Due to the upcoming Bharat Safety norms for existing cars from April 2020, next-gen Mahindra Thar is under works. It will get a new body platform and might be longer than the current model.
Mahindra revealed its plans for the future, which stated that the brand might stop some models. The primary reason is that certain models are generating low sales revenue and are costly to upgrade to the upcoming safety and emission norms. There are chances of Nuvosport and Xylo facing the axe, but it’s another old product, Thar is safe from that. Actually, Mahindra Thar is one of the most popular off-roaders in India. However, now, Thar is gradually getting recognised as a lifestyle vehicle too. So, Mahindra is now working on the next-gen Mahindra Thar to upgrade it to the upcoming safety norms and make it BS-VI compliant.
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Mahindra Thar is an established off-road player in the market and has been dominating the market for quite long. Also, there have been reports that Mahindra is planning to make Thar a ‘cult’ brand. Since a long time, it has been used by adventure junkies who like to play it hard. However, Mahindra plans to make it an adventure-cum-lifestyle car in the coming years. Following which, Mahindra might plan to make it more efficient and capable of everywhere driving.
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The interesting bit is that this will be the first major step away from the original CJ chassis on the Thar, and is likely to reflect all of Mahindra’s learnings through its very dedicated approach to the adventure lifestyle.
The current model of Thar came out in 2010. Mahindra Thar first received a makeover in 2015, which came with updated cabin and a detachable soft-top along with new bumpers and wheel-arch claddings. The most recent update to the Mahindra Thar was some cosmetic touches and comfort improvements like a better air-conditioning and a soft top.
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Currently, Thar sports a 2.5-litre diesel producing 105bhp and 247Nm of torque mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The four-wheel drive variant gets a Borg Warner manual shift with low reduction gear. Although it lacks in locking differential, we expect the next-gen Thar to get the locking differential feature. Prices for the Thar currently start at Rs 6.47 lakh, ex-showroom.
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Mahindra Thar comes with the basic features, making it a proper old-school looking off-roader. It features an Air-conditioner, Rear ac vents, independent front suspensions, engine immobilizer, front disc brakes and a heater.
Thar is available in two variants – 2WD and 4WD. Currently, Mahindra Thar competes with Force Gurkha, as both are proper off-roaders in India. However, Mahindra Thar is portraying as a lifestyle vehicle. So, the upcoming version of Thar is likely to get more comfortable and more features in terms of technology and safety.
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Recently, the Thar Wanderlust and Thar Daybreak were launched based on the donor Thar CRDE. The exterior of the Wanderlust Edition has been painted in electric blue matte paint shade. Most of the body panels are new and gives this machine looks like a new identity. It rides on huge 33-inch tires draped around steel wheels.
It also gets Gull Wing doors, pioneer touch infotainment, reverse parking camera, two leather-clad racing seats from Sparco and a bonnet mounted high lift. For the Wanderlust edition, the buyer has to buy or give his Thar for modification which goes up to Rs 13.8 Lakh (without taxes). We expect the next generation Thar to receive such modifications as well.
