re: Review: 1st-gen Mahindra Thar (2011 - 2019) I haven't test driven the THAR yet, but the only thing i am really curious to know about its on-road handling is the steering behaviour in around 100km/hr speed. Actually i posted this query earlier also but except the official review seems like nobody has experienced it. And the verdict of Khan & Tejas was not positive. If anybody else has the experience, kindly share. Quote:
Originally Posted by navpreet318 ...I have been told that this soft top is not your regular top provide by mahindra for years.It is from a vendor in pune who also supplies internationally.So what i have been told is that this is actually way way better than anything in india right now. |
As i told i haven't seen this in person, but from the pics it does seem that the quality of the soft top has improved. Quote:
...EDIT:There is a travel thread in the travel section where a guy from bangalore i think has gone to Leh in a soft top jeep with rain and snow and his wife along.Why don't we ask him about travelling in a soft top.I bet non of you can compare with him about driving with a soft top.
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.....Also regarding the soft top.I am actually pretty impressed with this travelogue- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...n-group-3.html
And this is not even the Soft top provided by Mahindra.According to Mahindra their soft top is somehting which has not been seen on any jeep till now.I am just hoping this comes out to be true and it is infact that good.Atleast till i accumulate the money for the Hard Top i would have somehting to cover my head with during the harsh weather.
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Well the guy is me and we have travelled from Delhi, not Bangalore. Thanks for liking the log. Coming to the experience of soft top, well it was not very easy to drive in this set-up particularly in the rain. There was no leak as such, but a soft top with soft door set up did allow some water in during excessive rain as encountered in few patches. Regarding dust, it is definitely an issue for someone NOT HABITUATED WITH JEEPS. Since we (me and wife) were determined to make the trip in the jeep and have been living with it for the past two years, it was not an issue for us. For snow and cold, well we had to take more precautions in terms of clothings just to be on safer side.
Btw, the soft top material in my jeep is actually better than what used to be provided from Mahindra before. It was an imported material picked up by Mandeep long time ago.
Overall i think the soft top being provided in the THAR should serve as a decently good protection. But people habituated with modern day cars in all probability won't get satisfied with that because no matter how good the material is, some amount of dust/water etc are bound to creep in. Hence a hard top in the long run will defnitely help to address a much larger customer base who were always smitten by the JEEP look but didn't take the plunge because of non-availability of one in a brand new avatar.
In some of the posts, i can see some comparisons with rebuilt jeeps. Well one just can't simply deny the fact that a factory fitted vehicle is bound to be leagues ahead in terms of reliability than a restored or refurbished one. There is no question about it and it should hold true for THAR as well.But, with guidance from knowledgable people, proper authorized workshops & mechanics and with genuine brand new parts, a restored jeep can also be made reliable enough to enjoy the Jeeping experience without much of hitch. Its just that in general jeeps are perceived as a breed of vehicle which can survive in cheaper or 2nd hand parts and hence usually not much of new parts go into those. Though the restoration process in itself is not an easy path and hence getting a brand new jeep off the showroom is the route to follow if one likes the JEEP appeal.
Cyrus, i do agree that the complaints about the finishing and stuffs are not deal breakers and probably can be managed by some touch up jobs (e.g. about the sharp edges and all). But with the launch of THAR, the jeep is not being perceived as an old school kind of a vehicle any more. Its now a brand new vehicle from a company available in the showrooms like any other modern day cars. And much more number of people will now be thinking of owning JEEP rather than the handful of enthusiasts as the scene was till now. So, nobody will be bothered about the 101 small niggles in an old jeep but in case of THAR all of those will be noticed in the context of a 6.5L on-road brand new vehicle.
Last edited by Kandisa : 31st January 2011 at 15:57.
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