Mahindra Thar ROXX

The Mahindra Thar Roxx is a lot more than the Thar with rear doors. Launched in August 2024, it takes the Thar’s rugged off-road SUV formula and builds it into something more tech-loaded, more family-friendly and more universally appealing too. 

I have spent an extensive amount of time with the Thar Roxx, driven it off-road, compared it with other Mahindras and have even driven it across 4 states of India in a single day! Here’s the review of what it gets right and what it needs to do better.

The biggest positive point of the Thar that we love so much is its road presence. With the Thar Roxx, that has improved further. Yes, of course, this car is longer as is the wheelbase. However, even the width has increased and that adds a lot to its road presence.

While the Thar Roxx looks familiar, it’s surprisingly easy to tell apart, especially because of the different front grille and C-shaped LED DRLs. That aside you get LED projector headlamps, LED indicators and LED fog lamps as well.

The biggest change you will notice on the side are the alloy wheels. These are 19-inch alloys wrapped in big all-terrain tyres. This rear door is completely new and here too, the exposed hinges carry on. The biggest talking point of these doors are the door handles. If they were flush-fitting, then I would have liked it better. 

Another big convenience feature that has been added here (vs the 3-door) is the remote opening fuel filler cap, which can now be operated from inside the car. Quick note: If you were to remove the black roof portion of the car, you can imagine what it would look like as an open top jeep or convertible. Unfortunately, neither one of those are options.

The rear profile of this car looks quite different from the 3-door. That is because the top cladding has been changed a lot. Plus here you also get a high mounted stop lamp. This wheel is also the same full-size alloy 19-inch wheel which looks quite big mounted at the back. Of course, LED tail lamps and LED indicators are also available. 

The Thar Roxx has loads of old school appeal and has the right mix of modernities to make sure function matches form. We have given you a detailed real-world look at Thar Roxx’s design in our image gallery.

My personal pick would have to be Battleship Grey when it comes to the colour options. Other options include Stealth Black, Tango Red, Nebula Blue, Everest White, Deep Forest and Burnt Sienna. If you want to take a look at all the colour options via real-life images, this report will be helpful.

(4 out of 5)

Design & Quality

Similar but not the same. While the layout is similar to what you get in the 3-door Thar -- the materials and their quality have completely changed. This is the hint of the more urban family focused approach the Roxx takes. You now get soft leatherette material on the top of the entire dashboard with contrast stitching. You also get a soft leatherette cover on the steering wheel, door pads and elbow pads as well. The seats feel premium too. In fact, the Thar Roxx isn’t too far off from the XUV700 when it comes to interior quality and in some regards it does a notch better!

Front Seats

The driving position in the Roxx is good but will take some getting used to if you’ve driven only sedans or hatchbacks in the past. In fact, even if you’re used to compact SUVs like the Creta, this is a new experience. You sit high up, get a good view out and it offers confidence while driving. Just be mindful of the wide fenders especially while driving in traffic.

Now while the Thar Roxx is a large car, the front seats aren’t exceptionally spacious individually. Users up to 6ft in height will be comfortable but the seating space does feel narrow. If you’re very tall or have a hefty build, you will find the centre console and/or door grab handle rubbing against your leg.

The footwell will start to feel a bit cramped if you’re tall too. Also, because this steering wheel only adjusts for height and not reach, you will have to sit close to the footwell which makes for a slightly awkward driving position. 

In fact, we’d go so far as to say that if you’re a driver who is larger in size, you will find the seating space and seat comfort much better in the Scorpio-N than in the Thar Roxx.

Rear Seats

To get inside, you will have to use the side step. The good thing is that there is a very conveniently placed grab handle and the doors open 90 degrees. Younger members of the family won't face any issues -- but the elder members of the family won't like this very much. The door aperture is also slightly narrow which makes entering the rear seat very different vs a normal urban SUV.

Once inside, you get a lot of space. Even a 6-foot person will not have any issues with the leg, knee and headroom. Despite the panoramic sunroof, the space is very impressive. Furthermore, the underthigh support is good and the cushioning feels firm and supportive. To add to the comfort, you can even recline the rear seats (by quite a bit!) according to your preference.

Storage Options

Cabin practicality is good in the Roxx with door pockets that can accommodate a small bottle, a large wireless charger tray, two front cupholders, under armrest storage and a large glove box with cooling function (you can place several cold drink cans here). Furthermore, in the RWD, the 4x4 shifter makes way for a large storage pocket which is very practical.

Rear seat occupants get an armrest with two cupholders and seatback pockets with individual slots for mobile phones.

Charging Options

The charging options include a 65W Type C charger, a USB charger and a wireless charger. There is no 12V socket in the front which is surprising. Rear seat occupants get a type-C charge port along with a slot to place your phone/device next to it.

