New Mahindra Thar Detailed In Pictures

Water and dust resistant interior, removable panels and a convertible soft top are only some of the new Thar’s highlights

Update (02/10/2020): Mahindra has launched the second-gen Thar with prices beginning from Rs 9.80 lakh (ex-showroom). Read more about it here.

The Mahindra Thar SUV has finally made its debut ahead of its launch on October 2. Bookings will open on the day of launch and the prices are expected to range between Rs 9.5 lakh and Rs 13 lakh. Whether you are considering buying the new Thar or are just curious about its new features, these detailed pictures will certainly help your cause. Let’s begin with the exteriors.

The new Thar’s design is quite evolutionary in the sense that it still retains the silhouette of the previous-gen SUV. 

However, it now looks a lot more imposing thanks to the vertical six-slat grille which harks back to the SUV’s roots. The protruding bumper houses round fog lamps and features a purpose-built skid plate as well. The grille is flanked by round halogen headlamps which are complemented by LED daytime running lamps which find a place on the flared trapezoidal fenders. 

The wheel well is filled by 255/65 R18 all-weather tyres that wrap silver alloy rims. Lower-specced variants make do with 16-inch steel wheels.

A bunch of exposed hinges on the doors and bonnet along with Thar insignia on the outside rearview mirror and front quarter panel seem old school but add that much character to the exterior.

The side steps are a necessary add-on since the Thar’s ground clearance now stands at 226mm, a good 26mm higher than the old one. It also has a water wading capacity of 650mm. The 4x4 badging on the rear quarter panel will be present on all the variants as its a standard fitment for the Thar, just like the old one. 

Bits like the US-styled marker lamps on the fender and antenna on the left fender add character to the new Thar. 

The Mahindra Thar with its two-doors will feature multiple roof options: fixed soft top, a convertible soft top and a hard top. 

Move to the rear and the old-school charm continues with the spare tyre mounted on the tailgate, and rectangular tail lamps that get LED lighting. As you’d expect, the tailgate opens sideways. The interesting bit here is that the rear windscreen in the hard top version opens up like a hatch, giving you easy access to the boot. 

The new Thar’s doors feature bottle holders but their party trick is that they can be removed for a more hands-on off-road experience. 

Hop inside and you’re greeted by a blacked-out dashboard with bits of silver finishing around the central console and steering wheel. 

There are piano black and faux carbon fibre surrounds for the AC vents as well.

The dashboard retains the grab handle for the passenger but also gets a classy plaque denoting the chassis’ serial number.

The instrument cluster features an LCD screen for the multi-information display flanked by the analogue dials for the tachometer and  speedometer. 

A 7-inch touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto has been integrated for the sake of modernity. It also relays an array of information like a compass, tyre pressure monitoring system, G-meter, pitch, wheel angle, yaw and more that comes in handy while going off-road. It will also get smartphone and smartwatch connectivity through Mahindra’s Blue Sense app.  

Below the touchscreen are the controls for air conditioning and defogging. Further down are the aircraft-like toggle switches for the hazard indicator, airbag switch, and other features. Mahindra claims the interior of the new Thar is IP54 dust and water-resistant. So, you don’t need to worry about getting it a bit dirty while off-roading. The Thar gets two USB ports, an AUX-in and a 12V charging socket with storage for your smartphone below that. 

The 6-speed manual transmission gear and the shift-on-fly 4x4 manual transfer case with crawl ratio selector are standard fitments. Needless to say, the two sticks have been ergonomically integrated in the space. 

Since the doors are removable, the power window switches have been placed between the seats. Do not miss the roof-mounted speakers. 

The front seats feature ‘Thar’ branding on the backrest. The driver gets height as well as lumbar adjustment function, a first for the Thar. 

Front passenger seat gets the one-touch tip and slide mechanism to allow egress and ingress for  the second row. 

The second row gets three-point seat belts for both passengers in the four-seater version. There will be a six-seater version as well with the usual jump row seats in the back in the base variant.