[GTO]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Did you get any security for the car?

Safe parking in a locked gate and a steering grip-lock for now.

I would recommend using something like this (Onelap Go - A GPS Tracker for my Ford EcoSport).

Thanks man! Was thinking of dropping Apple Airtags instead. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Good tip but is there no way to aesthetically cover that hideous seat base?

Haha! Am sure any decent upholstery guy will cover it up with black fabric. Not hot on my list though because I do airport runs just once in 2 months, and the luggage itself covers that underseat area.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

I have seen this in Robi's car, and he also suggests the same. So yes, this is a very good alternative to removing the seats altogether.

Because you are in Bangalore, you have a superior seat-folding solution from Azad 4x4 (was unavailable in Mumbai). Unlike the one I got from Bimbra, Azad 4x4's mechanism also has 50:50 split which can be so useful when you have a third person in the car.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GTO

• W-I-D-E appeal. Everyone falls in love with it, whether enthusiast / layman, old / young, man / woman, Indian / foreigner, urban dweller / rural farmer, PhD / illiterate and rich / poor. To many, it's the sole car of the house. To many, it's the 3rd or 4th car of the house, confidently sharing garage space with luxury cars (like this BHPian's Thar & Lamborghini)

Punching above its weight, indeed. 80-year old Amitabh Bachchan spotted driving a Thar hard-top home:

Source

[Vasuki]

Congratulations & excellent thread.

I wish to own such beauty one day, but as of now have a XUV700 AWD, so buying a Thar would be a criminal waste as would not be able to justify the usage. I feel a fast sedan & Thar would be the best combination, but alas in my case, the minimum requirement is six seats.

Originally Posted by GTO

In that case, go for the Thar Petrol AT and rev away into the sunset. Get the 4x4 variant

Thar petrol in 4X4 is a good option but it misses MLD compared to its diesel counterpart, right? Is MLD optional as of now?

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

We are a husband/wide family too, and we bought a Thar 4x4 Petrol AT just for this "two person" use case. And so far we are loving it.

OT : My my hope your better half is not reading the above post.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

Thar petrol in 4X4 is a good option but it misses MLD compared to its diesel counterpart, right? Is MLD optional as of now?

Can be added at the dealer level. I believe the pricing is in the range of Rs. 40,000. Very cheap cost-cutting by Mahindra.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

...
Thar petrol in 4X4 is a good option but it misses MLD compared to its diesel counterpart, right? Is MLD optional as of now?
...

Not to sound bised.. But, there are certain advantages without having an MLD too.. Also, gives you that extra freedom to go for Pneumatic or Electronic Locked Diffs which are much better..

EDIT - Also without MLD you have a different caliberation of BLD which works really good and does most of the job.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by GTO

Was thinking of dropping Apple Airtags instead. Thoughts?

Nothing to think about. If you're using an iPhone, this is the cheapest and best option. I recently picked up a set of AirTags. 3 days ago I flew Panama - Boston - Doha - Goa. Both my check in bags and my backpack had an AirTag each. I was able to track the bags everywhere. Also the 3rd AirTag kept reminding me was the heavy weight on my back was.
I'll be putting these Tags in my cars too.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Punching above its weight, indeed. 80-year old Amitabh Bachchan spotted driving a Thar hard-top home:
[

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks man! Was thinking of dropping Apple Airtags instead. Thoughts?

My 80 year old father (not a big shot celeb, just a simple retired Tea Planter), still drives my Hardtop Thar whenever he feels like. Age is just a number I think.
Ref use of Airtags, they work very well as unobtrusive little tracker mechanisms. I have them in all my vehicles. Highly recommended.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by GTO

"Fallen in love in 5 minutes".

This is by far one of the best reviews I have come across on TBhp, with much of it written with love for this wonderful machine. When you love something to the core, everything else, the negatives etc., goes out of the window. And what more can you ask, when your better half, your kids and family have endorsed the product. Somehow only the red colour clicks when I see this SUV. Other colours look dull on the Thar (personal opinion).

More than the description of the SUV, it's something that touches the soul and makes me want one.

The mods are perfectly done and nothing is overdone, which usually happens with such Jeeps. Love the thick tyres, which are exactly in line with the body and do not protrude out, which is generally the case when you upsize.

I wish you many many miles with this wonderful beast.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

This is by far one of the best reviews I have come across on TBhp, with much of it written with love for this wonderful machine.

