Mahindra Thar Mileage

autocar.india

•27w

The Tata Sierra's that we reviewed were well put together for the most part, with just a few niggles around. However, Tata Motors is known to have many issues with its cars, especially in the initial period. Thus, if you are in doubt about the quality, we would suggest you wait for a few months. As for the other options, we would rule out the Mahindra Thar as it is tilted more towards performance. Also, it will not meet your requirement of a balance of power and efficiency. What would meet this requirement would be the diesel Kia Seltos.

Tata Sierra

Mahindra Thar

autocar.india

•38w

The Mahindra Thar is a bit of an outlier among these three options. It’s the only 3-door model, the only one built on a tough body-on-frame chassis, and the only one that comes with a diesel engine. Going for a diesel SUV is absolutely fine, in fact, the lack of diesel options in the Taigun and Kushaq petrol variants can be a disadvantage if you value fuel efficiency and torque for highway or off-road driving.If the Thar is going to be your second or third car that will be used occasionally for off-road trips or wilderness drives, then it’s a compelling choice, and the 1.5-litre diesel is significantly cheaper too.However, in terms of refinement, comfort, driveability, and on-road sophistication, the Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq are far superior. They are smoother, more comfortable, and easier to drive daily, making them better all-rounders for city and highway use.

Volkswagen Taigun

Mahindra Thar

Skoda Kushaq

autocar.india

•21w

Our detailed real-world fuel efficiency test of the three-door Mahindra Thar was conducted in Mumbai, a city known for heavy stop-start traffic. Compared to this, driving conditions in Delhi NCR generally involve more flowing traffic, which can result in slightly better efficiency figures.As an additional reference point, we can look at the Mahindra Scorpio N, which uses the same engines as the Thar Roxx, albeit in a higher state of tune. In our real-world tests, the petrol automatic Scorpio N returned 7.9 kpl in the city and 9.4 kpl on the highway. The diesel automatic managed 8.6 kpl in the city and 11.7 kpl on the highway. As these figures show, the difference in fuel efficiency between petrol and diesel automatics is not significant enough to justify choosing the diesel variant, especially given your limited running and predominantly city-based usage.As for manual versus automatic efficiency, especially in the case of the Thar Roxx, it is highly unlikely that the torque converter automatic will match the efficiency of the manual. This is due to the basic nature of the transmission. Torque converters use a fluid coupling instead of a direct mechanical link, which leads to energy losses during acceleration and low-speed driving. In contrast, a manual gearbox offers a direct mechanical connection once the clutch is engaged, resulting in lower losses.Other automatic transmissions, such as dual clutch units and CVTs, are inherently more efficient than torque converters. DCTs use mechanical clutches for faster and more direct power transfer. CVTs are able to keep the engine operating in its most efficient rev range for most driving conditions. As a result, these transmissions can deliver fuel efficiency figures closer to manuals, something that is unlikely with a torque converter automatic. Finally, considering you are based in Delhi, where diesel regulations remain uncertain, the petrol variant of the Thar Roxx would be the more sensible and stress-free choice.

Mahindra Thar Roxx

Mahindra Thar

Mahindra Scorpio N

autocar.india

•21w

We have not yet tested the Mahindra Thar Roxx for real-world fuel efficiency. However, based on our experience with the three-door Thar, which uses the same engines albeit in a lower state of tune, we can offer a realistic estimate.For the petrol manual, expect city efficiency to be in the region of 8 to 9 kpl and around 10 to 11 kpl on the highway. With the petrol automatic torque converter, efficiency is likely to drop to around 7 kpl in the city and close to 9 kpl on the highway.The diesel manual should return around 11 kpl in city driving and roughly a kilometre per litre more on the highway. The diesel automatic is expected to deliver about 9 to 10 kpl in the city and close to 11 kpl on the highway.Considering your daily usage is limited to around 30 km with only occasional long trips, we would recommend the petrol variant. It offers greater peace of mind, especially given that you live in Delhi, where regulations around diesel vehicles continue to evolve. With predominantly city usage, there is also a higher risk of DPF-related issues with the diesel engine.

Mahindra Thar Roxx

Mahindra Thar