than 2 people
- have passengers/ or yourself with regular motion sickness
- never plan to take it offroad (you surely can buy it as a lifestyle vehicle, but why waste the money on a 4x4, try the RWD alternatively)

Hope you have enjoyed my longish story of owning the dream machine - the All New Thar. I intend to keep this thread updated with all my experiences and escapades with the red beast. Stay tuned. Signing off for now with one pic (do spot the miniature wrangler)

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[shankar.balan]

@justwheels. Such a LOVELY series of posts.

It resonates so much with someone like me. So many similar thoughts, longings and the eternal flame of the Jeep Craze from practically birth onwards. Well done with following the dream! May the Thar tribe increase! (Though I have done only 22000 odd Kms since I got my Thar in Feb 2021)

A few small things;
You’ve managed to pack your thar with luggage very well from the pics. However those bungee cords are hooked together. I would worry about those in case they slip or become dislodged or break, under braking or just in case of a tilt angle or mountain descent owing to the contents behind putting pressure on them, in which case they will whip sharply into the cabin and can cause serious hurt to any passenger in the rear seats. Please consider an alternate solution like a Cargo Net. (Where to secure the net of course is another matter).

In reference to the underbody protection you have put, I have used the Aluminium Arka one simply because Aluminium does not rust.

The AVO suspension has been good for me. Mine is a Feb 2021. However, all the new Thars (like Bibendums- Feb 2023) seem to have both a heavier steering as well as better tuned suspension right from the factory itself.

With ref to the choice of Hardtop vs CT, practicality and security outweigh all other concerns.

The seat tumble fold mechanism I also got done at Azad. Its weight when folded is more than enough to let it rest. Especially with luggage behind it which kind of ‘shores it up’. However it can tumble back and fall just in case one is on a steep incline and unloading the vehicle. Hence I am presently using 4 strong bungee cords for additional securing. I definitely would prefer the more elegant and functional solution that Robi is using. Also by Azad this involves fully split and tumble-fold-able rear seats which are secured by the seat belt aided contraption.
While I had spent Rs 5500 on my seat modification, this new one will cost me a further 9000.
I am still ‘considering’ it because my Thar is used as a 2 seater plus luggage and is our go-anywhere Grand Tourer.
How I wish that Mahindra had also copied this piece of engineering along with all the rest of the stuff they lifted from Jeep Wrangler!

Last but not least, I LOVE that pic of the little red Wrangler sitting under the Thar at the exact same angle!

As an ardent (mad) collector of scale models, I have been hunting high and low for the Kinsmart 2 door Wrangler in mid dark green which can pass as a baby brother to my Rocky Beige Thar, but am absolutely unable to get one. I have a Blue Kinsmart and some unknown brand of Jeep YJ / TJ in lime green but while those are nice, they aren't quite the same as the Rocky Beige Thar which I have.

All the best!

[tilt]

It was nice to read a review "from the heart" - because that's the only way Thar makes any sense.

Cheers

[rajeevsulu]

That is a very beautifully written review and lovely pictures as well. You have done the very required modifications instead of the cosmetic ones. Enjoy your drive!!

[justwheels]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

@justwheels. Such a LOVELY series of posts.

A few small things;
You’ve managed to pack your thar with luggage very well from the pics. However those bungee cords are hooked together. I would worry about those in case they slip or become dislodged or break, under braking or just in case of a tilt angle or mountain descent owing to the contents behind putting pressure on them, in which case they will whip sharply into the cabin and can cause serious hurt to any passenger in the rear seats. Please consider an alternate solution like a Cargo Net. (Where to secure the net of course is another matter).

......

The seat tumble fold mechanism I also got done at Azad. Its weight when folded is more than enough to let it rest. Especially with luggage behind it which kind of ‘shores it up’. However it can tumble back and fall just in case one is on a steep incline and unloading the vehicle. Hence I am presently using 4 strong bungee cords for additional securing. I definitely would prefer the more elegant and functional solution that Robi is using. Also by Azad this involves fully split and tumble-fold-able rear seats which are secured by the seat belt aided contraption.
While I had spent Rs 5500 on my seat modification, this new one will cost me a further 9000.
I am still ‘considering’ it because my Thar is used as a 2 seater plus luggage and is our go-anywhere Grand Tourer.
How I wish that Mahindra had also copied this piece of engineering along with all the rest of the stuff they lifted from Jeep Wrangler!
......

Last but not least, I LOVE that pic of the little red Wrangler sitting under the Thar at the exact same angle!

All the best!

Thanks @shankar.balan for the kind words. Point noted on the bungee cords for the luggage and will try to get some other options next time. Thanks for the suggestion.

The seat fold mechanism - I agree the bungee cord is not the safest option and hence I also went for the seat belt contraption. It is much easy to use and is nicely fixed to the front seat and does not need to be stored separately. I did not have a pic for the same, but will click one and post. @Robi (fellow TBHPian) and I have had discussions on this contraption many a times.

