Move aside, Thar! Isuzu V-Cross is the new KING

For more than half a decade, the Mahindra Thar has been the first choice of off-road enthusiasts and people who wanted a lifestyle vehicle. The soft-top Thar is also a modders favourite. Times have changed. The Thar is now losing territory to the recently launched Isuzu D-Max V-Cross. Here are few reasons on why the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross is getting such a good response from the market.

Massive street presence

The Mahindra Thar is an off-beat vehicle and used to catch a lot of eyes on the road. The Thar gets the iconic Jeep design that people are much more used to see on the roads. The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross, on the other hand, is relatively new in the market and there are very few other cars with pick-up body style in India.

The V-Cross is also 1,375 mm longer and 134 mm wider than the Mahindra Thar. Even though the Thar is 90mm taller than the V-Cross, the muscular body panels of the V-Cross makes it look much bigger and intimidating on the road. Thar does not look very intimidating unless the car gets some very serious modifications.

Safety

The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross is a complete package. Unlike Thar, the V-Cross comes with safety features like standard dual front airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, ISOFIX approved anchors for child seats and engine immobiliser. The Mahindra Thar, on the other hand, does not get any of these.

Even though most people buy the Thar for off-roading, where ABS does not make any sense, it would have been a much better deal if Mahindra offered the option of ABS for people who also use the car on tarmac. The V-Cross again proves to be a much better package than the Mahindra Thar in terms of safety.

More Space

The Thar comes with front captain seats while the rear seats are side-facing bench seats. The V-Cross offers double cabin set-up where the rear passengers get a front-facing bench seat that are much more comfortable than the Thar. Not to forget, the V-Cross also comes with a loading deck that measures 1,485mm in length and 1,530mm in width.

Many owners modify the deck to put a hardcover for luggage. Also, many others have covered the space with hard top and have put extra seats for more passengers. Now that the vehicle has a pretty capable 4X4 system, the V-Cross with a hard cover on the rear can become a capable cross-country tourer.

Customisation options

Mahindra Thar has been around for a very long time in India. The desi modders have come up with pretty impressive customisation option for the car. Even Mahindra offers customisation from their factory. The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross is a global product and has been selling in customisation-happy markets like Thailand and Indonesia since a long time.

Now that the vehicle is finally here in India, the car is modification-ready with the international customisation options. Almost all the V-Cross selling in India get a lift kit from the foreign market among various other modifications like headlamps, tail lamps etc.

Comfort

About a year ago, Mahindra updated the Thar with some modern touches. The vehicle got better seats, a closed glove compartment among other things. Even with all the new features, the Thar is not a comfortable vehicle. The SUV does not get armrests, and many other such things that make life easier on the move.

The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross, on the other hand, is a fully loaded vehicle and feels way more premium than the Thar. The pick-up gets cubby holes, bottle holders, steering mounted controls, bucket seats to make the life much more comfortable.

The Thar is a very raw vehicle, while the V-Cross is designed to make the occupants comfortable over long journeys. Also, the Isuzu V-Cross gets a hard top, which makes it a way better choice than the Thar, which only comes in soft-top. Also, aftermarket hard tops for the Thar do not provide great fit and finish.