Thanks ruzbehxyz! This is indeed a car that pulls the strings straight to the heart. Happy to see cars like this on sale in India, and also the Jimny, Gurkha, Hilux etc. Just see how active the Jimny thread is with owner posts.

Somehow only the red colour clicks when I see this SUV. Other colours look dull on the Thar (personal opinion).

Haha! We are on the same page here. I knew my Thar had to be a Red Convertible. Only discussion was between petrol or diesel.

The mods are perfectly done and nothing is overdone, which usually happens with such Jeeps.

Thanks. Fine line between getting a lot of mods and not overdoing it. I have no more mods planned except for upgraded speakers + amplifier + subwoofer. Will get it installed from the dealership only, so no warranty issues.

Just got back from a 550 km road-trip in the Thar. Will post details & pictures in a few days.

[Ketan]

Congratulations! Very sensible mods out there. Another great review to go over! Really loved the way how you've put how it's heart-over-head purchase.

I was in Mumbai for a week earlier this month, we enjoyed the post 11pm life a few times in south Mumbai, taking the open bus once and how I wished I'd have taken a CT instead of HT!
Thanks for sharing amazing details!

[strawmUnkey]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks man! Was thinking of dropping Apple Airtags instead. Thoughts?

I have a spare iPhone from work. Meddled with an Airtag to remove its speaker(so that it doesn't beep all the time when the iPhone isn't nearby or alert the miscreant.

Placed it inside a waterproof case and stuck it in an obscure place.

Waterproof case: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SPD9GJN/

When my passengers ask me if I have an airtag nearby, I just show them my house keys, which also has the airtag. They don't suspect the one in the car.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Ketan

I was in Mumbai for a week earlier this month, we enjoyed the post 11pm life a few times in south Mumbai, taking the open bus once and how I wished I'd have taken a CT instead of HT!

Thanks Ketan.

Yes, Convertible top in the evenings, nights & on holidays offers unbeatable pleasure. And greatly adds character to the Thar. In fact, I would say that open-top cruising is one of the most redeeming qualities of the Thar (and any Jeep).

Originally Posted by strawmUnkey

Placed it inside a waterproof case and stuck it in an obscure place.

Waterproof case: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SPD9GJN/

Thanks! I am planning to place 2. Will use this waterproof case.

[GTO]

Took the Thar out for a week-long work & play road-trip . She was simply beautiful! Waterlogging & broken roads due to the heavy monsoons made the Thar the perfect companion. Sent the BMW 530d for its annual service visit at the same time.

Poor boot space means the 3 of us had to stack our bags up like this. Later learnt to wrap the seatbelt around the bags to hold them in place while driving. There were two additional small bags that were kept in the small boot. This is where I really missed Azad 4x4’s split-seat tumbling functionality. Bimbra’s solution in my car can tumble the entire rear seat away, but not 50:50 like Azad 4x4’s:


So much F-U-N to cruise in! A rare car that’s a pleasure to drive at just 90 – 100 kmph. Eagle-eyed BHPians will notice the subtle “JEEP” branding on the A-Pillars:


As I mentioned in my main review, family members love to drive it on the highway. This is untypical of Jeeps, but well, the Thar is the Thar:


The mountains, rains, classic rock, corn-on-the-cob & a beautiful car. What else does one want on a holiday?


Quite a stunning view from our room! Waking up to the mountains & valleys was something else:


100-buck tip ensures a great parking spot anywhere & everywhere:


Sunny’s Dhaba moves a bit upscale (they even have live music on weekends). Love the lights in what used to once be a barebones dhaba:


Food & service are exceptional, as always. My standard meal here is their cheese-garlic naan & spicy paneer Kolhapuri:


Stedi LEDs in action. As much fun as night driving is on highways, I avoid it as much as possible (this was merely from the dhaba back to our hotel):


Spicy misal & vada pav at another favourite, Buvachi! If you love misal pav, do try out Shree Datta @ Panvel too. Went there after many years & loved it more than Buvachi:


“Like always, taking the scenic route, because there are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind…” – CS Lewis


The fog & greenery all around made for an epic drive:


Found a great spot to chill…at the start of a waterfall. Folks usually hang at the bottom of a fall, here we are on top of one!


