[swunkjyn]

Found this new video for 5 Door Thar -

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qYLvaEuFRKE?feature=share

The Ground Clearance seems to be still the same and it looks proportionate. I have checked with my Friends in Manali,Shimla, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti but they have not come across any Test mule yet.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by swunkjyn

Found this new video for 5 Door Thar -

Looks surprisingly good! Pleasing proportions and very normal looking compared to the 3-door. I hope them firm up the suspension a bit, to make it handle hairpin bends and cornering at high speeds. The existing one is absolutely pathetic at this compared to a Gypsy.

[vellatechie]

I really hope they name the 5-Door Thar - Thar ARMADA. I would absolutely love for Mahindra to bring back the name.

Stance looks great, grab handle seems a little too big.

Mahindra should make a proper hardtop with Sun-Roof for this. Scorpio suspension should be an upgrade. With reasonable introductory pricing, this will be the second Thar in my garage

[diwakarmuthu]

Any idea about the launch. My guess is it would be around Q2 of 2023. Maybe during the autoshow, they may do a launch of the vehicle.

If Mahindra can provide better driving dynamics and price is sensibly, then this could be another winner on cards.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Ragul

Looks surprisingly good! Pleasing proportions and very normal looking compared to the 3-door. I hope them firm up the suspension a bit, to make it handle hairpin bends and cornering at high speeds. The existing one is absolutely pathetic at this compared to a Gypsy.

I don't understand this comment.

In a boxy vehicle like the Thar or Gypsy in stock form you simply cannot corner at high speeds. The sheer physics is against it for obvious reasons.

Merely firming up the suspension isn't going to help. For example, there is clearly a lot of work that has gone into the coil springs tuning and adjustable damper design of the AVO suspension which Ive put on my 3 door Thar and honestly you’ll be surprised at the assurance this provides around those long curves and the rumble strips and speed breakers. No more nose diving and pitching and swaying etc.

But it is NOT possible to hurtle around corners at breakneck speeds like in the old South India Rally and all unless you’re in a souped up Esteem or Honda City or Gypsy which has been specially lowered and has fine tuned suspension and shorter, fatter grippy rally tyres. The Gypsy being inherently a light vehicle is eminently chuckable when tuned and set up as a rally vehicle. And of course such vehicles only have a rally cabin and lose the flappy soft top and hoops and all. When itnis souped up with its nicely tuned and given its head with a straight pipe, its naturally aspirated engine really sings. No headaches with turbo lag etc because there is no turbo.

The standard Thar LX with its 18 inch wheels and hardtop etc, is top heavy and ponderous in comparison. It moves with greater stateliness rather than belt around. It is patently NOT chuckable. And while the Mstallion petrol engine is very powerful and responsive, it still does need a moment or two for the turbo to spool up a but I have written elsewhere on the forum on another thread which talks about the old chain drive first generation Scorpio and its later avatars.

The ONLY variant of the new Thar which handles inherently better is the erstwhile soft top AX with its 16 inch wheels and even then only with its soft top and support bars removed. Then it loses its top heavy, non-aerodynamic accoutrements and hence settles better into the drive.

The Scorpio N handles better, yes. The pentalink suspension is a good thing for rear passenger comfort and it doesn't pitch and roll and sway like the old Scorpio did and the new Thar does. It also handles bumps very nicely. But even this, is NOT a sports car and cannot hurtle around bends with aplomb.

The only vehicle from the Mahindra stable presently which can to an extent, behave in this way in stock form is the XUV700 because of its significantly car like dynamics.

[swunkjyn]

I have been told that the launch will be somewhere around July to August. This is the only reason why I have not upgraded the suspension to Arc Gen-2 or Evo from Arkasports. I will wait for a year, one thing I doubt are the power figures. If the weight of 5 Door increased by 150 to 200 kilos, the current tune of engines will not be enough.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I don't understand this comment.

In a boxy vehicle like the Thar or Gypsy in stock form you simply cannot corner at high speeds. The sheer physics is against it for obvious reasons.

Merely firming up the suspension isn't going to help.

