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The Mahindra Thar Roxx has been one of the most hotly anticipated SUVs of the year. With it, Mahindra wants to take the fight to the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and other mid-size SUVs. But just how good is the new challenger from Mahindra? We have been driving the Thar Roxx SUV for 6 days and have clocked over 3000km with the diesel-automatic, rear-wheel drive variant. Here is what we have observed after spending extensive time with the Thar Roxx.
Having spent a considerable amount of time driving the Thar Roxx, the one thing that we’re a big fan of is the ride quality of the SUV. The Thar Roxx gets a ladder-on-frame construction, unlike the Hyundai Creta, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, all of which are monocoques. As a consequence of that, the low speed ride quality of the Thar Roxx is slightly unsettled and can feel a bit bouncy. It is much, much better than the old 3-door Thar but a monocoque SUV is more settled over regular roads.
However the 19-inch wheels of the Thar with high profile tyres mean that you can barrel down bad patches of road at serious speed, without having to slow down. The large 790mm rolling diameter of the MRF Wanderer tyres flattens potholes and bad patches with astonishing ease. You do feel the bumps inside the Thar Roxx but unlike other SUVs that force you to slow down, here too you can speed up over bad roads and it thunders down without a problem.
The hydraulic bump stops of the suspension work really well, and the suspension does not crash through bumps. It is very refined and there are no thuds transmitted through the suspension. The Thar Roxx also gets a Watt’s linkage on the Penta-Link rear suspension, to cut the side-to-side movement or sway of the rear axle. So unlike the 3-door Thar which could bounce and switch lanes when driving fast over broken roads, the Thar Roxx delivers excellent straight line stability.
The Thar Roxx gets electric power steering as opposed to the hydraulic power steering on the 3-door Thar. This is totally devoid of feel but it also means that there are no kickbacks from the steering wheel and it gives you the confidence to keep pushing on. The electric power steering also allows for fatigue-free driving, which is important if you intend to spend long hours behind the wheel. On one stretch, I drove it for 20 hours non-stop and the lack of fatigue can be attributed to this light and easy power steering.
The chassis feels solid and strong, and it doesn’t feel like anything is going to rattle or break off. The Thar Roxx feels robustly built and that gives you the confidence to barrel down bad roads without a worry. Also the feel of this Thar Roxx is like that of a Thar (3-door) but a much better Thar. It doesn’t feel like a Scorpio, and when we asked this question to Velusamy R, global head of product development at Mahindra, he said that it’s because the architecture of the Thar and the Scorpio are different. The Thar Roxx is on the 4th generation ladder-frame chassis which is of Mahindra’s own design and the claimed torsional and bending stiffness is a whopping 150 per cent better than class benchmarks. And that’s why this Thar Roxx feels like a Thar but a much better, a much improved Thar.
One of our first impressions of the Thar Roxx was that the refinement on the inside was excellent. We are driving the diesel automatic and you can barely hear the engine. Passengers can easily have a conversation at cruising speeds and there is only a slight amount of tyre roar and wind noise.
With diesels becoming rarer and rarer, it’s actually a treat to drive a diesel and that slight diesel rumble is a welcome note. It is also astonishing how you can chew miles with the Thar Roxx, as it feels effortless to drive. The torque of the diesel engine is very good and is very useful in making overtakes on our single lane highways. It has so much grunt! It’s not so much the power that is a benefit, but it's the torque that you want to use to make quick and safe overtakes, and that’s what this engine enables now. This engine also allows you to carry triple digits easily to enable a relaxed cruise.
Fuel efficiency however is not the best. We got an overall fuel efficiency of 10.4kmpl on the diesel-auto with our press-on driving style on the highway. The petrol, I fear, will not give you more than 7kmpl of fuel efficiency on this route.
The seats of the Thar Roxx feature good lumbar and back support, but a little more under thigh support would have been nicer. The white interiors are a bad idea in our conditions, and in 6 days they have already got soiled and dirty.
There are no bottle holders on the Mahindra Thar Roxx. Also, the start-stop function on the diesel automatic that we are driving does not kick in as smoothly or as quickly as it does on other cars.
The Thar Roxx could also make do with better quality wipers and a better LED light setup for the headlights. The LED lights work well in complete pitch darkness, but when it comes to diffused light conditions or in the rains, halogens would work much better in our conditions.
Our Mahindra Thar Roxx had aluminum-effect covers for the brake and accelerator pedal and those have come off. There were some screws left in the cubby hole, hopefully they’re not some important screws. An electric coupler was found near the accelerator pedal – but these could be issues related to the pre-production units.
The pedal box is also slightly angled to the right to leave space for a dead pedal but that means your knees start to cramp over long drives.
The Harman Kardon sound system also needs better clarity. It has good bass but clarity is lacking and also the different modes are too complicated. A simpler setup would be nicer.
And finally, we had to rely on Android Auto because Apple CarPlay is not yet active.
After six days and 3000km, we are convinced that at this price, the Thar Roxx is the best vehicle to road trip across India with. The ride is comfortable. The performance is very good. The metal roof gives it excellent refinement. The boot space is good. The long-distance mile-munching ability is excellent. The handling is well sorted with safe and stable manners. The brakes are very good and the ADAS setup is the best amongst anything we have experienced with no unexpected slamming of the brakes. The quality also feels top notch with no squeaks or rattles after a week. Plus this is easy to drive with the electric power steering and makes light work of city traffic.
We will give the Mahindra Thar Roxx 9 out of 10. And the only reason it is not 9.5 out of 10 is because we do not yet know the price of the diesel-automatic AX7L variant.
