The 2020 Mahindra Thar is here & I would love to tell you more about it, but first let’s go through the rich history of Mahindra & its capable off-roaders!
Mahindra started as a licensed manufacturer to reproduce the legendary “Willys” JEEP in India for the Indian Armed Forces.
Till date, there are numerous Willys in the market which is converted & used by civilians especially for off-roading. Willys also paved the way for Mahindra’s future market portfolio & created the products like the Mahindra MM50 as well the first generation of “THAR” in 2010.
“THAR” was a hit, it was appreciated by the Armed Forces, civilians & the off-road junkies for its macho charisma.
Over the years with almost no updates, it became an out-dated vehicle & obviously the sales fell down. Finally, in 2016-17 they began the development of the 2nd Generation of Thar.
Come 2020 & Mahindra has finally revealed the all-new 2020 Mahindra Thar after numerous spyshots, scoops & rumors.
Newly built from scratch, the 2020 Mahindra Thar sits on a new chassis and gets revamped powertrains including new & refined Gasoline and Diesel engines. The design is up-to-date and contemporary, with forward-facing back seats having a very well designed interior.
The exteriors of the 2020 Mahindra Thar is redesigned with new design elements.
The front fascia gets Mahindra’s big grille (which you may or may not like depending upon your taste) with rounded headlights while the bumper is further extended to accentuate the look of the SUV & is big enough to accommodate a bunch of buttocks while you are out on a off-road trip with your buddies.
The front fenders are off square while the rear fenders are rounded.
The new Thar comes with 255/65 / R18 All-terrain tires.
The rear profile of the new Thar is muscular with a boot-mounted spare wheel and an LED taillight. Mahindra Thar will be offered a soft-top roof, a hard-top roof and for the first time, a convertible option.
Discussing the insides, we’ve got all the cutting-edge comforts alongside today’s new-age highlights. The heart of the dashboard is a 7.0-inch touchscreen with water-resistant buttons. Beneath the Touchscreen lies the robust and rounded AC vents are supported by fully automatic climate control.
The front seats of the Thar also have lumbar support and are said to offer great comfort. The top-end iterations of the Thar will have front-facing rear seats, while the lower variants will have a configuration of 2 + 4 seats which means the rear will be side-facing seats.
The new Thar is loaded with technology and from the safety point-of-view there are absolutely no trade-offs.
It gets dual airbags, ABS, EBD, ESP, hill hold control, hill descent control, built-in roll cage, 3-point seat-belts for all the 4 passengers, ISOFIX, hill start assist, cruise control and many more to make you comfortable while your vehicle is crawling on a rock at an incline of 40 degrees.
Technological advancements are not only limited to safety, All-new Thar gets a TFT screen in the instrument cluster along with the 2 analogue dials.
The instrument cluster also gets all the information about the vehicle dynamics along with a steering input angle meter which comes in handy during off-roading.
It also gets steering mounted controls through which you can set the cruise control as well as control the infotainment system.
The new touchscreen infotainment system offers real-time adventure stats, which is first in the segment. The stats shown are power, torque, G-meter, compass, wheel angle, Incline angle & much more, it would be much useful & appreciated by off-road junkies (do they really need it? Nah). The seats of the new Mahindra Thar are washable and, as the boards can be removed. It gets waterproof speakers on the rooftop.
Addition of an Automatic transmission is a welcoming touch which would enable the users to use the Thar even as a daily driver improving the overall comfort for the user.
The 6-speed Automatic in both Petrol & Diesel are Torque Converter units sourced all-the way from Japan from the house of AISIN, which are known for the refinement of their transmissions.
Mahindra has a very rich heritage with regards to its ruggedness & go-anywhere capabilities and the new Thar is no different, it gets a front free suspension for better comfort and ability, mechanical locking differential, shift-on-fly 4×4 mechanical transfer case, low slither ratio of 42:1, 18-inch All-terrain tires from CEAT and a lot more.
In terms of design & quality it seems to be far ahead than the last generation model & the options that are available are very exciting. Presented in –
These are available with 2 trims, AX and LX which are very well loaded.
Conclusion:
Mahindra has just unveiled the 2020 Mahindra Thar, they will announce the price of the all-new Thar on 2nd October and the bookings are expected to commence on or before the launch day. Mahindra celebrates Mahindra’s Founder’s Day on October 2nd and there cannot be a better day to launch the Thar that just got Reborn!
Loving the all-new THAR? Well, even I am awestruck with the looks & design! My hands are itching to drive #TharReborn! This is the exact vehicle that you are looking for to execute your long pending Goa trip with besties & recreate the Dil Chahta Hai moments!
