Comparison: Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4

Among off-roading enthusiasts, the comparison between the Maruti Suzuki Jimny and the Mahindra Thar is a common topic of discussion. Many times, these discussions turn into arguments because both Jimny and Thar are extremely capable off-roaders, and it is hard to decide which one is better.

At the same time, even if a car is an off-roading champion, it is also judged on its practicality and suitability as a family car. It makes a lot of sense because not every day is such a car taken for off-roading adventures, and it must spend a significant amount of time on city roads and streets. On these parameters, the Thar and Jimny are quite different from each other.

So, if you are looking to buy one of these two, making a sound choice can be hard, considering their off-roading capabilities and practicality. To ease things for you, in this comparison of Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4, we pit them against each other based on practicality and off-roading calibre and find out which one suits your needs.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4: Dimensions & Design

While both the Maruti Jimny and the Mahindra are equally long, the Thar is substantially larger than the Jimny. The Thar is 175 mm wider, 124 mm taller, and rides 16 mm higher in comparison to the Jimny. However, the Jimny’s wheelbase is 140 mm longer than that of the Thar, which makes it offer more legroom to rear-seat passengers. In addition to the longer wheelbase, two exclusive doors for the rear passengers add to the practicality of the Jimny, while the 3-door Thar scores less on this front. Moreover, while the official figures of the Thar’s boot space are not available, it is considerably smaller than the Jimny’s 208-litre boot of the Jimny, which again gives a few more practicality points to the Jimny.

When it comes to design, the Mahindra Thar beats not only the Jimny but also many other cars in the Indian market. As a matter of fact, it is the Thar’s macho and tough appeal that attracts most of its buyers, while significantly fewer own a Thar for its off-roading calibre. With a boxy silhouette, the Thar has a dominant profile. Its upright face features a high-set flat bonnet, an aggressive grille with six vertical slats, classic round headlamps, and a chunky blacked-out bumper. Over to the side, the Thar features a large single-unit window glass, contrasting roof, and chunky wheel arches housing larger 18-inch wheels. At the rear, the spare tyre on the side-hinged tailgate and stubby rectangular tail lamps neatly round off the Thar’s dominant aura.

On the other hand, due to its shorter height, the Maruti Jimny appears to be longer in comparison with the Thar. Like the Thar, the Indo-Japanese SUV has a boxy design, but it does not look as intimidating as the Thar. At the front, it features a clamshell bonnet, chrome-finished five-slot grille, and round headlamps. On the side, apart from looking longer, what differentiates the Jimny from the Thar is a separate quarter glass towards the rear, which the Thar misses. The Jimny rides on 15-inch wheels, and at the rear, like the Thar, the Jimny features a spare tyre mounted on the side-hinged tailgate.

The Mahindra Thar is larger than the Maruti Suzuki Jimny. However, on the inside, the Maruti Jimny is more spacious, thanks to the longer wheelbase and smart space management by Maruti Suzuki. With that being said, the Mahindra Thar has a more dominant road presence than the Maruti Jimny.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4: Engine & Transmission

Each of the Mahindra Thar’s engines produces more power than the naturally aspirated petrol engine of the Maruti Jimny. At the same time, it is important to note that the Thar is 525 kg heavier than the Jimny, which requires it to be more powerful. Despite the Jimny being lighter in comparison, the Thar feels more powerful on the go, especially on city roads. It is quicker, and the mighty 300 Nm of torque gives it zippy acceleration and makes it more exciting to drive. Moreover, a surprising yet very practical advantage of the Thar is a tighter 5.5-metre turning radius, whereas the Jimny has a turning radius of 5.7 metres. With that being said, where is the Thar falls short of satisfaction is ride comfort. Based on a ladder frame chassis, the Thar suffers from uncomfortable body movements even on smooth city roads.

The Jimny is weaker than the Thar and so can be felt in its drive, especially on city roads. You need to foot the accelerator hard or downshift gears in many conditions where you need to overtake a vehicle driving in front. However, to keep up with the flow of traffic, Jimny’s petrol engine is sufficiently powerful. The key advantage that the Jimny offers over the Thar is better ride comfort. While, like the Thar, the Jimny is based on a ladder frame chassis, which is notorious for jerky rides, Maruti has managed to tune the suspension to minimise the jerks.

