[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Even if the usage is less and only for weekends, there are still a couple of factors going against it -

1. It's a completely new motor coming from an entire new family of engines from Mahindra. And that too, petrol has never been their engine of choice till date. I wouldn't want to get one from the initial batch.

2. The MHawk on the other hand is a brilliant motor - and also tried and tested. Punchy, minimal turbo lag and an excellent mile muncher - If it felt good on the XUV 5OO at one point, it should feel good in the new Thar too.

3. The direct injection turbo petrol mostly won't have much of a cost advantage over the diesel and certainly will cost a lot more in fuel costs.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Even if the usage is less and only for weekends, there are still a couple of factors going against it -

1. It's a completely new motor coming from an entire new family of engines from Mahindra. And that too, petrol has never been their engine of choice till date. I wouldn't want to get one from the initial batch.

2. The MHawk on the other hand is a brilliant motor - and also tried and tested. Punchy, minimal turbo lag and an excellent mile muncher - If it felt good on the XUV 5OO at one point, it should feel good in the new Thar too.

3. The direct injection turbo petrol mostly won't have much of a cost advantage over the diesel and certainly will cost a lot more in fuel costs.

I second to what you said.

Moreover, there are just speculations about the new Thar coming with a petrol though nothing has been confirmed by company.

The Mhawk engine is indeed a gem and has powered the Scorpio, XUV500, Xylo and TUV300+ for quite sometime now.

Having used both the Mhawk and 2.5L CRDe engines I can say that both will do a good Job in new gen Thar and the customers won’t repent.

It’s only matter of time when the curtain opens On the new product.

[paramesh3210]

Mahindra are known for their diesel engines and I think they will stick to the same for new Thar. Again, we need to wait and see what the company thinks! This is one of the vehicles which I'm waiting to be launched. Lets see what the new pricing will be.

All the best Mahindra! Please don't disappoint true offroad & jeep lovers.

[Traveler]

How practical is the Thar for a family trip. I see no space for luggage at all. Is putting a roof luggage carrier an option and will it be comfortable for a long trip across the country.

Even the new upcoming one doesn't seem to have any space for luggage. So is it safe to assume that this is only a 2 people offroading vehicle and not a tourer.

I am seriously considering the new one and my use case is basically touring with a family of three. Will it suffice.

[//M]

Originally Posted by Traveler

How practical is the Thar for a family trip. I see no space for luggage at all. Is putting a roof luggage carrier an option and will it be comfortable for a long trip across the country.

Even the new upcoming one doesn't seem to have any space for luggage. So is it safe to assume that this is only a 2 people offroading vehicle and not a tourer.

I am seriously considering the new one and my use case is basically touring with a family of three. Will it suffice.

What you say is true about the limited boot space. A roof mounted luggage carrier is always an option though. Few bhpians have used the Thar for long trips quite extensively, there are many travelogues documented in the forum as well. With forward-facing rear seats, it will be interesting to note the boot space in the upcoming Thar. But I am guessing that the space will be limited and it will still be a concern if you have passengers in the rear bench.

If you are not into hardcore off-roading and need a vehicle for touring across the country with essential 4x4 hardware and potent Ground Clearance for slush / sand / snow kind of scenario, you can consider the Isuzu V Cross as well. It is more comfortable and spacious than the Thar and has a massive loading bay to carry all your luggage. A pre-owned Toyota Fortuner 4x4 is also a great alternative, if you are open to pre-owned options.

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by //M

What you say is true about the limited boot space. A roof mounted luggage carrier is always an option though. Few bhpians have used the Thar for long trips quite extensively, there are many travelogues documented in the forum as well. With forward-facing rear seats, it will be interesting to note the boot space in the upcoming Thar. But I am guessing that the space will be limited and it will still be a concern if you have passengers in the rear bench.

If you are not into hardcore off-roading and need a vehicle for touring across the country with essential 4x4 hardware and potent Ground Clearance for slush / sand / snow kind of scenario, you can consider the Isuzu V Cross as well. It is more comfortable and spacious than the Thar and has a massive loading bay to carry all your luggage. A pre-owned Toyota Fortuner 4x4 is also a great alternative, if you are open to pre-owned options.

You hit the nail. This is exactly my use case. I drove a Pajero SFX for 10 years and never had to think about anything before going on a tour.

I am now looking for a competent but small or mid size 4x4 or AWD since I no longer want to drive a big full size SUV. Unfortunately there is nothing in the market that offers this combination.

The only option I see is the Jeep Compass or Thar, and they are very different vehicles. I am inclined towards the new Thar but only if it is comfortable enough for 3 people with luggage.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by Traveler

How practical is the Thar for a family trip. I see no space for luggage at all. Is putting a roof luggage carrier an option and will it be comfortable for a long trip across the country.

