Introduction

Tyre size and brand: 255/65 R18, Ceat Czar AT

Ground clearance: 226mm

Off-road gear: 4WD with a low range transfer case

Price: Rs 17.04 lakh, on-road Delhi

The Mahindra Thar was launched in this second generation for the Indian market in 2020. Our car for the 2021 off-road day was a fully-loaded LX hardtop diesel manual. At the heart of things is Mahindra’s 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine producing 130bhp/300Nm. It’s been mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and of course, gets 4X4 technology.

The off-road hardware is pretty comprehensive with an automatic locking differential, manual-shift transfer case that can switch between 2H, 4H and 4L, hill hold as well as hill descent control. It’s built on a ladder-on-frame chassis but with modern suspension (to make it road-friendly) and brakes. The Thar rides on these massive 255/65 Ceat Czar all-terrain tyres which, in addition to adding to the car’s capability, also gives it that proper mud-plugger/ dune bashing stance.

In terms of numbers, it has a ground clearance of 226mm, an approach angle of 41.8-degrees, a departure angle of 36.8-degrees and a ramp over angle of 27-degree, all very impressive numbers for treading the path least/ not taken at all. While all these make up the mechanical appeal, you also get some tech appeal in the form of TPMS, dedicated off-road menus and sections both in the touchscreen system and colour MID. These menus show angles, steering direction and G-Forces.

How did it do during the Off-Road Day?

Let me start by asking a question, how do you assess something that you know is already very capable? The Thar has all the requisite hardware and numbers to make it the mechanical equivalent of a slightly large mountain goat, a good thing whichever way you look at it. With a minimum standard set, it then became a question of Goat or GOAT and that’s how I knew which way to assess the Thar.

One of the most basic things when going off-road is to have sufficient motivation from the engine and at the same time, its availability quite early on. The 300Nm of torque is available quite low down in the range, so much so that we kept the car in 4H the whole time and all you had to do is put it into first, clutch out and the car would roll on its own at a measured pace.

The gear shifts felt accurate if not slightly heavy and that's reassuring in an off-road scenario where precise movements are needed. There was hardly any turbo lag and the initial short gearing favoured the twisty terrain that we experienced at the off-road location. You never felt a loss of momentum or confidence to tackle an obstacle. The steering at low speeds was slow and devoid of feel but that's a very good thing as it won't let you get overwhelmed in a tight situation. I had expected a certain amount of kickback. It finished the slalom test in 42 seconds and took in four penalties making it the third slowest car on the list.

Thar’s advantage over the other four was also that it was the shortest car off the lot and thus moved faster through the obstacles. It was only beaten by the Wrangler because the Jeep’s front wheels had a bigger turning angle. The Thar’s hill-hold function worked well with no slippage but finding the bite point on the clutch required some precise footwork. It was one of the cars that made use of the shortcut on the gymkhana and achieved a time of 1.37.0 beaten only by the more expensive and superior Wrangler Rubicon which did it in 1.32.00.

The Ceat Czar tyres provided some excellent grip and never felt skittish or gave the impression of slipping no matter the terrain. The modern suspension meant that it rode well and never let you down even when the path got rough which was quite a bit considering we were in a live stone quarry.

The Thar made easy work of conquering terrain and provided just the right amount of drama to keep your attention. It gave a novice off-road enthusiast (like yours truly) confidence to push harder because it has been designed to make minimal work of everything. The high clearances, easy availability of torque, hill hold function and the brake locking differential all felt like specialist tools well above the ability of the driver. Unlike the rest that had shift-on-the-fly mechanisms, the Thar was ‘old-school” with a stubby lever in the centre console to let you switch between the various drive options. Switching between 2H, natural and 4L took hardly any effort but to go to 4L you had to push the lever quite hard.

The Thar topped the acceleration and braking test in part due to the off-road suite but also due to the short wheelbase. We would have liked discs at the rear but honestly, you don't feel the need for the extra stopping power. It did the 0-40-0 test in 5.1 seconds covering a distance of 28.1-metres and came out marginally ahead of the Skoda Kodiaq which has a bigger suite of electronics and rear discs but running on road tyres. Moreover, in the beaker test, we lost 120mL from the 500ml.

Gymkhana and tests

The Thar was outstanding across the Gymkhana course. The fact that it finished second among five SUVs we had for the test, despite being the only other manual apart from the V-Cross, speaks volumes. You see, with a manual some of the driver’s mindshare is consumed in working the clutch and the gear shifter, which can affect the duration, especially if a manual transmission doesn’t bring any advantage with it. The Thar, with its Hill-Hold feature, its Ceat AT tyres, its short dimensions, and not to mention fantastic clearance and approach angles made easy work of everything from the slippery hill climb to the ‘shortcut’ to the jagged rocks section.

Conclusion

GOAT or Goat? Well, both. This new second generation Mahindra Thar made easy work of completing the gymkhana as well as other off-road tests with respectable times and if nothing else, emerged as the best of the three ladder-on-frame chassis vehicles. Yes, it has some chinks in its armour but its ability and off-road prowess out-weighs these chinks. You say lifestyle vehicle, we say affordable specialist tool to go off-roading and not worry about getting stuck.

Photography: Kapil Angane & Kaustubh Gandhi

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