Mahindra's adventure offering, the formidable Thar, gets a practical twist and with the summer sun beating down we couldn't be happier!

In real world conditions, or I should say under the summer sun in Delhi, the air conditioner did struggle initially, however it makes the cabin comfortable in about seven to ten minutes, which is rather decent and comparable to the cooling time rate of some hatchbacks. Keeping in mind that the Thar is a soft top I figured that the cooling system was working considerably well; however the element that I did have a grouse with were the controls, which I found flimsy and rather old school. In today's day and age, the least that one would expect in a vehicle that costs upwards of Rs 7.00 lakh would be a climate control air conditioning system.

The bottom line however is that with the inclusion of the air-conditioning system, the Thar gains a rather practical attribute. It's always been known as a fantastic adventure vehicle, but as the list of creature comforts trickle in, the Thar is slowly and surely finding its way into the urban jungle.  It has a lot of merit as an urban SUV  thanks to its small dimensions, easy and light steering, frugal engine and if Mahindra plays their cards right, they can open up a whole new avenue for the Thar.