Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd announced two new versions of its sports utility vehicle (SUV) Thar, a Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) variant in two engine options and a Four Wheel Drive (4WD) version, on Monday. The homegrown automaker also revealed the Thar RWD’s prices starting at Rs 9.99 lakh for the new 1.5-litre diesel variant and Rs 13.49 lakh for the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol automatic trim.
Veejay Nakra, President of Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra, in a statement, said, “Since 2020, the all-new Thar has captured the imagination of SUV lovers with over 80,000 fans exploring the impossible every day… By offering the new RWD variants, we have made it much more accessible to those who wanted to live the ‘Thar life’, while our additions on the 4WD variant have been designed to please the true off-roaders.”
Deliveries for the new Thar are expected to start on January 14. However, it should also be noted that the announced prices are introductory and only applicable for the first 10,000 bookings. The new Thar doesn’t have any direct rival as of now for its RWD trim, but the Thar 4WD trim is likely to go up against the likes of the Force Gurkha and the upcoming Maruti Jimny.
Also Read: Mahindra electric XUV400 bookings to open on Jan 25, and the firm’s working on new EVs under brand B
New powertrain
Mahindra Thar’s RWD range will be offered with two powertrain options - a diesel unit powered by an all-new D117 CRDe engine producing 117 BHP and 300 Nm torque with manual transmission and a petrol unit with mStallion 150 TGDi engine producing 150 BHP and 320 Nm torque with automatic transmission.
The 4WD variant, on the other hand, will now come equipped with an advanced electronic brake locking differential and mechanical locking differential (MLD) as an option on the LX Diesel 4WD variants.
However, in terms of powertrain, the Thar 4WD line-up remains unchanged. This version of the SUV is powered by the 2.0L mStallion 150 TGDi petrol engine producing 150 bhp of power & 320 Nm of torque, and the 2.2L mHawk 130 diesel engine producing 130 bhp of power & 300 Nm of torque. Both these powertrain options are offered with a choice of 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
Exterior and interior changes
In terms of looks, both Mahindra Thar 2WD and 4WD look similar to each other, with the only exception of the 4x4 badge on the former. The company also offers two new exterior paint options on the SUV – Blazing Bronze and Everest White. Moreover, the 2WD version of Mahindra Thar will only be offered with the hard-top option.
The new Thar 2WD, on the inside, will come with features like auto start/stop function, traction control and hill descent control. Apart from these, most of the equipment and gadgets remain the same as in the other variants of Thar. The SUV will come with a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, electrically adjustable outside rear-view mirrors, cruise control and LED DRLs.
First Published: Jan 9, 2023 2:38 PM IST
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