[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by VRSriram

https://Youtu.be/UhtBkECYejo?si=i4I_gVA8HEMaNc7K

Interior video

Originally Posted by PrasunBannerjee

White interiors in an offroad friendly (rather offroad-first) lifestyle vehicle?

Who was the person approving this? Appears to be a middle variant going by the instrument cluster and single pane sunroof.

Even for a lifestyle "soccer mom" vehicle variant, this is plain horrendous! What was M&M team thinking?

And am getting a very bad sense with regards to the pricing. This one sure looks like a Jimny type of launch price. Dud at arrival.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

By adding the light color interior theme they converted Thar in to a MUV.

I think you are right, they want the light colour to give the interior a larger feel. Visual manipulation to cover up space constrains and attract the fence sitters, who need a city SUV but with the tough Thar / Macho type image. Would be interesting to see how this will pan out.

I had serious plans of looking at this vehicle, but the more I see it the more I am falling out of love. The choices I am considering; and deciding on one of the following to replace my GV this month. Option 3 I might retain GV for long hauls which will not make any sense!

1: Thar 5 door - if I like the vehicle and is priced within couple of lakhs and NOT above 3-4 lakhs from the existing Thar 3 door pricing. First preference Petrol AT.

2: Thar 3 door Petrol AT, preowned. Already have couple of em on my radar.

3: Jimny Petrol AT, the horrendous underpowered engine is the only thing keeping me away from it being choice 2.

I need 5 door convenience for my primary and only 4 wheeler which would be used as long haul / tourer + non competitive off-roading.

[NutHead1270]

Originally Posted by volkman10

- White upholstery, larger touchscreen, new steering wheel and more

From washable interior to white upholstery as if 'RWD only' option wasn't diluting the Thar name.
But we all know at the end of the day it's gonna sell no matter what!

As Thar gets the sunroof now will it still be able to get 4 star GNCAP? Does sunroof decrease the rigidity?

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I need 5 door convenience for my primary and only 4 wheeler which would be used as long haul / tourer + non competitive off-roading.

Unlike most of the other launches , they may do something similar to the 3XO wherein there would be a legitimate mid variant. So price may not be a deal breaker in that sense.

I think what you are expecting is what most people thought they could have when Jimny was coming, It did not meet expectations of course. Gurkha is a myth that would once again exist on the internet (the old men here would know what I am talking about).

They say good things come to those who wait - I`ve seen this vehicle in MSPT, I do not think they are planning to mess this up given how many of their own employees are waiting for this one to arrive.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

I think what you are expecting is what most people thought they could have when Jimny was coming, It did not meet expectations of course.
====
I do not think they are planning to mess this up given how many of their own employees are waiting for this one to arrive.

Hence I mentioned dud on arrival as Jimny. India is a price sensitive market if volumes are being considered for the long term, esp for life style vehicles with single digit fuel efficiency. If there is a plan for this product to be a long term seller and not just an initial boomer, it needs to be priced well. No matter how much ever make up they put on a Thar, it is NOT going to be a Wrangler which itself is priced horrendously in India due to taxes + brand grand stand. And people who have really experienced a Wrangler knows it is not the best of daily drive one can get. It is a pure life style fashion statement in real life, with Jeep branding, heritage and aura. Even to make it Offroad worthy one needs to invest a bit on it from the base variants, or go for the trail oriented more expensive version. There is a saying in Malayalam, you can't bathe a crow and make it a swan (kakene kulipitchal Kokku avilla). This is what comes to my mind with all this.

As far as employees are concerned, am sure M&M will have some internal madness to manage that. That won't be deciding factor for pricing. Hope the decision makers see a long term future for this.

[highwaypatrol]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

you can't bathe a crow and make it a swan (kakene kulipitchal Kokku avilla). This is what comes to my mind with all this.

Haha, this just cracked me up!
However if the kokku (swan) is impossible to catch, then the only workaround is to catch a kakka (crow) and paint it white to get that feel good factor I guess this is what we all have done with Thar 3 door over the past 4 years.

[Rohit_Quad]

White interiors and upholstery on the AX7 and above XUV700, was one of the mains reasons why we went for the AX5. M&M should at least give an optional black interiors, for those who prefer longterm ease of maintenance, over the airy feeling that the white interiors give.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

There is a saying in Malayalam, you can't bathe a crow and make it a swan (kakene kulipitchal Kokku avilla). This is what comes to my mind with all this. .

Let's wait for the Launch and see what really this vehicle is. .
Few years down the line, what if it turns out to be the other way around. Wrangler trying strategically to be the Thar.

...who have really experienced a Wrangler knows it is not the best of daily drive one can get. It is a pure life style fashion statement in real life, with Jeep branding, heritage and aura. Even to make it Offroad worthy one needs to invest a bit on it from the base variants, or go for the trail oriented more expensive version...

You yourself have answered the reasons why the "kaka" doesnt want to be a "kokku" .

Indians do love driving and travelling and vehicles that give the pleasure of it. One of the reasons why Jimny failed.

[VrsFreak!]

Originally Posted by LionX

Is that a new key fob for Roxx ?

Amazing glimpses of the interior.. being a THAR 3-Door owner i can safely say and look forward to some OEM upgrades which would probably also come in the facelift THAR 3 Door expected a few months after the ROXX launches.

