Mahindra has added several much-requested features from the Roxx to the 3-door Thar, but its purpose remains unchanged.
The Mahindra Thar has undeniable appeal. Look at one, drive one, and you’ll want it – badly. Convincing yourself is easy. Convincing the family? Not so much. Since 2020, countless buyers have walked into a Mahindra showroom, gone straight to the Thar, only to be dragged away by the family towards a Scorpio N or an XUV700. The Roxx now offers a more family-friendly alternative, but it’s not quite the same. Think of it like a Mustang sedan – it’ll fit your family, sure, but it doesn’t have the same curb appeal.
So, with this refreshed Thar, is it finally a better family car? Let’s get one thing straight: a two- or three-door vehicle will never be a great family car. You might be willing to make the compromises, but expecting your loved ones to do the same is a stretch. That said, the definition of family is evolving, so let’s try and answer the question by making a case both for and against the 3-door Thar.
The case for the 3-door Thar
The second-gen Thar is a far more liveable car than its archaic predecessor, but it still had quirks – so many, in fact, that it spawned a cottage industry of aftermarket fixes. With this refresh, Mahindra has finally decided to put those opportunistic entrepreneurs out of business.
For starters, the 3-door now gets the 10.25-inch infotainment screen from the Roxx, complete with an Adventure Stats 2.0 page that displays useful telemetry for off-roading. There’s also a rear washer-wiper to get a better view of the tailgate mounted spare and a rear-view camera to actually see past it. Ergonomics have improved too. Open the door and you’re greeted by a chunky grab handle to hoist yourself into the tall cabin. The centre console has been revised, now with an adjustable armrest and storage cubby, while the window switches have moved onto the doors. No more handing over the key at a fuel station – the fuel door now opens remotely – and the automatic finally gets a dead pedal. You’d glance right past these changes in the brochure, but anyone who has lived with a Thar will know how much they improve the experience.
These updates make life in the Thar more comfortable, at least for the driver and co-passenger. If it’s your second car, with the rear seat reserved for the more limber members of the family, I can see how it could work as a family vehicle. Or, if you’re a city-dwelling DINK (dual income, no kids) couple with a big dog and a thirst for the outdoors, the 3-door Thar could easily be your only car.
The case against the 3-door Thar
This, unsurprisingly, starts right where the last section left off – the rear seat. Comfort has improved slightly with the addition of AC vents, but if you plan to use the back regularly, do yourself a favour and get the Roxx. Asking your parents to clamber in would be borderline elder abuse, and while there are ISOFIX mounts, fitting a child seat through that narrow aperture will be challenging.
Then there’s the suspension. Mahindra says it has been making calibration changes based on feedback over the past five years, but the ride quality still leaves much to be desired. It’s bouncy at low speeds with plenty of body movement. Rear passengers, seated directly over the axle, feel it the worst. Even if you did manage to convince your folks to squeeze in, a road trip would be off the cards anyway – the luggage bay can barely hold two large soft bags.
No one understands the case against the 3-door Thar better than Mahindra themselves, which is why they went to the trouble of engineering the Roxx the way they did. They could have just stretched the 3-door and called it a day, but instead they built it on the fourth-gen ladder frame – lighter, stiffer with a new multi-link rear suspension and a Watt’s linkage to control body roll. If you’ve only got room for one car in the garage and plan on regularly carrying others, the smart choice is to walk past the new 3-door Thar and straight to the Roxx.
Also see:
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