New Mahindra Thar 2020 vs Maruti Suzuki Jimny – Specs Comparison

It was on the Independence’s Day when Mahindra officially launched the new-gen Thar in the Indian market. Since it’s obvious that the Mahindra Thar is one of the most popular off-roading vehicles in India, the launch of the next-gen Thar has created quite a bang among the auto enthusiasts. When it comes to the Mahindra Thar’s biggest rival, the first one coming to the mind is the Suzuki Jimny which is expected to hit the domestic market back. It sheds quite a buzz of excitement when Maruti Suzuki showcased the Jimny at the Auto Expo 2020 and revealed that the Jimny was being taken into account for our market. The plan was shelved at a later date though, sadly, some recent reports suggest that the new Jimny would be launched in India in the 5-door form sooner or later. While waiting for the India launch of the Maruti Jimny, let’s check out how the Jimny can fare against the new-gen Thar on the number perspectives. Read on our Mahindra Thar vs Maruti Suzuki Jimny comparison to see which one out of the two performs better on paper.

New Mahindra Thar vs Suzuki Jimny: Design Compared

Both the Mahindra Thar and Maruti Suzuki Jimny gets a similar boxy-looking silhouette. Also, both SUVs draw a fair bit of inspiration from the pre-existing models. However, one thing that can differentiate the new Mahindra Thar with the Jimny is that the former looks much like a Jeep car while the Jimny looks very distinctive on its own.

It comes to the personal view to choose which one out of the duo looks better than the rest. From our visual standpoint, the new-gen Thar seems to be more enchanting to look at. The global-spec Suzuki Jimny still looks quite agile and masculine but it has aged a bit.

One thing that should be noted is that the India-bound Suzuki Jimny will look different from the international-spec version that we saw at the Auto Expo 2020. That said, the Indian version will be a made-for-India five-door model that comes with a growth in terms of dimension.

New Mahindra Thar vs Suzuki Jimny: Dimensions Compared

Dimension is one of the most important factors that we concern when it comes to the off-roader. Interesting enough, people often want to buy a compact off-road spec car that can manoeuvre agilely but still need a spacious enough cabin to seat all the family with the utmost comfort at the same time.

The new Mahindra Thar towers over the 3-door Suzuki Jimny in terms of size. That said, the new Thar is much bigger, wider and higher than the Suzuki Jimny by quite a margin and gets a longer wheelbase at the same time. Once again, do keep in mind that these figures represent the 3-door version of the Jimny and the Indian market will welcome the five-door version upon the Jimny’s launch.

New Mahindra Thar vs Suzuki Jimny: Features Compared

Both the Thar and Jimny are targeted to the young urban customers who would like both the comfortable drives on the road and the capable performances off it. Therefore, both carmakers have equipped the new Mahindra Thar vs Suzuki Jimny with plenty of premium features like a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto supports, power windows, steering-mounted controls, cruise control among many others.

Apart from these features shared by two cars, each model has an exclusive set of features to offer its own customers. The 2020 Mahindra Thar is available with three optional rooftop versions – hardtop, soft top and convertible soft top, which are not offered on the Suzuki Jimny. Other than that, the Mahindra car is also packed with a tyre pressure monitoring system, a weather-resistant touchscreen along with a washable cabin. On the other hand, the Suzuki Jimny is equipped with a few exclusive features such as full-LED headlights and fog lights, ORVM-mounted rearview camera, automatic climate control and high-beam assist.

As far as safety is concerned, both the Jimny and Thar share the safety essentials like dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, Isofix child seat mount, hill hold and descent control as standard across the ranges. Nevertheless, the Suzuki Jimny endears itself with autonomous braking and lane-departure warning along with side and curtain airbags for the top-spec trim. Whereas, the Mahindra Thar offers an in-built roll-cage to improve the overall stability of the model on the go.

New Mahindra Thar vs Suzuki Jimny: Engine Specs Compared

Information around the official engine specs of the Maruti Jimny is scarce at this point since the SUV is not launched yet. However, we expect the Jimny to be pretty much less powerful than the 2020 Mahindra Thar counterpart. Also, the Maruti Suzuki’s decision to exit the diesel cars market has given the Thar another competitive edge which is available with both petrol and diesel engine options. The global-spec Suzuki Jimny is offered with a 1.5-litre K15B petrol engine that produces 101 BHP/ 130 Nm of max torque. Transmission choices for the Jimny comprise of a 5-speed MT and a 4-speed AT unit.

In the meantime, powering the new Mahindra Thar is a new 2.0-litre mStallion petrol mill that is capable of developing 152 BHP of max power and 320 Nm of peak torque. It comes mated to a 6-speed MT as standard along with an optional 6-speed automatic transmission. There’s also a 2.2-litre mHawk diesel motor that comes coupled with a 6-speed MT/ 6-speed torque converter as well, pumping out 132 BHP and 300 Nm of torque. The 2020 Mahindra Thar offers a part-time 4x4 drivetrain system as standard for both the engines, alongside a manual-shift transfer case system.

New Mahindra Thar vs Suzuki Jimny: Performance Compared

The off-roading capabilities have been among the core strength of both vehicles that help put their names on the map. Both cars do offer a part-time 4x4 system, a brake locking differential low-range transfer cases with shift-on-fly features to switch to 4H seamlessly without having to stop. However, to pick a winner, Mahindra Thar seems to stay ahead of the competition on the off-road driving front. Still, both cars will have good capability to tackle rough terrains. Let’s wait until we have a chance to stay behind the wheels of the Jimny to get a better understanding.

New Mahindra Thar vs Suzuki Jimny – Final Verdicts

The 2020 Mahindra appears to be a more compelling package on paper. Still, since the Maruti Jimny is yet to come to use, we expect there might be a bunch of surprises it brings in once launched. At the first glimpse, it seems the Mahindra Thar is a better off-roader while the Jimny with its upcoming five-door design is more of an everyday car that should be lighter, equipped with more safety features that more fuel-efficient to give the Thar a run for its money. Stay tuned for our detailed comparison between Maruti Jimny and Mahindra Thar coming very soon.