Remember this Indian-built Jeep Wrangler lookalike we reported on a couple of months ago? Well, you can catch the Mahindra Thar launch live this afternoon at 1700hrs AEST. That’s right, the Mahindra Thar launch will be broadcast live and you…
That’s right, the Mahindra Thar launch will be broadcast live and you can catch it online at this link. But make sure you’re on the case because it’s now just a couple of hours away.
As we revealed back in August, the Mahindra Thar is a fun-sized two-door 4×4 will land in Australia in the first half of next year. It will come with Hard Top, Convertible Top and Soft Top roof options, and it can be ordered with in four-seat or (in India) a 2+4 seat configurations with inward facing rear seats.
There are petrol and diesel engine options, the former a 2.0-litre mStallion TGDi petrol engine making a claimed 112kW and 320Nm and the latter a 2.2 litre mHawk diesel engine making a claimed 97kW and 320Nm. Either engine can be mated to either a six-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox, in turn mated to a part-time shift-on-the-fly 4X4 system with a high and low ratios.
The Thar features separate chassis construction and sports an IFS (independent front suspension) and a live-axle rear with coil springs. The IFS should make the Thar more on-road friendly than a Jeep Wrangler, while a standard rear diff lock and generous 226mm of ground clearance should provide decent off-road capability. The Thar also has a 650mm wading depth and handy off-road angles (41.8° approach, 36.8° departure and 27° ramp-over), while tyres are 255/65R18s on alloy rims.
While this afternoon’s Mahindra Thar launch will provide more details on spec and trim, so far we know it will be well equipped and will have modern safety features including ABS, dual airbags, roll-over mitigation, hill hold and hill-descent control, ISOFIX child seat points, a built-in roll cage and rear parking sensors.
As mentioned, the Mahindra Thar has been confirmed Australia and it’s expected to go on sale here in the first half of 2021.
