Confirmed: Mahindra Thar 5-door to get RWD powertrain on higher variants

The most important launch for Mahindra for 2024 is probably the Thar 5-door. People have been waiting for it since the first test mule was spotted on our Indian roads. While Mahindra has not officially revealed what the 5-door version of the Thar will be called, they have announced that the Thar 5-door will be launched in mid-2024. It can be expected that Mahindra will also offer the Thar 5-door with a rear-wheel drive powertrain and a four-wheel drive powertrain. Moreover, as per the latest spy shots, it seems like the RWD drivetrain will be offered on the higher variants as well.

Recently, a video of a test mule of the Thar 5-door went viral because the SUV was stuck in mud. From the video, we can make out that only the rear wheels of the SUV were spinning which leads us to believe that the test mule that was on test was equipped with a rear-wheel drive powertrain. Moreover, a few previous spy shots also revealed a missing 4x4 lever in the centre console.

Apart from this, the SUV was also equipped with a sunroof and alloy wheels. This leads us to believe that the Thar 5-door will be offered with a rear-wheel drive powertrain on its higher variants as well. This is a good thing as not everyone needs the 4x4 powertrain. Most buyers are using their Thar 3-door for city and highway duties only. So, it makes sense to make RWD versions of the Thar 5-door as well just like Mahindra is currently doing with the Thar 3-door.

Powering the Mahindra Thar 5-door will be the same set of petrol and diesel engines that are doing duty on the 3-door Thar. So, there will be a 2.2-litre diesel engine and a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine. There will be manual as well as automatic gearbox on offer.