Why I booked the Mahindra Thar Roxx : Penning down My Likes & Dislikes

Although some 3D Thars that have been tastefully modified has caught my attention previously for their looks, I stayed away from it due to it being just a 2 seater.

BHPian Laks recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

After having seen, test-driven and booked the Thar Roxx, here are my observations. I will start with what I currently drive and why the Thar Roxx holds my interest to give some context. I have mostly had sedans all through my driving lifetime of ~25 years, my current ride being an M340i. Outright performance, handling and precision have captivated me for long and even when sedans were steadily losing their charm and SUV’s gaining prominence. Our ever deteriorating road conditions and the fear of scraping the underneath of my sedan have made me and my family members nervous every time we are on such terrain and has brought to fore the subject of SUVs being better suited to our roads. For other times when the roads are good, I am in heaven as a driver because such is the performance of the sedan. Now, what has suddenly changed that drew me to the Thar? There have been many a destination that I want to explore in a carefree manner, but, haven’t been able to given the sedan’s limitations. Although some 3D Thars that have been tastefully modified has caught my attention previously for their looks, I stayed away from it due to it being just a 2 seater. The Roxx has evolved well from the 3D Thar, addressing not only the seating for additional occupants but also seemingly better engineered (I am referring to the technical overview by none other than Mr. Velusamy in M&M, lucky I could understand Tamil. For others who don’t follow the language, Tripaccino has explained well in their YouTube channel, if you haven’t watched it, please do).
I will now get on to my observations:

Likes:
1. The Jeep Wrangler form-factor and the functionality it provides particularly in Indian road conditions is attractive.
2. Coming from a low seated driving position in a sedan, the driver’s seat in the Thar Roxx is overwhelmingly incredible.
3. Driver’s view of the road ahead and the view provided by the large ORVM’s are both excellent. Who needs 360 degree view?
4. Despite lower fuel efficiency, I liked the petrol drivetrain better for its refinement and power. Whilst being spoilt by the magical ZF 8 speed transmission in my M340i, I enjoyed using the smooth Aisin 6 speed torque converter.
5. The electronic power steering is a breeze to use, if you would like women in your household to enjoy the Thar Roxx, steering will not be their concern at all.
6. The step ladder and the grab handles makes it easy to get into the SUV provided you are reasonably fit; for others, I agree it would be a challenge.
7. The NVH and the overall suspension tuning using the Watt’s linkage seems to work well.
8. AC is very effective and cools down the cabin quickly.
9. Solid metallic roof as opposed to the fibre / plastic ones in the 3D Thar.
10. Sheer road presence! It was perhaps my first time to view a fellow Fortuner road user at the same eye-level or perhaps even higher.
11. Even the lower variants are well specified and it is attractive to those that don’t really have a need for a 2nd or 3rd car but would still like to have the Thar Roxx for fun (without spending much).

Dislikes:
1. The front grill has 2 issues – the design and it being body coloured. For the former, I am sure a Jeep Wrangler type after-market front grill will enhance the look and for the latter, it being black coloured will bring some sick contrast in colours like the Tango Red, Everest White.
2. The wire mesh behind the front grill seems very nominal and could have been more robust and better made.
3. The quality of the interior plastics and finish is sub-standard. The bottle holders in lower and higher variants have unfinished sharp edges. Hope M&M has a hawk-eyed quality inspector who will catch and correct this in vehicles that will be delivered to customers.
4. Continuing on quality of plastics, the ORVM and rear tail light housing have a piece that can be removed to access the screws – these are visible and could have been smoother and of better finish.
5. In the MT variants, the plastic above the ABC pedals interfere with your shoe tip.
6. The short antenna on the LH front side is installed in a slanted position in many Thars and not perfectly vertical – perhaps a small issue that can be corrected easily.
7. The length of the rear doors could have been a tad longer to improve proportion. However, I know not what other complications related to vehicle length and resultant costing it would have brought forth.

Overall, unless there is any bad surprises in terms of quality / reliability, the Thar Roxx feels like a great SUV to own and enjoy. May we all have a splendid Dusshera with the Thar Roxx arriving home.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.