Features

(4 out of 5)

Loaded - that’s one word to describe the Thar Roxx’s features list. The driver side console now has all the power window switches, lock and unlock switches and ORVM controls in one place. Plus, you have automatic headlamps, automatic wipers, more steering controls, auto day/night IRVM, automatic climate control, front ventilated seats, a powered driver's seat, and a push button start stop. In terms of features, Mahindra has not cut any corners. 

The 10.25-inch touchscreen runs their latest AdrenoX software and gets wireless Android Auto along with some inbuilt apps. It also gets Apple CarPlay but the feature was activated a few months after the car went on sale. If your Thar Roxx (AX grade) isn’t running it yet, you can have it done via the service centre. The touchscreen is smooth to use but both many owners and I have experienced glitches at times where the screen doesn’t boot or hangs mid-operation. What is good, though, is the 9-speaker Harman Kardon sound system which sounds excellent. 

You also get a digital instrument cluster which is the same as the Scorpio N’s. The 10.25-inch screen has different layouts, with good graphics and can also show Google maps when using Android Auto. Also, the left and right camera show the blind spot view right here, but the camera processing quality could have been smoother. And the last feature that we all like very much is the panoramic sunroof that’s also plus-sized to match the stature of the car.

Right from the base variant you get 6 airbags, electronic stability program (ESP), 3 point seat belts for all passengers and a brake-locking differential. The higher variants get front parking sensors, a 360 degree camera and level 2 ADAS. 

Bharat NCAP crash tested the Thar Roxx and the SUV scored a 5/5-star crash safety rating for both adult and child occupant safety.

(4 out of 5)

The boot offers 447 litres of space. On paper, this is more than the Hyundai Creta. And because there is no parcel shelf here, you have more freedom to stack luggage the way you want.

You can keep the big suitcases straight up here and even stack one on top of the other. You can stack these suitcases sideways as well because the boot floor is wide and flat. We managed to store the luggage of 4 people including 2-3 large speakers in the boot for a 1500km road trip from Kochi to Pune.

The Thar Roxx gets a 2-litre turbo petrol and a 2.2-litre diesel option. Both engines are offered with manual and automatic transmission options but only the diesel is available with the option of 4x4. Want to know which variant of the Thar Roxx comes with which engine option? Feel free to read this detailed report. 

2-litre Turbo-petrol

City Performance

Mahindra’s new age engines are easily class leading. The petrol engine is super smooth on startup and you need the lightest of throttle inputs to drive in the city. Keeping up with traffic and making overtakes takes just part-throttle inputs and the power delivery is smooth as well.

Gear changes are easy with the manual transmission and the clutch is light too, though, it does have a long travel. Given the choice we’d pick the 6-speed automatic as it’s smooth, predictable and responsive too. Fuel-efficiency is not a strong suit with this engine in any condition. Depending on traffic, you can get around 7-9kmpl in the city.

Highway Performance

You’ll enjoy your highway drives with this engine. It offers a fun and exciting driving experience which is commendable considering how big, boxy and heavy the Thar Roxx is. Overtakes will be effortless and reaching triple digits is a quick experience. Even on the highways, we’d recommend you go for the automatic as the gear shifts are smooth and jerk free. Here you can get a fuel efficiency of around 10-12kmpl.

2.2-litre Turbo-Diesel

While diesel engines are a bit more sensitive to government regulations and their unpredictability, the diesel is not only my preferred engine, it’s also the one most Thar Roxx customers purchase.

Diesel City Performance

This engine makes its startup more apparent vs the petrol. You feel more vibrations and the engine noise is notably higher too. That being said, it isn’t crude and is still quite refined for a diesel. It has more than enough power for your city usage. Overtakes are effortless, you enjoy the easy low-rev torque delivery, and you can cruise in second or even third gear with ease. With the manual, you get a fairly light clutch, but if you drive in the city a lot, we’d recommend the automatic. It changes gears smoothly and downshifts whenever necessary (albeit with slight lag). With this engine, you can get a fuel economy of around 11-12kmpl in the city with the manual transmission. The automatic versions are likely to deliver around 8-10kmpl.

Diesel Highway Performance

Here too, you reap the benefits of strong performance at low revs and getting up to 100kmph or crossing it takes no effort. Sure, the petrol is a touch more rev happy but the diesel is plenty spirited and feels unburdened even with a full passenger and luggage load. Notably, if you want the punchier drive experience with the automatics, you’d have to opt for the AX automatic variants as they make more power and torque than the MX automatics; whether you get the AX 4x2 or AX 4x4.

As far as fuel efficiency goes, with this diesel unit you can expect around 16kmpl on the highways.

Off-Road Performance

The Thar's off-road credentials have always been praiseworthy. In the Roxx, Mahindra has further added an electronically locking rear differential while the brake locking rear differential comes as standard from the base variant. There is another new trick. When you are in 4-low and turn the car sharply, the rear inner wheel locks to give you a tighter turning radius (Intelli-turn). With its high ground clearance, good approach (41.7 degrees), rampover (23.9 degrees) and departure (36.1 degrees) angles, going off-road in this SUV will not be a challenge.

