A Journey of Trails

The Thar has been one of the greatest marketing successes of Mahindra. It is an aspirational vehicle – those who have it swear by it, and many who don’t aspire to own one. Although a fairly competent vehicle, the Thar did face one shortcoming – as a 3-door it was difficult to use it as a family vehicle. Enter the Roxx – a true-blue five-door Thar with a long list of features and here you have a product that can accommodate not only five adults but their luggage too!

However, like every time, let’s start with the exteriors. While the grille of the Thar is still acceptable, this so called ‘six-pack’ looks…er…different. We accept that the definition of looks is different to everyone else, and some will surely find it appealing. Ditto for the rear door handles and the notch introduced therein. The roof has a FRP look to it, but is actually made of metal, giving the dual-tone models a sporty look while ensuring safety. The rear door opens in two parts – the lower half that swings outwards and the top glass part that swings up. It is quite a nice layout, except for the sliver of wiring that protrudes rather tellingly from the rear hatch. Only wish that Mahindra had taken the wire through the upper body part. The Roxx’s chassis is simply not an elongated Thar – a lot of work has been done on the suspension and the steering (which is now electric instead of the Thar’s old hydraulic system) to make it a better machine. The rear suspension is similar to the Scorpio N and uses a watts linkage for better body roll control. The new front headlights with their ‘C’ shaped DRLs really makes the Roxx stand out.

On the inside, things have been vastly improved in our opinion. For one, the grab handles to get in on all the door pillars are a boon especially in a high car like this. The two-tone white and black interiors really make the Roxx feel upmarket. There are now twin 10.25-inch displays – one for the infotainment system and the other one for driver instrumentation. The central display has a neat feature called ‘Adventure stats’ – this displays power transfer characteristics, roll, pitch and a lot of other data which the nerds amongst us will really like. You also get wireless charging, electric parking brake (EPB), 360-degree cameras and level 2 ADAS to add to your driving comfort.

We drove the petrol version, and this is not available with a 4x4 system. Power at 175 bhp is 25 horses more than the 3-door, with the torque being similarly 30Nm more at 380Nm. Power delivery is linear, and you get a choice of 6-speed manual or automatic trannies, the latter coming in from Aisin of Japan, the most successful in this segment. We were really surprised at the noise insulation inside, complete with the acoustic windscreen, it is really that good. There is a light growl in the petrol which feels good. Suspension and road holding is also very good for this vehicle.

Mahindra has definitely created an ace with the Thar Roxx. The fit and finish is far superior now, the powertrains are potent and the vehicle is well-equipped. Full prices have not been announced yet, but expect them to be competitive. Test drives begin middle of next month with bookings staring on October 1^st and deliveries commencing on Dusshera. No matter which trail you want to take, with the Thar you will surely Roxx it!

Prices start at INR 12.99 lakh, ex-showroom