All-New Mahindra Thar: Ownership Review

[bhvm]

there were also issues reported about the central viscous coupling of the XUV500 AWD

AKA PTU (power transfer unit)
This is a Problem Child. Be it Mahindra XUV or duster. I have seen them fail. Most of these are not suited to Off-roading at all. They are more suited to Driving "Normally" on snow, preventing spinouts. They cannot take the full torque.

 

[gearhead2]

AKA PTU (power transfer unit)
This is a Problem Child. Be it Mahindra XUV or duster. I have seen them fail. Most of these are not suited to Off-roading at all. They are more suited to Driving "Normally" on snow, preventing spinouts. They cannot take the full torque.

This is going rather OT Sandeep & I hope you'll bear with it!
bhvm, I wouldn't go so far as to write them off. Samba has taken his AWD duster (terrific photologue in T-BHP) right to the end of Sandakphu. And if it can make the cut there (which at my age - I'm running 70 - I frankly wouldn't want to !) then in my lexicon that qualifies as proper off-roading.

And PTU is a serious misnomer. Transferring power is not the primary function of this coupling. It is there to compensate for the difference in speeds of the front & rear wheels, when making lock-to-lock turns (making do-nuts eg) on smooth tarmac, to prevent torque wind-up. For this reason the better equipped AWDrivers (the Quattro models from Audi eg) use torsen center differentials - with spectacular results in their earlier WRC events, when they wiped off the competition!

Mahindra have had the guts to offer AWD on their XUV models (which few other mfrs have done in India, despite their "SUV" line-up!) and such relatively high-tech items need proper "development & lead times". I'm sure their XUV700 AWD would have ironed out these niggles.

 

[bhvm]

Samba has taken his AWD duster (terrific photologue in T-BHP) right to the end of Sandakphu

I guess that would be Samba Sengupta. We guys need to learn how to properly "Utilize" and have fun in a Soft-roader with his videos. Kudos to him!

I have also seen PTU just "give up" on dusters. Probably it overheats and then you don't have any drive on the rear wheels. There is nothing which can beat the mechanical gear teeth & Chain drive of a proper 4x4 Transfercase. Not even close. This was discussed long back on some thread about AWD vs 4x4 Transfercase debate. Don't remember which thread.

Mahindra have had the guts to offer AWD on their XUV models (which few other mfrs have done in India, despite their "SUV" line-up!

Yes, And especially most of the Manufacturers are Running from AWD / 4x4 citing various cowardly reasons, My expectations are high with Mahindra this time.

 

[SandeepJohn]

The second service costed 5800Rs. The instrument cluster software was updated and the false milage notification has been rectified. The correct milage is notified, had driven about 200 odd kms and looks good.

Took out Thar for a solo drive today through country roads and broken paths. Had a good early morning drive. The rear door noise cropped up (due to driving hard in bad roads), but I was able to rectify with WD40 sprayed over the hinges.

Some Clicks from the drive,

 

[gearhead2]

The second service costed 5800Rs. The instrument cluster software was updated and the false milage notification has been rectified. The correct milage is notified, had driven about 200 odd kms and looks good.

Took out Thar for a solo drive today through country roads and broken paths. Had a good early morning drive. The rear door noise cropped up (due to driving hard in bad roads), but I was able to rectify with WD40 sprayed over the hinges.

Some Clicks from the drive,
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Great photos Sandeep, does wonders for my feel-good factor to know that our Bucephalus is waiting in Kolkata. We are out of town at present and will be so for a while.

 

[SandeepJohn]

Did 1400Kms trip to Ooty from Chennai. 1000Kms of highway drive and 400Kms of Ghat & off-roading. Enjoyed Thar for all its on-road and off-road performances.
Day-1 Started from Chennai at 5:00AM and reached Ooty via Kotagiri by 1:30PM, and local drive & shopping withing Ooty.

