[Tha'Red]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

That is a genuine, honest & unbiased report.

^^ Could you please clarify which regions are you referring to?




Yes, all genuine feedback's (good / bad) intended for the betterment of the product are taken in good sense.



Leaving aside the Compressor, nothing else will "fit properly"


Spike

Spike - I am referring to the top of the front mud-guards and surrounding regions. It looks like hand beaten sheet metal with a decent paint job. My continued benchmark is a Scoprio and that quality is awesome!

Thanks a lot for this and hope to see aesthetically better built THARs. i really love this machine and hope you continue to improve this fast.

Doesn't matter how it fits, i am fine as long as the AC will work. you folks at the factory know the best to make it happen. I dont trust any other Jugad:-).

[headers]

Congrats Tha'red, Looking forward to your ownership experience. Any new on a HT and AC should be great.

I'm sure that Mahindra will RISE to our expectations

[psbali]

Had got a little bored seeing only the previous ownership threads but your review was a nice change. I will soon get a car for myself and have been considering Thar along with the other cars and I must say that I have really liked your write up but since we Indians put it like "sach kadwa hota hai" I guess your frankness has made me tick thar off my checklist. Have always longed for a vehicle like this but some how apart from the engine and ride quality I dont think that Mahindra has done justice to Thar. Seriously not expecting skoda like fit and finish but atleast tata like quality.. Though I assume that the car is in waiting list and so mahindra would hardly give a damn to such issues. their car is selling and that is what they care about.

Congratulations for your car dude.. You are a lucky one to have it..

[shireeshjacobs]

psbali - your decision not to go for this is based on one owner's truthful opinion.

Pity that in most of the Thar threads one is flooded with praise and worship and a lot of pussyfooting around the members who happen to have developed the vehicle. I understand why a lot of people don't want to make any negative remarks about the vehicle given that the developers are keenly monitoring the responses.

however, the truth is in the pudding and as we can see from this owner's honest review, this car does not fit the quality requirements of some and infact any modern day car.

once the idol worship is over and the excitement has died down, the truth will come out and people may even feel that spending Rs7L is actually too much for what you get.

[Tha'Red]

We had a great weekend in Coorg at a friend's home and I managed to take some pictures of the Thar to post here. It caught everyone's attention even in a place full of Jeeps.
Though there was no time to take the machine OTR, driving on many roads in Coorg are kind of off-roading itself:-).

The highlights of the trip from a THAR perspective are:

1. The ride quality is very good. the machine sat well and handled the bad roads with ease. the steering becomes fairly light with the load and needs attention at higher speeds.

2. My friend with whom we were through the weekend, is an erstwhile ace rally driver and had very positive feedback on the THAR. On the way up, we had a fully loaded THAR with tons of material at the back and just 2 of us in it. His comparison is truly appreciable as he has owned MM540s, 3 Gypsies, a Pajero, etc. etc. and was looking at the THAR w.r.t their build & ride quality, handling, power, etc.

3. Power-on-tap is very good and it does make a huge difference in the ghat and estate roads. There is no need to over revv the engine, burn the clutch and all that stuff. It climbs and crawls with ease, with loads of grip, even on wet and slushy terrain in 2WD.

4. The windscreen washer on the dirver side is spraying on the drivers leg inwards since last evening!! have to get this fixed after figuring out the issue. Hence, could not effectively use the wipers when the rain was low and there were few dead insects on the windscreen to be cleaned.

5. There is a lot of rattle & hum, from the soft-top frame towards the rear, window rollers/glass rubbing against the seal, something in the dashboard area, etc. I still have to figure out where all the squeaks are coming in from, but there are quite a few which have surfaced after driving the 500+ kms over the weekend. These are not heard on good roads, but only on the bad ones.


6. Driving With less load on the way back, the steering became a lot heavier and easier to handle.

7. With heavy weekend traffic returning into Blr on Sunday, the THAR was useful as we could put it off the road side at times, especially in slushy places where only Buses go, and make up lot of ground in slow or stuck traffic. THAR can go where a CAR can't, normally!

8. It was delightful to see 2 more Red THARs on my trip. One looked to be in stock condition and sighted near Kadanga on the Virajpet - Napoklu road on Friday, and the other yesterday, with half cabin, roll bar, bull bars, etc on the Hunsur road - driver was busy buying mangoes!

9. Friends in Coorg looked at the THAR and were impressed with its specs. Since they are used to Jeeps for decades, their focus on interiors per se is low and they seem more practical in their expectation. One person infact wants to look at the DI since it makes more sense for estate work.

10. All izz well otherwise with the THAR after this rumbling trip through not very good roads. I am really delighted at the performance of this machine and it crossed the 2000km mark on the Odo. My mHawk was also there, and that rides very soft on the same roads!!! the feeling was very different when I drove it around locally.

11. finally, I have to admit that I missed the AC most. It was hot, humid and driving in & out of Blr was dusty too. Badly need the AC now. Will work on getting one quickly, as DB Sir has said Blr is the next town to get it.

[Jaggu]

Great update and i just cant help but say i love the thar in red! regarding AC i would ask you to just hold on for now. Ensure you get a clear picture on what is being done before you go ahead, many a times dealership will make you incur their R&D costs. So careful. For now try to work out on some heat absorbing pitch for the firewall and underbody, which should help control the cabin heat.

