Re: Mahindra Thar : Official Review The Story of Ronin- My Thar
Friends, It has been 8 months since I have had Ronin- Mahindra Thar ( LX diesel, HT, MT).
For those of you who have a liking for Japanese movies, you may know that a Ronin is a masterless Samurai in feudal Japan, wandering from city to city and mountain to mountain, seeking purpose in life. That is why I have named my Thar as such, as I feel the vehicle is a misfit- not comfortable enough for full families, not a great mileage muncher, while having a distinct character of its own.
This is my only and primary vehicle, and after clocking 17000 kilometres, I feel confident enough to write a brief personal review which may be helpful to those who are still sitting on the fence regarding the Thar . Mine is the LX diesel, HT, MT, with the galaxy grey shade.
Why did I jump on the Thar bandwagon?
• Ever since I was a young boy, the only vehicles that would catch my fancy would be jeeps in their various avatars, modified MM550s and 540s, quirky Willys, and Mahindras. Even before I was mature enough to know the finer details of automobiles, the rugged nature of jeeps and their go anywhere attitude fascinated me.
• Comfortable crossovers like Cretas, Xuvs etc (I refuse to call non-4*4 cars SUVs) are better for families, but I needed a vehicle solely for my own usage, with occasional co-passengers.
• There have been numerous incidents in the past decade of so since I have been driving, that I was sitting in a sedan or crossover, and got stranded due to mud, a berm near an under-construction highway, waterlogging etc, while an old-school Thar or Bolero just cruised ahead. It made me think- one doesn’t need to go to mountains and rural terrains, proper off-road environments exist in our metropolises.
• I wanted a tall vehicle which navigated potholes and undulating roads with equal panache, and was therefore, was willing to forego butter smooth ride quality.
My Driving Experience
1. The Thar is not a normal car by any means, it’s a full-blooded SUV, don’t expect it to be as comfortable as your Honda City, and driving the Thar gives a great commanding view of the road which I think makes me a better driver.
2. As soon as the roads go bad, you will thank yourself for investing in the Thar, as it can take immense punishment, and its height helps wade through urban water logging on roads, and muddy or dusty trails that dot the side roads in our cities and towns.
3. The air conditioning works fine in the North Indian heat, although I can’t say it is the best.
4. Brakes are not as bad as the reviews make them out to be, I feel they are more gradual as the Thar is a heavy vehicle. In fact last month, I narrowly missed a major collision when two ubers crashed into each other just 100 metres ahead of me , I applied the brakes hard and the car stopped in time to save my life.
5. You will immediately get used to the body roll, and I do not feel I notice it anymore.
6. Fuel efficiency of the diesel mill hovers around 12-14, although I admit I have never tried the tank-to-tank method.
7. I love the placement of the speakers on the roof.
Conclusion
I feel a lot of folks are buying the Thar solely for its looks, and some will get bored of its brutish nature and lack of creature comforts, especially now that the novelty factor is gone. I had the opposite goal- getting a tough and go-anywhere real 4*4 SUV within my budget ( 16 large Gandhis ) and the Thar beautifully fulfills this niche. Every single day when I see my Ronin standing in the basement parking , I chuckle to myself, and wish for rains so I can take it out for a spin, or some random errand where I need to cross potholes. |