Mahindra is planning to bring a ‘Practical’ version of the Thar lifestyle SUV in the Indian market. Last year after, the launch of the Mahindra Thar rumour was that Mahindra will soon bring the 5-door model on the Thar. This could soon turn true as new reports suggest that the brand will shortly roll out a 5-door model with a Bolero bodyshell for roadtesting.
The Bolero bodyshell will just be a disguise, the production-spec SUV will come with the same body-on-ladder chassis. The Chassis will be longer than the current model offering more wheelbase and an extra pair of doors. The additional set of doors and more legroom will enable the brand to target a wider set of audience. The bigger Thar will also offer more luggage space and practicality of a day-to-day use SUV for the complete family. As of now, details such as the seating option are still unknown. But we speculate that Mahindra could offer a 7-seater version of the SUV as well.
Powering the 5-door Thar is likely to be the engine that powers the 3-door SUV. The Mahindra Thar in its current avatar comes with a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine and 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine options. The Stallion series turbo-petrol motor produces 150 Bhp of power and 320 Nm of torque. The mHawk diesel makes 130 Bhp of power and 300 Nm of torque. Both the engines come with a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission. This engine line-up is likely to continue on the 5-door model but the standard 4×4 drivetrain is likely to be an option. This will help improve efficiency on the ‘practical’ model.
Currently, the Mahindra Thar is available in both Hard-Top and Soft-Top options. We speculate that the 5-door Thar is likely to come only with a hardtop option. The soft-top convertible seems out of question for the longer SUV unless Mahindra develops an electric top retraction and closure system.
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