At a time when it is being seen as the death of diesel, the Mahindra Thar SUV has defied the trend. Diesel variants of the Mahindra Thar have outsold the petrol versions of the SUV by 10 times in May 2024. Diesel variants of the Mahindra Thar SUV sold 5,207 units in May this year, in comparison to the petrol versions of the car, which recorded 543 units in the same month.

Interestingly, this comes as a stark contrasting picture as petrol variants of Mahindra Thar sold 3,190 units and diesel models retailed 1,106 units in the same month a year ago.

The homegrown car manufacturer also stated that in May 2024, Mahindra produced 5,224 units of the Thar diesel and 482 units of the Thar petrol. Last year, the production numbers for the Mahindra Thar petrol variants stood at 2,512 units and 1,061 units for the diesel.

Watch: Mahindra Thar 2020: Full Drive Review

Currently, Mahindra is working on the five-door iteration of the Thar SUV, which is slated to debut in India on 15th August this year. The upcoming five-door iteration of the Mahindra Thar will directly challenge the Maruti Suzuki Jimny and will expand that SUV's portfolio. While the five-door version of the true-blue off-roader will come with additional space inside the cabin thanks to the extra doors, there would be minimal design changes to make it distinctive from the current three-door version of the SUV.

On the powertrain front, the Mahindra Thar five-door is expected to be available in petrol and diesel engines. The 1.5-litre diesel power mill onboard the Thar three-door churns out 117 bhp power and 300 Nm torque. It could be there in the Thar five-door. Along with it, the upcoming SUV would also get the 2.2-litre diesel and 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine from the Mahindra Scorpio N. Expect the upcoming SUV to be available in both 4WD and 2WD drivetrain options, while transmission choices would include both manual and automatic gearboxes.

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