Mahindra has emerged as one of India’s major SUV manufacturers and India’s best-selling traditional SUV manufacturer by a great margin. The latter is due to the massive success of Scorpio brand (Classic and N) along with Thar and Thar Roxx. Mahindra is on a path of continuous evolution and is on the verge of updating Scorpio N, Thar and Thar Roxx.
You might have seen Scorpio N facelift spy shots and more recently surfaced 2026 Thar facelift spy shots with elements from Thar Roxx. But an update to Thar Roxx is also underway and it has been spied on quite a few times. Let’s take a closer look at the possible changes.
2026 Mahindra Thar Roxx Spied Testing – Is It The 1.5 Diesel?
A couple of 2026 Mahindra Thar Roxx test mule instances have surfaced, thanks to automotive enthusiasts Shubham Rajoria and Vasanth. One might dismiss them thinking these are older test mules undergoing routine testing, but Mahindra is known to launch variations of their vehicles later on in their respective life cycles.
Thar 3-Door RWD, Thar 3-Door 1.5L Diesel and 2025 Thar 3-Door update are stark examples of this. If we project a similar strategy on to Thar Roxx, the fingers seem to be pointing at a new powertrain for this 5-Door lifestyle SUV (not officially confirmed).
If we look at the powertrain options currently offered with Thar Roxx, we can see that the missing piece of the puzzle is a 1.5L Diesel engine, which is offered with RWD variants of Thar. This is a potent engine and has emerged as a popular choice with Thar 3-Door. This engine was speculated to be launched with Thar Roxx at a later stage, which seems to be nearing now.
Thar Roxx currently starts from Rs 12.25 lakh (Ex-sh) for MX1 2.0L Petrol RWD and Rs 13.48 lakh (Ex-sh) for MX1 2.2L Diesel RWD. If Mahindra is coming up with a Thar Roxx MX1 1.5L Diesel, it would act as a new base variant with an even better entry-prices across the trim levels, boosting sales further.
What to expect?
If Thar 3-Door 1.5L Diesel RWD is anything to go by, Thar Roxx 1.5L Diesel is likely to be the most popular configuration for buyers who prefer this lifestyle vehicle for its looks and road presence, rather than its capabilities. While at it, we wish Mahindra also brings an automatic gearbox for this 1.5L Diesel engine, which is currently missing in Thar 3-Door.
Features will likely remain the same, with respect to its respective trim levels. Not that Thar Roxx needs any new features as it already is quite loaded. Mahindra has not confirmed this development. Mahindra is working on Hybrid powertrains as well (Petrol + Electric) and Thar Roxx could be a recipient of it too, but possibilities are meek as Mahindra is speculated to employ a new platform for its Hybrid vehicles.
Thar Roxx enjoys quite a niche in the market, but the recently launched Tata Sierra and its desirability factor could prove to be a challenge. What better way to tackle it than a more affordable Thar Roxx, eh?
