There is a particular sound the Mahindra Thar makes when it’s idling, a low, slightly mechanical, diesel thrum that communicates something about intention. You don’t hear that sound and think about fuel economy or parking sensors or ambient lighting. You think about where you could go in it. That’s not marketing. That’s the result of what the Thar actually is and what it’s genuinely capable of doing.
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Aug 27 ,2026 - Time 10.30Hrs
The current generation Thar, which arrived in 2020, was a watershed moment for Mahindra. The previous Thar was a more Spartan machine, bones of the CJ series Jeep under flimsy sheet metal, functional to the point of being primitive. The new car retained the core off-road architecture but wrapped it in a vastly more resolved package, both mechanically and aesthetically.
Let’s start with the hardware. The Thar is available with two powertrains: a 2.0-litre mStallion turbo-petrol producing 150 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque, and a 2.2-litre mHawk diesel making 130 horsepower and 300 Nm. Both are paired with a BorgWarner-sourced transfer case offering a proper low-range 4×4 mode, not just electronic all-wheel drive that distributes torque electronically, but a mechanical low-range gear for genuine crawling capability. The approach angle sits around 41 degrees, the departure angle around 36 degrees, and the wading depth is rated at 650 mm. For a vehicle sold at this price, those are serious numbers.
The rear-wheel-drive-only variant was added later for buyers who wanted the Thar’s visual impact without the premium of 4×4, which created a broader audience and arguably drove the surge in lifestyle purchases, buyers who would never venture off a tar road but wanted to sit higher, look tougher, and enjoy the open-air experience that only a convertible-style SUV can provide.
Mahindra then took it a step further with the Thar Roxx, a five-door version launched in 2024. Where the original Thar was a two-door that genuinely penalised rear passengers with limited ingress and minimal comfort, the Roxx addresses every practical objection without sacrificing the off-road fundamentals. It adds rear disc brakes, a larger touchscreen infotainment system, ventilated front seats, and, importantly, a usable rear seat, making it a vehicle that families can actually consider without compromise.
For anyone calculating whether it fits into a budget, the Thar on-road price ranges from approximately ₹11 lakh for the base petrol 4×2 to upward of ₹17-18 lakh for the fully loaded 4×4 diesel, depending on variant and city. Those figures reflect both the engineering underneath and the brand equity the Thar has built. Waiting periods for popular variants have stretched to months, which is rare for a vehicle at this price band in India.
Looking at the broader Mahindra cars portfolio contextualises the Thar’s role nicely. Mahindra’s lineup now spans from the Bolero’s utilitarian rural positioning all the way to the XEV 9e’s premium electric ambitions. The Thar sits at the emotional core, the vehicle that people remember when they think about what Mahindra stands for.
The accessories ecosystem around the Thar deserves mention too. Mahindra has built out a substantial catalogue of genuine accessories, snorkels, roof racks, bash plates, side steps, winch mounts, that let owners personalise and upgrade without voiding warranties or relying on aftermarket fabricators with variable quality. This ecosystem is part of what makes Thar ownership feel like membership in a community rather than simply purchasing a vehicle.
Colour and variant choices have also expanded. The Thar now offers several body colour options including dual-tone combinations, and the open-air soft-top and hardtop configurations give buyers genuine choice based on their intended use, daily driver versus weekend warrior. The Thar Roxx, specifically, offers five additional body colour options over the standard Thar, reflecting Mahindra’s awareness that it now serves a broader buyer profile.
The resale story is worth noting too. The Thar holds value exceptionally well, low-mileage examples often command prices close to their original ex-showroom figures, driven by sustained demand that outpaces supply. For buyers calculating the total cost of ownership, that’s a genuinely useful number.
What the Thar really sells is identity. That’s not a dismissal, it’s an acknowledgment of something real. The buyers drawn to it aren’t necessarily planning weekly trail runs. They’re buying into a culture, a visual statement, and a machine that, unlike many lifestyle vehicles, can actually back up its aesthetic claims with mechanical substance.
When a car earns a genuine cult following in a market as price-sensitive and practical as India, it’s worth examining why. The Thar’s answer is simple: it does what it says, it looks unmistakably itself, and it asks the driver to engage rather than simply commute. In a landscape of increasingly anonymous crossovers, that’s a genuinely rare proposition.
