[bblost]

I will not write much on The Thar. But as a traveller who usually does his trips solo.

I ride a bike:



To see beautiful places:



and sleep under the Moon:



With just some thin tent to keep me warm:



I cannot think of a better vehicle that will take me to the edge, and....

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

[libranof1987]

A terrific account of a terrific vehicle!

Having taken a close look at GTO's Thar, both while parked and in its true element, on an off-road trail in Pawna, I can attest to how well it has been done up. The modifications are tastefully personalized, while also adding suitable enhancements, especially in terms of the suspension, tyres and lighting. This thing is now wildly capable! And then, a soft-top as an icing, for those late night drives under the clear sky.

With the 530d for the company, this balances the garage supremely! While the 530d has the highways covered, the Thar allows for a stunning variety in capability: the suspension upgrade makes it a decent city rider, and there's little validation needed for the Thar's off-road credentials. Wise choice getting the petrol; removes all the possible anxiety regarding DPF issues, while also ensuring longevity - so important since you tend to keep vehicles for long!

Congratulations, again, and wish you a lovely ownership!

[Aditya]

One of the most nicely modified Thars I have seen on our roads. Very tastefully done up exteriors with the black 5 spoke wheels, metal bumper and much better radiator grille. It's very unique and can't be mistaken for any other Thar.

The best modification, however, is undoubtedly the upgraded suspension. It just makes the car much better to live with.

Good move going for the convertible soft top. Nothing like open top motoring! Also looks much cooler than the hard top.

Wish you many years and miles of happy motoring!

[manson]

I had my first automotive wet eye back in 1994. 11 then, I had tagged along with my father to handover the our most loved Maruti 800 at Vitesse. My mother had learned driving on this car. She was the first of the ladies on our paternal and maternal sides to have learned driving. She learned driving in order to run errands, do the school drops, club pickups and everything in between. The 118NE was two years old and since we replaced cars at 4 years back then the 118NE was going to our mom’s car whilst my father would get a new one for himself. The only way to do this was to get around replacing the aging (all of 5 years then) Maruti 800. We were replacing this car with a very special car, the remorse was almost immediately going to be filled with tons of joy.

The fascinating sales advisor (probably someone from the Vitesse family) asked us our color preference and my brother and I instantly said Black. She said Maruti had the white, red and Neptune Blue as the only available options. Brother and I immediately said Neptune Blue, father not being one to bother about trivial stuff smiled and closed the booking. Must mention at this point that he could have gone ahead and booked a sleek Maruti 1000 or the civil Maruti Zen but this I feel was one purchase he made for his and our hearts. I remember it being a Neptune blue and not just any other nomenclature of blue. The blue wasn’t important really. The important part was that it was going to be a Soft Top Gypsy in Neptune Blue. We LOVED the experience, it was like nothing else we had been in and every drive was surreal as a passenger. It was sleek, sporty, rugged, etc. all packaged into one, and yet we didn’t have a clue what was 4 wheel drive. I remember my father asking a driver in the building what the second gear lever was for (the family had a white hard top Gypsy) and he asked him to engage it when driving in hilly sections, rains and generally rough surfaces. Over the first few months my brother had helped him choose some nice functional yet tasteful accessories! My father enjoyed it for a couple of years, driving us to far off places (The Gypsy really lived up to its name) without a care before he upgraded to the Esteem. The Gypsy was handed down to my sister who used it daily for college, club, taking us younger siblings for a drive to Seaface and so on. But by 1998 the Gypsy had been passed on to my brother and this is when things went Crazy! There was renewed interest in the Gypsy! The full soft top was replaced by the half top, big, rather massive side mirrors, big tires, racing stripes and nicer sounding Pioneer removable head unit! He drove it everywhere, 2 wheels, 4 wheels, all that and more. But deep down he hoped for a tints, hard top and most importantly air conditioning. On a rather somber Sunday morning an uncle came over, signed the transfer papers and off went our fascinating dream which despite its shortcomings was a car all us remember at home very fondly even today.

Speaking of a Maruti Gypsy in a thread dedicated to a Mahindra Thar thread could be sacrilege to some but that is exactly what driving GTO’s Thar invoked in me. The Thar has so much soul and emotion that you overlook the shortcomings without flinching! I had first driven the Thar on a Sunday afternoon back when the team had the media car for a review. Despite having had the car for a half a day I could not resist overshooting GTO’s place by 5 Kms to only enjoy the Thar for that little extra bit. I enjoyed it but I also remember waking up the next morning with an aching body. In my late 30s then and used to relatively comfortable commutes the Thar wasn’t for me.

I remember GTO telling us his Thar plans with so much conviction. Red, convertible soft top and despite some herculean effort for convincing him to get the Hard Top he didn’t budge over the convertible top. The man really likes going topless! Personally though I didn’t think much of a Red, convertible Thar. Fast forward 18 months and the much planned Red Thar had arrived!


