First Drive: Mahindra Thar Roxx Is On-Road And Off-Road SUV

Pune: Mahindra, the SUV specialist, has introduced the all-new Thar Roxx SUV to be the number one brand in the over Rs 12.50 lakh price bracket in the growing mid-size SUV market in India over the next three-five years. The five-door Thar Roxx is the second product after the Mumbai-based automaker had launched the three-door Thar.

Based on the M_GLYDE platform, the Thar Roxx features a noticeable distinct design, including LED DRLs and body-colored grills. It combines the ruggedness of a capable off-road vehicle with the comfort of a city SUV.

The Roxx will be available in MX1, MX3, AX3L, MX5, AX5L and AX7L variants. The RWD variants are priced between Rs 12.99 lakh to Rs 20.49 lakhs. Test drives are scheduled to start on September 14, 2024. Bookings will open on October 3, 2024, while deliveries will start on Dussehra (October 12, 2024).

We took the new Thar Roxx for a spin to check out if it rocks.

The Exterior

What you first notice is that though overall shape of the front has not been changed, the SUV features a redesigned radiator grille, LED projector headlamps with DRLs, LED turn-indicators, reworked bumper and LED fog lamps, large ORVMs, a side step, larger 19-inch alloy wheels shod with fat 255-section off-road tyres, chunky claddings, wide 90-degree opening rear doors, tailgate-mounted full-size spare alloy wheel, two stage tailgate, and a really large panoramic sunroof. The rear has got new tail-lamps, a revised bumper and liftgate.

The Interior

The Thar Roxx interior features a dual-tone black and white dashboard with leatherette inserts, and soft-touch materials. The dashboard has a leatherette cladding with contrast stitching along with piano black and chrome inserts. It has got ambient lighting. The seats are comfortable and supportive. The driver seat is electrically adjustable and seatbelts are adjustable for height. The front seats are ventilated.

Auto climate control is single-zone which was quite effective on a hot and humid day in Kochi where we did the short test drive. The SUV comes with a new 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 10.2-inch TFT instrument cluster. These screens are crisp in resolution and offer a clear viewing experience and they are easy to use and the response is fast. It gets wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity and connected car tech (Adrenox and Alexa). The physical buttons below the touchscreen which are very useful while driving. It is paired with a 9-speaker Harman Kardon Quantum Logic sound system. The massive sunroof, which Mahindra calls it skyroof, lets a lot of light into the cabin. The rear bench has got proper seats for three adult occupants. The leg room, head room, shoulder room and hip room in the vehicle are quite comfortable. Each of the front seat backs gets multiple pockets for the rear seat occupants to use. It has 447L of boot space up until the rear backrest and 644L of boot space if you load it till the metal roof. safety quotient as well. On the safety front, the Thar Roxx gets 6 airbags, LED headlights along with 35+ safety features as standard fitment across the range. There is camera-based Level-2 ADAS and 360-degree camera along with blind view monitoring.

The Drive Experience

The Thar Roxx is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engines, both of which come with automatic or manual transmissions. Only the diesel engine gets the 4x4 options. The engines have varying power outputs with the petrol-automatic and diesel 4x4s getting a more powerful version of their respective engines. The petrol-automatic variant of the Roxx develops 177PS and 380 Nm of torque while the 2.2 litre diesel engine develops 175 PS and 370 Nm of torque. Both these engines are offered with a 6-speed manual and automatic transmission. This SUV comes with both the rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive setup.

We drove the petrol-automatic which comes with two drive modes, the Zip and the Zoom, the latter providing more power to the wheels. Once you start the engine, and take your foot off the brake, the vehicle effortlessly rolls ahead smoothly. There is no shortage of power, and overtaking on some of the narrow roads in and around Kochi was effortless. The Zoom mode is aggressive as a mere tap on the accelerator gets the SUV to respond instantly. The 6-speed Aisin torque converter provides a more responsive driving experience, offering smooth and seamless shifts and though paddle shifters are missing, you can flick to manual mode via the lever. What is interesting is that in manual mode, this automatic allows you to hold max revs in each gear, so you can squeeze the most out of this engine.

The electric power steering is very comfortable. While at city speeds, the steering is very light, which makes manoeuvring it pretty easy, the steering weighs up fairly well as the speed increases. The suspension, engine and road noise are superbly suppressed and only at high speeds on the high that a bit of wind noise creeps into the cabin. We felt a fair bit of body roll around corners and the front moves around a bit at high speeds, but with good control, you can be on a comfortable cruiser. This SUV with its massive wheels and huge ground clearance absorbs potholes and rough roads quite well, giving a comfortable ride.

Should I buy one?

The Thar Roxx in six trims (MX3, MX5, MX7, AX3L, AX5L and AX7L) is priced between Rs 12.99 lakh and Rs 20.49 lakh for the top end version and prices are not yet out for the 4x4 variants. The Thar Roxx, which looks promising and drives well, has immense potential to disrupt the SUV market. With Mahindra positioning the Thar Roxx as a go-anywhere, lifestyle vehicle is sure to attract buyers for urban and outdoor driving.