Mahindra Thar Roxx Review: Who Should Buy and Who Should Avoid

The Roxx is far more practical than the three-door Thar. It gets five doors, a proper rear seat, a 447-litre boot, more cabin space and a much more us...

The Roxx is far more practical than the three-door Thar. It gets five doors, a proper rear seat, a 447-litre boot, more cabin space and a much more usable suspension setup. Yet, if you are a family man using your car every day for office, school runs, shopping, parents, relatives and weekend trips, the Thar Roxx can still be an impractical choice compared with a conventional monocoque SUV.

Who Should Buy the Mahindra Thar Roxx?

Buy the Thar Roxx if the Thar experience itself is important to you.

If you want an SUV that looks aggressive, has serious road presence, can deal with terrible roads and can actually go off-road on weekends, the Roxx makes sense.

It is particularly suited to:

• Buyers who regularly drive on broken roads

• People who go off-roading

• Buyers living in areas with poor roads, mud or waterlogging

• Enthusiasts who want a lifestyle SUV

• Families who want a Thar but need five doors

• Buyers who value design and road presence heavily

• People who have another practical car at home

• Buyers who want a ladder-frame SUV but don't want the compromises of the three-door Thar

The important part is that last one.

The Roxx is much more usable than the regular Thar, but it is still built around an off-road SUV philosophy.

The Family Man Problem

Here is where things get interesting.

Imagine your daily routine.

You wake up, take your wife to work, drop the kids at school, go to the office, pick up groceries, collect your parents, drive through traffic, park in a tight basement and return home.

On Sunday, you take the family out for lunch.

You probably do not need a ladder-frame SUV.

You need easy ingress, a comfortable ride, good visibility, easy parking, low effort steering, good storage and a cabin that does not remind you every five minutes that underneath it sits a machine designed to climb rocks.

The Roxx improves many of these things. Its longer 2,850mm wheelbase creates considerably more cabin space, while the rear seats get good legroom, reclining backrests and proper AC vents. The 447-litre boot is also genuinely useful.

But the fundamental character remains.

The ladder-frame construction, high ground clearance, large wheels and off-road hardware bring compromises. The ride can feel lumpy at low speeds, there is more body movement than in a typical monocoque SUV and passengers can feel the road more, particularly from the rear.

So if your family car spends 95% of its life on tarmac, you are paying for engineering that you may rarely use.

You are basically buying a mountain goat to take the kids to tuition.

The Ladder Frame Is the Point, Not a Problem

Calling the ladder-frame chassis a disadvantage would be unfair.

It is actually one of the main reasons people buy the Roxx.

The Thar Roxx uses Mahindra's fourth-generation body-on-frame platform. The chassis is lighter and stiffer than the older setup, while the rear suspension uses a multi-link arrangement with Watt's linkage to improve body control. Mahindra also moved to electric power steering, making the Roxx considerably easier to drive than the older Thar.

You also get serious off-road numbers.

This is where the Roxx starts making sense.

If your weekend looks like mud, rocks, trails, river crossings and broken mountain roads, the compromises suddenly look much more reasonable.

If your weekend looks like Phoenix Mall, airport road and a family lunch, not so much.

What Makes the Thar Roxx Special?

There are three things you cannot easily replicate with a Creta, Seltos or Grand Vitara.

1. The road presence

The Thar Roxx has enormous visual presence.

You do not need to explain what you bought. The car does it for you.

The tall stance, upright design, exposed spare wheel and boxy proportions give it the kind of attention that conventional family SUVs struggle to create.

For some buyers, this is a perfectly valid reason to buy it.

2. Actual off-road ability

This isn't a soft-roader wearing adventure stickers.

The Roxx offers a proper body-on-frame construction, high ground clearance and 4XPLOR hardware. Four-wheel drive is available with the diesel, along with off-road-focused equipment on applicable variants.

If you actually use it, this hardware is valuable.

3. The Thar experience

There is an emotional element here.

A Creta may be the more sensible machine for many families.

The Roxx gives you something else.

It makes you feel like you should be driving somewhere with no roads.

That matters to some buyers.

