Mahindra Thar (2025)

Our white 2025 Thar is the most-booked car in the entire fleet, and it's not close. There's something about its proportions — short overhangs, fat tyres, removable roof option, all in white against a Rajasthan sunset — that means at least one car in your group photo is always this one. It's a 4-seater hard-top with proper four-wheel drive, freshly serviced and ready for whatever you point it at.

The 2.2-litre mHawk diesel produces 130 hp and a healthy 300 Nm of torque, all of it available from low revs — exactly what you want when you're crawling up a dune ridge in low range. On the highway it cruises happily at 100 km/h with the AC at full, and you'll get 11–13 km/L depending on how heavy your foot is. The newly-revised gear ratios make city driving in Jodhpur noticeably less of a workout than the older Thar generation.

Inside, the cabin is more car-like than people expect. Touchscreen with wireless CarPlay/Android Auto, cruise control, climate AC that fights desert heat genuinely well, and seats that are far more comfortable than the early Thars. The back seat fits two adults; luggage goes behind the rear bench (roughly two soft duffel bags plus daypacks). If you need to pack heavier, fold the rear seats and you have proper cargo space.

We hand this car over with fresh tyres, full tank optional, all 4WD systems engaged and tested, and a quick demo of how to switch between 2H, 4H and 4L. The hard-top stays on by default — we don't currently rent it with the soft-top removed, for safety and dust reasons.