Published By: Admin

Thar Roxx to Hit Our Shores on August 15: Other Five-Door SUVs to Look at in India

The upcoming car was supposed to be called Armada, but for reasons unknown, Mahindra has changed the moniker to Roxx

When Mahindra launched the current generation Thar four years ago, the company also announced that a five-door iteration would follow. The time has come as Mahindra announced that the Thar Roxx will make its official debut on August 15. Earlier, the five-door iteration of the Thar was supposed to be called “Armada,” but for unknown reasons, the moniker has been changed to Roxx.

Mechanically, the car could remain the same, borrowing the existing powertrain from the Thar, i.e., the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol motor and the 2.2-litre diesel engine options. In terms of transmission, the Roxx is expected to feature an optional manual and automatic transmission. Off-roading elements would include features such as 4x4 drivetrain, mechanical locking differential, brake-locking front axle, and a low-ratio gearbox.

No other details are known about the car as of now, but this is an apt time to look at its competitors. To be honest, the Roxx does not have direct competitors in India, given that it is a hardcore off-road five-door SUV. However, a few alternatives could be considered if one wishes to pick an off-roader now ahead of the Roxx's launch, which is almost a month away. 

Maruti Suzuki Jimny

Five-door SUV—that’s it. That’s the only place where we can put the Jimny and the Roxx together. Unlike the Roxx, which we expect to be as intimidating as the Thar, the Jimny is a cute little five-door SUV that certainly doesn’t look intimidating, especially when a peak is taken under the hood. The Jimny draws power from the K15B four-cylinder petrol engine that makes a peak power of 105hp and 134Nm of maximum torque. However, as they say, one should not judge a book by its cover, and the Jimny, despite looking like a toy, does surprisingly well in tricky terrain.

Verdict – If one can compromise on space and settle for a smaller five-door off-roader, the Jimny is worth the money.

Force Gurkha

The Force Gurkha, similar to Mahindra’s vision, launched a five-door version a few months ago, which looks like an economical rip-off of the G-Wagon. If there is any off-roader that comes relatively close to the Thar in terms of pricing and power figures, it is the Force Gurkha five-door iteration. Powered by a Mercedes-sourced four-cylinder, 2.6-litre diesel engine, the Gurkha makes a peak power of 140hp and a maximum torque of 320Nm. While the Gurkha is as impressive as the three-door iteration of the Thar on technical sections, it somewhat lacks behind in performance on open highways and tarmac. The Thar has an aggressive character, whereas the Gurkha is comfortable cruising at only 80 to 90 kilometres per hour. Above that, the Gurkha becomes unhappy.

Verdict – If a person is into driving serious technical sections with four more souls on board, the Gurkha makes sense. However, our advice would be to wait for the Roxx’s arrival, and once it does, take a test drive and get the one that serves the purpose better.

There’s one more car that we believe should not be on this list: the Jeep Wrangler, which has a price tag of around INR 70 lakh. The Wrangler gets an honourable mention because it is a five-door off-roader, brilliant at its job, and falls in the category of the Roxx to some extent but resides on a different planet.