Lion’s Point was too crowded. So went around discovering lesser-known spots, only accessible in a Jeep:


This one was behind Lion’s Point. Not a soul where we went, compared to 200 people on the front side of these blue food joints you see in the pic. The contrast was night & day:


Our own private balcony of Mother Nature:


Wild spot, crazy wind, fog all around:


Beautiful drives move the soul (especially if you have the right car + song + road, as evident from the picture):




Weather was irresistible, so we obviously opened the top. Rains were coming & going, but hey, it takes just ~10 minutes to put the soft-top back on:


This machine is the ultimate FUN-mobile:


Just look at the personality of the Stedis, love their “half-eye open” look:


After all that action, we needed some comfort food. Went to Anglo Indian Café (run by the same Out of the Blue chaps) for their yummy fondue. Fondue in the hills, who would’ve thought?


The kind of places that hill stations now have:


And don’t miss Chandralok’s Thali – as a Gujju, I can tell you it’s among the best on the planet. Fresh, homely & top quality, backed by outstanding service levels from the restaurant staff. Making good undhiyu is an art (it’s cooked upside down) and these fellas have aced it:


Continued our work-and-play journey to Pune, Thar being the perfect companion:


Came across this Polaris Slingshot, the ultimate three-wheeled toy:


With my own four-wheeled toy:


Mornings be like…


…yet the laptop is always around. Work is work, requires a high level of commitment and I love it:


Big lover of being pampered @ spas. This one at the hotel was fab, while in Bombay, I love Rewa (Breach Candy) & Sohum (Juhu):


Top a 90-minute deep tissue with a delicious dessert and life is made:


LOL!


Exploring (& learning about) art:


Experiencing tranquillity in a park / jungle:


A good tip ensures that she gets the best parking and is watched over, even in public tourist attractions:


No road-trip complete without a Team-BHP sticker spotting!


Gorgeous Dukkar at the Sassy Spoon, Pune:






Can’t miss the “Super King” blower that was such a popular add-on in the 80s & 90s. Beautiful steering wheel too:


Another job profile killed by AI? Such a cool, crowded restaurant, with amazing music…courtesy Spotify! Why bother with a DJ?


Wicked VW Bar:




How can one visit Pune & not hog Shrewsbury biscuits @ Kyani?


My childhood buddy bought a new holiday home, so we stopped over there for the weekend:


Partied at my brother’s new home, then continued the night at Saltt, Karjat (a must-visit place):




With my bro’s new C300d AMG-Line. Phenomenal engineering, f-a-s-t performance, stunning design and also family-friendly. This was picked over the M340i because of the brand (he’s a Mercedes guy through & through), styling, better ride quality, diesel practicality & being a couple of lakhs lower:


Blast from the past! Came across this wonderful Maruti Esteem, the “performance king” of 1995:


The top condition, rims, and accessories tell me its owned by an enthusiast:


Three Additional Updates:

- Lots of squeaking noises from the front end after some offroading. Suspension was squeaking like a mouse! It’s gone now.

- All-round FE of 8 kmpl on this road-trip. Not really the highway efficiency most people look for. But then, the motor is very powerful and the car is unbeatable in the smiles-per-mile factor.

- Had a weird hiccup in June where I started the Thar after a social event and it went into limp mode. Wouldn’t rev over 2,000 rpm IIRC. Pulled over, restarted the car and it’s all been okay since. Still sent the car to Mahindra for a checkup and they gave it an all-clear. Weird one-off.

[shankar.balan]

Hi GTO
That post and pics shows you’re havin’ proper fun with your pet batmobile. Good show.
Couple of things:
1. These bull bars are allowed in MH?
2. Front suspension squeakies. Are these emanating from the new AVO shocks? Or from the bushes in front? Or do you have the Arka Underbody protection installed?

Just sharing that in my case after installing the Arka Underbody protection and doing some deep slush and mud roading I was getting lots of creaks and squeaks. We removed the underbody cladding, cleaned all the edges thoroughly and carefully bolted it back on, and the squeakies withdrew. They haven’t been back since, thankfully.

Yes indeed the Thar is absolutely a blast. Especially the petrol one. One actually feels invincible when one sits in it and drives.

[GForceEnjoyer]

Wonderful travelogue! Good guide for if we drive to Pune and beyond once again. Your Thar looks fantastic with the tasteful mods, and I like that you take it off the beaten path (paved road in this case), where it's at home.

Originally Posted by GTO

]
Beautiful drives move the soul (especially if you have the right car + song + road, as evident from the picture):
Attachment 2485152

Very true words, especially because I myself am a Linkin Park fan.

Thanks for the enjoyable read. Would you mind sharing what you used for photography?