When the word Sports Utility Vehicle comes to mind, there is usually only one car most Indians associate it with, the Mahindra Scorpio. It is a powerful vehicle which captured the imagination of Indians on the roads and in their hearts. Since then, the Indian auto market has seen some dramatic changes. Today it is the fourth largest and the fastest growing market in the world at the same time. Such rising economic strength has seen a huge influx of foreign manufacturers and they have since established their foothold and released a whole lot of vehicles.
The Indian company Mahindra is not one to hold back, they have many models in the sub-4-meter category, but there is one model which is set to take the market by storm. The new Mahindra Thar is an SUV set to be built by Mahindra in collaboration with Ssangyong, the Korean automobile giants. The vehicle will use the ladder platform made by Ssangyong and the body will be built in India. The car’s production has been in the pipeline for the past five years and the work continues even today.
The reason for the sheer amount of time spent is so that Mahindra can prep the car to follow stricter road and safety rules set to be mandated by the government from next year. This flexibility will also allow the company to use turbocharged petrol, diesel and even electronic powertrain on the vehicle. These vehicles are also designed to comply to safety rules abroad and Mahindra is looking to expand its domain to countries such as Australia, and parts of Africa, where there is always a demand for off-road vehicles.
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The company has been in the works making new models with many modern bits added to the design. The car is being made more eco-friendly, as it tries to curb emissions and introduce better quality engines in the cars. Safety features like ABS and airbags will come standard with the new Thar. The Scorpio platform of the Thar allows it to be more refine on the road and make it a better vehicle. The previous iterations lacked this part and thus it was not a very popular vehicle.
The car is also set to be priced very competitively, as the new platform and parts sharing with other manufacturers allow it to be cheaper than ever before. As for the design and style department, the car should retain older and classic design elements, like the inspiration from the CJ5 Jeep. The main purpose of the car is to rival the internationally acclaimed Jeep Wrangler which is sold in over 50 countries. The lifestyle off-roader is a segment which Mahindra has not yet fully tested, but the company looks ambitious and looks set to take on the challenge abroad as well. As the car goes into testing and production, the manufacturers will release more details and we will keep them coming to you. In the meanwhile, you could also look into previous models and keep informed about how the thar really was in its prime.
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