Whenever there’s a mention of an affordable yet capable off-roader, the Mahindra Thar seems to be first one that comes to mind. However, it comes with its fair share of negatives. It makes its owners trade in everyday practicality and necessary creature comforts for off-road ability and butch looks. However, with Suzuki’s Jimny expected to be launched in the country soon, the Mahindra Thar’s status quo seems to be under threat.
Suzuki has equipped the new Jimny with all sorts of creature comforts that you see on premium hatchbacks these days, such as a large touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, auto climate control, detailed multi-info driver display and more. The fourth-gen Jimny is a four-seater and features front-facing rear seats with 3-point seat belts, as before.
As far as safety features are concerned, the new Jimny should get up to six airbags (dual front airbags offered with the third-gen model), ABS with EBD and brake assist, ESP (electronic stability program), traction control and autonomous braking, among others. There are LED projector headlamps (regular multi-reflector halogen in Thar) like the new Swift and the Dzire along with daytime running LEDs. It also has fog lamps, which are missing in the Mahindra.
The Mahindra Thar, on the other hand, has macho, Jeep Wrangler-inspired, looks but it lags behind in terms of equipment on offer and, fit and finish.
It doesn’t come with an audio system, there are no power windows either and the rear passengers have to sit sideways with no seat belts.
Moreover, the Thar doesn't come with any sort of safety equipment - not even ABS. Dial in the fact that it isn’t really a comfortable commuter and you know that it can be a pain to drive everyday. We, however, expect things to change in this department since Mahindra will have to update the Thar when BNVSAP (Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program) norms are implemented.
Now that Suzuki has revealed the official pictures of the fourth-gen Jimny, we can say with confidence that the Jimny looks chic despite the rugged design touches. Just look at the paint options on offer, for example. And it’s not that the Jimny fares well in the looks department only. It should be light, like its predecessor, and should be capable off the road too.
The Maruti Gypsy, which is officially the second-gen Jimny, tips the scales at 985kg in its soft-top avatar, while the Mahindra Thar (soft top) weighs a whopping 1670kg. Hence, the Gypsy has to carry 685kg less while off-roading compared to the Thar. And despite a difference of 26PS in the power output of the Thar (107PS/247Nm) and the Gypsy (81PS/103NM), the latter has a better power to weight ratio as well. The outgoing third-gen Jimny (85PS/110Nm; 1090kg hard top) had similar traits (it never made it to India) and the upcoming model should also follow suit, just like its predecessors. Check out the off-road performance comparison of the previous Jimny with the Thar:
The Mahindra Thar CRDe 4x4 is priced at Rs 9.24 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Suzuki Jimny will likely have an advantage here as well! While both the Thar and the Jimny fall in the sub-4m category and thus attract lower excise duties, the Mahindra is powered by a 2.5-litre diesel engine and therefore qualifies as a luxury car in India! The India-spec Jimny, if launched, could be powered by a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol/1.0-litre turbo petrol or Maruti’s in-house developed 1.5-litre diesel. All these engine options will help it benefit from the small car tax scheme. So, expect the Jimny to be priced lower than the Thar. Factor in all this, and the new Jimny makes a very strong case for itself against the Mahindra Thar.
Maruti had already skipped a generation of the Jimny (third-gen) for India and it's been a long wait since the third-gen Jimny didn’t have the usual five-year model cycle. In fact, it lasted for over 20 years! We hope that the country’s largest automaker brings the new Gypsy/Jimny to India this time around.
Source: CarDekho.com