Few weeks into the Thar purchase some of us caught up at the Pawna holiday pad (long overdue!) and on a lazy Sunday afternoon after a really long night of partying I took the Thar for a spin on the country roads. Shaken up and every joint in my body hurting from the night before I wasn’t very happy about how the Thar was tackling the bad roads. After 5-7 odd Kms I got some well paved roads and I mentally decided to turn back from wherever the bad roads start again.


Don’t get me wrong, the Thar will tackle the bad roads just find and with zero heartburn but the A4 suspension I’ve been used to for close to 2 years now was just far more comfortable over the same broken stretches with some babying and heart in your mouth moments. The stretch of good roads ended up lasting till the next village which was considerable distance. Somewhere in between I had bought a chilled bottle of water to beat the heat. Kept sipping on the bottle of water to keep my body hydrated whilst unknowingly the driving was hydrating my soul..

I love the cabin of the Thar, the materials, black interiors with Thar badging and the stamped plate are just so perfect for this vehicle that I wouldn’t have it another way.

To nitpick I’d say Mahindra has plonked the worst steering wheel I’ve experienced in an otherwise very upmarket cabin. A meatier wheel with some leather would have really kept things consistent with the rest of the cabin. Another great touch (I think aftermarket) is the set of super wide arm rests on either for the second row, so good that my son fell asleep using the armrest as a pillow when I took the kids for a spin around town on a Sunday afternoon!

The really tall and wide stance, overhead speakers for the music (what a delight), minimalistic yet loaded cabin, there really isn’t anything to fault the feel of the Thar!

The gearbox and petrol engine are bloody spot-on, and call me side switcher (TFSI baby!) but I’m not sure I would have had as a good an experience with the vibrations induced by the diesel engine.

Its not all honeymoon and before some of you consider a cut copy paste I’d like to highlight the few negatives or dislikes:
Tires: The tires on GTO’s Thar are bit too noisy for road use and I’d recommend anyone getting these to have a proper detailed experience before swapping to these. They are very noisy.

Suspension: GTO’s Thar with its very expensive suspension was just about liveable for me. Having had a weak back I can confirm that the stock Thar is anything but a daily driver for anyone with back pain issues. Even with the suspension upgrade it was far from pliant. But then again the first generation Creta is breakeven point for me with regards to raised ride quality.

Soft top / convertible Top: Whilst its good to experience topless driving on a leisure Sunday or a later night drive, the flapping will annoy you and your passengers once out on the highway and with the lack of NVH will have questions coming your way from passengers and from within yourself when stuck in traffic.

Fuel tank lock: This was just penny pinching by Mahindra for such an expensive and otherwise nicely done vehicle. I had no idea the fuel tank lid needs to be opened by physical key but the attendant at the petrol pump was familiar with the antique fuel tank locking mechanism of the Thar (regular customers with those fuel efficiency figures lol).

The lowdown: For just under 16 Lacs OTR Mumbai the RWD x Hardtop (far easier to live with) with the full sized 2 liter engine, autobox and safety ratings is just perfect for the urban legends who don’t care much about offroading as such and want to try something different with lots of persona.

[SDP]

I had driven the THAR for about half a day when it was launched and was being reviewed by TeamBHP. Have a small write-up about that experience somewhere on the THAR review thread. What I distinctly remember is that the THAR is a love-at-first-sight vehicle with amazing road presence and is actually fun to drive.
When GTO mentioned that he is getting the new THAR, I knew this one is going to be one famous Jeep that's going to be as iconic as his old jeep. With Omkar and Akshay helping him out with the mods, I knew the THAR is in the right set of hands.

Got to see it in person at Pavana and was floored by how well it has been done up. The upsized tyres and alloys are absolutely droolworthy and make GTO's THAR that much more menacing. At the front, the new proper off-road bumper looks very functional and underlines that this car is not going to be just mall hopping.

During the one and half day at Pavana, I could have driven GTO's THAR, but chose not to as there were a bunch of non-Mumbai based Mods who had come in and they would not get a chance to drive GTO's THAR as easily as the Mumbai based Mods.

I did sit in the THAR and had a look at the interior Mods. The AC vents are fantastic and gel really well. The 2nd row is obviously cramped but now have more creature comforts with the newly added arm rests on the sides.

The ride with the upgraded suspension is actually livable. The petrol engine sounds nice. Hopefully I would get to lay my hands on this beast some time soon. Actually looking forward to it.

Wish you many happy memories, loads of kms and a trouble-free ownership experience with the new THAR!