Day-2 Drive towards Pykara, Sholur view point and Coonoor

Day-3 Drive to Murkuriti Dam, Gelmorgan Dam and Toda Village (Had a local person with us to guide us around)
Video - Narrow Jungle Roads

Video - Mud Trail

Perfect Downuts :-)
Day-4 Started from Ooty at 11:00AM and reached home at 7:30PM

Few Observations from the last drive,

• After service and flashing information system, the correct milage is displayed
• Horn was not functioning properly when it was cold (Abt 12C) in the morning, but after engine bay heated it was not an issue. Not sure if it was issue with horn or relay.
• Was able to get decent traction I the wet mud track with 4Low-1st gear. The tyre were absolute doughnuts with sticky mud. (refer video from Day-3)
• I was hearing a small metal to metal noise from front right suspension when being driven hard for some time, but did not hear after that. Initially I thought that tyre was lose, checked and was found to be alright. I will have to investigate further during underbody car wash.

 

[SandeepJohn]

Undertook another highway drive to south with total round trip distance of 1400kms. The average milage was about 11kmpl.
Updated from last post,

• Regarding horn malfunction, I have heard from other owners that horn was not functioning during cold weather conditions, but it was normal after an hour of driving (guess the heat in engine bay helped to work properly)
• Took up underbody investigation for hits & abnormalities but was found no issues
• I had checked and adjusted headlight alignment in MRF Tyredrome. Computerised headlight alignment optical system was used to check and update the settings. I am happy with the new setting

Just a click from last trip (unrelated to Thar)

 

[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.

@gearhead2 Waiting to hear you experience with Thar.

 

[gearhead2]

Hello Sandeep,
I too would like to add some of our own experiences in this thread. Unfortunately we are still out of Kolkata. Hopefully we'll be back there around the 3rd week of December. We we plan to make some trips out of Kolkata then and we shall certainly keep you posted. I'm hoping that other owners of the Thar will join in and add to the appeal of this thread!

So far (during Durga Pujo when we were in Kolkata) we have only made inner city trips to parts of Kolkata to see the various Pujos there - not really the venue for capturing the Thar's personality!

 

[SandeepJohn]

Just a small update,
At about 13300kms DPF clogged warning showed up in the dashboard. This is the first time I have faced this.

As mentioned in the owner’s manual, I initiated the regeneration progress as in parked condition and it took about 10mins. Once we start the regeneration process the engine would run at about 2500RPM till the process is completed. After the process had completed the warning sign had gone. Alternative the vehicle must be driven in highway for 20 to 30minsat speed over 60kmph to have the DPF to be cleaned out. This is due to BS6 cleaner emission requirements in Diesel vehicles.

The Tyre Pressure Monitoring System Learning was not updated by the service team after tyre rotation, I had noticed this after low pressure warning was for the wrong tyre. It was a simple process and followed as per the Owner’s Manual.

 

[Chitti]

I'm late here . Congrats On your thar. I LOVE the thar. Absolute Beast but how did you handle the waiting period since for thar waiting period is loooong like 10 months to 12 months
When I Was waiting for my car I was FRUSTRATED . I booked a Kia and I waited for 3 months .

 

[SandeepJohn]

I'm late here . Congrats On your thar. I LOVE the thar. Absolute Beast but how did you handle the waiting period since for thar waiting period is loooong like 10 months to 12 months
When I Was waiting for my car I was FRUSTRATED . I booked a Kia and I waited for 3 months .

Thank you. My wait was just 3 months has I had done early booking. Spent all time in watching Thar reviews and off-roading videos.

 

[SandeepJohn]

Just a quick update,

Took out my Thar & family for breakfast at the beach and had good time. Drove about 10kms in the beach sand. I was careful not to take the Thar into the water. Drove in 4-Low most of the time. I was lazy to air down in the tyres and it wasn’t a problem at all.

Video Link as below

And Few Clicks,

 

[SandeepJohn]

quick Update on the Offroading at Yelagiri, Let pictures do the talking

My Son was my spotter all along this trail in the woods.

 

[SandeepJohn]

Did some beach offroading and video of the Beach Rescue