Mahindra will be launching the updated Thar in June this year. The Thar spied in these images was sans any camouflage and was caught on lens by us in Pune. It is also possible that this example of the 2015 Thar was heading to ARAI.
For the 2015 Thar, Mahindra has tweaked the exteriors mildly and the overall rugged design has been kept intact. It gets a refreshed front bumper which will integrate itself with the re-designed, wider, front wheel arch flares. Mahindra will be ditching the all-steel bumpers for the 2015 model and it will be built using metal and readily deforming plastic keeping in mind the pedestrian safety norms. It also gets a new soft top which is tilted a bit at the rear section. Also on the change list will be a new and bigger side step for easy ingress and egress.
On the interior front, the 2015 Mahindra Thar features a new dual tone dashboard with circular AC vents in place of the rectangular ones seen on the outgoing model. The SUV also gets a new instrument panel with silver finish, which is a nice touch considering the one on outgoing model looks straight out of a 90’s vehicle. The 2015 Thar also boasts of a new meatier steering wheel (from the Bolero) and a new handbrake lever.
On the mechanical front, it will continue to be powered by the same 2.5 liter motors – the DI unit which churns out 63 hp and the CRDe which outputs 105 hp. Both the motors will come mated to a 5 speed manual transmission and will be available with 2WD or 4WD.