But it is NOT possible to hurtle around corners at breakneck speeds like in the old South India Rally and all unless you’re in a souped up Esteem or Honda City or Gypsy which has been specially lowered and has fine tuned suspension and shorter, fatter grippy rally tyres.

I think you are reading too much into my post and talking extreme sports. My observation was about how plain stock Gypsy can outrun a Thar on hairpin bends and behave like a mountain goat in comparison. Where one could touch 70kmph in a Gypsy the Thar may have to proceed cautiously at 50.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Ragul

I think you are reading too much into my post and talking extreme sports. My observation was about how plain stock Gypsy can outrun a Thar on hairpin bends and behave like a mountain goat in comparison. Where one could touch 70kmph in a Gypsy the Thar may have to proceed cautiously at 50.

The Gypsy scores some points over the Thar because it is light. And equipped with the right radial tyres, yes it can inspire greater confidence around curves. It is as mentioned earlier, even better if rally tuned with the lowered suspension etc. But then there is also the question of the ability to come to a rapid halt while keeping a straight line. Whether Thar or Gypsy, these things too, matter.

I would personally still hesitate to take a corner or curve at a seemingly higher speed in either a Gypsy or a Thar. In the present day, it is quite hard to do speeds like 70kmph consistently, when driving on an Indian hill road, even on the straight bits.

I can think of two nice driving roads, the Coonoor to Kotagiri Road and the Wellington to Kotagiri Road. Having lived in the area for years and years and being a frequent visitor even now, I do know those roads intimately. They have always been top class and yes indeed in the 1980’s one could drive pretty fast along them. Lovely sweeping curves. Good wide road and beautiful surface. Saying that, there are still several blind curves, sharp curves and deep curves, sudden steep gradients around curves, traffic (taxis, bikes, trucks, jeeps, buses and tractors) coming at you or traffic which you will come upon suddenly and so on. At night, visibility is great because you can see the lights from far away. However it is quite possible to encounter pockets of thick mist in the hollows on that road. Thats why in general, for safety reasons, it is best to stick with a max of 60-70kmph when on that road.

Even if one is a highly competent and practiced driver.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I can think of two nice driving roads, the Coonoor to Kotagiri Road and the Wellington to Kotagiri Road..

Off topic.

My buddy is serving at Wellington for the past two years and I have been visiting the place on and off atleast half a dozen times.

Since Coonoor and Wellington cantonment are so nearby, am curious about the two routes. Is one through the cantonment and the other passing through Bedford? I can drive myself from the Cantonment to Coonoor and Bedford, but clueless about the other routes, so sorry if I sound stupid.

[sgmuser]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I don't understand this comment.

But it is NOT possible to hurtle around corners at breakneck speeds like in the old South India Rally and all unless you’re in a souped up Esteem or Honda City or Gypsy which has been specially lowered and has fine tuned suspension and shorter, fatter grippy rally tyres. The Gypsy being inherently a light vehicle is eminently chuckable when tuned and set up as a rally vehicle. And of course such vehicles only have a rally cabin and lose the flappy soft top and hoops and all. When itnis souped up with its nicely tuned and given its head with a straight pipe, its naturally aspirated engine really sings. No headaches with turbo lag etc because there is no turbo.

I do not think he wants to do rallys and attack twisty hilly bends at 100kmph with Thar. Even at 40kmph or 60 kmph, Thar is unsettled even on normal Indian roads unless otherwise loaded. If Wrangler with similar Physics can provide better ride quality than Thar, then it should be possible for Thar and one (change of design is not possible now) way to do that is to retune/refine/rework the suspension setup BECAUSE this is a 5 seater and and not a HARDCORE 2 door off roader. The old Thar is not a commuter but at 18 lakhs, keeping the new Thar as just an off roader and with its all the shortcomings on the ride quality, space is not justifiable to many and that's why we see so many Thar 2nd gen on OLX. Compare that with XUV 700, it is almost nothing available on the 2nd hand market which says Thar has its issues as a daily driver and people getting rid of them after the initial euphoria subsides. Wrangler 2 door this gen/last gen ( I have to compare with Thar as it is Thar's inspiration) is still a great daily use vehicle with personal experience. I wanted to buy Thar and I booked it and cancelled it even as a second car after the test drive. The main reason is its ride quality issues along with ergo issues. Still I will be buying it via the 2nd hand market as the new ones are not that easy to get yet! I am buying it because of its ruggedness, go anywhere attitude and not for its ride comfort etc. First thing I will do is to swap the suspension with AVO and if possible get better tyres focusing on the ride comfort.

