Mahindra has given us some good news this week. The company much anticipated Thar SUV could finally come in automatic variant. The new-look Thar is shaping up to be the ideal offroader for auto enthusiasts in the country. Mahindra is likely to debut the car around October this year, but sales could probably be pushed to early 2021, depending on the market trends.
The carmaker talked about the automatic variant of Thar in its latest earnings call for the financial year 2020-21, quoted in this Autocar report. “This is a flagship initiative. It brings in the core product of Mahindra and comes in a wide variety, aggregates, automatic…the works. It will create a new segment,”Rajesh Jejurika, executive director – Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra Group was quoted saying.
Thar has been extremely popular for its off-road abilities, and something that doesn’t’ cost a bomb. But the new Thar is expected to get wholesale changes which include design, engine and features that have never been part of this SUV. Earlier reports said the SUV could launch in August but understandably the timeline has been pushed by another few months.
The new Thar could be powered by upgraded version of Mahindra’s 2.2-litre mHawk engine, which will be available with 6-speed manual or automatic transmission.People have even spotted a nearproduction-ready version of the SUVand by the looks of it, this new Thar is going to be bigger, better but also pricier than before.
The SUV’s design ensures there’s extra space inside for more people, something that was always an issue for buyers of the Thar. That’s not all, the new Thar will support the latest connectivity features like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay which will work through an infotainment screen. You might feel these features are a bare minimum for a car these days, but that’s exactly what the previous generations of Thar have been lacking, limiting its day-to-day usage.
We can’t wait to see what the new Thar will offer and more importantly, how Mahindra prices the popular offroad SUV in the market.