Mahindra is getting ready to reveal the new Thar 5-door SUV in India next month – Ahead of that, new spy shots have leaked online
If there is one product in lifestyle segment that doesn’t need an introduction anymore, it is the Mahindra Thar. Ever since Mahindra revamped its Thar CRDE to what it is today, the lifestyle segment as a whole has gotten a lot more popular than it used to be.
Being the first properly desirable lifestyle vehicle has its perks. Thar 3-door is now one of the hottest SUVs in the country. Demand is soaring and with that, the waiting period has taken a similar approach. Despite that, Mahindra is getting ready to launch another variant of Thar, Thar 5-door.
2023 Mahindra Thar 5 Door Interiors Spied
With Jimny on the horizon and Gurkha in the immediate periphery, Mahindra is set to make its Thar even more appealing. Thar is currently offered in a 3-door layout. This hampers practicality for people looking for that one car to do it all. With 5 doors, Mahindra will widen the horizon for Thar’s appeal.
With increasing frequency between instances of test mules, one can predict that a launch is nearing. Thar has been spied again and this time, it reveals a lot more info than it did with previous test mule spotting. Latest spy shots of 2023 Mahindra Thar 5 Door are credited to Talking Cars. Hat tip to Rushlane Spylane member Aaronwins for sharing the update.
R Velusamy, Mahindra Senior VP & Head of Automotive Product Development, has confirmed that 5-door Thar will be based on Scorpio N’s platform. Which is based on a heavily modified Thar 3-door platform. 81% of this platform is made up of high-strength steel. For Scorpio N, chassis stiffness, handling and high-speed manners were given priority over Thar’s robustness.
With Scorpio N’s platform, one can expect the rear suspension for improved comfort. He stated that 2022 Mahindra Scorpio’s platform will be tweaked for length alterations for the upcoming Thar 5-Door. Apart from changes in length and wheelbase, Thar’s overall look and feel will be retained along with its features list.
New spy shots of the Mahindra Thar 5 door give us a closer look at the interiors. It has a similar dashboard design to the current Thar 3 door. The front seat layout is also similar. Rear seats offer decent legroom and there seems to be a good enough boot space on offer as well. Rear seats are in 50:50 split, and are foldable.
Some key features include round headlamps, 7 slats front grille, LED DRLs mounted on its fenders, 18” alloy wheels and a lot more. Outgoing Thar’s tailgate will be retained as is and it is not yet known if Mahindra will offer a convertible option with 2023 Thar 5-door.
Features & Specs
With increase in size, Mahindra can provide more oomph to 5-door version as compared to 3-door version. Figures close to Scorpio N is a probability too. In Scorpio N, the 2.0L turbo petrol motor generates 200 hp of power at 5,000 RPM and 370-380 Nm of torque. Coupled with 6-speed MT and AT.
The 2.2L diesel motor is available in two states of tune. Expensive trims get 172 hp and 370 Nm with MT and 400 Nm with AT. This engine is also offered in 130 hp and 300 Nm configurations on lower trims. Unlike Thar 3-door, 5-door version is not likely to come with 4X4 as standard to get the pricing attractive.
Rivals are Maruti Suzuki Jimny 5-door and Gurkha 5-door. Force Motors is set to spoil customers with options like a 6-seater, 7-seater, 9-seater and even a giant Gurkha, based on Cruiser MUV, with 13-seater configurations. Upon launch, expect the Thar 5-door to be about Rs 1-2 lakh more expensive than the Thar 3-door version.