Mahindra Thar RWD: Can it replace your pseudo SUV?
1. Majority of Thar buyers would drive it on the road and would almost never go hardcore off roading. They too had to pay the extra price for the 4*4 kit. Moreover, they too had to carry that 4*4 kit's weight along wherever they went.
2. Price. After a slew of price hikes, the top end Thar now costed north of Rs. 20 lakhs on road. For a three door, lifestyle vehicle, that's quite a lot.
So what Mahindra did was very smart. They launched the Thar 2 wheel drive variant and plonked the XUV 300's 1.5 litre diesel engine in it, albeit, with a different state of tune. This made them eligible for the reduced taxes for a sub 4 metre car. It also reduced the cost of the 4*4 kit from the car. The net result is that the top end RWD Thar diesel manual costs a whopping Rs. 5 lakhs lesser than its 4*4 variant. In petrol however, they have stuck with the same 2 litre MStallion engine and the cost savings are lesser. They also stuck with only a manual for the diesel RWD Thar and only an automatic for the petrol one. Why so? We wouldn't know. So can this Thar replace your pseudo, front wheel drive, monocoque SUV? Can it be the only car in your garage? Your everyday driver? Lets find out.
Lets start with what performance difference the smaller engine has made. This 1.5 litre oil burner produces a little less horsepower than the 2.2 litre MHawk that we get in the 4*4 Thar. The torque levels though, remain unchanged. Moreover, in this state of tune, the torque kicks in lower than it does in the XUV 300, making it more usable in low rev trundling around town. Though we do not have the official weight numbers, the RWD Thar feels substantially lighter than the 4*4. The result is peppy and brisk acceleration from the word go. If you know how to short shift a diesel gearbox and keep it always in its peak torque range, the 0 to 100 run comes in no time and sitting at 100 -120 kph or thereabouts in 6th gear with cruise control on is a breeze for this engine. The clutch has a long travel but is sprung quite lightly. Similarly, the gear throws are long but smooth and precise. Much like the XUV 300's transmission setup I'd say. By itself, at no point does this Thar feel incapable or underpowered. It's only when you benchmark it against the 4*4 that you realise that the larger engine is marginally quicker and carries a bigger mid range turbo punch. The smaller engine in a lighter Thar will be substantially more frugal as well. One can expect a fuel economy of 15 kpl or thereabouts in mixed driving conditions from this one. The chassis, brakes and suspension setup remains unchanged from the 4*4 variant and carries over its advantages and quirks. We already know how the 4*4 Thar rides, handles, steers and brakes. What we need to know is can you live with a Thar every day? Lets weigh in the pros and cons.
Pros:
1. Ride height and visibility: In a Thar, you sit high up and can see over the roofs of cars ahead of you. If there is a gap opening up ahead, you can see it and can position your car accordingly in the relevant lane. This works well in the city and even better on the highways.
2. Chassis, suspensions and tyres: Being a rock solid ladder frame with long travel suspensions, you need not slow down over bad patches of road or through potholes. The large 18 inch tyres can roll over just about anything without blinking an eye. You know those jerks that rattle even your ancestors when your pseudo SUV thuds through bad patches of roads? You will almost never feel them in a Thar. The suspension will almost never bottom out. Your rims and tyres will almost never get damaged by potholes again.
3. Feel good features: With the Thar you now get features like navigation, tyre pressure monitoring system, cruise control, off road and on road metrics like incline angle, tyre direction, compass, average fuel consumption, etc. You can also connect it to the Mahindra app and get a score on how well and efficiently you have been driving. All of this takes adds to the feel good factor and increase practicality by some extent at least.
4. Looks: Lets face it. Everyone looks at the Thar. Some look at it with envy, some with respect, some with awe and some with a yearn in their hearts. That road presence, that height, that width, those tyres, this is something that other cars in this price range can never give you. If you drive a Thar, you are automatically classified as someone who is young or young at heart. Someone with adventure and outdoors running through her veins. Someone free spirited, independent and different from the crowd. Someone non mainstream.
1. Ride height and visibility: In a Thar, you sit high up and can see over the roofs of cars ahead of you. If there is a gap opening up ahead, you can see it and can position your car accordingly in the relevant lane. This works well in the city and even better on the highways.
2. Chassis, suspensions and tyres: Being a rock solid ladder frame with long travel suspensions, you need not slow down over bad patches of road or through potholes. The large 18 inch tyres can roll over just about anything without blinking an eye. You know those jerks that rattle even your ancestors when your pseudo SUV thuds through bad patches of roads? You will almost never feel them in a Thar. The suspension will almost never bottom out. Your rims and tyres will almost never get damaged by potholes again.
3. Feel good features: With the Thar you now get features like navigation, tyre pressure monitoring system, cruise control, off road and on road metrics like incline angle, tyre direction, compass, average fuel consumption, etc. You can also connect it to the Mahindra app and get a score on how well and efficiently you have been driving. All of this takes adds to the feel good factor and increase practicality by some extent at least.
