 "mahindra Thar")
Mahindra will present its much-awaited five-door version of Thar at its annual event on Independence Day, August 15 this year. The five-door Thar launch will take place in South Africa, Autocar India (ACI) reported.
M&M and the Independence Day
Mahindra has made it an annual ritual to make product-related announcements on Independence Day for the last three years. In 2020, M&M's popular Thar made its global debut. The following year, in 2021, the company introduced its XUV700 in a world premiere. Last year, in 2022, the Scorpio-maker unveiled its born-electric concepts and platforms in an event organised in the UK.
The event in South Africa is significant as Mahindra hopes that the country will become one of the key markets for the latest Thar. Operating in South Africa since 1996, M&M has registered a recent spike in sales in the country, the ACI report said.
Who wants a bigger Thar?
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The launch of the five-door Thar was well-anticipated as the company looks to extend its appeal to customers who want a more lifestyle-oriented vehicle which can handle bad roads and tough terrains.
The announcement is interesting given that Maruti Suzuki recently introduced its much-awaited off-roader, Jimny. The two vehicles have drawn comparisons from customers and industry experts alike.
The five-door Thar is expected to have a significantly larger footprint compared to the Jimny's 3985mm long body. The Thar will also be a wider and taller vehicle.
Thar's Powertrain
The five-door Thar will come powered with the same 2.2-litre and 2.0-litre turbo petrol engines much like the three-door Thar. While Jimny comes with a seating arrangement for four even with its five-door design, the new Thar will have at least five seats with a possibility of a third row.
Spy shots of the five-door Thar suggest that there may be a third-row present in the upcoming Thar, the ACI report said.
Less than four metres!
The larger Thar will follow a similar design language to the present-day three-door Thar. Also, the new Thar will most certainly cross the four-metre length, and thus it will not have the tax breaks reserved for vehicles shorter than four metres.
Notably, both the three-door Thar and the five-door Jimny currently on sale are shorter than four metres in length and enjoy tax benefits reserved for small cars.
