Mahindra Thar 3-door vs ROXX: Which one would you pick?

The second-gen Thar launched in 2021 brought about some of the biggest changes to the off-road SUV’s nameplate.

BHPian Ripcord09 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

It is probably one of the most talked about topics in recent times. The second-gen Thar launched in 2021 brought about some of the biggest changes to the off-road SUV’s nameplate.

It was sophisticated, with powerful diesel and petrol engines along with manual and automatic transmission options. Mahindra went a bit further and offered a 4x4 option on all engine and gearbox configurations.

Although it seemed the second-gen Thar had it all, it was missing 2 doors that the fans really wanted to turn this offroader into their family SUV. Mahindra answered this prayer too and this year we were introduced to the Thar Roxx - a five-door variant of the Thar.

The new family SUV/offroader has become a lot more sophisticated and has become the darling of adventure-seekers looking for a practical mate in their garage. However, would you choose the 5-door Thar Roxx over the Thar or will you ignore it like the additional x on the name of the new SUV and choose the OG?

Price-wise there is a star between the two SUVs for obvious reasons. The top-spec Thar diesel automatic 4x4 costs around Rs 90,000 less than the starting model of the Thar Roxx 4x4.

A major reason to choose the Thar Roxx over the Thar is because of its enhanced practicality. With 2 more doors and over 450 litres of boot space, the Thar Roxx is a perfect SUV for weekday school runs and weekend adventures with your family.

If you are hell-bent on choosing a petrol 4x4, then you’ll have to stick with the 3-door. Because with the Thar Roxx, 4x4 is only offered with the diesel powertrain. Why does Mahindra do this, we have no idea! Hopefully, we will get the petrol 4x4 on the Roxx in future.

Mahindra Thar Roxx Pros

Styling: The Thar Roxx retains its brute character & tough build while carrying a certain grace in design and feels upmarket.

Interiors: The same goes for the interiors. With the addition of a panoramic sunroof and some interesting choice of light upholstery, the cabin no longer feels claustrophobic. Getting in and out of the car for rear passengers is now easy thanks to two additional doors.

Technology: It comes loaded with a ton of toys that you find on XUV700. 9-speaker Harman Kardon system, panoramic sunroof, 360-degree cam, rear ac vents and ventilated front seats to name a few.

Ride & Handling: When we tested the Thar Roxx, we felt that the overall ride, handling and steering were superior to what the 3-door offers. Although might not be liked by the purists, the Roxx gets a light EPS, which improves manoeuvrability over the 3-door’s heavy hydraulic steering.

Space: Unlike some other 3-door 5-door conversions where the boot space was compromised, this has not been the case for the Roxx. It gets a much-needed 447 litres of boot space, which is sufficient for family holiday luggage.

Safety: Safeguarding your family is a new set of safety equipment on the Thar Roxx — 6 airbags, Level 2 ADAS, ESP, hill descent control and more.

Review Link

Mahindra Thar Pros

Better off-road ability: A shorter wheelbase on the Thar results in a higher break-over ramp angle, which will eventually help in tackling extreme off-road trails

More powertrain options: As mentioned earlier, due to the unique way Mahindra packages its SUVs, the Thar 3-door model has a lot more powertrain options offered with 4x4.

Review Link

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

For Fun= 3-Door Thar. I own one and love it to bits. It's more fun than the Thar Roxx, has a brutish character, the personality of a 2-door is way sexier and of course, I can fold my convertible top down for open-top fun

For everything else, including practicality & usability = Thar Roxx. I spent a week with the Thar Roxx and it's a giant leap ahead of the 3-door Thar in every way. Mahindra smartly didn't just stretch the 3-door car to make a 5-door version. In fact, the Thar Roxx's driving experience is more comparable to a Scorpio-N than the 3-door Thar.

I don't intend to trade my 3-door Thar in for the 5-door as my Thar is a fun-mobile for me. It's a big boy's toy. But the Thar Roxx is the superior Thar & gets my vote.

Shot this morning. Eagle-eyed BHPians will easily identify the two test-drive cars in the background (but please don't take this thread off-topic):

Here's what BHPian DCEite had to say on the matter:

I have said this before and will say it again -> After the introduction of Thar Roxx, the Thar 3 door 4x4 has only a very very small niche market left for itself (with some part of it being taken away by the Jimny and Gurkha).

The reason is simple. The Thar 5 door 4x4 is not only a "size" extension over the Thar 3 door, but a completely revamped, more modern, more safer, more practical, more versatile overall vehicle than the 3 door Thar in every possible way.

The only area where the Thar 4x4 would defeat the Thar Roxx is the pure off-road capability itself. But then, how many of Indian buyers actually bought the Thar 4x4 for its offroad capabilities alone ? Probably 5% ? And amongst that 5%, there are more options today in the form of cheaper (and nearly equally capable) Jimny 4x4 and Gurkha 4x4.

The Thar 3 door, in my humble opinion , would eventually face a rather quick extinction from the market in coming months. More so the 2WD, which was all about Road presence and "bling" , without carrying any practicality and family oriented capabilities, and with the Roxx 2WD very near in purchase cost terms, the 3 door would find very few takers now.

Here's what BHPian ramnaresh_2000 had to say on the matter:

When Thar was launched, I was really smitten by it. It was not family friendly car. My dad hated it to the core. Fast-forward to 2024, he is like "Wow the white colour ROXX look fantastic". I was shocked. M&M turned a hardcore hater to an admirer with ROXX. I hate the name though, if I may buy this vehicle, the first thing I will do is remove the ROXX branding from the whole car.

Hate the grill, and I hate the aftermarket options even more. They are just a cheap rip off of Jeep iconic grill with cheap material. Most of the grills I have noticed have started rusting and falling apart.

Will I buy one? Nope. Maybe the EV version (if it ever gets released).

Here's what BHPian Axe77 had to say on the matter:

Thar Roxx for me, without a doubt - the practicality and the improved suspension alone are worth it. My only peeve is that I don’t want to buy any diesel car anymore and if you pick the petrol, the 5 door per force limits you to 4x2 format only.

In a perfect world, I’d have liked a Roxx 4x4 petrol A/T with mocha brown interiors. If I was buying one of these two today, I’ll grudgingly settle for the 4x2 petrol A/T with those impractical white interiors.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.