Re: Mahindra Thar : Official Review Just a small update on this thread.
We drove the Thar (P AT HT) for a museum weekend at Hyderabad.
I had filled up around 36 litres Petrol the previous weekend to make a full tank because my plan was to take the Thar to Madras and back but I ended up taking the Cooper instead.
Anyway I had done some amount of internal driving in the Thar during that week but the tank in any case was showing full. The last fill was at 20867kms. We left my house for Hyderabad with the odo at 20900kms.
We filled petrol about on the way to Hyderabad in a big HP pump some way after the half way point marked by Hotel Hampi Blue Moon Delight where we stopped for breakfast and when the odo was at 21900 - 323kms since the last fill. The vehicle took in 30 litres so the FE is around 10.8kmpl. (normal petrol is expensive in TS at Rs 111.13 per litre) We then drove straight on to Hyderabad with a few short stops here and there and the usual battling through city traffic and so on and finally reached with the odo reading showing 21489. Inside Hyderabad we drove a little around Husain Sagar lake early morning the next day and a little bit of here and there through the city. The main visits to museums etc were done in the hotel car with their driver for reasons of pure convenience.
When we left Hyderabad we were at 21526kms and we filled a full tank at Shamshabad at that point. The vehicle took in 34 litres (normal petrol is expensive in Hyderabad at Rs 109.58 per litre). So the consumption now is at 9.88kmpl.
We then drove through the day, with a stop at the Pyramid Food stop for a cold butter milk and all, the. At a small place in Kurnool for a very light bite, then again outside Kurnool just off the road on a farm track to eat some fruit and again at an HP Pump in the middle of nowhere but which had an Amul outlet, because we felt the urge to eat iced lollies - it was in the afternoon heat. We kept driving until the DTE had come down to about 100km. And finally after crossing the KA border after Lepakshi and Bagepalli, well before Nandi Hills and all, we stopped at a nice Big HP pump which had apparently just received fresh stocks of fuel (we saw the tanker lorry finishing up the fill and going out as we entered). We were at 22022km and we took in 45 litres. (Thankfully Petrol in that part of KA is priced more reasonably at 102.44) and luckily in the city it comes down to 101.9 or so..) Anyway this means the vehicle returned 11.02kmpl which is pretty good also considering driving through the heat of the day. I am sure that there will be some loss through evaporation etc especially when the vehicle is parked.
We got back through the city in the evening traffic and finally parked up with the odo sitting at a reading of 22087kms in 26 months of ownership.
And now marks a nice long trip of 1220 kms on an excellent highway. Most of this Hyderabad trip’s driving was done with cruise control on and we stayed at the 80-90kmph speed and never crossing 100kmph. This was for the overall comfort of everyone in the vehicle (Dad, me and my wife plus light luggage by way of soft duffel bags and small knapsacks and the usual water and fruit and sandwiches). I drove most of the way up and down. My 80 year old Dad took the wheel for a couple of hundred kms just to ‘spell me’. He also drove at a constant 70-80kmph with cruise control on.
I was never tempted to go at higher speeds and was quite happy to be overtaken by all manner of vehicles. Mostly kept to the left lane. There wasn't all that much traffic. Occasional bif trucks trying to overtake each other and blocking the lanes and some helmetless rider propelled two wheelers but not much else.
For us to overtake required sharper acceleration to get past a few slower vehicles and the occasional unruly traffic needed sharp braking. And of course the regular stops and starts and minor detours to pit stops etc eats away at the mileage.
But on the whole if one drives steadily and uses cruise control it is possible to get reasonable mileage from the Thar considering the big powerful and thirsty 2 litre Turbo unit that propels it.
Last edited by shankar.balan : 17th April 2023 at 08:21.
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