2020 Mahindra Thar Could Soon Get Front-Facing Seats Only

It was on October 2 when Mahindra & Mahindra launched the new-generation Thar in India, which has received an exponential response from the buyers in the domestic market. In fact, the response for the all-new Thar is so high that the waiting period of the new Thar SUV now soars to over 8 months. Recently, the all-new Thar has been awarded a commendable four-star rating from GNCAP crash test, not only for adult but also for child occupant protection thanks to the front-facing rear seats with ISOFIX child seat mounts and sturdy roll cage. Therefore, it turns out that Mahindra will make the forward-facing seats as standard fitment across the variants of the Thar in times to come.

It is worth noting that the base AX Std and AX petrol variants currently come with side-facing bench seats. Also, Mahindra has recently stopped receiving the orders for these variants. Bookings for these base AX Std and AX variants will be resume in January next year, probably with standard front-facing rear seats on offer.

In terms of powertrains, the 2020 Mahindra Thar is currently available with two engine options including a 2.2-litre four-cylinder mHawk turbo diesel engine that churns out 130 PS of power and 300 Nm of torque, and a 2.0-litre mStallion turbo-petrol engine making 150 PS of power against 300 Nm (320 Nm for AT) of peak torque. Transmission duties on both the mills are handled by a 6-speed MT and a 6-speed torque converter automatic option.

Currently, the all-new Mahindra Thar is going on sale within the price bracket of around Rs 9.80 – 13.75 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom). With the introduction of the standard forward-facing rear seats, the price of the base AX Std trim is expected to be marginally increased to around Rs 10 lakh mark. The pricing of the other trims is expected to be unchanged. In another development, Mahindra has been working on the 5-door version of the Thar in India which is set to come to us sooner or later. The rendering of the Mahindra Thar 5-door has been released.