I’ve always believed in championing the underdog, in sports events, in a debate and even in politics – if there’s a small fry up against a big fish, the little ‘un always has my support. Such is the case with the latest Mahindra Thar…
In motoring circles, particularly locally, I too have a soft spot (some might say bias) for the underdog, to one day edge itself to the front and sit top of the log, so to speak. Take the plethora of Chinese models available locally, for example, who for the most part have been dismissed by the industry as nothing more than a form of four-wheeled entertainment. A laughing stock you might say.
Owning an original, or at least something styled to look like an original Jeep, has been a lifelong aspiration, originating from my University lecture room daydreams where I had visions of cutting, chopping and sculpting my original Beetle into something resembling the boxy and war-torn Willy’s Jeep of yesteryear.
This of course never happened and so my dream was noted, tagged and relocated to the appropriate portion of my mind, to sit alongside dreams of a Lotus 7 rebuild, a Cobra kit-car project and the very dusty and ambitious memory of an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint 1600 GTA restoration job. Ah, the stuff of dreams.
Anyway I digress. Two years ago when these Chinese and Indian imports were gaining momentum, navigating my through the maze of halls and manufacturers displays at the Johannesburg International Motor show, a new model caught my eye and my interest. At first glance I was certain it to be an old original Willy’s-Overland Jeep but on closer inspection it wore the Mahindra badge.
This Indian ‘Jeep’ upstart had reignited my aspiration for owning an original Willy’s Jeep. Featuring fantastic chunky retro styling with the requisite seven slot grille and, rounded spotlights and upright windscreen this was the Jeep I would one day own. Yes, the interior was as empty as the space between Ju Ju’s ears, but that to me is part of the appeal. With a proper Borg Warner transfer case and a willing 2.5 turbo-charged diesel engine, provided it was priced right, this would be the ‘Jeep’ that would ferry me to the border, the Berg and the beach.
Launched fairly recently, in the first quarter of this year, the Mahindra Thar arrived with little fuss or fanfare. With minimal information on it and almost zero coverage in the press as far as it being tested by the motoring industry, I decided to sample the Thar for myself.
Mahindra boast that, “Its (The Thar’s) rigid construction and design have stood by soldiers and off-road fanatics alike.” By “soldiers” I presume they mean Second World War soldiers because in the metal the Thar looks and feels like it could’ve been airlifted directly from the beaches of Normandy – the only giveaway to its more modern roots being a matte black (I would choose Army surplus green) paintwork and nudge-bar, sidesteps and rear step and alloy wheels which had given the modern day stainless steel Pimp-My-Ride look. All of which I might add were aftermarket and not included in the base price.
The wise saying of, ‘Nice from far but far from nice’ came to mind upon closer inspection of the Thar’s body work. As a fan of the original ‘Jeep’ shape, and buoyed by childhood dreams, the build quality on this Indian workhorse was disappointing to say the least, particularly the exposed wiring in the front wheel arches as well as the rear bumper step and panel gaps which were wide enough to fit a modern day cell phone.
With crudely-fashioned car key in hand, I unlocked the driver’s door (no central locking here) which swung open unaided and appeared so loosely connected to the door pillars I thought it may actually fall off. They open wide too, way past the 90 degree norm of say similarly constructed Land Rover Defender, and I predict many owners who experience a momentary lapse in concentration coupled with a gust of wind, inflicting sizeable damage to the unfortunate car parked next to them.
Finding yourself in a parking lot in the Mahindra Thar would suggest that you actually used a tarred toad surface to transport yourself there, and like all four-wheeled modes of transport it can and will transverse a tarred road, however I wouldn’t actually advise one do this in the Thar – at least not on a regular basis. The temporary fabric roof is of such an ill fitting nature that attaining any sort of B-road cruising speed is nothing short of torture, and sounds more like the cape of a laughable comic book villain flapping pointlessly as he hurtles to the ground.
The interior is devoid of any features whatsoever and has adjustment for only the most necessary of functions, namely the fan/heater, head lights on/off, windscreen wipers on/off and of course the obligatory park brake, gear lever and low-range lever. The unit I drove did have an aftermarket radio/cd player which was nice, but again, Mahindra’s lack of provision for such an appliance see’s the aftermarket fitment center having to attach the radio antennae to the windscreen! Horrific!
The whole interior had been rubberized too, not unlike a bakkies load bin, which is great for roughing it in the outdoors, however I would lose the one piece ‘carpet’ up front, cut and trimmed so poorly that I can imagine instead of the upholsterer using scissors, he/she actually rather tore the carpet to cut-it-to-size. The interior woes continue: the front seat belt clasps had loose wiring attached which suggest that in some markets the Thar might even have airbags, ‘my’ unit did not, unless the factory had forgotten to finish the wiring and fit the actual airbags.
The Thar is strictly a two seater and as such would be registered as one. There is space in the rear for a small bench seat, but this would be both illegal and cruel to whoever you’d invite to sit there – rather keep it for the dogs or for extra loading space. I was also assured that a more permanent fixed canopy was in the design stages by a local bakkie canopy manufacturer and would be added as an option on the Thar, this would perhaps cure it of its current atrocious interior noise levels.
The one positive, standing out awkwardly like the good pupil in a class of delinquents, was the Thar’s 2.5-litre diesel engine, although my trip was short with few steep hills and zero off-road testing with which to gauge its ability I found the engine quite willing, even sprightly. But perhaps like the boffin in the class of delinquents, the fools only make the boffins look even brighter!
As the line between the top players in the industry and the so called ‘newbies’ slowly become ever more blurred as far as perceived quality is concerned, Kia being the perfect example of this, there’s still no denying that Indian and Chinese products are decade’s behind in terms of quality and dynamic ability, and in price too – their new car prices being on par with what their competition cost decades ago!
Leaving the Thar and the experience of driving it behind, I couldn’t help but feel that if Mahindra had applied themselves and given ten percent extra all round, they’d have a good product on offer. I’m not sure who would buy a Mahindra Thar, I most certainly would not. I had high hopes for it, but my dreams were seemingly dashed, and for a population who is forced to drive regularly on tarred roads I just can’t imagine it appealing to anyone. At R169 000 the Mahindra Thar is cheap, but as they say ‘You get what you pay for’ and in this regard, as much as it pains me to say it, the Mahindra Thar is just far below what is considered acceptable in a vehicle manufactured in 2010.
I envisage the Thar being used by farmers or game rangers, who prefer to drive over their land rather than on the dirt roads and who’d prefer a little more space and refinement than what one would get from, say a quad-bike. I’d most certainly leave the fabric ‘roof’ behind because in my mind a ‘Jeep’ of this nature should always facilitate a wind in the hair experience, and if it rains, well you and your trusty Labrador, who’d naturally be on your lap would get wet as you surveyed your land/crops/cattle etc. The Thar? Well I’d leave that out in the rain too, to age a bit, a little bit of rust and dust would do it no harm – it’d only give it more character!
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