Will most likely upgrade:
- Headunit from the ROXX
- Steering wheel from the ROXX
- Digital Cluster from the ROXX

[SixPistons]

Originally Posted by Rajjaiswal92

What is Mahindra marketing the roxx as? If it is a 4X4 why give white upholstery when it will be a nightmare to maintain.

Apparently they are targeting it as a Luxury Off-roader. And Luxury Interior to Mahindra means white and bright. Luxury folks can anyway spend 1000s getting it properly cleaned after an off roading session.

Originally Posted by Rajjaiswal92

Mahindra should have gone with ruggedness which the car carries outside to its interior as well .

Nods in agreement. Themed around Scorpio’s Brown Interior would have been perfect.

[Bluebird_7]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Hence I mentioned dud on arrival as Jimny. India is a price sensitive market if volumes..

In my humble opinion pricing is not the reason for Jimny's failure. It fails to satisfy the SUV image of an Indian buyer. Indian buyer's SUV image is more perceptive and less functional. We associate a big, bulky intimidating design, a bigger engine with SUV tag which Jimny fails to satisfy, it does not have that aspirational value. A small frame, a puny engine and an overall persona which intimidates no one on road vs the image of Thar.

Even after discounts of more than 3 lac, Jimny failed to generate volume. I watched one autocar conversation on the same topic and they were way off in understanding the right reasons for its failure.

We have witnessed failure of Tata Nano in past and low volumes of MG Comet. All these in my opinion is attributable to one factor and that is aspirational value.

I think Mahindra have understood this very well and hence they design the vehicles which may be lacking in many aspects but clicks the right nerve of Indian buyer and stoke that emotion and we are OK to wait for years, pay price premium and still deal with many mechanical and software glitches afterwards. Until another manufacturer realises this and gives Mahindra competition in this aspect we really do not have many choices.

For most of us Indian, buying a car carries a lot of emotional value and we prefer that over functional and grey cell matter

[pandabear]

Originally Posted by bijims

The white interiors will not be easy to maintain considering it's an off-road focused vehicle, the boot space remains small from the video, but the 5-door surely will have lots of takers owing to the practicality of the 5-seats, the features including a sunroof on offer and of course the wonderful engines.

Well said, seems like Mahindra has loads of this white color upholstry lying somewhere picked up at some factory closure blowour sale.

No logic at all, white in any car, especially indian condition becomes a pain to maintain.
The XUV 700 blaze edition which has dark interiors does not have an AWD version.

I wish the website should have an option to customize certiain elements of the car like interor colors, features etc.

"BUILD YOUR CAR" is not new at all. Can even be a premium value offering.

This way people can select and choose which feature combination the want.

In todays logistic supply chain model this should not be so difficut and cars can even be manufactured after receiving a full payment.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by V0id2003

Any soft roader with tough suspension like the Tata Harrier will suffice for such needs along with better ride quality without excess body roll

My mother punishes our Harrier on bad roads daily during her commute

Yes. I think people overestimate just how much machine they need for relatively simple tasks. Unless your daily commute involves driving through a paddy field and climbing up a rocky hill with no roads, you don’t technically “need” a hardcore off-roader.

But you don’t buy things based on needs. You buy it based on wants. The need part is just something we tell our spouse/parents to justify it.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by V0id2003

Any soft roader with tough suspension like the Tata Harrier will suffice for such needs along with better ride quality without excess body roll

For most part, yes! But for 2 things:
1) its a Diesel - waste of money in NCR (my running is not very high) - and after getting used to turbo petrols, I don't think I'm going back to diesels.
2) front wheel drive Diesels perform very badly in slush, they are most likely to dig into mud (happened with me with my Diesels in past)

+ Thar's clearance is full 21mm more than say Harrier.

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

You both might wanna rethink this after the recent asinine court ruling during the unfortunate basement flooding case.

In any unfortunate fatal event by the looks of it, if no one else, car owners will be blamed.

True, on my mind as well! Sadist is one of the cultural values of the country.

Originally Posted by Cresterk

Yes. I think people overestimate just how much machine they need for relatively simple tasks. Unless your daily commute involves driving through a paddy field and climbing up a rocky hill with no roads, you don’t technically “need” a hardcore off-roader.

But you don’t buy things based on needs. You buy it based on wants. The need part is just something we tell our spouse/parents to justify it.

True, who needs a 180bhp sedan too, it can drive at 200+kmph. But actually it shows its character even in the way it reaches 40kmph, even when relaxed.

I'm hoping something similar from the Thar, if it can drive through paddy fields, so when I go through 'just' non-existent water and slush filled roads, it would be much easier for it and I'll maybe smile!

The timing is apt, I'm at the peak of my frustration, just came home scrapping my car's bottom on a 18 inch wide metal pipe stuck vertically in the broken section of the road. I was surrounded by very large trucks, with nowhere to go! (thankfully the Octavia gets a 2 month rain vacation every year to keep it safe!).

[vellatechie]

I hope we'll be able to put the new steering wheel in the old 2 Door Thar. The flat bottom design looks nice.

[himanshu1058]

Side profile spy pics (Source - Rushlane)