Which Thar Roxx Variant Is for Whom?

Instead of looking at variants only by features, think about them by buyer type.

Thar Roxx MX1, for the Thar enthusiast on a budget

This is for someone who primarily wants the Thar design, size and basic SUV experience without chasing every premium feature.

It makes sense if:

• You want the Roxx primarily for its design

• You don't care about luxury features

• You are comfortable with a relatively basic cabin

• You have another car for long family trips

Who should buy it: Enthusiasts who want the Thar experience without climbing too far up the price ladder.

Thar Roxx MX3, for the daily user

This is where the Roxx starts becoming easier to justify as a daily vehicle.

You get more of the equipment you actually use every day, while retaining the basic Roxx character.

Who should buy it: Someone who wants a Thar Roxx as their primary car but does not need the full premium feature list.

Thar Roxx AX3L, for the tech-focused buyer

This is for someone who wants the Roxx but also wants more technology and convenience.

Think of this variant as the bridge between the rugged SUV and the modern family car.

Who should buy it: Buyers who want the Roxx experience but don't want to live with a stripped-down cabin.

Thar Roxx AX5, for the premium lifestyle buyer

Here the Roxx becomes less utilitarian and more lifestyle-oriented.

This is the sweet spot for buyers who want the visual drama of the Thar but also expect modern comfort and features.

Who should buy it: Urban buyers who want the Roxx as a lifestyle SUV and will use it mainly on roads.

Thar Roxx AX7L, for the enthusiast who wants everything

This is the variant for the person who sees the Thar Roxx as more than transportation.

You get the premium features, more technology and, on applicable versions, advanced driver assistance and 360-degree camera functionality.

Who should buy it: Buyers who want the complete Roxx experience and are willing to pay for it.

Who Should Avoid Buying the Thar Roxx?

This is perhaps more important than knowing who should buy it.

Avoid it if you want maximum family comfort

A conventional monocoque SUV will generally feel more settled and car-like.

The Roxx has improved greatly over the three-door Thar, but its body-on-frame construction still makes itself known through the ride and body movement.

Avoid it if your parents frequently sit in the back

The five-door layout makes access much easier than the three-door Thar, but the Roxx is still a tall SUV.

Older passengers may find getting in and out less convenient than in a lower, more car-like SUV.

Avoid it if 90% of your driving is city traffic

You can absolutely drive the Roxx in a city.

The question is whether you should.

If your daily life consists of traffic jams, tight parking spaces and short trips, a conventional monocoque SUV can make more sense.

Avoid it if you want a soft, cushy ride

The Roxx is comfortable by ladder-frame SUV standards.

That is different from saying it has the polished ride of a good monocoque SUV.

There is still some low-speed lumpiness and road feel, especially at the rear.

Avoid it if you are buying it only for the image

This is the biggest one.

If the only reason you want the Roxx is:

"Bhai, Thar hai."

then stop and think.

Because you are paying for serious mechanical hardware that you may never use.

What Is the Alternative?

For a regular family, the alternative is not necessarily another off-roader.

It is a good monocoque family SUV.

Cars such as the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder and Volkswagen Taigun/Kushaq-type SUVs focus more heavily on road comfort, city usability and everyday driving.

The choice is therefore less about which SUV is universally better and more about what you actually do with your car.

Want comfort, easy city driving and family duty? Look at a monocoque SUV.

Want a rugged SUV that can actually leave the road? The Roxx starts making much more sense.

Want both? The Roxx gives you a surprisingly good middle ground, but it still carries some ladder-frame compromises.

Thar Roxx vs Regular Thar: Which Makes More Sense for a Family?

There is very little debate here.

If you actually carry your family regularly, the Roxx is the more practical Thar.

The longer wheelbase, five-door layout, larger boot and better rear-seat accommodation fix many of the three-door Thar's biggest problems. Mahindra itself positions the Roxx as the more practical five-door alternative, while the regular Thar remains the more compact, focused off-roader.

But that doesn't automatically make the Roxx the ideal family SUV.

It makes it the family-friendly version of an off-roader.

That distinction matters.