2019/ 2020 Mahindra Thar vs Xylo: Street presence compared

The Mahindra Thar is the most popular utility vehicle in India. A hot favorite among avid off-roaders, it provides a phenomenal off road prowess which a few SUVs can imagine of at its price point. Recently, a new Mahindra Thar was caught testing with camouflage covers and it sure looked like an upgrade over the current generation model. We even told you how it could look like in production guise through a render. Now, the next generation Mahindra Thar has been spotted testing again, this time in Coimbatore. Here is a picture of the new Thar alongside the Mahindra Xylo. Take a good look before we get into more details.

The second generation Thar will be the first Mahindra SUV to utilize a brand new ladder frame chassis. This makes it much wider than thhe outgoing model. In the picture we see a Mahindra Xylo alongside the new Thar. In terms of sheer street presence, the Thar easily gets the upper hand, intimidating the Xylo easily. It also looks quite larger than the outgoing model of Thar.

Talking of the design, the new Thar retains the Jeep CJ5-inspired styling which includes a 7-slat grille, circular headlamps and indicators mounted on the font fenders. The test mule didn’t sport a proper bumper and many of the design elements may not be yet final. Other details include a fabric top, side steps and a side-hinged tail gate. Mahindra would offer it with a hard top too when it is production ready.

If you pay close attention, you can see that the front fascia now sports a more modern and slightly curvier design than the current model. It looks inspired by the Thar Wanderlust concept showcased by the company at the 2018 Delhi Auto Expo. Though the final car could be different, going by these spyshots, Mahindra seems to have made the new generation Thar more modern in every aspect.

The rear end says a similar story with a wider footprint and temporary mounted tail lights. At bottom rear of the car, we see a white box attached to the body. This is some sort of testing equipment which will later help in the further development and fine tuning of the vehicle. As the new Thar is not expected to be in the market before 2020, it will comply with the upcoming safety (BNSVAP) and emission (BSVI) norms. It most probably will get powered by a BS-VI compliant diesel engine mated to a 4-wheel drive system with locking differentials.

Rumours are rife that Mahindra will showcase the production ready second generation Thar at the 2020 Delhi Auto Expo. It could be made available for sale some time later too. As its will be a new generation car, asking price is expected to go up too and it will face the new Force Gurkha Xtreme as its main rival when its launched.

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