Born free

Mahindra has infused fresh life in the enthusiast centric market with the brand new Thar. It is not a mild rejuvenation but a serious step towards making the Thar a polished off-roader. We drive the diesel manual with a hard top

- Rahul Ghosh

The Thar was always hailed as a true blue SUV and rightly so. However, there was a problem. The Thar never got any luxury features of sorts and felt rather crude. While the world went berserk about its awesome capability, very few bought them. So here is the brand new one which according to the company has the potential of becoming your only car. But is it true? Let’s find out.

The Thar sticks to the old school and in fuses a bit of modernity as well. The front end is a quintessential jeep as before but the edges have been rounded off and LED DRLs have been added on the wider fenders. The grille though has slats set a bit too far apart and we think it could have been done better. Headlamps are once again halogens instead of being fancy LEDs. In profile one can spot the massive 226mm of ground clearance and short overhangs. The black claddings look brilliant and so does the hardtop. The massive 18in Ceat AT tyres add to the look of the Thar as well. At the back tail lights get the LED touch and look amazing. The massive spare tyre takes centre stage at the back and the rear door is now a two-stage affair and easy to operate.