All-New Mahindra Thar: Ownership Review

[SandeepJohn]

Took out Thar for some for some rock crawling. Thar with all the technologies of LSD & BLD and with its build, made things easy for a novice off-roader like me. Pick the right line and vola it’s going to cross all obstacles. All I could repeat saying is the Thar is a beast and it never ceases to amaze me at ever new challenge. Only the video could do justice in letting you all know about its capacity.

Thar took some hard underbody hits on the chassis, scratches in front/ rear bumpers and a small scratch in alloy rim, all these are the signatures of off-roading. Did a thorough inspection for damages and it was all to a level for underbody paint damage. Cleaned up the area and did a PU spray paint followed by black paint to protect the under body. My underbody protection & corrosion resistant paint is overdue.

I have left the original audio for you to understand the underbody hits. You can understand the capability of the vehicle and few mistakes done by me. The link for the video is as below,
Offroading with Thar

 

[gearhead2]

Great video, Sandeep - and it reiterates my belief that I have made the right choice.
Now for a small clarification. I will be taking delivery of the vehicle in 10-15 days as per the last communication with the dealers.
And I've been told (because I had asked) that the present ODO reading is 19 kms since the vehicle's arrival in Kolkata.My
question is this - can this be the normal ODO reading for a car that has arrived in the Kolkata showroom from Pune, where the Thar
is supposed to be built? Are Thars driven from the factory to the showrooms (all over India) or are they transported on trailers, in which
case the reading is quite normal. A silly question perhaps but every bit helps!

 

[SandeepJohn]

Currently vehicles are being transported in closed trailers and hence ODO reading of 19kms is acceptable. By the time of delivery, the ODO reading would be more as the car needs to be driven from yard to RTO and back, then to the showroom for delivery.
My dad used to tell me that, during his days they used to check the new car for accidents as it would be driven from Kolkata to Madurai. By the time the car was taken delivery, it would have already clocked more than 1500km. To save on fuel, the dealers used to have very high tyre pressure. Oil change and even sometimes the suspension bush would have to be replaced before delivery. There was no concept of engine break in period, since it was already driven hard for 1500kms.

 

[gearhead2]

Thanks Sandeep. I'm in Kolkata now & had been to the dealers yesterday. I had put the same question to him and he explained. It seems the Thar (and other vehicles) are being distributed pan-India state-wise from Pune by train. For West Bengal the vehicles come by train to Kolkata and after discharge here they are sent onwards to distant parts of the state by "road trains" (long trailers hauled by multi-axled trucks) while the Kolkata consignment is driven to the stockyard. So, as you said, 19 km on the ODO is not abnormal in today's environment. The trip to the RTO is still pending.

The sales manager had an interesting tale. When he started his career, the car he was to deliver to his first customer had an ODO reading of 1700 kms. He had started vamping since he expected the customer to throw a fit at the high ODO reading. He was very pleasantly surprised because the customer had a good look all round the car, the ODO reading, and remarked to the salesman that the reading was quite good. When asked he replied that his friend had taken delivery of his car at another dealer's and that car had an ODO reading of 2500 kms!

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

My cousin who was working in Ford, usually gets to drive new rides from Kochi to Tvm also, which is 250-300 kms approximately.

 

[SandeepJohn]

Some Clicks from last offroading

 

[SandeepJohn]

Installed Radiator Protector from Swastik Fabs Blr. After reviewing many available radiator protector, I had decided on this because the bolts were recessed, and bolt head damage will not happen during offroading. I have gone against aluminium to avoid bi-metallic corrosion and its more ductile (would deform more than steel), even though I would have weight advantage. It was easy installaiton with help of Car Wash provider.
The link to Swastik Fabs - Swastik Fabs
The pictures of the radiator protect,

 

[gearhead2]

Hello Sandeep,
I took delivery of our Thar ( LX petrol, manual, hardtop) a couple of days ago and to be honest, driving it is a new experience. I am still getting comfortable with the features and handling (the relatively poor rear visibility where the parking camera is a genuine help) since the parking area in our complex is not lavish. Attaching a couple of photos here. There is one thing that I would like to mention though - after driving the Scorpio for 14 years, driving the Thar is a sublime pleasure! It is smooth (the petrol engine has a lot to do with this I know!) and feels really light, despite its 1700+ kg kerb weight. Must remember this.