[navin]

Several of the Moderators met in mid-March at GTO’s little hideaway near Pawna lake. Although living close to Pawna in Mumbai, I am ashamed to say that I was one of the last to arrive. On arrival, I saw GTO’s Thar parked outside and wondered if the younger Mods would coerce me into sitting in it. I had sat in another friend’s stock Thar and wasn’t happy with the experience (my age and lack of flexibility posing a challenge).

The next morning, fellow Mod Vid6639 grabs GTO’s Thar keys and tells Eddy and me “let’s go for a drive”. I was very apprehensive. What had these 2 (Vid6639 and Eddy) connived? Still, I went along on one condition, I won’t sit in the back. Eddy kindly took the rear seat and off we went with Vid6639 driving along the dirt roads of Pawna. At some point, we decided to turn back; Vid6639 turns to me and says “you are driving back”. My mind went blank. Damn, that’s what these 2 were up to! They wanted to take an old uncle out and taunt his limited driving skills & lack of alacrity.

Very reluctantly, I took over. Turned on the engine and in about 5 seconds, I was charging through the dirt roads at about 3x the speed Vid6639 had achieved earlier. The Thar never gave me cause for concern. It felt planted and sure of itself, the car goading me to push it harder. Although I was on unknown terrain, I was able to chuck it around corners with confidence. I blew past a few smaller cars on those narrow roads and spun a left-handed hairpin. Engine braking was spot on.

It became quite obvious this wasn’t the same Thar my friend has. This one handled superbly, the tyres always felt planted (even though Vid6639 claims I was driving on 3 wheels at some point) and even sliding the rear was done in a measured manner. I am NOT a “car guy”. On normal days, I am chauffeured to and from work on a Camry’s luxurious backseat and don’t really care to negotiate Mumbai’s traffic. But this was fun.

As we approached GTO’s hideaway, I had half a mind to execute a turn / spin using the hand brake, but Vid6639 was already squealing like a 16-year old girl and I felt he might wet his pants if I ended on that note.

Exhilarated and feeling renewed, I parked the car and got out. Vid6639 was still squealing. The unflappable Eddy calmly got off, like it had been a normal drive. If I had the parking (damn you Mumbai), I’d buy a Thar in an instant and then hand the keys to GTO to modify it exactly as he has done his. It would be the perfect car for my wife and me to take to the club.

Thank you GTO for a fantastic drive.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Rehaan]

A great new chapter, or should I say new volume in your Jeep story GTO!

Just 2 days ago a group of friends were waiting outside a restaurant for the valet, and there was a grey Thar parked right there.

My friend said something about his Dad considering a Thar, and his wife said the Thar has a certain vibe that only a handful of cars have... in her words "like a Thar, or a Mustang"

In some ways, a 30+ year old guy in India allowing himself to buy a Thar is the equivalent of a guy in the US finally buying a Mustang or a Corvette. In terms of vehicle - it might be a chalk and cheese comparison, but in essence and feeling, it's interestingly similar.

Wish you many happy years & miles.

[GTO]

Thanks for the wishes, all .

Originally Posted by Rehaan

"like a Thar, or a Mustang"

Completely agreed with the Mustang. I've had the exact same thought a hundred times. There are a lot of similarities between the Mustang's positioning in USA and the Thar's in India.

- A whole lot of people buy one for the style & image. It's the no.1 motivator

- That being said, they are useable on a daily basis too

- Both have cheaper variants to appeal to the masses, taking away from the purity of the original formula. E.g. 4-cylinder engine in the Mustang and the RWD variant of the Thar

- Both stand out and are very "different" options from other cars in the same price band

- Both are priced such that their starting variants are very affordable to anyone considering a new car

- Good reliability

- Cheap maintenance costs

- Wildly popular with sales numbers that exceed expectations. Mahindra never, ever imagined the Thar doing 4000 units / month

- People buying the Mustang / Thar are making many compromises versus other same-price (more practical) crossovers & sedans. The Mustang is 2-doors, has low seats etc. Thar has 2-doors, a bumpy ride etc.

- Very rarely do affordable cars attain an iconic status. The Mustang did in the USA, the Thar did here.

- Unbelievable aftermarket support for both

- For many, the Thar / Mustang is their only car.

- Both have a "feel good" factor that greatly punches above their weight, matching or exceeding way more expensive cars.

- They are great at what they do. The Mustang is now a great handler, while the Thar is a great off-roader.

- Both get convertibles

- Competition is there (Camaro, Challenger, Jimny, Gurkha), yet the Mustang / Thar maintain their sales lead. The Thar 4-door will ensure that the nameplate remains the no.1

- Mahindra doesn't yet have a premium brand or equity or expertise, but I hope one day, we will see a highly-tricked out variant (like the GT350) with mods & performance boosts from the factory itself

[shankar.balan]

Thats a very nice detailed review.
The photos of the red convertible Thar look really lovely.
Cant help loving it more each time one sets eyes on it.
(I like that cheeky little Jeep decal !)

