5-door Mahindra Thar is expected to go on sale next year in India to compete against the upcoming five-door Maruti Suzuki Jimny
The five-door Mahindra Thar has been the talk of the town ever since the second-generation three-door Thar made its local debut in 2020. The latest Thar has been one of the most successful recent launches from the homegrown SUV specialist and it has become more premium while appealing to a wide range of customers compared to the previous model.
However, the stretched version of it could attract more buyers with more practicality and that’s where the five-door variant comes into play. At the 2023 Auto Expo in January, we do expect the five-door Thar to make its global debut in its close-to-production form before eventually going on sale. The spy images of the upcoming SUV have already been caught a few times on public roads.
The five-door Thar appears to have a longer wheelbase, addition of rear doors, possibly larger trunk space and more room for occupants on the inside. A spy video shows that it has a Pentalink rear suspension with Watt’s link in a similar fashion to the Scorpio N and thus the multi-link rear in the existing three-door model could be ditched in the production version.
It makes sense considering that the five-door Thar is based on the extended version of the Scorpio N’s body-on-frame chassis. The Pentalink should avail better on-tarmac characteristics and improved ride and handling as it restricts the vehicle’s lateral movement on uneven surfaces and consequently, the body roll could be contained.
In addition, the vehicle cruising and comfort at low speeds could be improved. The five-door Thar will take on the forthcoming five-door Maruti Suzuki Jimny and similarly specced Force Gurkha. Having mechanical similarities with the Scorpio N should aid in improving the on-road behaviours of the five-door Thar as it will target a wide band of consumers.
Mahindra could increase the track between the wheels to maintain stability but stretching the wheelbase could impact its off-roading capabilities as the breakover angle would be reduced. It will be interesting to see how Mahindra gets around this as the Thar has carved a niche for its go-anywhere nature.