2020 Mahindra Thar. Should i buy?

[nickatnite]

India's new Jeep the THAR has just been unveiled in a new Avatar. and i like it, The car goes on sale from October 02, 2020 and from the initial views i feel like i should buy one even though i will be relocating once the Covid situation has been dealt with. I will trade in my Altis 1.8 VL which is similar to the Altis Grande in your world and pay the difference. Price for the hardtop petrol engine car which is what i like is expected to be in the 10-11 lac range , at least i hope it is, which means i won't blow my budget, Or, i'll trade in my 2018 Swift too. I'm a petrol head and the petrol engine is a 2.0 liter turbo petrol mill that churns out 152 bhp.

So, please give me your views on the new THAR jeep so i can make a decision. Thanks.

2020 Mahindra THAR

my fav color choice as of now

file photo

alternate color choice. red was my 1st choice for my new Swift but ended up settling for silver

interior console

2.0 liter , 152 bhp turbo petrol engine

interior file photo

three quarter rear view

side view

front view

cc autocarindia/ respective owners

[zakiuddin]

unfortunately, not much info is available on the powertrain. only thing i was able to dig up about the engine is that it'll be a 2.0 Turbocharged engine and mileage will be 16kmpl.
For a Turbocharged petrol engine, the mileage makes sense but it'll be heavy on your pocket. You may be looking at a refill every 250-300km. Your choice of petrol variant points to noiseless/pleasant drive but doesn't add up with the hard suspension it has to offer (assuming leaf springs at the back)
Looks wise, it's really hard to differentiate it from a Jeep Wrangler. Read somewhere that Mahindra redesigned the front grille to make it look different from Jeep but can't see the difference. To be honest, Mahindra did not do a good design job and ended up making a Jeep wannabe.
It's priced approriately and the interior looks good.
If i had to buy this vehicle, i'd go for diesel variant with manual transmission in bright Yellow and the first thing i'd do is get the headlights replaced with a decent smoked LED variant.

[nickatnite]

unfortunately, not much info is available on the powertrain.

Thanks brother, for your thoughtful reply. The 2.0 liter turbo petrol engine is one of a series of new engines developed by Mahindra Motor which are BS6/Euro6 emissions compliant and will be used in their own cars, their subsidiary Ssangyong's cars and cars developed in a joint venture with the Ford Motor company for India, USA and some other world markets.

I agree with your comment about headlights and also certain design elements, for sure. But overall the stance and equipment looks good and definitely beats driving my Swift so i'm going to go for it. I read in another forum that an aftermarket grill will be available which is more pleasing to the eye and can be easily added on too.

The Wrangler is sold in India too so i checked it out at my local Jeep dealer and the Wrangler seems narrower and taller than the Thar to me, They had a 5-door on display which is very unappealing to my eyes. I'm sure some enterprising must have taken a comparison pic and posted on the net.lol

[nickatnite]

more views

from the COO of Ford Motor Company

nice video review

[mehran]

I would not suggest buying this as I'm skeptical about its comfort factor on normal roads. It might be an awesome off-road machine but a trip to the mall might cause you to curse your choice. The short looking wheelbase would probably make it rock over each and every speed bump and pothole. Ideal for a trip to Ladakh from Himachel Pradesh but to reach HP the Altis would do very well. just my two paisa

[nickatnite]

The short looking wheelbase would probably make it rock over each and every speed bump and pothole.

This car has been designed both for on and off road with reasonable comfort level for passengers is what the initial reviews say. You do raise a valid point to consider and a test drive should make it clear to me. I have decided to trade in my Swift for the Thar and this is the first car that the Mrs. didn't say anything against, she usually does in both countries we are used to. There's a nice aquamarine shade which looks good on this car and is different from the usual red and silver. You are right, nuttin' to beat the Altis for comfort , especialy in south asia roads.

[mehran]

A test drive over normal toads is indeed a wise decision. I hope it can achieve the comfort level you are expecting it to have. Good luck!

[kafkaesque2020]

Team-BHP notes on Mahindra Thar.

• Bumpy ride quality. The Thar is never settled, no matter what the road or speed
• Poor road manners at high speed. Best to cruise at 100 - 110 km/h only
• Premium pricing for the higher variants. Lot of money for the Thar's limited usability.
• Sad feature list for a 17-lakh car. No reversing cam, auto-dimming IRVM, auto headlamps & wipers, electrically-folding ORVMs, rear wash & wipe…
• Apprehensions of niggles & Mahindra's hit-or-miss after-sales service quality.

Thar is a niche product. I think at best you can think about upgrading from Swift to this (Swift's ride quality is nothing to write home about anyway). But keep your Altis at home. Thar can be a decent second car, but not fit for regular use. My 2 cents.