Even the new upcoming one doesn't seem to have any space for luggage. So is it safe to assume that this is only a 2 people offroading vehicle and not a tourer.

I am seriously considering the new one and my use case is basically touring with a family of three. Will it suffice.

To be frank having 3 people and luggage is bit difficult with the Thar as it will need a lot of planning for selecting and arranging your luggage. Inspite of all these the 3 door thing will irritate to an extent on long trips as getting in and out will be a task for the rear passengers. This is with the side facing seats. Some hope is still there with the front facing seats as there will be some space for luggage behind the rear seats and the 1 passenger can be easily accommodated. Again getting in and out for the rear passenger is still not clear how it will be planned in the new Thar.

However, things change when there are 2 persons in the Thar as the you can will be able to move your home at the rear part. Installing roof carrier is also possible with some jugaad.

IMHO, as of now it is unclear on the practicability of the new Thar. It’s better to wait for the launch of the complete product, take multiple test drives And then decide.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

1. It's a completely new motor coming from an entire new family of engines from Mahindra. And that too, petrol has never been their engine of choice till date. I wouldn't want to get one from the initial batch.

I agree with you on avoiding the initial batch. However, the petrol GDI range will be shared with the Ssyangong products, hence I am sure they would have got feedback from the Korean engineers as well. But neverthless, I generally prefer to buy new tech that has not been proven in the market.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

3. The direct injection turbo petrol mostly won't have much of a cost advantage over the diesel and certainly will cost a lot more in fuel costs.

Depends on the kms one runs. For a person who runs less than 25K kms a year, petrol is the way to go. The cost of petrol vs diesel is not only very marginal as govt removes subsidies on diesel, they will cost pretty much the same.
The old school petrol engines were inherently not as efficient as the diesel engines. However, the new generation of direct injection turbo petrol engines are reasonably efficient. If you factor in the additional maintenance cost of a diesel engine, petrol is the way to go for most people.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by abhikb

To be frank having 3 people and luggage is bit difficult with the Thar as it will need a lot of planning for selecting and arranging your luggage.

May be the plans are in place to spawn an ancillary attachment supply line as well

4x4 Hitch Point Mounted cargo rack (like one below) is an option to look at



The vehicle will have takers definitely - there more that enough people who would be ready to get a reliable life style vehicle - a luxurious Gypsy ? (Jimney may be around the corner is a curve ball here ) - At least that is my take on this.

Best Regards

[karthikd21]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

4x4 Hitch Point Mounted cargo rack (like one below) is an option to look at

I have been eyeing Thule India and There are options. We just need Mahindra to provide a tow hook!

https://www.thule.com/en-in/cargo-ca...cargo-carriers

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

May be the plans are in place to spawn an ancillary attachment supply line as well

4x4 Hitch Point Mounted cargo rack (like one below) is an option to look at

Attachment 2002684

The vehicle will have takers definitely - there more that enough people who would be ready to get a reliable life style vehicle - a luxurious Gypsy ? (Jimney may be around the corner is a curve ball here ) - At least that is my take on this.

Best Regards

Hi,

The arrangement shown in the right pic(luggage rack mounted over spare wheel) looks practical. Only downer will be a portion rear view will be blocked after the luggage is added. But still worth a try. The legs of the roof rack can be wielded on the frame where spare wheel is mounted with some Additional reinforcement.

[diwakarmuthu]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

4x4 Hitch Point Mounted cargo rack (like one below) is an option to look at

Attachment 2002684

Best Regards

I think this would be a good option considering that the car with a front facing rear seats would not have any space in the boot for long trips.

If such an option is available, would that require approval from RTO? I remember when I booked Scopio 10 years back, it came with an option to tow.

[Traveler]

The hard top variant may have some arrangement for a roof carrier. That would be ideal. A lockable weather proof roof box will definitely take care of the touring requirements. Mahindra usually offers a lot of official accessories and something like this would definitely help.

[46TheDoctor]

IMO
Mahindra must bring this vehicle in 4x4 AT variant with at least a 5/6 speed TC AT as it will be a true desi alternative with acceptable quality for the unaffordable wrangler. This thing has the potential of becoming ultimate adventure/touring vehicle with loads of character for small families or adventurers (read affordable Jeep Wrangler). Without 4x4 it becomes just show and no go in offroading/adventure situations and without AT it becomes to much pain in the city confinements and during long trips to reach your adventurous destinations. Even a small price premium for that will be justified in this variant.

[abhikb]

The new Thar looks production ready. I received the pic shown below through WhatsApp: