It was a day of being let loose behind the wheel of the facelift Mahindra Thar at the Mahindra Off-road Adventure Training Academy at Igatpuri (district Nashik, Maharashtra)
Story: Gaurav Davare
Photography: Kalidas M
It has been almost five years since the three-door Mahindra Thar, the rough and tough and iconic off-roading sport utility vehicle, got its latest iteration. At that time, it became a whole lot bigger and, more importantly, less spartan than before, gaining more lifestyle credentials, while still retaining much of its off-road abilities that many have come to love. Nevertheless, there were still those who felt that the Thar was a little too spartan. What is Mahindra’s response? Give the SUV some long-overdue updates.
Are these updates enough to make the Mahindra Thar less spartan? Well, the folk at Mahindra have added a twist to things. We got to sample the updated Thar at the Mahindra Off-road Adventure Training Academy at Igatpuri with many curated challenges; a perfect opportunity to let the Thar appear in its element, as also to test its off-road chops.
Before we get to how our day of getting down and dirty went, let’s see what has actually changed in the 2025 Mahindra Thar, because a lot of it is largely for better convenience. We know that the Thar’s gigantic presence means getting the traffic to move out of the way, which will arguably be a very easy task. That presence remains intact, and you’ll barely be able to notice a difference if you juxtapose the old and new models. The exterior changes are very subtle, with a new dual-tone shade for the front and rear bumpers, besides a rear wiper and washer. There are new Battleship Grey and Tango Red colour options to choose from. Personally, I’d go for the Tango Red as it doesn’t look out of place even in the aftermath of off-road thrills.
The bigger changes lie inside. The steering wheel now looks like it’s been carried forward from the That Roxx, and that’s not a bad thing either, for it is now much nicer to hold. A much-needed addition is a centre armrest that makes the driving experience a little more comfortable. Furthermore, the power window switches are now in the more traditional position, around the door pads. Also, the rear occupants get some more respite thanks to the rear air-conditioner vents.
At the centre of it all is a larger 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and wired Apple CarPlay. This brings over a lot of the niceties from the Thar Roxx, such as better resolution and colours, as well as a more modern user interface. You now get a rear-view camera and, more importantly, there is what Mahindra calls Adventure Statistics Gen II. I’ll get to how useful these two new features proved later on, but to round off the convenience additions, the driver-side now gets a grab handle for easier ingress and egress, especially in muddy situations, with the fuel lid getting an internally operated switch. Mahindra claims the dashboard gets a new theme, but I didn’t really notice much of a difference from before.
The reason I’ve already mentioned all the changes in the 2025 Mahindra Thar is that the SUV remains mechanically the same. You still get the choice of either a 150-hp 2.0-litre mStallion turbo-petrol or a 130-hp 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine with six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes. Both engines and gearboxes can be spec’d with 4WD, but it’s the petrol option that gets an additional RWD option with an automatic gearbox only. For a diesel RWD experience, you’ll be limited to the base 117-hp 1.5-litre D117 CRDe engine, paired to a six-speed manual gearbox.
Since things are the same mechanically, the 2025 Thar’s on-paper off-road wizardry also remains unchanged. It boasts of a water wading ability of 650 millimetres, a ground clearance of 226 mm, an approach angle of 41.2 degrees, a departure angle of 36 degrees, and a rampover angle of 26.2 degrees, paired to an independent double wishbone suspension at the front and a multi-link solid axle with coil springs at the rear. Considering that the rainy season means a lot of broken and/or waterlogged roads around us, it was a perfect time to see whether the Thar could be the ideal monsoon companion after going through Mahindra’s curated off-road course.
Speaking of the course, it is not for the faint-hearted; this 30-acre expanse of wild and desolate land is full of mud pools, broken ridges, a zigzag hill section, rock crawl, unpaved mud trails, huge trenches, as well as small yet well-curated slushy water ponds. There was also an interesting instance when we had to tackle a steep hill on a muddy track and return the same way after executing a difficult U-turn. We had the 130-hp 2.2-litre mHawk diesel Thar, paired with the six-speed automatic gearbox and 4WD, to navigate through this course.
Trying to tackle any of these challenges in a normal car would be a pipe dream at best. Unlike a racing circuit, where being as fast as possible is the norm, in off-roading scenarios, going fast isn’t what matters. The secret is ensuring a sustained momentum throughout, and running the Thar on 4L mode means you get the maximum traction and torque in a low gear ratio. This was a treat in a variety of scenarios, especially while trying to tackle steep inclines and navigate through slosh-filled deep trenches. Despite some massive three or two-wheeled moments, there was no hint of flexing as the Thar powered through the obstacles, and it made small ponds look like puddles. The rear-view camera came in handy to get out of a messy situation, while the Adventure Statistics Gen II provided important live information on engine temperature, pitch and roll angles, altimeter readouts, compass, as well as outside pressure and temperature.
While I didn’t really have any complaints about how the 2025 Mahindra Thar felt on this course, I believe one doesn’t require an absurdly huge SUV to satisfy off-road requirements. A smaller off-roader will do the job just fine, and the real magic of off-roading is all underneath the vehicle where the approach, departure, and rampover angles really matter.
With its price ranging from Rs 9.99 lakh to Rs 16.99 lakh (ex-showroom), the 2025 Mahindra Thar has made itself a little less spartan and more civilised with the additional features and conveniences. Fortunately, it hasn’t come at the cost of its off-road credentials. These updates should give the Thar better legs against the Force Gurkha (three-door) and the Maruti Jimny, whilst complementing the more civilised Thar Roxx (five-door).
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