Mahindra Thar Roxx: Thoughts on exterior & interior colour combinations

Since I already have the Brown (Mystic Copper) 3-door Mahindra Thar, I wanted to avoid the Burnt Sienna color, as it would be too close to the SUV I have been driving for almost 4 years now.

BHPian 84.monsoon recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

By throwing in the option of Mocha Brown interiors, Mahindra has launched a "Surprise Quiz" to prospective buyers on which exterior and interior color combinations will look best. Answers have to be submitted in less than 48 hours as booking open (and close) at 11:00 AM tomorrow!

Previously, after a lot of deliberation, I had decided to pre-book the AX7L Nebula Blue Roxx in 4X4 D AT guise with ivory interiors. Factors guiding my exterior color choice have been the richness and uniqueness of the color, ease of maintenance, and how well the exterior color would go with the ivory white interior, which was so far the only option.

On the exterior choices:

• Black is great, but would be way too commonplace. More than half the 3-door Thars I see on the street today are black ones.
• White looks great on the 3-door, but on the 5-door, the weird metal piece on top of the rear door shows up too starkly, and I hate this part of the Roxx's design
• Red a great color but too flashy for me
• Deep Forest looks great on the Scorpio N since that car has a simpler, more coordinated design. The Roxx with its various design elements already looks a bit crowded, and the uncommon Deep Forest shade adds to the complexity of the looks in my opinion. Hard to decide is it looks good or is a bit too much of good! Eliminated this color choice due to this confusion.
• Battleship Grey was my initial favourite, as it reminded me of BMW's classic Brooklyn Grey shade. I know that the Roxx Battleship Grey is a couple of shades darker, but it still looks good. However, the interior upholstery colours will not match this grey shade. The battleship grey exterior cries out for a black interior, neither the Mocha Brown nor the Ivory White goes well with the Battleship Grey exterior in my opinion, this is the reason I had to eventually drop Battleship Grey
• Since I already have the Brown (Mystic Copper) 3-door Thar, I wanted to avoid the Burnt Sienna color, as it would be too close to the car I have been driving for almost 4 years now. Else, this would have been a good color option.
• Finally, coming to Nebula Blue, it's an intriguing colour - a very dark shade of blue, not too dissimilar from the Imperial Blue of BMW. The dark shade will hide the quirky design above the rear door. Though the exterior will be harder to maintain, I felt that when clean and polished, it will really look grand in bright light. The front grill from the factory also looks the least offensive in this particular colour. The Ivory white interior goes very well with this exterior. I decided to choose this exterior colour in the end.

Now the googly about the possibility of Mocha Brown interiors had me thinking again, as the exterior and interior color combination needs to work well together for me. Given how quickly the Ivory White Upholstery in the Roxx is getting dirty and stained, the introduction of Mocha Brown gives me a huge impetus to change my booking to this interior colour, as it is available in the specific variant of Roxx that I was going to book (AX7L 4X4). However, I was not initially sure if the Nebula Blue exterior would go well with the Mocha Brown interior.

I tried to lay out all exterior and interior combinations of colours on a slide. Although it was difficult to get the exact color shades and the resulting output did appear differently on different types of screens (Macbook, Mobile phone etc.), this attempt gave me a bit more clarity on which combinations might work best.

I think the following colour combinations would work best:

• Black Exterior - Either Ivory White or Mocha Brown would work well, but Ivory white would look a little better IMO.
• White Exterior - Mocha Brown would work well - Ivory white will be too boring as everything will be white, in differing shades, avoidable in my view.
• Red Exterior - Mocha Brown works better, Ivory White is less well suited here, but still acceptable.
• Battleship Grey Exterior - Neither interior color options work well, black interiors would have been the best here.
• Deep Forest Green Exterior - Mocha Brown would work better with the rough and ready army look of the Jeep in my personal opinion, but Ivory White is also acceptable. Neither make the exterior and interior look "made for each other" though.
• Burnt Sienna Exterior - The Ivory White would work well here. Mocha Brown will not work, as the multiple shades of brown in the exterior and interior will look uncoordinated.
• Nebula Blue Exterior - I think as it is a dark shade of blue, both interior colors will work well here.

After all of this deliberation, I decided to change the interior color to Mocha Brown and retain the Nebula Blue exterior color, which I still think is the best color for the Thar Roxx.

On Mahindra's Speed of Launch of Mocha Brown Interiors

It is with a stunning speed that Mahindra has reacted to customer and media feedback, to bring the Mocha coloured interiors to the Thar Roxx. It is obvious that they have been listening to market and customer feedback and acting quickly to design the new interiors, and incorporate the required parts and specifications into their supply chain. Given that the Thar Roxx has been in development for more than two years, it is inconceivable that Mahindra would have not have launched the Mocha interiors as an option at launch, if it was always on the cards.

Developing and launching an entire new interior color option would normally take months. Remember that it is not just the upholstery on the seats that needs to change, but a large number of plastic parts on the lower dash area, the door trims on all 4 doors, the armrests, side areas of central console etc. that would also have to be changed to the brown colour. This would normally take many quarters, but M&M have, at least on paper, promised to deliver this interior colour starting in January. Assuming they had actually decided to launch the project to add a new interior color scheme in September, after the media drives of the ivory-coloured interior cars, this means they would have managed to design the interior, create mockups, rejig the supply chain for the new interior trims, as well as the seat Upholstery - all in just 4 to 5 months from start to finish!

I'm pretty sure this would be a new record for the automobile industry in India. This type of speed in product introduction is what it takes to compete in the future of the automobile industry. Chinese EV makers have blazed the way by introducing new models and facelifts at an astonishing speed. To be able to compete with these companies globally in the future, Indian automakers have to develop the kind of agility M&M have exhibited here.

However, our regulatory bodies, both at the Central and state level, such as Road Transport authorities involved in the approval of new models and significant model revisions, have to act much faster and simplify the regulatory and testing requirements changes which do not affect safety, fuel efficiency etc. - For example, other than the engine, transmission, moving parts, safety systems etc. - cosmetic interior and exterior upgrades, including facelifts should be allowed to come to the market with less regulation, such as extensive and onerous testing and approval requirements.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.