Mahindra Thar Roxx Rivals Explained

The Mahindra Thar Roxx is undoubtedly something everyone has been looking forward to ever since they got a first whiff of its existence. The Indian car maker chose Independence Day, yet again, to rock the nation, so to say, with this launch. We now have a clear idea of what equipment it offers, the colours that its available in, how many powertrains it gets; now let's take a look at exactly what it goes up against.

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Also read: Mahindra Thar 3 - Door VS Thar Roxx - Key Differences

Who are the Mahindra Thar Roxxs Rivals? 

The Thar Roxx certainly has potential to take away buyers from certain mid-size SUVs, but the Force Gurkha five-door seems to be the most direct rival to the Thar Roxx. The Force Gurkha received a significant upgrade this year, with an updated engine, new features, and the arrival of the five-door as well. Lets see how the Thar Roxx and the Gurkha stack up against each other, on paper for now.

Mahindra Thar Roxx vs Force Gurkha Powertrain

If you want to have multiple options, maybe you shouldnt be looking at the Gurkha five-door, as it only gets the one diesel powertrain; a 2.6-litre unit with 138 bhp and 320Nm of torque, paired to a 5-speed manual transmission, and as of now, there seems to be no automatic option available.

Meanwhile, the Thar Roxx gives you the option of a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol, and a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel, in either rear-wheel drive guise, or with 4x4, and the option of a 6-speed manual, or a 6-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. That can be confusing, right? Lets make it simpler for you; the 2.0-litre petrol in its base rear-wheel drive guise produces 152 bhp and 330Nm of torque. In higher variants, the power figure goes up to 160 bhp. All this is with the 6-speed manual transmission. With the automatic, the figures change to 176 bhp and 380Nm of torque. 

Now to the diesels; the base rear-wheel drive diesels get the 2.2-litre unit, producing an identical 152 bhp and 330Nm of torque, with both the manual and automatic transmission. The 4x4 diesel variant produces 174bhp and 380Nm with the 6-speed automatic transmission. 

Also read: Mahindra Thar Roxx First Look: Here's What We Think About 'THE' SUV

Mahindra Thar Roxx vs Force Gurkha Interiors and Features

The Mahindra Thar Roxx gets a mixture of a white and black interior theme, with white being the primary colour overall. The lower-spec variants do get black seats as standard, while the higher variants get seats with white upholstery. If youve been in the three-door Thar before, you wont feel too out of place here, as things such as the twin-dial instrument cluster, and the steering wheel have been plucked from its smaller sibling.

With the exception of the base MX1 variant that receives the same centre console from the three-door Thar, most other variants of the Thar Roxx receive the newer centre console with the 10.25-inch HD infotainment touch screen, updated A/C controls, wireless Android Auto, wired Apple CarPlay (wireless on certain variants), reverse parking camera, and cruise control among many other features.

The HD instrument cluster is also reserved primarily for the AX trims. Not to forget, there are ADAS features available as well, with select equipment reserved for the automatic variants only.

In comparison, the Force Gurkha seems to cover the off-roading basics required from it, but misses out on novelty features that the Thar Roxx gets on offer. The Gurkha offers a shift-on-the-fly system, a snorkel, cornering lights, follow-me headlamps, and a tyre-pressure monitoring system.

For those looking to transport more people and/or luggage, the Gurkha offers you an extra row of seating as well, whereas Mahindra does not offer a third row of seats, but it does offer a substantial amount of boot space; something that could not be said about its three-door sibling. 

Mahindra Thar Roxx vs Force Gurkha Off-roading

Off-roading equipment on the Thar Roxx includes a brake locking differential, an electric front axle disconnect system, electric locking differential, smart crawling, intelliturn, terrain modes and drive modes. In terms of capabilities, the Thar Roxx gets upto 650mm of water wading, approach and departure angles of 41.7-degrees and 36.1-degrees.

Given the Gurkhas height advantage, the Thar Roxx was obviously going to have lesser water wading capacity. Force has mentioned the Gurkhas approach and departure angles, but it hasnt clarified whether the same angles apply to the five-door.

Also read: Mahindra Thar Roxx Launched  Check Out The Image & Colour Gallery Here

Mahindra Thar Roxx vs Force Gurkha Prices

Prices for the Thar Roxx have been revealed, but only of a select few variants. The base MX1 petrol begins from Rs 12.99 lakh, while the diesel can be had from Rs 13.99 lakh onwards. For now, the highest youll have to pay for a Thar Roxx is Rs 20.49 lakh for the AX7L diesel automatic, rear-wheel drive. We can expect the 4x4 variants to carry a higher price tag, and well keep you updated once they are revealed. 

Meanwhile, the Force Gurkha five-door comes in just the one five-door variant, carrying a price tag of Rs 18.00 lakh. The Gurkha is a bigger car, offers an extra row of seats, more features than the Thar Roxx, and its interiors will likely be easier to clean as well. However, the Thar Roxx fights back with its range of variants, powertrain options, and a heavy equipment list. Stay tuned for our full review complete with driving impressions, and we shall also put the two against each other in a proper driving comparison soon enough!