 

[SandeepJohn]

Hello Sandeep,
I took delivery of our Thar ( LX petrol, manual, hardtop) a couple of days ago and to be honest, driving it is a new experience. I am still getting comfortable with the features and handling (the relatively poor rear visibility where the parking camera is a genuine help) since the parking area in our complex is not lavish. Attaching a couple of photos here. There is one thing that I would like to mention though - after driving the Scorpio for 14 years, driving the Thar is a sublime pleasure! It is smooth (the petrol engine has a lot to do with this I know!) and feels really light, despite its 1700+ kg kerb weight. Must remember this.

Wow, Congratulation for your Thar. Pour in your reviews and experience.

 

[SandeepJohn]

Covered 9500kms in less than 8 months and its due for 2nd service this week.

Did a long weekend drive to Madurai from Chennai. Total round trip of about 1000Kms. Drove out to some offbeat and no road places.

Thar is a bliss to drive on road and off-road. I am more familiar with its characteristics and know what to expect from hard braking to hard cornering.

I have never expected to be taking out my Thar for highway runs as much I have done so far. The engine & gearbox is so much fun to push around and forget that I am driving an off roader. I am just wondering how much more would XUV700 would be for the highways, “Eyes on XUV700”

Will provide post 2nd Service update soon.

 

[bhvm]

I am just wondering how much more would XUV700 would be for the highways

XUV is a completely different animal. It can beat cars thrice its price on the highway with some nice straight roads. But don't think about offroading with it.

 

[SandeepJohn]

XUV is a completely different animal. It can beat cars thrice its price on the highway with some nice straight roads. But don't think about offroading with it.

Yes you are very right. Eyes on "XUV700" for my Honda Mobilio Replacement

 

[gearhead2]

XUV is a completely different animal. It can beat cars thrice its price on the highway with some nice straight roads. But don't think about offroading with it.

I agree about the off-roading bit bhvm, but I remember that when the XUV500 AWD was launched (around 2011), mahindra had also launched a blitzkrieg of publicity about its (more or less successful!) debut in X-country rallies!

So the XUV series (the AWD versions), although not suited for serious off-roading, are capable of holding their own when it comes to some roughs with the smooth.The kind I am familiar with - on the steep unpaved terrain of Uttarakhand. And as you have mentioned, on good tarmac their is no holding them.

 

[bhvm]

I agree about the off-roading bit bhvm, but I remember that when the XUV500 AWD was launched (around 2011), mahindra had also launched a blitzkrieg of publicity about its (more or less successful!) debut in X-country rallies!

So the XUV series (the AWD versions), although not suited for serious off-roading, are capable of holding their own when it comes to some roughs with the smooth.The kind I am familiar with - on the steep unpaved terrain of Uttarakhand. And as you have mentioned, on good tarmac their is no holding them.

Yes,
I have gone Offroading (Softroading is better term) with XUV Numerous times. I guess you might have read the Travelogue on my Thread.
While XUV has ample power & Grip, The problem is Fast, Tall gearing. One can no way do any technical OTR as the car is too fast just at 1st gear Idle. ESP is also wrongly calibrated. Cutting power at wrong times making You sink.

While AWD sure will help In Snow / Sand, it does not have a low range transfercase for any kind of Technical challenges.

The XUV AWD avatar actually has advantages on road, with the Grip from Rear wheels helping correct the tremendous Torque steer from Front wheels.

 

[gearhead2]

Yes,
I have gone Offroading (Softroading is better term) with XUV Numerous times. I guess you might have read the Travelogue on my Thread.
While XUV has ample power & Grip, The problem is Fast, Tall gearing. One can no way do any technical OTR as the car is too fast just at 1st gear Idle. ESP is also wrongly calibrated. Cutting power at wrong times making You sink.

While AWD sure will help In Snow / Sand, it does not have a low range transfercase for any kind of Technical challenges.

The XUV AWD avatar actually has advantages on road, with the Grip from Rear wheels helping correct the tremendous Torque steer from Front wheels.

This is one prevailing problem with unresolved software / algorithm issues in the ECU & transmission systems of a few cars on our roads. And this is compounded by not having too many qualified techies to help you out - nor the mfrs offering a sympathetic ear, unless you happen to be a celebrity participant in well-highlighted events!

Apart from @allhyundaicars' wretched experience with the Brezza AMT (Terrible experience: Spiti Valley), there were also issues reported about the central viscous coupling of the XUV500 AWD. Despite having the viscous coupling (instead of a central diff) there were instances of torque wind-up / chirping on tarmac.

Here's hoping that Mahindra have paid heed to the feedback and done some homework on the XUV700's AWD system.