We are excited about the car we are about to discuss today; we are talking about the All-new Mahindra Thar second generation. This second-generation Mahindra Thar is far more modern than its predecessor. The moment Mahindra unveiled the Thar, there was tremendous excitement among the buyers because Thar has a fan following of its own. Let us find out more about the all-new Mahindra Thar Second Generation.
Design and Styling
Seldom do you find a car that becomes an icon, and the Mahindra Thar is precisely that? Launched initially years ago in a very bare-bones form without creature comforts like air conditioning, the first generation Mahindra Thar evolved from the romance that was the open jeep, a Classic design packed with the latest and best diesel powertrain technology of its time, good old-fashioned four-wheel drive.
And, of course, a soft-top tested on some of the roughest off-road trails across the country. It wowed many before it even hit the showroom floor. Eventually, the Thar evolved into something slightly more user-friendly and for many.
A childhood dream reimagined boy. Did who? This Site Whole a new audience of off-roaders and lifestyle vehicles for whom the Thar was the perfect second or third vehicle.
This time around, it’s pretty different because Mahindra is looking to take the tower mainstream, so they’ve made this a car that will appeal to all kinds of people, not just ones who want to go outdoors.
But let’s take a look around the car before we delve into more details; well, there’s no denying when you first look at this car. It does bear a resemblance to the wrangler; well, they’ve tried to make it quite different with many changes; this front grille now has these horizontal slats.
The bonnet kind of slopes down you’ve got the round headlamps over here in the front large chunky chunky chunky bumper that tells you this is tough; this is butch it is an SUV. The front wheel arches curve down to the front where the rest of the fog, of course, you’ve got those bonnet ties again that bear resemblance,e and there is this wheel arch which is tough.
It’s pretty broad, extends out of the car’s width giving the front a lot of widths, and under that wheel arch that extends to the side, you have the tire. It’s an 18-inch large wheel with 255 65, so a good amount of rubber. Hopefully, that will help the ride, black cladding that runs into the floorboard and around the rear.
There’s contouring around the windows. You see that both front and rear under the window line squarish windows a leaned back a-pillar, and of course, it squares down to the end at the back as well exciting details. On the side the m_HAWK logo, the antenna over here, the Thar name that’s emblazoned into the rearview mirror, on the side over here, and of course, this is an SUV.
So, we have to talk about the ground clearance, which is 226 millimeters, and they say that the water weighing capacity is 650 millimeters. So basically, you can go through anything in this one. You see the external hinges as well here on the doors. A lot of these details tell you that this is also an outdoorsy vehicle.
Let’s take a look around the back, shall we so at the rear, it’s like a big slab. What breaks it is this massive tail-mounted spare wheel, but otherwise. It is square; the top of it is literally like a right angle, no tumble around the home, we’re used to seeing at the top of the cars, directly when the vehicle leans towards the roof area.
And tali lamps over here which have the hexagonal. Feature that they’ve been talking about around this car, but this is the first area. I’ve seen it, and we can see that it’s a very short overhang at the rear, which you can notice around the side over here.
So that means it will be a good departure angle, something necessary for a rugged SUV like this. Let’s take a look at the boot space, so it opens in two parts. The bottom half of the tailgate opens up, just giving you access to the boot area, and the window can be extended upwards well. Of course, the seats split and fold to allow you more luggage.
It is a bit of a step up into the cabin. There’s no real grab handle on the driver’s side, of course, but there is one on the passenger side, and another grab handle is right there on the dashboard.
On the whole, it’s more modern; it’s better than before materials used are much more prosperous. This rice carbon fiber kind of texture Sits in the middle of the two ac vents, plastic the matte chrome plastic.
Even the upholstery, on the whole, is a lot richer; the vents are also circular, the movement for the vents a bit flimsy, and doesn’t direct the air up or down too quickly, but that is a tiny bit of nitpicking.
The dials as well are a little bit basic and standout amongst this otherwise richer-looking interior. You have steering-mounted controls and lots; Iof storage spaces, one for the phone over here, cup holders over here, and door pocket spaces. You also have nice toggle switches over here and, of course, controls for the ac vent right here in the middle of the dash.
On the feature front, you do have the USB ports as well the 12 volts charging right up here in front, and of course, there are some interesting details like this silver badging right here, which was something that the customers wanted to feel like they got a piece of history.
Then, of course, you do have a four-wheel-drive gear lever which is right here very easy to access, and of course, the main gear lever, which I feel is a little bit longer the stalk it could have been a little shorter, but on the whole, I’d say a nice looking interior and much much better than before. It also has quiet features. Let’s take a look.