The Mahindra Thar offers more engine options, and each of them is more powerful than the petrol engine of the Maruti Suzuki Jimny. With more power-packed engines, the Thar feels more powerful on the go. All the same, the Jimny offers a much better ride comfort than the Thar.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4: Off-Road Features

When it comes to off-roading features, the Mahindra Thar is better equipped. It is a better approach angle, departure angle, ramp breakover angle, ground clearance, and water wading capacity. Moreover, the Thar has more capable all-terrain tyres in comparison to the highway terrain tyres of the Jimny. Another advantage of the Thar is a mechanical locking rear differential, while the Jimny gets a brake-based limited-slip differential. Expectedly, both have four-wheel drive with a low-range transfer case.

While the Mahindra Thar is better equipped in terms of off-roading features, the story is not the same when it comes to the real-world off-roading capabilities of both. Let’s start with the Thar. Whether it is steep uphill climbs, downhill strolls, driving over rocks or through muddy terrains, the Thar smoothly goes about its business. Its hill start assist feature, mechanical locking differential, and hill descent control features assist it well while dealing with such conditions. Moreover, thanks to its powerful engines, the Thar never runs out of power. Due to a high-set driver seat, the Thar gives a more commanding and reassuring view, and you can easily see the edge of the bonnet. However, this is a car for pros, especially when it comes to off-roading adventures. It is because the Thar is quite heavy and powerful for its size. It needs an expert to handle so much power, and if such a heavy SUV gets stuck in off-roading ventures, it is difficult to get it out.

On the other hand, the Maruti Jimny is far lighter and smaller than the Thar and gives you confidence to pull it out with some helping hands, if it gets stuck. While its comparatively weaker engine needs to press the accelerator slightly harder at times during off-roading, it gets the job done every time, and again, being lighter is what favours the Jimny in such conditions. There is hardly any off-roading task that the Thar can do and the Jimny cannot, despite not coming with all-terrain tyres as the Thar does.   

Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4: Features & Comfort

On the inside, both the Mahindra Thar and the Maruti Jimny get dark-coloured themes and feel almost equally premium, while they differ in terms of interior design. The Jimny gets a neat interior layout, and its larger 9-inch touchscreen is slick to use. Below that are very handy chunky knobs for climate control with some toggle switches lower down, and rectangular AC vents.

On the other hand, the Thar features a curvy dashboard, which looks noticeably similar to that of the Jimny, especially due to the round AC vents at both ends. The difference starts from the smaller touchscreen and buttons for the climate control. The Thar is slightly more practical too, especially due to cup holders in the central console and bottle holders in the doors that the Jimny does not offer.

Feature-wise, both Jimny and Thar are almost equally equipped. Both get automatic AC and music systems to enrich your off-roading adventures. However, the Jimny does offer the advantage of LED headlamps with its exclusive washers, which can be helpful as, during off-roading, the car’s headlamps easily get dirty.

The Mahindra Thar and Maruti Suzuki Jimny feel almost equally premium on the inside, and both offer all modern-day essentials expected of an off-roading SUV in their price bracket.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4: Safety Features

The Maruti Jimny has not been tested by any NCAP, so no comments can be made about its structural strength. Whereas, the Mahindra Thar has scored a commendable 4-star rating in the Global NCAP safety test. Structurally, the Thar is stronger than the Jimny, and this can be easily judged by listening to the thud sound that these SUVs make when you shut their doors. All the same, the Jimny has the advantage of offering six airbags as standard in all variants, while the Thar offers only dual front airbags.

The Mahindra Thar is a stronger and safer car for passengers in comparison to the Maruti Suzuki Jimny.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4: Price comparison

The lowest variants of the Mahindra Thar come with a rear-wheel-drive setup, and the price of four-wheel-drive models starts from Rs 14.49 lakh. Whereas all variants of the Jimny come with a 4-wheel-drive setup. This makes the 4X4 Jimny significantly more affordable than the 4X4 Thar, and a more value-for-money offering in this comparison.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4: Summary

Now the question is which one you should buy!

While the Mahindra Thar and Maruti Suzuki Jimny are almost equally capable off-roaders, if you want a more exciting car overall, you should go with the Mahindra Thar. It is more powerful and more exciting to drive, and its road presence immediately commands respect, which is often the reason folks buy this legendary off-roader. However, with the Thar comes poor ride quality and tight space for rear passengers. At the same time, if you want a more practical off-roading SUV with better ride comfort and more space for rear passengers, it is the Jimny you should put your money on.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny vs Mahindra Thar 4×4: FAQs