Mahindra’s 2020 Thar took the Indian SUV market by a storm. They showed that there are still people out there who are looking for a proper SUV that is practical and can carry their family. Thanks to the much improved Thar which Mahindra tweaked specifically to be a better daily driver while not compromising its off-road capabilities. In an interview with Autocar, Alejandro Furas, secretary-general of Global NCAP, said “Mahindra confirmed to us that they decided to pull out the side seats version and it would no longer be available by the time we published the results”. This is the reason why GNCAP chose the four-seater variant that offers front-facing seats.
Mahindra 2020 Thar was recently crash-tested by the Global NCAP for its safety rating. Thar received a 4-star rating in the crash test. The Thar not only scored a 4-star rating for adult occupants but it also scored 4-stars for the child occupant safety. The variant that was tested for Thar was a 4-seater variant which was equipped with front-facing seats. So, the safety of the six-seater variant that offers only lap belts for the rear occupants still needs to be found out.
Also read: Buying a pre-owned Mahindra Thar is better than buying a new one: 5 reasons
According to this, the 6-seater side facing seat variants could be dumped soon. This would be done to boost safety as we know that the side facing seats are not as safe as the front-facing one. This means that the Thar would be offered with four front-facing seats only or there could be a possibility that Mahindra will be offering a two-seater option too for the base variant. Mahindra has already stopped accepting bookings for the AX variants which are lower trims. Mahindra is currently focusing on producing LX variant which is more in demand.
The reason that the SUV did not receive a 5-star rating is that the driver side footwell area was rated unstable which is not dangerous. However, the body shell of the 2020 Thar was rated did manage to score stable ratings. As for the safety equipment, Mahindra is offering ABS with EBD, dual airbags, seat belt reminder, ISOFIX child seat mounts on the rear seats, Overspeed warning, panic braking signal and passenger airbag deactivation switch. The higher LX variant also gets anti-theft alarm, speed sensing front door locks, stability program and Roll-over mitigation.
Mahindra 2020 Thar is offered with two engine options. There is a 2.0-litre mStallion turbocharged petrol engine and a 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine. This is the first time that the Thar is being offered with a petrol engine. The 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine produces 150 PS of max power and 320 Nm of peak torque. The 2.2-litre diesel engine produces 130 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 320 Nm. Both the engines are mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. Thar is already booked till May 2021 and Mahindra has ramped up the production to meet the demands. One of the reasons behind the huge success of the 2020 Thar is the petrol engine which is mated to an automatic transmission. Mahindra 2020 Thar starts from Rs. 9.80 lakhs ex-showroom and goes all the way up to Rs. 13.75 lakhs ex-showroom.
Image courtesy AutoTrend
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The post 6-seat Mahindra Thar to be discontinued thanks to Global NCAP first appeared on Cartoq.