[TheStoryweaver]

I am surprised and glad to see a review dropping in so early. Nowadays, majority of brands make customers wait for more than a month to learn about the prices or how the car performs on the road. Kudos to Mahindra for this.

The 5D Thar is definitely going to attract many buyers, especially in Punjab and Haryana. I have one question for the moderators regarding the integration of the rear camera in the spare wheel. Isn’t that location vulnerable to damage in case of a spare wheel change?

[shortbread]

Despite the intense competition in the 4.3m SUV market, the Creta is poised to maintain its stronghold, largely due to its significant brand appeal and the anticipated launch of its EV version. It remains a sought-after choice for families, reminiscent of the Honda City back in the heyday, during its peak. However, rival models such as the vitara/hyryder, Elevate, Seltos, Kushaq etc... which are seen as lesser contenders in the segment, are likely to experience notable sales declines. The emergence of Roxx and coupe SUVs has really disrupted the landscape, shaking up the market dynamics. Great times for the buyer.

[standardherald]

One of the most desirable cars launched this year. Mahindra knows what Indian’s want and how much they are willing to pay for it. I think a certain category of Creta/Seltos buyers, i.e those with multiple cars in their garage will consider this instead if it’s easy to drive in the city.

[SnS_12]

Any idea what is the kerb weight? It seems even the diesel version will manage only single digit fuel efficiency in the city and that maybe a bother point for many prospective buyers and may look at other fuel economical alternatives from the Mahindra stable.

[Kashi053]

Thank you Aditya, Jaggu for an awesome review.

Regarding ride & handling - how comfortable Roxx is compared to Jimny?

Also since you recently reviewed the 2024 Wrangler, can you do a quick comparo between Roxx & Wrangler on ride & handling, offroad capability etc?

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Mahindra has shown that it will build 3-door offroaders, even if demand is low. 1st-gen Thar did under 1000 units / month, yet was consistently on sale for a long time.

- Jeep too, internationally, builds the 3-door Wranger, even though its sales are poor compared to the 5-door. Land Rover keeps building the 3-door Defender.

Agree. Biggest example of doing such blunder is Maruti who introduced only the 5 door variant of Jimny in India at exorbitant price point to recover the initial R&D cost quickly.

They could have easily put the 2 door version on sale along with the 5 door version at introductory price point of like 8-9 or 10 lakh. That way they would have gotten more persistent footfall showing interest in the tiny offroader. There are many people who want a second/third fun car for weekend gateways or offroad/motosport events where cabin space is not important but the budget and size is. This type of vehicles are usually 'wish', not 'need'.

If a person steps in the showroom for the 3 door Jimny with the initial budget of around 10 lakh, there is high probability of picking the 5 door version from the same showroom even at 13-14 lakh when he considers few more practicality aspects. But since they do not have the low price variant and have only the higher cost variant at a price tag of 14 lakh then the buyer considers other options in that price range and heads to the showroom where he is getting more VFM product.

Unfortunately Jimny has already gained the image of overpriced car and now started looking much more overpriced in front of the 13.99 lakh price tag of 5 door Thar, so expect the remaining market response fades away soon for the Jimny, unfortunate for such a nice and unique car but thats the cruel reality.

On the other hand Mahindra has been repeating the successful strategy of introducing the lowest variant at very low introductory price despite you never find that variant at that price tag in any of their showroom. But since you already stepped in there with your interest in their car, you are easy convert for them on the upper variants or other models.

[dgindia]

Thanks for bringing out the Thar ROXX review super quick.

Did the team get chance to have off-roading experience with the vehicle ? It would be great if off-roading capability is added subsequently ?

What is the ground clearance, is it suitable for driving out of metro city, with large craters formed on road ?

Thanks again for the detailed review within a short span of time.

[abaliga]

The glass area is healthy. Notice the white section above the rear door which breaks the flow of the roof. The C-pillar thickens as you go downwards from the roof. While I hated some of these design elements, Jaggu made peace with them.

Except for this nonsensical design element which thankfully can easily be covered by a wrap (looks like the second row cabin was stuck to the 3 door Thar by a local body shop), this is an extremely desirable product! Mahindra has polished it just right to make it family friendly, I see a genuine use case for this to be a primary vehicle for the household now and enthusiasts will not have as tough a time convincing the home ministry to buy this guilty pleasure!

