Mahindra Thar DI Variant Discontinued: Mahindra Starts Phasing Out The Current-Gen Thar

Mahindra decided to stop production of the DI variant of the Mahindra Thar. The company says this step was taken as the costs to upgrade this variant to comply with the upcoming safety norms would not be justified.

This can be considered as the first phase in discontinuing the production of the current-gen Thar. The Mahindra Thar has been around for nearly nine years now, and the SUV has barely been updated during this span of time.

The few updates that it did get, gave it basic features like air conditioning, ABS, etc. It has for the large part been a bare bones journey for the Mahindra Thar and more so for the DI variant. The Mahindra Thar DI is the perfect throwback to the MM540 that the Thar was designed to replace.

It features a rugged design with a rugged engine and gearbox. It came with a 2.5-litre DI diesel engine and a 5-speed manual transmission. The Mahindra Thar DI was available in rear-wheel-drive as well as 4-wheel-drive variants.

It did not come with any creature comforts and this was to the extent that it didn't even feature power steering. This wasn't acceptable back when it was launched and definitely isn't acceptable today amidst tough competition.

However, there are a few buyers who loved the Thar DI for its bare basic nature and rugged durability and obviously the fact that it was cheaper to buy than the top-spec CRDe variant. Hence, Mahindra kept producing the DI variant specifically for buyers like them.

Now though, it is finally time to say goodbye thanks to the upcoming safety norms deadline. According to a government mandate, all cars sold from 01 July, 2019 should be equipped with a speed alert system, driver and front passenger seatbelt warning, driver's airbag and ABS.

The top-spec Thar CRDe already comes with a driver's airbag and ABS, hence, it should be easy to upgrade it to meet the new safety norms. The Thar CRDe also produces more power thanks to the turbocharged CRDe diesel engine.

While the 2.5-litre DI engine pushed out 62bhp and 195Nm, the 2.5-litre CRDe powerplant pushes out 105.5bhp and 247Nm. A 5-speed manual gearbox handles transmission duties and 4WD with low-ratio is standard fitment. So the Thar CRDe will survive even with the new safety norms.

However, even the CRDe model wouldn't survive the BS-VI emissions norms kicking in on 01 April, 2020. It is for this reason that Mahindra will be launching the next-gen Thar before the new emissions norms kick in.

The new Mahindra Thar is expected to be launched at the 2020 Indian Auto Expo. It has been spotted several times while being tested and is bigger, will come with a more powerful engine and will be more refined as well.

Before the new Thar is launched, Mahindra will be launching the Signature Edition of the Thar. The Signature Edition is essentially a final hurrah for the current-gen Mahindra Thar. It comes with an exclusive paint job, exclusive Signature Edition badges signed by Anand Mahindra and also comes with new alloy wheels. Only 700 units of the Signature Edition will be produced before it finally gives way to the new Mahindra Thar.

Thoughts On Mahindra Thar DI Discontinued

With the Thar DI being discontinued and Mahindra readying to launch the Signature Edition, it is obvious that Mahindra is slowly phasing out the current-gen Thar and making way for the upcoming 2020 model. We will surely miss the Thar DI, but we are also excited for the 2020 model to be launched.