For the first time in its journey, Thar will have to face a strong challenger in upcoming Maruti Jimny
Launched in 2020, new-gen Mahindra Thar continues to register strong growth. Waiting period has reduced with time, but it is still around 6 months on an average. To ensure customers have more options to choose from as well as manage rivals like Maruti Jimny and Force Gurkha, Mahindra is working on a 5-door version of Thar.
Spotted on road tests quite frequently in recent months, 5-door Thar will make its debut next year. 5-door Jimny is also expected to be launched in 2023. It will be an interesting battle, as Thar dominates Indian market, whereas Jimny (3-door version) is a global bestseller.
5-door Thar sunroof
Current-gen Thar already has a comprehensive range of features that bring overall experience closer to that of standard SUVs. 5-door Thar will work to further improve its positioning as a family-oriented SUV. One of the key updates is single-pane sunroof, as seen on one of the test mules spotted recently. Sunroof could be a variant-specific feature and may not be available across all trim levels. 5-door Thar is unlikely to get a soft top option, but there could be a hard top variant with removable panels.
Current Thar does not have a sunroof and there’s no need for it, as it already has the manual convertible top variant. Adding soft-top option to 5-door Thar doesn’t seem practical, which is where the sunroof comes into play. There could be a new range of comfort and convenience features that are not available with existing Thar. With the updates, 5-door Thar will be offered at a higher price point.
5-door Thar engine, specs
Being heavier and tasked to carry more passengers, 5-door Thar could have the 2-0-litre petrol motor and the 2.2-litre diesel motor in the same configuration as offered with Scorpio-N. On-board Scorpio-N, the petrol unit generates 200 hp of max power. Torque output is 370 Nm with 6-speed manual transmission and 380 Nm with 6-speed AT.
Diesel motor is offered in two states of tune, 130 hp and 172 hp. The former is available with only manual transmission and delivers 300 Nm torque. In the higher state of tune, torque output is 370 Nm with manual and 400 Nm with automatic transmission.
Thar diesel outputs 130 hp / 300 Nm, same as lower configured setup used for Scorpio-N diesel. Thar petrol has slightly different numbers at 150 hp and 300 Nm (6-speed manual) / 320 Nm (6-speed torque converter automatic).
Apart from being longer, 5-door Thar isn’t expected to be majorly different from existing Thar. Several of the features will be same, for example, round headlamps, slatted grille, wheel arch cladding, bonnet latches and LED tail lamps.
On the inside, Thar has tilt adjustable steering wheel, USB charging ports, 12v accessory socket, manual day-night IRVM, HVAC, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, engine start-stop system, BlueSense App connectivity and voice commands. Safety kit includes tyre pressure monitoring system, rear parking sensors, ESP with roll-over mitigation, dual airbags, anti-theft alarm and panic braking signal.
