Mahindra Thar vs Jeep Wrangler – Off-Road Specs Comapared!

The Mahindra Thar clearly draws inspiration from the Jeep Wrangler and while both the SUVs are worlds apart, here we have compared their off-road specs and the Thar will actually will not be left far behind.

Earlier this month, Mahindra finally took the wraps off the new-gen Thar and it is a quantum leap over its predecessor. For the first time, the Thar is more than just a rugged off-roader and one that even your family could appreciate. It is properly modern, sophisticated in design and features and comes with a petrol engine and automatic gearbox for the first time ever. It also undeniably draws its inspiration from the Jeep Wrangler and its hard to ignore their similarities in terms of design. Although both the SUVs are worlds apart, they are essentially hard-core offroaders more than anything else. We thus thought of comparing the Jeep Wrangler with the Mahindra Thar in terms of sheer off-road ability on paper and here’s how they stack up against each other.

Dimensions

The Mahindra Thar has typically always been a three-door SUV but while the Wrangler is also available in a three-door body style, Jeep only sells the bigger 5-door Wrangler unlimited model in India. Thus in terms of sheer dimensions, the Wrangler is of course larger than the Thar. However, the Thar is still taller than the Wrangler. The Thar is also lighter than the Wrangler and less weight can be really handy in certain off-road conditions.

Powertrains

Interestingly, both the Thar and the Wrangler use a turbocharged engine of similar capacity but the Wrangler is way ahead on terms of engine output. It naturally will also have the better performance. However, the Thar will really appeal to the purists as it offers a traditional manual transmission as opposed to the India-spec Wrangler that only comes with an automatic gearbox. The Jeep Wrangler also does not get a diesel engine in India while the Thar gets a 2.2-Liter diesel engine which produces 130PS and 300 Nm of torque.

Off-Road Statistics

This is where it really gets interesting and when it comes to off-road stats, there’s little separating the two. The Thar actually has more ground clearance than the Wrangler. For approach and departure angles, both the SUVs are quite close but the Wrangler edged ahead by just a little. The Thar has the upper hand in breakover angle owing to its much shorter wheelbase but again, the Wrangler has the better water wading capacity.

Also Read : Check Out The New Mahindra Thar Doing Some Serious Off-Roading!

Speaking of other off-road wizardry, the Thar gets shift-on-the-fly low-range transfer case with three modes on offer: 2H, 4H and 4L. It also gets a mechanical locking rear differential, electronic brake locking differential, and an electric driveline disconnect function for the front axle that allows for better transitioning from 2WD to 4WD. The Thar also gets features like ESP with rollover mitigation, hill-hold and hill descent.

Also Read : Here’s What Went Wrong With The Grille of the New Mahindra Thar!

Meanwhile, the Wrangler is unique with its Selec-Trac 4×4 system. The system features an active transfer case that automatically analyzes the terrain and sends the right amount of torque to the wheel that has most grip. The Mahindra Thar is expected to be priced between Rs 10-13 lakh while the Jeep Wrangler is is sold in India with prices starting from Rs 63.94 lakh. Both SUVs are very capable off-roaders but the price gap really says how much different they are from each other. Having said that, we believe the Thar will be right at the tail of the Wrangler in any off-road course.