Mahindra is preparing a wagon version of its traditional Jeep-style Thar, with a stretched body, extra doors and lengthened wheelbase.
But the big news is the sheer extent that the retro-styled SUV is stepping up to take on established 4WD wagons like the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol.
Expected in Australia sometime in 2025, the second-generation body-on-frame Mahindra Thar (the ‘h’ is silent) from India is set to march upmarket from its current positioning as an alternate-universe off-road fun machine Jeep Wrangler which it so clearly resembles (as well as shares common ancestry with).
The wide-ranging changes also include a fresh face up front and a redesigned interior, to better suit its coming role as a substantially more refined and sophisticated family-orientated adventure-orientated SUV.
To that end, a move away from its controversial Wrangler-style design details like the bar-like grille and round headlights has been mooted (but as yet not revealed), along with differences to the wheel arches and tail-lights.
These are probably a pre-requisite, given that Jeep parent Stellantis successfully sought legal action blocking the existing and continuing three-door version from going on sale in Australia soon after this iteration surfaced in India back in 2020.
At the time, Mahindra argued that it was granted approval from original Jeep owners Willys to build the original Jeep civilian model under licence in 1949 – beginning with the Jeep. An evolution of this vehicle introduced the brand to Australians in 1990, wearing Bushman and Stockman badges.
As part of the deal, the Indian brand has reluctantly agreed to seek approval for any styling changes from Stellantis before releasing any modified versions of the Thar in Australia, as well as give 90-days’ notice prior to any intended on-sale date.
But different styling is just the beginning, with an upgraded ladder-frame chassis that is reported to bring improved steering and suspension components for greater on-road driveability, comfort and noise suppression.
Under the bonnet, the Indian press has speculated that the current three-door version’s 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel unit will make way for the larger 2.2-litre as offered in the Scorpio and other Mahindra models to compensate for the wagon’s added mass.
Additionally, a variation of the company’s 2.0-litre four-pot petrol turbo should make the grade, sending torque to the driven wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. Both 4×4 as well as cheaper 4×2 specifications are said to be in development, though whether the latter would come to Australia is unknown.
Also anticipated is a substantially more contemporary and higher quality dashboard and interior to match the Thar wagon’s brand-flagship aspirations, along with the adoption of advanced driver-assist safety technology like Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) that Mahindra bundles up as ADAS – a first for the series.
A move from individual rear seats to a bench with three-seater capability has also been rumoured, along with dramatically greater rear-seat legroom as a result of a circa-300mm wheelbase stretch over the three-door model.
Slated to launch early next year in India and surrounding markets, the Thar will play an important and expanded role in Mahindra’s global rollout plans, according to Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Chief of Global Product Development head, R. Velusamy.
“We announced it in the last quarterly meeting in Hyderabad,” he said. “The first quarter of next year for the Indian market. I’m not sure currently what the plans for Australia are.”
Mahindra Vice President of International Operations, Joydeep Moitra, added that while two breakthrough models have been or are about to be launched in Australia this year in the form of the Scorpio 4×4 and XUV700 mid-size SUV respectively, the brand is taking one step at a time, to help ensure things are done right.
“For Australia, we intend to build the network and get the business expanded,” he said.
Launched in India in October, 2020, the Thar has proven to be a big hit, surpassing the 100,000 sales marker earlier this year and still going strong.
Smaller and far cheaper than the current Wrangler two-door soft-top equivalent (that kicks off from nearly $85,000), the current Thar was intended to arrive in Australia in 2021 as a significantly larger and more powerful alternative to the phenomenally popular Suzuki Jimny – which at the time was a mid-$20,000 proposition.
With the coming Jimny five-door expected to start somewhere in the high-$30,000 region, we’re forecasting a circa-$50,000 pricetag for the Thar wagon.
Is Mahindra in the box seat to make hay as rival 4×4 wagons like the LandCruiser, Patrol and Wrangler price themselves towards or past six-figure territory?
Watch this space.
Keyword: Look out, Nissan Patrol, Jeep Wrangler and Toyota LandCruiser! A resized and revamped Mahindra Thar 4WD looms for Australia