Living it up!

We take the new rear-wheel-drive Mahindra Thar for a trip to see how it works for those that want it all from their vehicles; in the city, on the highway and out on an adventure

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It started with the question that, I'm sure, has tormented many an automotive-inclined mind over the years. The question prima facie, like most things that suck you into a labyrinth of confusion, was simple enough - "what makes a perfect car?" As we asked the question around the office, we got a few interesting but contrasting answers. Some said things like "it has to be rear wheel drive" and "it has to be fuel efficient and do at least 700 kilometres on a single tank of fuel," others mentioned that. "it has to be easy to drive and park in the city" and that "it needs to tour effortlessly and have plenty of space for equipment and adventure gear." And then there were the rational-minded thoughts like, "it has to be inexpensive to buy and run" and that, "it should look good as an extension of my style." Damn! This wasn't going to be as easy as we thought.

Our job though, aside from asking our colleagues silly questions while they try to work, is to answer these very hard questions. And after skimming through the entire catalogue of cars on sale, we quickly realised that there was absolutely nothing that could check every box. Some came very close but nothing, not one that ticked all the boxes. We had almost given up, till our friends over at Mahindra reached out to tell us about a new car that they were working on. Rear-wheel drive only, 117bhp, 300Nm of torque, diesel, and an iconic body shape to boot. So we asked them to send it over, packed our bags and set out to do some serious automotive journalism. Or something like that.

The car in question, if you haven't already figured out from the bright red Thar in all the spreads of this story is a Thar, but this one isn't any ordinary Thar.