[Dr.AD]

Wow! A great review of a great car! Your Modified Red Thar looks absolutely stunning, and your passion about the car is oozing through the review. This is one of the best looking Thars in India. The modifications are very nice too.

Great photography too! Amazing work by @Omkar in taking such lovely photos that bring out the beauty of this machine. The first couple of photos on the top of the thread are just gorgeous, and so are many others photos later in the thread too.

I must say Thar looks awesome in Red. The Red and Black combo looks amazing on most cars, and even more so on Thar.

As a recent Thar owner, I can relate to all the points you mentioned in your review. It is truly a magical machine whose "power of attraction" is well beyond the dry specs and things like ride quality. There is something in the Thar that makes you want to drive it all the time, not just because of its strengths, but in spite of its shortcomings, and that is the magic I am talking about.

Congratulations on the beautiful Thar, and wish you many happy miles on it. And thank you for penning down the detailed review and for the detailed information on modifications. This will certainly be useful for fellow Thar owners.

Originally Posted by GTO

My Garage

The diversity is by design = a fast turbo-diesel sedan, a fast turbo-petrol limousine, a modern turbo-petrol Jeep, an old Jeep with a naturally-aspirated diesel and the beater car of the house.

You have got a truly great garage now! Great to see such well maintained cars together in one picture! Congratulations on owning such a nice and diverse garage!

But what surprises me more is my family insisting on taking the Thar out so much, bumpy ride & 2-door practicality be damned:

This was a surprise to me too. My wife likes to be in Thar for every drive now, in spite of the bumpy ride and the body roll and the NVH and so on. There is something in this machine that maker her like it beyond what could be logically deduced by the specs and the dynamics. Earlier, she hated riding in the SX4 once we got the 320d. She loved the ride of the 320d, which is truly good anyways, and once she got used to the 320d ride, she started hating SX4. I was very sure that she will hate the Thar ride even more. But here is where that unknown magic happened which made her like the Thar so much so that she prefers riding in Thar now more than riding in the 320d. I sometime start believing that life is driven by some unknown magic, and not by the engineer's logic.

[Nair.V8]

Ever since i met GTO & his Thar at this years charity drive to Shirole, I've been eagerly waiting for his ownership review of this beast. This is hands-down one of the most tastefully modified Thar's I've come across!

As a fellow Thar owner i enjoyed reading every single detail mentioned here, I've fallen in love with the Thar all over again! Also, big thanks for creating the post 'Good-looking & powerful LED headlights for the Mahindra Thar', as a result of which i ended up getting Stedi headlamps for my Thar as well.

Wishing GTO a safe & joyful ownership experience. I look forward to our next meetup with the Thar's!

[Kosfactor]

Congratulations, that is a hot looking Jeep, wish you many many miles of fun and adventure. Remember to drive it like a Jeep

GTO owning a Thar is important because Team-bhp is where Thar story begins, our archives have a treasure trove of information. I'm sure BD Sir would have wanted GTO to own one at some point , it's finally home.

Making a Jeep that can be driven so easily around town, on to the highway and yet crawl up the side of a mountain , yeah that's quite something. Wife - loves it, she had loads of fun driving around in Mahindra's off-road track, she did most of the obstacles on her own , Thar makes it so easy.



Leaving you with a quote of Mr. Clarkson.

“It’s what non-car people don’t get. They see all cars as just a ton and a half, two tons of wires, glass, metal, and rubber, and that’s all they see. People like you or I know we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities… You can develop a relationship with a car and that’s what non-car people don’t get… When something has foibles and won’t handle properly, that gives it a particularly human quality because it makes mistakes, and that’s how you can build a relationship with a car that other people won’t get.” ~ Jeremy Clarkson

[Mustang Sammy]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks for the wishes, all .



Completely agreed with the Mustang. I've had the exact same thought a hundred times. There are a lot of similarities between the Mustang's positioning in USA and the Thar's in India.

-

Awesome review. The writing, and the work put into the mods is truly a labor of love.
Am (almost) thinking if I should’ve gotten this (hardtop) or waited for the 5-door Thar instead of the ScorpioN.

Was also thinking exactly about the convertible Mustang (which I am fortunate to have owned many moons ago, when it was not quite as well handling as the newer (post 2004) models.
That car was also a head turner, and the feeling of driving with the top down on a sunny day was worth every extra dollar I paid.

Everyone should drive a convertible at least once in their lives, regardless of what car they own.

[Jangra]

“Right from Horse’s mouth”
“Putting my money where my mouth is”
You have always been true to your words. Thanks for Sharing your feedback
Your review is going to sway away Jimmy buyers towards Thar.
What a review GTO
Hats off to your passion for CARS. Even though your garage looks awesome, I’m waiting on which EV will join their ICE siblings?
Wish you another atleast four decades of fun with your very special Thar!