Mahindra is planning to introduce a five-door version of the all-new Thar in the Indian market. The brand is planning to launch the car targeting a wider audience. The ‘Practical’ Thar will come with a long-wheelbase to accommodate the five doors, but it is unclear how many rows the new Thar will accommodate. Now, recent reports suggest that the five-door Thar version is quite far away. The brand plans to launch as many as eight new SUVs in the Indian market by 2026. But the five-door Mahindra Thar is likely to arrive not before 2023.
Currently, the three-door model comes with four forward-facing seats. The jump seat option, which was initially available on the entry-level AX trim, has been discontinued. The entry-level model is the AX Optional which comes with forward-facing seats. The brand is likely to offer a five-seat arrangement on the five-door model. The brand could also plan a seven-seat configuration in the five-door Thar. The segment is gaining quite a bit of popularity in the Indian market.
The current three-door model comes with a retractable soft top and hardtop roof options. The retractable soft top features a mechanical link that allows the user to drop the top easily. The roof liner, along with the mechanism, tucks behind the second-row seats. The system is easy to use, and a single person can easily drop or retract the top. But due to the long-wheelbase, it will be challenging to accommodate a mechanical top retraction system. Still, Mahindra could provide a removable hardtop option similar to the Freedom Top options on the Wrangler.
Do Check-Out our 2020 Mahindra Thar Soft Top / Hard Top Review video.
Even the 5-door model is likely to come with similar engine specifications as the current 3-door Thar. Powering the Thar is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that makes 150 Bhp of power and 320 Nm of torque. Another 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine punches out 130 Bhp of power and 300 Nm of torque. The engines are likely to come with 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic gearbox options.