Surprising Urban Cruiser

As an urban use vehicle, the Thar really surprises with what it delivers. With a commanding seating presence with a long view of the road, the ability to navigate terrible Mumbai roads with all the construction happening and yet be able to park almost anywhere - due to its size of 4 meters and ability to park in rough spaces. It can easily be a primary drive for someone who usually drives alone or at most with one person. Trips to the golf course with a kit bag happen with one rear seat folded. Did a couple of airport runs with big bags on folded seats so that's also possible as needed. Though you would be better placed to have this as a second or third car in a family. AC is really good and cools fast. Gear shifts are slick most of the time, except from first to second where there is some vagueness and needs a fully depressed clutch shift smoothly. The ride tends to be a bit bumpy but that comes with the ladder on the frame and high ground clearance. Best to drive at sedate speeds of up to 80 to 100. Very torquey engine allows you to potter around at km/l on 6th gear. The bit of rough roading that one did in Karjat had me grinning - and this is not the first SUV I have owned. It really holds its weight well there and you won't think twice getting into a rough road shoulder on a country road. First service done - and it took more time than I thought it should - Mahindra is not a Toyota E60 service yet but to keep a car overnight for the usual first service niggles? Mileage of 12.63 km/l is a tank-to-tank at cut off - with a 60:40 mix of highway and city. Presume this will improve as one gets used to the driving dynamics - but I don't think one should build too many expectations beyond this. Best to look at this as a conventionally unpractical car which surprises pleasantly with what it actually delivers. I got this at the introductory price and therefore it's great value for what one paid. At the new pricing, it may take a bit to compare with a more conventional options from the venues to the entry-level mid-size SUVs.