[shankar.balan]

I endorse this post. We all need to be quite frank instead of pussyfooting around as you put it. Thats the purpose of an unbiased forum where one can share one's thoughts without having to play games like politicans do.

Originally Posted by shireeshjacobs

psbali - your decision not to go for this is based on one owner's truthful opinion.

Pity that in most of the Thar threads one is flooded with praise and worship and a lot of pussyfooting around the members who happen to have developed the vehicle. I understand why a lot of people don't want to make any negative remarks about the vehicle given that the developers are keenly monitoring the responses.

however, the truth is in the pudding and as we can see from this owner's honest review, this car does not fit the quality requirements of some and infact any modern day car.

once the idol worship is over and the excitement has died down, the truth will come out and people may even feel that spending Rs7L is actually too much for what you get.

[Tha'Red]

One other thing; the bench seat behind the front passenger seat can be shorter like the one on the driver's side. I think this is an "eyewash sizing" for some 7-seater benefit and its very uncomfortable for the passenger on a long drive.

Mahindra must provide the same size benches on both sides so that reclining the passenger seat is possible.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

For now try to work out on some heat absorbing pitch for the firewall and underbody, which should help control the cabin heat.

Please DO NOT! Not worth spending on this, there are chances that the added material may create additional trouble. Whatever insulation has been provided works pretty well. The cooling with standard Soft top is worth mentioning, yes a HT would be the ultimate.

Originally Posted by Tha'Red

Mahindra must provide the same size benches on both sides so that reclining the passenger seat is possible.

Yes, that is a regulatory need. How many from your family travel in Thar generally? I think the bench seats may not be useful to you, any plans for a front facing rear seat? If you remove the carpets you will find welded nuts provided on the floor which can be used for mounting the front facing seats. Of course you will have to modify the lower seat frame a wee bit to suit this.

Spike

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Please DO NOT! Not worth spending on this, there are chances that the added material may create additional trouble. Whatever insulation has been provided works pretty well. The cooling with standard Soft top is worth mentioning, yes a HT would be the ultimate.

You are objecting because of moisture issue? I was referring more towards that pitch thing which does not absorb water, that comes as OE. Sheets that can be cut and pasted. Will that work?

Unfortunately the feedback is not the same Spike. We had met a new Thar owner saturday evening. He said heat, even for BLR climate the vehicle is unbearable. This person bought it and living with it coz he wants some alternative to take to him farm.

I suspect the exhaust and engine heat creeping in adding to woe, similar to gypsies.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

You are objecting because of moisture issue? I was referring more towards that pitch thing which does not absorb water, that comes as OE. Sheets that can be cut and pasted. Will that work?

I understood what you were referring to , this won't make much difference as the temperatures are too high. If you have observed Scorpio, Bolero, Xylo or most cars near the firewall area, there is a shining foil sticking, this is for the same purpose, it is not extended throughout as the temperature profile changes in the vicinity hence another type of insulation is used (the black type).

Unfortunately the feedback is not the same Spike. We had met a new Thar owner saturday evening. He said heat, even for BLR climate the vehicle is unbearable. This person bought it and living with it coz he wants some alternative to take to him farm.

Yes without AC it becomes difficult, it is becoming worst day by day.

Spike

PS- Just for info Temperature near Turbo ~ 140-150 Deg C, near Oil Sump ~ 110 -120 deg C (all these in not so harsh conditions).

[Tha'Red]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Please DO NOT! Not worth spending on this, there are chances that the added material may create additional trouble. Whatever insulation has been provided works pretty well. The cooling with standard Soft top is worth mentioning, yes a HT would be the ultimate.



Yes, that is a regulatory need. How many from your family travel in Thar generally? I think the bench seats may not be useful to you, any plans for a front facing rear seat? If you remove the carpets you will find welded nuts provided on the floor which can be used for mounting the front facing seats. Of course you will have to modify the lower seat frame a wee bit to suit this.

Spike

Spike - Thanks for the inputs. the heat from the engine bay is not that noticeable. the heat from the outside since the window has to be open and the black top is unbearable. This is why i need the AC.

Am not planning to change the seating as I need space to carry golf bags. The need is more of the passenger seat to recline for greater comfort. will see later if the current seat can be swapped for a smaller bench. I am surprised the regulation specifies seat size.

[theexperthand]

@Tha'Red: Saw your beautiful mean machine yesterday evening en route from mysore to bangalore. I am a silent spectator of all Thar threads and when i saw the red thar, the first thought crossed my mind was, this might be Tha'Red's Thar.

I overtook you couple of times but soon as the traffic cleared a bit, I saw you flying low

I am not sure you would have spotted me - the traffic was heavy and chaotic - I was on my bike with my wife- both of us were geared up and were wearing helmets and she was carrying a pretty BIG red backpack.

[sarmarishi]

I just have query with regards to your Jeep. I have noticed in all the snaps that the Jeeps is always tilted a little to the left. Is that a correct observation? Did it come like that from the factory?

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Tha'Red

... I am surprised the regulation specifies seat size.

I dont think the seat size is directly specified in the regulations. The CMVR specifies a minimum width (of seat space) per person and the number of persons (7, in this case) for a particular category of vehicle.

Driver + co-driver = 2

Remaining seat capacity = 5

Not possible to seat 5 in a single forward-facing bench seat, hence 2 side-facing bench seats; cannot have a seat for 2.5 persons on each side ; hence 2 on one side (driver side) and 3 on the other side(co-driver side).