Mahindra
& Mahindra Ltd. unveiled the all-new Thar SUV on the occasion of India’s
74th Independence Day. The vehicle was
unveiled through a virtual press conference which saw, Dr. Pawan Goenka, MD &
CEO, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Sectors, and Veejay
Nakra, CEO, Automotive Division, M&M talking about the high points of the
new Thar.
The
new Thar will be officially launched on October 2, 2020 and its prices too will
be announced on that day.
Exteriors:
With a massive ground
clearance of 226mm in unladen condition, the new Thar has a Body-on-Frame
Construction. The new Thar continues with its 2-door shell, but overall there
have been several design changes. With a wider, better-balanced stance, the new
Thar now comes with a choice of hard top and convertible roof top options. The convertible
soft-top can be lowered manually in a matter of minutes. Also available is an
optional fixed soft top with removable side facing seats.
Coming to the front, you get
to see a smart fascia, with LED Daytime Running Lamps and Dual Tone Bumpers.
You also get front fog lamps. Surprisingly, the headlamps and fog lamps have
halogen bulbs, there is no LED here. The rear, however gets LED tail lamps. The
wheels are R 18 Deep Silver Alloys. Wheels. The standard tyre size is 245/75 R16,
the optional one being 255/65 R18 with 789 mm tyre diameter. The new Thar has
the largest tyre size in production amongst Indian SUV’s. R18 variants offer
white tyre lettering for just the right amount of visual flair while the R16
variants feature painted steel rims that celebrate Thar’s lineage. Variants
with R16 wheels are also compatible with snow chains for harsh winter
conditions.
The two doors of the Thar
are removable. These doors are engineered
for easy removal just by undoing three fasteners. With the Center console
mounted Controls for the power windows and instrument panel mounted speakers,
you can get rid of the doors with no compromise on entertainment or
convenience. A quick release electrical coupler for the door wiring harness
that can be stowed away makes the door removal process easy. The new Thar comes
with extra large Outside Rear View Mirrors with electric adjustment.
Interiors
The interiors get an
all-black theme with silver accents. There is faux carbon-fibre detailing
around the AC vents and centre bezel. The body-hugging first row seats feature
aggressive bolstering to hold the occupant in place during off road use. The
seats also feature adjustable lumbar support for first row occupants and height
adjust for driver. The co-driver seat can tip and slide with a single touch to
allow easy access to and from the second row. With adjustable head rests
available in all the seats, the front-facing rear seats come with 50:50 split.
Optional removable side facing seats are available for enhanced versatility.
The new Thar gets an all-new
7 inches touch screen infotainment that features Apple Car Play with integrated
voice command. The system also features on-board navigation in case the vehicle
moves out of mobile network coverage. Also available are dual USB ports and
hands-free Bluetooth connectivity. The system uses six speakers with four
located on the roof and two located on the instrument panel ensuring that the
speakers are functioning even with the doors removed.
The all-new Thar now
showcases vital information on what the vehicle is currently doing. This
includes but is not limited to Gear Position, Engine speed, 4WD Mode, Roll and
Pitch Angles, Power, Torque, Compass Heading and a G-meter. This data can be
conveniently pushed to social media handles to showcase one’s latest conquest.
Customers of the all-new
Thar will find it even more simple to reach out to the Mahindra Adventure team.
The all-new Thar will offer a built-in event calendar showcasing the upcoming
events schedule. One can even register their interest to join the event from
their all-new Thar.
The MID displays vehicle
parameters such as 4x4 Power Flow Display, Tyre Direction Monitor, Gear Shift
Recommendation, Instantaneous Fuel Consumption, Distance To Empty; to name a
few. The 3.5 inches TFT multi information display is flanked by a tachometer
and speedometer.
The cabin of the all-new
Thar is equipped with IP 54 dust and water ingress protected switches, for the
audio and cruise control switches on the steering wheel, the infotainment
system and the power windows. The steering wheel is tilt adjustable. And
something which is very important for SUVs, the all-weather floor mats are
easily washable. The floor features drain plugs that can be removed to wash the
floor after an adventure.
The on-board tyre pressure
monitoring system monitors the air pressure and tyre temperatures continuously,
that can be seen on the infotainment or the Bluesense app on smart devices. The
vehicle comes with central locking with
remote flip key.
Engine and Transmission
The
new Thar is powered by two all-new engines. A first for Thar and Mahindra, the
all-new Thar is powered by the 2.0 litre mStallion TGDi petrol engine, and by
the 2.2L mHawk diesel engine. These engines are offered with a choice of
6-speed manual transmission or 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission,
with 4x4 manual shift transfer case with
a low ratio.
This
India’s first indigenously developed BS-6 compliant 2.0L turbo charged direct
injection petrol engine, the– mStallion 150 is the country’s first 350 bar
direct injection petrol engine with a compression ratio of 9.5:1 that delivers
150 hp @ 5000 rpm and 320 Nm @ 1500 to 3000 rpm when mated to the automatic
transmission.
On
the other hand the India’s first all-aluminum 2.2L Turbo Diesel Four-Cylinder
new generation mHawk 130 engine which is BS VI is a 1600 bar common rail direct
injection diesel engine with a compression ratio of 16:1 delivering 130 hp @3750
rpm and 300 Nm of torque @1600 to 2800 rpm.
Off-road features
The
all new Thar is designed to approach things even more aggressively than its
predecessor. The ‘Four-Wheel Drive’
system in the new Thar with the dedicated torque split transfer case provides
50:50 power split. With the mechanical ‘Shift-on-fly’ feature and ergonomically
placed 4WD knob design, a smooth and convenient shifting from 2-High to 4-High
is possible. Further, shifting from 4-High to 4-low mode can multiply the
torque by 2.48 times to provide excellent low-speed crawling and rock-climbing
capabilities. The crawl ratio is 42:1 on both the petrol and diesel manual
transmission variants, which in essence means the vehicle can take on any off-roading
obstacle.
Other
capabilities of the vehicle include Electromechanical Driveline Disconnect for
the Front Axle, Mechanical Locking Rear Differential and Brake Locking
Differential (BLD) On Front and Rear Axle. The Thar has Independent double
wishbone front suspension with stabilizer bar and multilink coil spring rear
suspension.
The
new Thar has a Superior 41.8° Approach Angle, 36.8° Departure Angle And 27°
Break Over Angles with R18 Wheel And Tyre Combination. It also has 650 mm water
wading ability. Crucial components like electronic control units have been
placed at a level above the wading plane
Safety
Coming
to safety, with a completely new 3rd Generation chassis and new body design,
the all-new Thar complies to all applicable safety regulations including frontal
offset crash at 56 kmph, Pedestrian safety (Head and upper leg form impact). An
internal roll cage is available along with three-point seat belts with load
limiters and dual locking tongues on hard top and convertible top variants.
Driver
and co-driver airbags are available as standard on all variants. The Thar features
Electronic Stability Program with Vehicle Dynamics Control too.
The
vehicle is equipped with hill hold control to prevent roll back when moving off
from standstill on steep inclines. Similarly, hill descent control can be
activated to maintain steady progress while traversing downhill.
The
new Thar is available with dual ISOFIX child seat mounting points on the
second-row front facing seat. It also has
Rear Parking Sensors.