Mahindra Thar and XUV700 get the same engine choices but in different states of tune, and here is a drag race between the two
Mahindra XUV700 and Thar are both rather popular vehicles in the Indian market. Plenty of new buyers are lining up to buy them every month, but the booking figures are way higher than the current production capacity of these SUVs. Currently, the waiting period for both the XUV00 and Thar reaches up to a year in India!
Both the SUVs are available with the same engine options – a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol unit and a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel unit. However, the larger XUV700 has higher peak power figures on both engines compared to the compact Thar. This is quite interesting, and it would be nice to see which of them has the performance advantage.
Well, if you’re curious now, take a look at the video below. This here is a drag race video between Mahindra XUV700 and Thar, posted by Power on Wheels, and the results are quite interesting. Both these models are diesel-automatic; the Thar is rated at 130 PS and 300 Nm, while the XUV700 is rated at 185 PS and 450 Nm.
For the first round, the XUV700 is kept in ‘Zip’ mode, which restricts the power output from the engine. Even though the Thar had a strong start across the line, the XUV700 managed to pull up ahead easily. In the second round, the XUV700 is put in ‘Zoom’ mode (full power), and this helped it leave the Thar in the dust right from the start.
After swapping drivers, the performance test is repeated again. In the first round, the ‘Zip’ mode is activated on the XUV700. It is left behind initially by the Thar across the start line, but it catches up in a few seconds and then blazes past its rival. In ‘Zoom’ mode as well, the XUV700 was left behind for a single second, after which it builds up speed ferociously.
It should be noted that this particular XUV700 is a front-wheel-drive model, while the Thar comes standard with a four-wheel-drive system (which can switch between rear-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive, and low-ratio four-wheel-drive modes). Regardless, both these SUVs are extremely fun to drive.