The upcoming 2020 Mahindra Thar has been spotted multiple times and the SUV is likely to debut at the 2020 Auto Expo
Mahindra and Mahindra, India’s largest utility vehicle manufacturer, will soon launch the all-new Thar in India as the second generation model. The SUV has been spied doing tests wearing full camouflage many times and will replace the current Thar that has long been in the market. The new Thar will get many Jeep inspired design elements and will be safer and feature loaded.
Mahindra also paid a tribute to the outgoing first-gen Thar by launching a limited-run Thar 700 edition where 700 represents the number of units to be built. Once the production of the last remaining 700 units of Thar ends, Mahindra will start rolling out the 2020 Mahindra Thar SUV.
Here’s all you need to know about the 2020 Mahindra Thar-
1. Design
The upcoming all-new Thar has been rendered multiple times using the visual cues from the spy shots by many rendering artists and gives us an insight on how the SUV would look like. As per the rendering of the artists, the upcoming 2020 Mahindra Thar will have an evolutionary design, having ample similarities to the outgoing model, including the overall stance and size.
However there’s an increase in the width and the big wheel arches makes it have an imposing stance. The wheel size is bigger and there’s a snorkel too. The all-new Thar will feature a seven-slot vertical front grille flanked by round headlights, inspired from Jeep CJB3, giving it an iconic look. The upright windscreen will also be carried forward from the current Thar. The Jeep inspired body gets a black hard-top roof giving it a dual-tone look.
2. Cabin
The upcoming Thar will not have any radical design elements inside the cabin as the SUV is being offered as a value-for-money SUV. Instead, it will get a new infotainment system, a new dashboard layout, better quality material, new big MID, round AC vents and an all-black finish. The seating layout will be customizable with 2 seats at the front and an option to either have a bench-type seat for 3 passengers or two parallel seats for 4 passengers.
3. Safety
The 2020 Mahindra Thar will be equipped with all the safety features missing in the previous-gen model such as driver airbag, rear parking sensors, speed alert system and more which will be made mandatory under AIS 145 safety norms that came into effect on 1 July 2019. The next-gen model will also be compatible to the BNVSAP crash test norms that came into action from 1 October 2019.
4. Engine
The biggest change in the new 2020 Mahindra Thar 2020 will mostly be underneath the iconic body. The 2020 model will get a BS-VI compliant diesel engine. The 2.0-litre diesel engine will deliver 140 PS of maximum power and a peak torque of 300 Nm and will be mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox sending power to all the wheels.
5. Price and Launch
Mahindra will most probably debut the 2020 Thar at the upcoming 2020 Auto Expo as a production model. However, the sales are expected to begin only after the first half of next year. The Thar will be priced north of Rs 7 Lakh (ex-showroom, India) and there can be 2-3 variants to choose from, with the top-spec model going as high as Rs 9 Lakh (ex-showroom, India).