4. Looks: Lets face it. Everyone looks at the Thar. Some look at it with envy, some with respect, some with awe and some with a yearn in their hearts. That road presence, that height, that width, those tyres, this is something that other cars in this price range can never give you. If you drive a Thar, you are automatically classified as someone who is young or young at heart. Someone with adventure and outdoors running through her veins. Someone free spirited, independent and different from the crowd. Someone non mainstream.
5. Mild offroading. Being a rear wheel driven car with brake locking differentials, you can take the Thar farther off-road as compared to a typical front wheel driven SUV. The large off road biased tyres too help in meeting that purpose. It's only in ice, sand and slush that you will have to have a 4*4. The rest, this RWD Thar can manage with ease. So can this Thar go where the new Safari can't? Most likely, yes.
If the word non mainstream is what defines you as a person, you're going to love the idea of the Thar as your only car. Your family however, may not and here's why:
If the word non mainstream is what defines you as a person, you're going to love the idea of the Thar as your only car. Your family however, may not and here's why:
1. Two doors. Access to the rear seats is by crawling through the passenger side door. This also means that every time the rear passenger has to get in or get out, the front passenger has to alight as well. Not very practical when you need to do a quick pick up from a traffic filled road. Moreover, the climb and crawl to the rear seats is at best for kids or people south of 40 years of age or 20% body fat. The rear seats however, are comfortable when reclined. Legroom is generous but since the rear seats aren't exactly located behind the front seats, you have room to stretch out only one leg under the front seats. Also due to the large wheel arches eating into the cabin space, there is width to seat only two people comfortably. Even a third child would not fit. There are also no openable windows behind. People with motion sickness are best suited in the front seats or in another car altogether.
2. Boot space. In terms of depth, there's a little over a palm's span worth of boot space available. The height however is generous. With some smart space management using soft bags, weekend luggage for 4 adults may just about be doable. However, with a full boot, you will not be able to recline the rear seats for that extra bit of comfort. You can however fold them in a 50:50 split and carry 3 people and their luggage in utmost comfort.
3. The ride. This is something you need to understand and get used to. Not a con per se. Since this suspension and chassis is predominantly setup to tackle off-road trails, there is constant movement in the car even on smooth roads. Much like sitting in a train. Also if you go exceedingly above legal speeds, the car does feel unstable. You cannot throw it into a corner and come out if it with a big smile, or come out if it at all. You've got to be cautious, you've got to be gentle. The car comes with electronic stability control but you just don't get that confidence to go significantly over 100 kph and shift lanes at that speed. It's best to just chug along at 100 listening to Riders on the Storm in the background.
4. The noise. Yes, there is wind noise and tyre noise above 100 kph and over really long journeys it might get annoying.
5. The niggles. Since the Thar also comes in a soft top convertible variant, there is no remote opening for the fuel filler cap. Every time you need to fuel up, you need to either get down from the car or hand over the keys to the petrol pump staff to do the needful. It also gets a lockable glovebox but it is tiny in size and uses the same key as the ignition. So you can't lock up a gun or valuable items in it and hand over the keys to the valet. There are no charging points or cupholders in the rear seats. There's no parcel tray for the boot. There's no rear camera. No front parking sensors. No keyless go. No climate control. No rear ac vents. No auto dimming IRVMs. No rain sensing wipers. No automatic headlamps. No led headlights. No child lock for power windows. The reason I am listing these mostly unimportant features out is only because your pseudo SUV has them. The only thing I miss from the above is keyless go. The rest is all livable.
We still don't have a definite answer for the question: Can the Thar be your only car? Yes it has its niggles, it has its shortcomings but the way the Thar drives, it makes every other car in its segment or above it feel inferior and toy like. Lets then work reverse and try and arrive at a conclusion. Lets list down whom the Thar is NOT for. If you have a family of five or more, the Thar is not for you. It is strictly a four seater. Period. If you travel with your parents, the Thar is not for you. The climb to the front seat with frailing knees is difficult and the crawl to the rear seats with an aching back is impossible. Don't even think about making your parents "adjust" to your madness. For a family of three comprising husband, wife and kid (me! me!), this can be an option but not a very practical one. It depends on how much your wife loves you and how much of a crackpot she is to join in on your craziness. She is the one who will have to adjust the most. Alighting the car and dropping her seat every time someone enters or exits the backseat. Then muscling it back up and mounting in herself. Also, those times when the kid sleeps off in the back seat of your car and you carry her to bed without disturbing her sleep? It'll be impossible with the 2 door set-up. I think in a family of three, if your wife enjoys driving the Thar as well, you might just be in luck. You can then share the pleasure as well as the pain. She would then know why that little bit of adjustment is so well worth it, not otherwise. For a family of two, just husband - wife living the DINK and YOLO lifestyle, the Thar is just the vehicle. You have tonnes of luggage space, nobody needs to crawl to and from the rear seats and life is beautiful on and off the road. So ya. There we have it. The Thar RWD can replace your toy SUV comfortably if you are a family of two, may work for a family of three if your wife loves driving it as much as you do but for families any larger, this can only be your weekend vehicle. And if you're getting the Thar just for the weekend masti, you might as well get the full package, the 4*4.
Live young live free!
Pictures courtesy: www.auto.mahindra.com
