[Malhi]

Got my Thar delivered today which i drove 35 kms back home from the showroom.

First impressions:

It is a jeep through and through. One would be foolish to expect car like performance/ comforts.

It is a true Mahindra product, which means niggles and quality issues crop up immediately. Here are some which i noticed in my 35 km drive:

Found some loose plastic covered screws under the rear seat. The caps on the rear seat belt hinges come off very easily. The rear door thuds when on bad roads. Cruise control did not work. Hazard lights turned on upon hard breaking. The cockpit is very dimly lit and the steering controls are hardly visible at night. The shaft cross makes that typical jeep clunk in 1st gear when the clutch is released in a certain way. The hazard triangle and the spanner kit do not have a dedicated place and make quite a rattle lying freely in the boot.

Sorry for being a little critical but i have not exaggerated one bit. It is what it is. More on the driving experience and some photos to follow in later posts.

[darkpython9]

Originally Posted by Malhi

The rear door thuds when on bad roads. Cruise control did not work. Hazard lights turned on upon hard breaking. The cockpit is very dimly lit and the steering controls are hardly visible at night.

Is yours a CT or HT, mine is a HT and did around 40-50 kmph on very bad dirt tracks and the rear door was solid. About the hazards coming on when you break hard, it is a safety function which you will find on most cars. It exists to intimate the person behind you to proceed with caution because you have braked hard. And as for the cockpit lighting, the settings in the infotainment system give you control to adjust and it gets pretty bright.
Also here's a cookie I discovered today. In the MID when you select the speed, hold the enter button down and it shuts off the light behind the speedometer and tachometer. Pretty nifty feature for long night rides if you ask me.

[Malhi]

Originally Posted by darkpython9

Is yours a CT or HT, mine is a HT and did around 40-50 kmph on very bad dirt tracks and the rear door was solid. About the hazards coming on when you break hard, it is a safety function which you will find on most cars....

Mine is a convertible top and the noise from the rear door is quite audible. I hope it is something which can be fixed.

Wow! I my initial thoughts were that the hazards were a safety feature but then my sceptical mind made me believe otherwise. Thanks for pointing it out.

I will certainly try and adjust the lighting to my liking tomorrow, hopefully that should take care of that as well.

Btw, the button on the right side of the steering column with a speedometer is the cruise control button right? Does it work or is it just a dummy?

Also, did you ever hear a noise from the shaft while reversing or starting in first gear?

[darkpython9]

Originally Posted by Malhi

Btw, the button on the right side of the steering column with a speedometer is the cruise control button right? Does it work or is it just a dummy?

Well, it is cruise control. Maybe you didn't engage it correctly?
1. Were you above 35kmph?
2. Was your clutch disengaged?
3. Did you try holding the set+ button till the cruise control light came on?
I maybe think it was point 3. But if your cruise control isn't actually working better get it checked at the shop.

Originally Posted by Malhi

Also, did you ever hear a noise from the shaft while reversing or starting in first gear?

Well, as I've mentioned, my Thar is an automatic and I haven't noticed any abnormal sounds shifting from reverse gear to drive. The manual control was also pretty quiet and normal.
But I've heard the manual gearbox has a slight clunk to it. I'm not sure of my last statement because I haven't driven or personally seen a manual Thar yet.

And last but not the least, I'm no expert in any of the matters so keep that in mind. Cheers.

[jkrishnakj]

The cruise control works very well. This is my first car with this feature and I thoroughly enjoyed it in the recent drives.

The model that’s working for me is to set cruise at 95 or so. When you need to break, try to get across a barrier or the reason you had to break with about 75-80 or so and get cruise on again. It gradually climbs up. I was thinking that it’ll be a sudden surge to the upper cruise speeds. I sort of love the way it picks up calmly. Not just that, in highways with slight inclines and declines, you actually notice the engine doing it’s stuff in cruise control engaged mode and see a +\- 2 in speeds.

I somehow never thought that cruise control could be a useful feature, but now, I’m a total
convert.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by Malhi

Mine is a convertible top and the noise from the rear door is quite audible. I hope it is something which can be fixed.
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Btw, the button on the right side of the steering column with a speedometer is the cruise control button right? Does it work or is it just a dummy?

Also, did you ever hear a noise from the shaft while reversing or starting in first gear?

Mine is a CT automatic, and the rear door doesn't make any noise. You should get this checked.

Cruise control works perfectly, like others have said - hold down on the on the + on the right steering cluster when you're doing highway speeds, not touching the brake or clutch (refer to the user manual).

I do hear shifting noises on my auto when engaging D (1st) or R(everse) - I always have my window down during the first start, and listen to how the engine softens after a second or two, and listen to the different sounds right from engaging D, moving a step forward, reversing out of my parking and driving off outside the gate - roughly 3 to 5 minutes of listening to the mechanical symphony

The sounds you are talking about are the rear differential getting engaged by the transmission - and easy to miss with windows rolled up even in a CT, or in noisy environments!

[Slipstream11]

Originally Posted by Malhi

It is a true Mahindra product, which means niggles and quality issues crop up immediately. Here are some which i noticed in my 35 km drive:

Originally Posted by Malhi

Wow! I my initial thoughts were that the hazards were a safety feature but then my sceptical mind made me believe otherwise. Thanks for pointing it out.

