The Thar has been the most successful vehicle that was launched in 2020. Despite discontinuing the base variants of the Thar and a camshaft recall, the demand for the SUV is just not diminishing. The waiting period for the Thar keeps on increasing. Currently, the waiting period for the Thar can extend up to 10 months for some variants which means that if you book your SUV right now, there are high chances that it will get delivered in 2022.
The waiting period depends on a number of factors like colour, variant, transmission and engine. Currently, the lowest waiting period is of the Convertible top for which you would still have to wait for 6 months. The Hard Top version of the petrol engine with the manual gearbox has a waiting period of 6 months.
Then there is the Hard Top version of the diesel engine with a manual variant, for which you will have to wait for 9.5 months to 10 months. The longest waiting period of 10 months is for the Hard Top versions of the petrol and diesel engines which come with the automatic transmission. There are a lot of reasons for the new Thar to be such a big hit in the Indian market.
Better dynamics
The new Thar is based on a ladder-frame chassis which has been reworked to ensure that the Thar offers better ride quality and handling dynamics. Yes, the Thar still has quite a bit of body roll, but it is still contained when compared to the previous generation. The suspensions are also well-tuned now and offer a much better ride quality when compared to the previous the Thar used to toss the occupants quite a bit. The ride quality has also been improved because Mahindra is now using coil springs for the front and rear, whereas the previous Thar used to come with a torsion bar for the front and leaf springs at the rear.
Petrol Engine
The previous Thar was only sold with a diesel engine which was pretty crude and noisy. But many people wanted a petrol engine because they are more smooth, refined and you can keep the petrol engines for 15 years as compared to 10 years of diesel engines.
Automatic transmissions
People have started accepting more and more automatic transmissions because they provide a lot of conveniences when you are stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. You do not have to continuously modulate the clutch pedal. Due to this, you can easily rely on one foot driving. The Thar comes with a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox which is offered with both petrol as well as a diesel engine.
Better off-roader than the predecessor
The new Thar is a better off-roader than the predecessor. Mahindra has worked to improve most of the things on the new Thar. It has a better ground clearance of 226 mm as compared to 200 mm of the previous one. It has a better water wading capacity of 650 mm where the previous one offered 500 mm. The departure angle has been improved from 31.6 degrees to 36.8 degrees and the break-over angle has been improved from 24.4 degrees to 27 degrees. The approach angle was reduced from 45.3 degrees to 41.8 degrees because of the new pedestrian compliance rules.
Can be the only car in your garage
The previous Thar was not really a daily driver. It could be your second vehicle which you could use on weekends. Reason being that it came with side-facing seats which were not really spacious and the ride was not really comfortable. However, the new one comes with front-facing rear seats, which has enough space for people to sit. So, now it can be the only car that you can own which can seat your family also.