Meet new Thar this Independence Day

MAHINDRA WILL unveil the new Thar on August 15. One of the most eagerly anticipated SUVs of the year, the Thar is expected to debut with a plethora of exterior and interior updates. The second-generation might as well have multiple BS6-compliant powertrain options. The SUV has been spied testing on numerous occasions in India, and it has become quite clear from the spy shots that the new model has retained its legendary rugged design, despite several fresh bells and whistles being added to it. In proportion, the

Thar looks larger than its predecessor, but continues to sport the Jeep CJ-5-inspired front fascia with a seven-slat grille. There are round headlamps like before, but we might see LED DRLs now.

The Thar will come with a more premium cabin having features like multi-function steering wheel, instrument panel with MID and touchscreen infotainment system, along with power windows and front-facing second row. It will have standard safety features like dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, seat belt reminder, reverse parking assist and highspeed alert.

The new Thar might get petrol as well as diesel engines, all of them being BS6compliant. We expect the Thar to come with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol motor from the automaker’s new mStallion range. The diesel option might be in the form of a 140bhp, 2.2litre mHawk turbo powertrain, with a standard 6-speed manual gearbox expected with both the mills. An automatic transmission is also expected.