(3 out of 5)

Ride Comfort

On smooth roads, the Roxx is excellent. It loves well-paved tarmac highways and is a mile muncher. However, as soon as it encounters an expansion joint or a level change, the occupants get tossed around. Even in the city, slowly taking on broken sections of road will result in a fair bit of side-to-side tossing. Mahindra has given the Roxx a better suspension setup than the Thar 3-door and even the Scorpio-N but it does still feel like a big old school SUV over bad roads i.e. you need to drive through them quickly if you want to avoid feeling the surface changes in the cabin.

If Mahindra could have solved this one problem, then it would have been very difficult to criticise this SUV. But this is such a big problem that if the roads around your house are bad, then the Thar Roxx will feel very uncomfortable, especially for rear seat passengers. But if you are used to the ride quality of an offroader like the Thar 3-door, then this definitely is an upgrade. 

Handling

It may seem like an SUV of this size would be daunting to drive, but it isn't. The steering is light, as are the controls, so while you’re aware of its size, it doesn’t feel heavy to steer or maneuver. In fact, even the steering on a Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara feels heavier. On the highway too, it feels comfortable to drive but bear in mind that it’s a big and tall SUV, so make sure you take curves and corners carefully.

Which variant of Mahindra Thar Roxx is value for money?

• The Mahindra Thar Roxx 2025 is offered in 6 variants: MX1, MX3, MX5, AX3L, AX5L and AX7L. Want to know what these variants pack in terms of features? Our detailed Thar Roxx variant-wise features explainer will come to your rescue! 

• Mahindra Thar Roxx MX1 2025

  • This gets safety features like 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, traction control, hill hold assist, rear parking sensors and more. It also gets 4 power windows, push button start, a touchscreen and 4-speakers.

  • This variant covers the basics and can be considered by those on a strict budget

• Mahindra Thar Roxx MX3 2025

  • The MX3 variant adds a rear camera, auto-diming IRVM, electric mirror adjustment and an HD touchscreen, among other features

  • It’s the first variant offered with the option of an automatic transmission, whether you get a petrol Thar Roxx or diesel

• Mahindra Thar Roxx MX5

  • Except for the diesel 4x4 automatic, every engine and transmission option of the Thar Roxx 2025 is available in this variant

  • In this variant, the SUV gets more premium with LED DRLs, LED projector fog lights, a single-pane sunroof, 18-inch alloy wheels and leatherette interiors

• Mahindra Thar Roxx AX3L

  • This variant adds some premium/good to have features for MX5 variant buyers to make them consider upgrading

  • A 10.25 inch digital cluster, auto AC, auto headlamps, auto wipers and ADAS features such as auto braking, lane keep assist and high-beam assist get added here

  • This variant is only available with a diesel manual

• Mahindra Thar Roxx AX5L

  • The 2025 Thar Roxx AX5L is offered exclusively with the diesel automatic powertrain, whether you choose rear-wheel drive or 4x4.

  • While the MX5 and AX3L variants have some features that the other doesn’t, the AXL combines the features of both.

• Mahindra Thar Roxx AX7L

  • The fully-loaded Thar Roxx is big on tech and luxury features like a 360-degree camera, Harman Kardon music system with Dolby Atmos, powered driver’s seat, ventilated front seats, panoramic sunroof and 19-inch alloy wheels

  • This variant won’t leave you wanting for much more as the features package is rich

  • Except for the petrol manual, this variant gets every engine and transmission offered with the 2025 Thar Roxx

CarDekho Recommends:

• Those who want a feature-loaded Thar Roxx should get the top-spec AX7L. It costs the most but still delivers a lot of value.

• While the MX1 variant gets all the basics, I prefer the automatic Thar Roxx (in all variants), over the manual and would encourage upgrading to the MX3 automatic if your budget allows it

While everyone expected the Thar Roxx to be just a bigger Thar, what surprised us is the magnitude of the difference vs the 3-door. The road presence has improved, cabin quality is impressive, feature list is excellent, cabin practicality has improved and even the space is good.. The boot space is better than even the Creta and Seltos. Overall if you look at it from the eyes of a family SUV, then the Roxx meets all the expectations. 

Just bear in mind that the ride quality may not be ideal for everyone’s usage. If you largely encounter smooth and well-built roads, the Roxx will keep you happy. But if you frequently face broken and badly built roads, passenger comfort will feel compromised vs urban SUVs like the Creta or Grand Vitara.

Other Options To Consider

Mahindra Scorpio-N

Reasons To Consider

• More comfortable for taller users

• Captain seat option available

Reasons To Ignore

• Not as feature-loaded 

• Not as capable off-road

Hyundai Creta

Reasons To Consider

• Better ride quality

• Easier to live with in the city

• More fuel-efficient

Reasons To Ignore

• Doesn’t have the same road presence

• Not as capable off-road

Tata Harrier

Reasons To Consider

• Better rear seat comfort

• Better ride quality

Reasons To Ignore

• Not as capable off-road

• No 4x4 or petrol engine option available