A Himalayan Affair: The Mahindra Thar from a Himachali's Lens
Listen, brother. Here in Himachal, a vehicle isn’t just a machine. It’s your sathi on the road to Jalori Pass, your lifeline during the Bhrigu Lake trek shuttle, and your only hope when the apple orchard road turns to slush in the September rains. I’ve seen SUVs come and go — but the Thar? The Thar is different. It’s not bought; it’s adopted.
Near Manali I run a small homestay and an adventure touring side-business. I’ve had the new Thar for over two years now. And I’m not going to tell you about the sunroof. I’m going to tell you what it does when the road ends and the mountain begins.
Why a Thar for the Mountains? It’s the Only Answer.
Up here, people used to ask “Petrol or Diesel?” Now they just ask “Hard top or Soft top?” The Thar isn’t a choice among cars; it’s a choice for a lifestyle. My old Scorpio was a workhorse, but on the rocky trail to Chandra Taal, it felt… nervous. The Thar looks at that same trail and says, “Aur kya hai?” It’s bred for this. That short wheelbase, high ground clearance, and proper 4x4 with a mechanical low-range transfer case — these aren’t specs on paper. They are tools for survival and joy in the high Himalayas.
Where It Earns Its Wheat: The Off-Road Gospel
1. The Low-Range Crawl: Your Best Friend on a 45-Degree Slope.
Forget the highway. The magic happens when you slot that lever into 4L. The world slows down. The engine’s torque multiplies, and the Thar becomes a mountain goat. Descending the slippery, shale-covered stretch towards Hampta Pass, you don’t use the brakes. You let the low-range engine braking do the work. It crawls down with a confidence that steadies your own heartbeat. On steep, rocky ascents near Tosh Valley, it just digs in and walks up. You feel every wheel find purchase through the steering. It’s a conversation with the terrain.
2. Water, Slush, and Snow: “No Problem” is its Middle Name.
River Crossings: The Mandi-Chandigarh highway might flood, but the Thar’s high air intake and sealed electronics mean you assess the current, pick your line, and forge ahead while others wait for days.
Monsoon Slush: When the dirt track to a remote village becomes a chocolate pudding, the Thar’s lockable differential (in the right variant) ensures at least one wheel keeps pulling you through. You arrive covered in mud, but you arrive.
Snow Drifts: Driving from Manali to Keylong in early winter? Chains are for other cars. The Thar, with its aggressive stock tyres and weight over the driven axles, just ploughs through fresh snow like a happy puppy.
3. The Unbreakable Mindset.
This is intangible but real. You don’t tip-toe in a Thar. You drive. You stop worrying about “what if.” That broken bridge approach, that landslide bypass—you look at it, judge it, and more often than not, you go for it. The vehicle gives you a psychological permission slip for adventure that no monocoque SUV can match.
The Daily (and Not-So-Daily) Reality Check
1. On Our “Highways”: A Mixed Bag.
The NH from Chandigarh to Bilaspur is decent. But take the state highway to Chamba or the Spiti road? The Thar’s stiff, off-road-focused suspension talks to you. A lot. You feel every crack, every patch. It’s not uncomfortable in a painful way; it’s communicative. After six hours, you’re tired, but you also feel like you intimately know every inch of the road you’ve covered. The steering is vague at speed, and crosswinds on the Atal Tunnel approach can give you a moment’s pause.
2. Practicality? Define Practical.
Space: For gear? Excellent. I can fit climbing ropes, a portable cooker, and luggage for two in the back with the seats up. For people? The rear seats are for the young, the agile, or the very forgiving. It’s a 2+2, not a family mover.
The Open-Top Vibe: This is the Thar’s soul. Dropping the soft top or just opening the hard-top’s sunroof on the Manali-Leh highway… there is no feeling like it. You’re not looking at the mountains; you’re in them. The air, the sounds, the scale—it’s immersive in a way no sunroof-sedan can comprehend.
3. The “Thar Tax.”
You will be stopped. Constantly. “Kitna deti hai?” (Diesel gives me 13-15, depending on how madly I’m driving). “Kitne ki padi?” “Yehi wali Bollywood waali hai kya?” It’s part of ownership. Embrace it or go mad.
Final Verdict for a Pahadi Brother or Sister
Get the Thar if:
Your idea of a Sunday drive is finding a new trail to a hidden meadow.
You need a vehicle that laughs at monsoon landslides and winter snows.
You value capability and character over cushioned, silent luxury.
Your heart beats for mechanical simplicity and the sheer, raw fun of driving.
Look at a Scorpio-N or XUV700 if:
You need to regularly carry more than two adults in comfort.
Your driving is 80% on paved, twisty hill roads where ride and handling matter more.
You prioritize fuel efficiency (though the Thar diesel is respectable) and cabin quietness.
For Me? It’s Not a Car, It’s a Co-Pilot.
The Thar has flaws. It’s noisy, it shakes, it’s impractical. But when I’m guiding a convoy of city SUVs on a camping trip and I have to winch one out of a stream, or when I’m the only one who can make it up to a snowbound guesthouse to deliver supplies, none of that matters.
It’s the most honest machine you can park in a Himachal courtyard. It doesn’t pretend to be civilized. It promises adventure, and on every single trip, it delivers. In the mountains, that’s not a feature. It’s a virtue.
Rating for Mountain Life: 9/10
It loses one point for making long highway hauls tiring. But for the purpose it serves in these hills—as an unstoppable, joyful, adventure-enabling tool—it comes painfully close to perfect. Jai Mahindra, and jai pahad! 🏔️
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Amit Saxena 2 months ago
Bhaiya, saving every penny from my part-time job for this! My father says get a Swift. But after reading this, how do I explain that the Thar isn't just transport—it's freedom? That Spiti road photo in your review is now my phone wallpaper. One day
Sachin Patil 2 months ago
From professional view—this vehicle is why our job is difficult! People see Thar go through our construction site bypass, then everyone tries. Seriously though, for us to inspect remote sites after landslides, only Thar or Bolero works. The 4x4 system is properly engineered, not like some showpiece SUVs.
Karthik Iyer 2 months ago
The Hotelier from Manali "Exactly right about being stopped constantly! For me, it's business—guests see my Thar and immediately book the off-road tour package. It's my best marketing tool. But practically, fetching supplies from Mandi in winter when trucks won't come? The Thar is my supply chain. Worth every rupee.
Temjen Ao 2 months ago
Reading from Canada where I drive a luxury SUV. Every winter when I visit my ancestral village near Chail, I rent a Thar. It's the only vehicle that makes sense. Your line about it being 'adopted not bought'—perfect. It becomes part of the family. This year, I'm buying one to keep there
Rahul Sharma 2 months ago
We have had the same Thar for 12 years. The new one is more comfortable, but the soul is same. During harvest, when the kuccha road to our upper orchard turns to mud, this is only vehicle that goes. We carry 8-10 crates in the back. It's not a car, it's a farm vehicle that looks handsome.