Mahindra 5-door Thar spotted ahead of launch, will rival Maruti Suzuki Jimny
Mahindra has confirmed the launch of the Thar's 5-door version in India. There have been test mules of the Thar 5-door that have been spotted on Indian roads. The Thar 5-door is expected to launch sometime this year. It will be competing against the Maruti Suzuki Jimny and the Force Gurkha 5-door. Now, the test mule has been spotted in detail.
In terms of looks, the 5-door version of the Thar looks mostly the same as the 3-door version of the Thar that is currently on sale in the market. It can be seen that the front fog lamps of the Thar 5-door have been redesigned. It now has a rectangular shape whereas, in the 3-door version, the fog lamps are circular in shape.
The front doors are the same as the standard Thar. What Mahindra has added are rear doors and they have increased the wheelbase. The rear door handles are placed vertically on the C-pillars. A similar design has been seen on the Maruti Suzuki.
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The rear is the same with a spare wheel mounted and a split tailgate. The boot space of the Thar 5-door is also larger than the 3-door one. The alloy wheel design and the tyre size are the same as the current Thar. The alloy wheels still had the old Mahindra logo but once it launches, the 5-door Thar will get the new Twins-peak logo.
What is interesting is that the test mule was equipped with an automatic transmission but there was no 4x4 lever for the low-range gearbox. So, it seems like the 5-door Thar will also be offered with a rear-wheel powertrain as well.
Engine options on offer will be a 2.0-litre turbo petrol and a 2.2-litre diesel engine. As of now, it is not known whether Mahindra will offer the 1.5-litre diesel engine on the 5-door Thar or not.
