With an overload of features and creature comforts, Mahindra Thar Roxx strikes the right balance of ruggedness with everyday usability
With the launch of Mahindra Thar in 2020, Mahindra stirred emotions of many Indian SUV enthusiasts. The company is recreating similar emotions with Thar Roxx. This time around, Mahindra intends to bring the taste of a real SUV to a price segment where people can mostly buy vehicles that are only marketed as SUVs. Along the way, it locks horns with Force Gurkha 5-Door and to some extent, Maruti Suzuki Jimny.
Mahindra Thar Roxx Vs Rivals
Indian lifestyle SUV buyers are mostly buying into this genre for the looks and road presence and not for real off-roading thrills. In that regard, Jimny starting at Rs 12.75 lakh (Ex-sh) doesn’t make any sense at all. Jimny doesn’t even get the B-Segment tax benefits to justify the sub 4m size. With this analogy, Mahindra Thar Roxx starting from Rs 12.99 lakh with RWD makes it appear VFM, even though it is not. It is about perspectives. Shortly, the best pricing is still with Thar Roxx.
Thar Roxx also brings the most powertrain and drivetrain combinations to the table. Not just that, Thar Roxx’s powertrains are easily the most performant in this bunch. With up to 174 horses on tap and a 6-speed torque converter, Thar Roxx may be the fastest here. Jimny only gets one 1.5L NA Petrol with 5MT and 4TC options and Gurkha comes with a sole 2.6L Diesel with 5MT.
Even though owners almost never go off-roading, they are true-blue off-roaders. Gurkha’s sole variant and Jimny offer 4X4 as standard fitment, while Thar Roxx offers flexibility to choose between RWD and 4WD. Gurkha is the only one with an electronic 4X4 shifter and the only one to get front and rear locking diffs. Thar Roxx gets an electronic locking diff at the rear, whereas Jimny lacks it completely.
Interestingly, Mahindra never once revealed Thar Roxx’s ground clearance and Force Motors didn’t reveal off-road credentials of 5-Door Gurkha. Approach angle is the best with Thar Roxx, while departure and rampover angles are the best with Jimny. Gurkha trumps all in water wading at 700 mm and it is the only one to get a snorkel too. Thar Roxx has 650 mm and Jimny has just 300 mm wading capacity. Gurkha seems to have the highest ground clearance at 233 mm.
Size quotient
Moving on to size, Mahindra Thar Roxx is the longest and widest along with having the longest wheelbase and the largest boot. But nothing can beat Gurkha’s height, especially with that optional roof carrier, it looks larger than it is. Both Thar Roxx and Gurkha get 255-section tyres, Thar offers 19-inch alloy wheels, whereas Gurkha maxes out at 18-inches. Jimny, on the other hand, comes with 15-inch tyres with skinny 195-section tyres.
Where features and experience are concerned, Mahindra Thar Roxx not only sidelines its lifestyle rivals but also many compact SUVs. As the comparison chart demonstrates, Mahindra has loaded Thar Roxx to the max and it even gets Level-2 ADAS features. It is the only one with a panoramic sunroof, rear AC vents, all-four disc brakes, robust telematics, ventilated seats, auto wipers, electronic parking brake, auto wipers and auto-dimming IRVM, among others.
Credits where credits are due, Jimny gets a headlight washer and Force Gurkha gets cornering lights. Force Gurkha is the only one with a dedicated blower for rear seats, but the implementation is not that elegant. When compared to its predecessor, Gurkha has come a long way and the same can be said about Thar Roxx. Force Motors is offering 2024 Gurkha in just one fully loaded variant with all the bells and whistles. But the most sensible buy in this trio, on paper, is undoubtedly the Thar Roxx.