Features of Mahindra Thar
- 7-inch touchscreen
- Apple Carplay / Android Auto, navigation
- Tyre pressure monitoring system
- Drizzle resistant IP54 dashboard switchgear
- Cruise control
- Steering-mounted audio and phone control
- Tilt-adjustable steering
- Power windows
- Electric ORVMs
- Roof-mounted speakers
- Hill hold and hill descent control
- ESP with rollover mitigation
- Rear parking sensors
- ISOFIX child seat mounts
- Built-in roll cage
- Dual airbags
- LED daytime running lights
- LED tail lamps
Rear Seats
It looks like a reasonable amount of space in the rear seat. And let’s get in there and see as I get out; I noticed there’s a star logo on the door as well. While stepping out, I have to point out, and you can look down there. The floor is washable material, but it tends to be a little slippery when it’s wet.
While you’re getting in and out, let’s get into the rear, move the seat forward, flip it and step into the back and once you’re inside, let’s get the seatback while you access the second row from the driver’s side, the passenger seat does flip forward little more, so access is better, but it is still tight.
You notice a fair amount of room this front seat has been pushed back. I’m 5’4, such a good amount of space over here; taller people also have decent legroom. You can stretch your feet out, but the wheel will intrude, so this is just a tiny portion over here.
The base comes into the leg area; the wheel well comes and intrudes into the seating area. So you know where there could be three. It’s now just good enough for two at the back and a good amount of headroom. You can see the exposed roll bar here because this is the hardtop version where the top can come off.
And some rustic-looking grab handles over here, which are pretty enjoyable overall., It’s a comfortable place, such as in this back seat, and even adults can sit here comfortably for a long journey.
Driving
Since this is the Thar, I chose to begin my drive in terrain that it calls home. We didn’t do any severe off-roading; we did go through a fair amount of slush, broken roads, stony surface with large rocks, and we did wade through some water. And the Thar just sailed through it all as if it were tarmac. The Thar begs you to keep going on exploring and having fun unfettered by the terrain.
OFF-Road Capability Mahindra Thar
- Approach Angle: 41.8 degrees
- Departure Angle: 36.8 degrees
- Ramp Over Angle: 27.0 degrees
- Ground Clearance: 226mm
- Water Wading Depth: 650mm
- Body on frame construction
- Independent front suspension
- Multi-link rear suspension
- 4×4 manual shifter with low range gearbox
- Mechanical lock differential for the rear axle
- Brake lock differential for the front axle
- Off-road statistics on the infotainment screen
But it was time to head back, so we got a chance to see how it fares out on the highway and in traffic. You feel like a king/queen of the road. It’s Got this nice high-up seating, and you get excellent visibility. You know the vast windscreen allows you to see the full extent left to right.
I mean, there’s no blind spot as such, and though they’re large rearview mirrors which help you to get a great view at the back, they don’t block anything, so as far as visibility goes, it’s great. Though it’s big, it doesn’t feel like that from behind the wheel; I’m nipping in and out of traffic gaps comfortably. You feel pretty invincible.
Engine
Talking about performance, Mahindra has chosen Thar to debut two brand new engines, a 152 hp 2-liter direct-injection turbo petrol and an all-new 2.2-liter diesel that produces 132 hp; both engines come with six-speed manual and auto transmissions.
Ride Quality
This is a new ladder-frame chassis, and I have to say it has made a big difference to the ride to the handling tunneling around in the city that rounds off the bumps and potholes nicely. So you don’t feel many filters through to the car. It does get tossed around a little bit over the bigger bumps and potholes.
But then that’s to be expected from something like this out on the highway, the Thar fell stable and planted, only getting tossed up over bad sections now while I headed off to explore the open roads.
Mahindra Thar AX Variant
- Petrol or diesel engine with manual gearbox
- Mechanical lock rear differential
- Dual airbags
- ABS with EBD
- Central locking
- Rear parking sensors
- Fixed soft top
- Convertible of hardtop [opt]
- 16-inch steel wheels
- Side-facing rear seats
- Front-facing rear seats [opt]
- Power windows
- Power steering
- Remote keyless entry [opt]
Mahindra Thar LX Variant
- Petrol engine with an automatic gearbox
- Diesel engine with a manual and automatic option
- Brake lock front differential
- Mechanical lock rear differential
- ESP with rollover mitigation
- Tyre pressure monitor
- Hill-start and descent control
- ISOFIX child seat mounts
- Rollcage
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- LED daytime running lights
- 8-way adjustable front seats
- 7-inch touchscreen with Apple Carplay, Android Auto
- Steering-mounted controls
- Cruise control
- Roof-mounted speakers
- Electrically adjustable ORVMs
- Tilt-adjustable steering wheel