The mini wrangler - that is my priced possession. There is something about these scale models that makes them so attractive. Hope you find your Green one soon.

Originally Posted by tilt

It was nice to read a review "from the heart" - because that's the only way Thar makes any sense.

Cheers

Very true @Tilt. It is surely a heart decision.

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

That is a very beautifully written review and lovely pictures as well. You have done the very required modifications instead of the cosmetic ones. Enjoy your drive!!

Thanks @rajeevsulu. Yes I like function over form any day and hence these mods.

[Scorpion009]

Congratulations on your new purchase. You had a hell of a journey!
By the way great photography.

[sahil624]

Wow great Thar ownership thread and came at a nice time for fence sitters like me. The details mentioned in the thread are extremely helpful to make a decision on Thar purchase. Plus, those photos are awesome..

Congratulations and wish you many more miles on this beast.

[GTO]

Superb ownership review, justwheels! Thanks for sharing. Wishing you many more years of joy & pleasure with the Thar. It is the ultimate happy-mobile.

As you rightly said, it is a heart-over-head purchase. However, I like the practical approach in your review and with the modifications you have gotten. Almost 40,000 km in ~2 years demonstrates how much you are using your Thar.

I am also working on my Thar thread. Got a Petrol AT Convertible in Red .

[ags82]

Beautiful review! Straight from the heart. After reading this I feel like buying one right now but my Mrs...No reason to say or justify when there are 2 cars in the garage already. Another time for sure!

That's some serious driving there, justwheels. 40k in less than 2 years! Happy motoring!

[justwheels]

Originally Posted by Scorpion009

Congratulations on your new purchase. You had a hell of a journey!
By the way great photography.

Thanks Scorpion009. Indeed it has been a hell of a journey.

Originally Posted by sahil624

Wow great Thar ownership thread and came at a nice time for fence sitters like me. The details mentioned in the thread are extremely helpful to make a decision on Thar purchase. Plus, those photos are awesome..

Congratulations and wish you many more miles on this beast.

Thanks sahil624. Much appreciated. and glad my experiences can be helpful to you. Best of luck with your purchase decision.

Originally Posted by GTO

Superb ownership review, justwheels! Thanks for sharing. Wishing you many more years of joy & pleasure with the Thar. It is the ultimate happy-mobile.

......

I am also working on my Thar thread. Got a Petrol AT Convertible in Red .

Thanks @GTO. Look forward to your ownership report, especially when it comes from a person who has always celebrated owning the Jeep Classic.

Originally Posted by ags82

Beautiful review! Straight from the heart. After reading this I feel like buying one right now but my Mrs...No reason to say or justify when there are 2 cars in the garage already. Another time for sure!

That's some serious driving there, justwheels. 40k in less than 2 years! Happy motoring!

Thanks @ags82. I hope you are able to convince your Mrs. too . Best of luck

[vijay_rodie]

Hi @justwheels,
I have booked same version Thar (Red color, Diesel, HT, Automatic), will be taking delivery in month June.
Your thread helped me to finalize my decision, Thanks a lot for your detailed review and nice photographs.

Wanted to know more details with you on the modifications (if you ever did or thought through) for your Thar related to tyre and headlight upgrade.

[justwheels]

Originally Posted by vijay_rodie

Hi @justwheels,
I have booked same version Thar (Red color, Diesel, HT, Automatic), will be taking delivery in month June.
Your thread helped me to finalize my decision, Thanks a lot for your detailed review and nice photographs.

Wanted to know more details with you on the modifications (if you ever did or thought through) for your Thar related to tyre and headlight upgrade.

Glad my review could help. Congrats on the purchase, I am sure you will enjoy every bit of it.

As far as Tyre upgrade is concerned, yes I did think it through and after having closely seen many fellow Thar owners in offroad trails as well as long highway runs, my honest feedback is - Stocks serve you well. Apart from the looks (which can be very important for many), those big nobby tyres like BFGs, or the Renegades, Radars are one, heavy and two, eat up the fuel efficiency.
Of-course, if you intend to be a serious offroader, these might be a requirement for you. For normal trails, highway runs, stocks are just amazing. If you intend to do serious offroading, having a spare set of MT tyres might help, although you need to have spare place to stock them when not using and enough use during monsoon/post on offroad trails.

For the light upgrade, I do have upgraded to Phillips 90/110 but they only make the light brighter. The reach is still a question mark. I do not like the LEDs for the white light as they render themselves useless during rain and fog. So for now I am running the upgraded bulbs only and a 3 color AOZOOM fog light. The only option to solve the light issue is to get auxiliary lights, but then remember to keep them covered else pay fines in many states.

Hope this helps.