[drift2race]

Originally Posted by sgmuser

I do not think he wants to do rallys and attack twisty hilly bends at 100kmph with Thar. Even at 40kmph or 60 kmph, Thar is unsettled even on normal Indian roads unless otherwise loaded. If Wrangler with similar Physics can provide better ride quality than Thar, then it should be possible for Thar and one (change of design is not possible now) way to do that is to retune/refine/rework the suspension setup BECAUSE this is a 5 seater and and not a HARDCORE 2 door off roader.

The new Thar desperately needs better suspension and disc brakes at the rear. I have driven the new Thar and it feels scary to drive above 70kmph even on a highway.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Off topic.

My buddy is serving at Wellington for the past two years and I have been visiting the place on and off atleast half a dozen times.

Since Coonoor and Wellington cantonment are so nearby, am curious about the two routes. Is one through the cantonment and the other passing through Bedford? I can drive myself from the Cantonment to Coonoor and Bedford, but clueless about the other routes, so sorry if I sound stupid.

Replying to your OT query;
From Wellington at the main MRC Centre area where there is a bug roundabout with several roads branching off in different directions, there is a road leading to Kotagiri. More or less directly opposite to the road leading to the Golf Course.

The other road to Kotagiri is from Upper Coonoor which goes off from the Sims Park entrance and roundabout.

To Kotagiri from Ooty is via Doddabetta and that is a also a beautiful scenic road.

All of these roads are enjoyable driving roads. But best to keep to reasonable speeds.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

. More or less directly opposite to the road leading to the Golf Course....All of these roads are enjoyable driving roads. But best to keep to reasonable speeds.

Thanks. I guess I may have drove a little on the above said road since an acquaintance's vacation house is on the way, about 7kms from the MRC roundabout.

Yep. With tail wagging buses, hi beam loving populace and the appearance of giant bisons out of nowhere speeds naturally are at check. Not to say, coming out of a corner to find broken branches lying on the road.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by sgmuser

If Wrangler with similar Physics can provide better ride quality than Thar, then it should be possible for Thar and one (change of design is not possible now) way to do that is to retune/refine/rework the suspension setup BECAUSE this is a 5 seater and and not a HARDCORE 2 door off roader.

The design of Thar is to be a fast Jeep, I doubt if they had an Innova in mind when they moved from leaf spring to coil spring in the rear, it was just to make it go even faster than the CRDe while providing some amount of comfort to the passengers.

Incase you are buying one, please do not mess with the suspension or even tyres, keep everything as close to original as possible especially if you are a fast driver, those things are going to help save your day.

Case in point is the stock headlights and the ceat czar tyres, the way it handled the Mysore to Bangalore direction of the latest swimming pool the idiots have created, nothing much was able to keep up with it through the pouring rain in the night.

Also observed that XUV7OO`s booster headlamp works, perhaps the best LED headlights at its price point and well above it.

Originally Posted by drift2race

The new Thar desperately needs better suspension and disc brakes at the rear. I have driven the new Thar and it feels scary to drive above 70kmph even on a highway.

Next time overcome the fear and take it down the highway for a long drive, increase speed gradually till you get comfortable with it. Pretty soon the speed warning alert will be in continuous mode , have fun and drive safe.

[drift2race]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Next time overcome the fear and take it down the highway for a long drive, increase speed gradually till you get comfortable with it. Pretty soon the speed warning alert will be in continuous mode , have fun and drive safe.

Have those beeps above 80 stopped anybody ? New thar has considerable body roll and extremely poor braking which doesn't instill confidence on high speed runs but is truly exceptional off road .