Many congratulations Malhi!!

I can imagine the euphoria around the delivery of your new vehicle, however I feel it will do you a world of good if you refer to the owner's manual.

I am sure you have the physical copy, I am sharing a link to the online version of the manual for your ready reference.

https://storagewyh.blob.core.windows...er-manual.html

Enjoy your ride!!

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by samanvya

6. Thanks to my driving skills and immaculate understanding of the height of the car, i have managed to poke a hole on the top of the soft top. The service center wants half of my ancestral property to replace the soft top. Is there any (inexpensive) way to repair it??

If its a small hole, you can use rubber patch used to repair puncture. Otherwise use Gorilla tape.

[highwaypatrol]

That may look patchy, instead best way to go about is to claim insurance and replace the soft top.

[samanvya]

Originally Posted by samanvya

However, I am facing a few minor issues every now and then and I am not sure how to tackle them. They crop up sometimes and when i take the car to service center everything starts working fine. The service center is more than reluctant to check the car when everything is working fine. So some suggestions would be great.

Comrades,
Thank you for helping me out on the issues i listed. That small advice of keeping foam on the side where the canopy touched the bar really helped with the vibrations of speaker as well as with the rattling noise.
Also a shout out to Mahindra team, who coordinated amongst themselves and sent a sensible chap from a different service center, who came to my home (after taking time from me) and looked at all the niggles I am facing and has assured to help. He understood the problems and was more than happy to find solutions.
Thanks Mahindra

[darkpython9]

Got the 70mai rearcam and dashcam installed today, I didn't was to use up the power socket for the dashcam. So what we did was, opened up panelling and connected another 12v socket inside the panels. Worked flawlessly, no wiring visible anywhere except above the rear view mirror where the ports exist. Adding pictures here.

[Malhi]

Originally Posted by Slipstream11

Many congratulations Malhi!!

I can imagine the euphoria around the delivery of your new vehicle, however I feel it will do you a world of good if you refer to the owner's manual.

Enjoy your ride!!

Thanks a ton @Slipstream11.

I don't know if it's just me but there is a permanent sinking feeling deep within because of the Covid situation and what it has done to so many families. Honestly, i am a little guilty about the timing of the delivery which happened to be in the middle of the pandemic. I couldn't even muster up the courage to call up friends and relatives. So, the euphoria is really very damped but i am glad you metioned because i already feel lot lighter having shared my feelings.

I just hope and pray that we beat this pandemic together and may God give tremendous courage to all those suffering.

However, i did go for a small morning ride to a nearby forest followed by a trip to a condolence meeting (sigh).

The ride quality is much better than the previous generation thar and so is the fitting of the soft top which does not flap much till 80 kmph. Two at the back sit quite comfortably and the reclining rear seats add to the comfort. However, the ride gets really bumpy for the rear passengers even on slightly uneven roads. The AC works very well for the front row but not so much for the rear as the plastic windows get quite hot. Insulation from dust is satisfactory.

The engine runs very smooth and is quite, the breaks are satisfactory too. Handling of the jeep is quite good and the high seating position adds to that. The cabin and the front screen together exude the unmistakable retro jeep feel.

Two additional issues were noticed today- firstly, the speakers at the top gave distorted sounds even on the slightest of base. Secondly, ABS-like grinding noise was recurring on undulating roads in the forest.

To sum up my two days, the Thar 2020 is a really good Jeep, far ahead of it's predecessors. However, it is still a jeep and shouldn't be bought as a replacement or to perform duties of a car.

Some snaps:

[justwheels]

Covid has pushed everyone into a very different world. Enthusiasm often gets clouded by fear, sigh and concern with things happening around.

My Thar, after 6 months, finally has arrived in the stockyard, loan papers are ready, first verbal evaluation of previous car is done. But, with 2 weeks lost with me and family down with covid and daily worsening situation in Bangalore and now announced 14 days lockdown means my Thar will not be mine till atleast next 20 25 days.

It's frustrating but looking around me, I feel guilty for complaining about this delay, the world has more tragic problems to handle. What strange times we live in now.

Stay safe all. Eagerly waiting to be able to share my delivery experience soon.

[Kolambifly]

Originally Posted by darkpython9

Got the 70mai rearcam and dashcam installed today

70mai seems to be the best offering available right now, would be great if you clarify the following points

1. How is the usability at night compared to traditional rearview mirrors? How good is the setup as traditional rearview mirror in night (assumin that we can switch off the display)

2.Is there a interference between the embedded displays output and the reflection from.the mirror surfaces?

[darkpython9]

Originally Posted by Kolambifly

1. How is the usability at night compared to traditional rearview mirrors? How good is the setup as traditional rearview mirror in night (assumin that we can switch off the display)

2.Is there a interference between the embedded displays output and the reflection from.the mirror surfaces?

Hey Kolambify,
Let me tell you, I've only installed it today and my experience and answers are limited to what I've observed today.
1. It is decent at night, although the camera sometimes has difficulty adjusting exposure to headlights of cars behind you. But if there's no headlights behind you, it does a very good job in the dark.

2. Very little to none. The reflections are almost like that of a rear view mirror. When the display is on, it pretty much has enough brightness to overcome the reflections.

So far, I've pretty much not used it as a mirror. Didn't need to. Camera got the work done well and good.