[Slushmaster]

Awesome! Overall the Roxx looks like a much more sophisticated/ family oriented offering than the 3 door sibling. I somehow feel that Mahindra wants to target customers from Hyundai and Kia and could be one of the reasons for not revealing 4wd prices. I am sure they will put more focus on marketing it as a Family car with lots of potential for weekend trips and exploration. I am happy what Mahindra is doing and waiting for the bookings to open. Maybe this time I will get a nod from High Command to buy this

Thanks,
Slushmaster

[emperor_raizen]

My personal take on Polarizing Thar Roxx looks:
Design is acceptable apart from that side look. Seems to me that the metal roof is welded as an afterthought. Probably a sneak peek into a future open top Roxx. This may also be the case to cater to export market demand and trend in an off-roader.

This seems to be a strategy to expand the Thar ecosystem (perhaps, create a new segment altogether) and not to outcompete anything else at this price point. We've reasonably more comfortable and butch SUV in the form of ScorpioN(+classic) and XUV700. We have urban cruisers like monocoque FWDs for families.
This is Mahindra's unique strategy of creating an ecosystem for each of their product type. It's like their way of giving varied products to an evolving and aspirational market like India.

[sapien]

Thanks for the excellent review in such a short time, Team-BHP is really the gold standard in terms of knowledge about Indian Car Scene!

Thar as a product is at a similar place where Royal Enfield was a few years back, very aspirational and accessible for common masses. The savings done by previous generations, lack of saving culture in current generation and multiple inflows of funds in growing Indian economy has led to higher disposable income in younger generations and hence success of such products. Hitting the right chord with Nostalgia is another factor.

Coming to the 5 door Thar, its positioned and priced really well. Mahindra has added all the goodies from Scorpio-N and XUV700 to make this is a well-rounded product. Specifically, the improved ride quality should bring it under consideration of many family buyers. In terms of variants, Thar has a 5-seater fully loaded AX7L variant, which is missing in XUV700, and it's almost 25% cheaper than XUV700 in top end trim. Just when XUV700 demand had started tapering off Mahindra has launched the next blockbuster, really have to appreciate the product planning department.

[Doge]

I may be in the minority here but for me one big advantage of the three door Thar over the 5D is that you can get a 4WD variant without a lof of gizmos and stuff which can and would likely break as the car ages. I wish they launch a barebones 4WD variant too with all the safety features and everything that is just necessary. The digital instrument, electric parking break, electric seats, sunroof seem to be a bit too much for me.
I was wondering if there are any changes to the B pillar since it has 6 airbags? What is the reason why the 3 Door doesn't offer them?

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by Doge

lI wish they launch a barebones 4WD variant too with all the safety features and everything that is just necessary.

Highly probable that they will introduce it soon after the initial euphoria ends. They have the mid spec z4 4X4 in Scorpio-N too. The market for these is usually very less, thus having such a variant is not desirable for the manufacturer to have during the initial phase given it can lead to inventory pile-up and thus discounts.

[a023624a]

Controversial thought .. to me, name doesn’t matter at all. Name it whatever, manufacturers. As long as the vehicle is up to my liking, doesn’t matter. When I’m driving it or even affectionately gazing at it from outside, its name won’t grab even 0.00000001% of my attention.
But, I respect the thoughts of all for whom name is important.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by dgindia

Thanks for bringing out the Thar ROXX review super quick.

Kudos to Aditya, I just drove and was ranting comments. He has done the real work. Love you bro and great capture of details as usual.

Did the team get chance to have off-roading experience with the vehicle ? It would be great if off-roading capability is added subsequently ?

Rained out ground meant, we were just given a demo. Fellow bhpian took us around the track and showcased the offroad features which seemed pretty impressive. I am on personal travel, more of it when I get back to Bangalore.

What is the ground clearance, is it suitable for driving out of metro city, with large craters formed on road ?

Will check brochure later in the day, but it is more than adequate. The whole offroad session there were no scrapes, which included pretty good articulation pits.

Originally Posted by Doge

I was wondering if there are any changes to the B pillar since it has 6 airbags? What is the reason why the 3 Door doesn't offer them?

The whole roof is redesigned from scratch, so A, B and C pillars have got sections that act as "roll cages" and would be much more safer compared the the 3 door.

@All - keep posting questions here, would love to hear em and respond back in more details. Just quote me please, so that I do not miss em.