It’s not only the staple off-roader in Mahindra’s line-up, the Thar also happens to be one of the best vehicles for, as we in North India especially Punjab call ‘gedi’ — driving leisurely, showboating a little, etc. You get the point, don’t you? We look at a bunch of modified Thars: ones that satisfy the real off-roader and those which up your showboating skills a little, too.
Starting with the good looking ones,
Thar Earth Roamer
The Thar can be a great tourer — it can handle bad roads brilliantly, has enough grunt and composure to maintain highway speeds, and looks cool, too. However if that’s not enough for you, the customised Thar by Performance Auto takes it all a level ahead. Apart from the evident soft-top and a foldable tent above it, the custom Thar gets a lift kid, a snorkel, off-road bumpers, an external roll cage, and new head- and tail-lamps — projector for the former, LED for the latter.
The long list of updates also includes Fox Racing shocks (all around), an adjustable anti-roll bar, a winch, spare tyre wheel mounted underneath, added underbody protection, etc. On the inside it gets electric leather seats, a new in-car entertainment unit (Pioneer head unit, Kicker component speakers, and a sub-woofer), internally adjustable ORVMs, and a Unichip piggy-back ECU for increased engine performance. One car that does it all? Very close.
Thar Evo
While we’ve refrained from including the rally-spec versions of the Thar in the list, here’s one by Performance Auto that’s likely to take care of off-roading without having to looking like a monster truck. With Unichip engine management, a ‘competition quality’ suspension, custom bumpers, a winch, swing-out spare wheel holder, a snorkel, and a couple of auxiliary lights, it looks ready for the job.
The white paintjob, custom interior, wide wheel arches, and new headlamps and LED indicators help it in the aesthetic department, too.
R&T Auto Catalyst’s Thar DI
Revered among off-road enthusiasts for its simple mechanicals, the Thar DI is barebones when it comes from the Mahindra factory. But a few modifications later, it becomes good looking and functional as R&T Auto Catalyst’s lovely example shows here. With the good old looks of the MMs, a snorkel, lifted suspension, and custom bumpers, this is the Thar DI to own.
The steel wheels look the part, and the winch brings added off-road functionality to the custom Thar. And those side-mounted indicators…
R&T Auto Catalyst’s Thar CRDe
But if you think the CRDe engined Thar is the one for you, here’s another custom. This one’s made by R&T as the one above, but it clearly gets a more extreme lift kit, Hankook DynaPro MT tyres, custom bumpers, a snorkel, a winch, and a farm jack.
The chopped fenders make it look more imposing, and so do the larger wheels, especially in comparison to the easy favourite Thar DI.
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