Exclusive: Mahindra Thar ABS spied at a dealership stockyard

Mahindra has begun dispatching the ABS equipped version of the Thar CRDe 4X4 on-off road SUV to dealerships. CarToq’s trusted source has sent in first pictures of the Thar CRDe ABS from a dealer stockyard in Southern India. From the pictures, it’s clear that the ABS warning light is mounted on the dashboard of the SUV, on the right hand side.

What is also interesting is the fact that the warning light console doesn’t just host the ABS light but also the airbag and seatbelt reminder light. This indicates that Mahindra may offer a driver airbag on the Thar CRDe 4×4 before discontinuing it by the end of this year to make way for the all-new model. However, the addition of a driver airbag to the current/first-generation Thar CRDe 4X4 is mere speculation at this point in time.

Notably, the Thar CRDe already gets a seat belt warning reminder light for the driver, and adding one for the co-passenger is more or less a straightforward affair. Mahindra will just have to add a sensor and wiring harness and connect it to the instrument cluster since the seat belt reminder light is already present on the instrument cluster.

For the driver airbag though, a lot more needs to be done. 1. The automaker will have to add an inertia sensor to trigger the airbag during a frontal impact. 2. The airbag needs to be integrated into the steering wheel. Mahindra offers steering wheel-mounted driver airbags on almost all its new cars, and integrating such a safety feature to keep the Thar CRDe in production till the new model arrives is likely, and will not need an expensive dashboard redesign, which will be necessary if Mahindra were to add a passenger airbag to the current Thar.

The all-new Thar, which will make its debut in April 2020, will have a passenger airbag as well. The second generation off-roader is also likely to have a slew of other changes including a new Bharat Stage 6 emission norms compliant 2 liter-4 cylinder turbo diesel engine with about 140 Bhp-320 Nm, a 6 speed manual gearbox, improved suspension for better on-road behaviour, a brand new dashboard, better seats, a factory fitted hard top, some creature comforts, a new ladder frame chassis and revised body work with integrated pedestrian safety features. Mahindra is also said to be working on a turbo petrol engine for the Thar in case the market demands such an option in future. The 2 liter turbo petrol engine will also get a torque converter automatic gearbox. The 2020 Thar is expected to be about Rs. 1.5-2 lakhs pricier than the first-generation model, which has nearly reached the end of its life cycle.