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Chandigarh: In recent months, a stream of media reports have portrayed a large majority of Mahindra Thar jeep owners as emblematic of reckless driving, their adventurous streak allegedly fuelled by an exaggerated sense of machismo associated with the vehicle itself.

These headlines caution against Thars barrelling through city streets – sometimes going even the wrong way – and tearing across muddy trails alike, their drivers seemingly more interested in displaying rugged bravado than observing traffic rules. Social media has further amplified this narrative, with video clips framing the vehicle as part of a collective over-grown juvenile ego trip.

An excoriating report in The Indian Express on March 9 noted that online platforms are saturated with Thar reels –speeding, swerving and drifting – projecting an image of invincibility that critics say seeps dangerously into real-world driving behaviour. The report suggested that a curious transformation seems to overcome some drivers the moment they get behind the wheel of a Thar.

The report argued that the vehicle’s imposing stance, its association with rugged masculinity and its cultural cachet as a status symbol can inflate a driver’s sense of invincibility – a heady cocktail when mixed with India’s often lawless road culture. It added that many drivers also tended to conflate the Thar’s elevated seating position with a heightened sense of power.

Much of the adverse debate around Thar was triggered last November by former Haryana director general of police (DGP) O.P. Singh, who described the vehicle-and Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles-owners as “rogue elements” with a “crazy” mindset, suggesting that seeing such vehicles invariably warranted police suspicion.

“The choice of car shows the mindset of a person,” Singh had declared in Gurgaon while still the state DGP, following a string of road mishaps involving Mahindra’s flagship vehicle. “The Thar is not a car, it’s a statement which says – this is how I am.”

Singh further linked Thar owners to reckless driving, roadside stunts and hooliganism across North India, prompting a social media storm over class stereotyping and road safety, associated with this jeep. It even led to a Gurugram-based Thar owner sending the former DGP a legal notice, demanding a public apology and retraction of his comments.

In cities like Chandigarh, however, Singh may have a valid point. For, here, the vehicle has, in recent years, emerged as a signature accessory for the City Beautiful’s formidable battalion of “Kakas” and “Kakis” – the privileged young gentlemen and ladies of Punjab who swan about town in their gleaming Thars with the serene confidence of those who believe traffic lights are merely advisory impediments and speed limits exist only for other motorists.

With sunglasses firmly in place and music audible three sectors away, these are clearly less a mode of transport than a moving declaration of their well-heeled personality, with a motorised theatrical swagger. Parked outside cafés and breweries or cruising city boulevards, it doubles as a stage prop for the pampered young scions of Punjab’s well-heeled families.

Yet another demographic quietly complicates this stereotype: the much older, septuagenarian Thar owners – like myself – who approach the vehicle rather differently. For many from this generation, the Thar is less an instrument of macho display or roadside theatrics than a reminder of an earlier era of motoring – sturdy, uncomplicated and reassuringly capable.

True, the occasional lapse, as indicated by former DGP Singh does occur: this writer has collected the odd challan on the Grand Trunk Road between Chandigarh and New Delhi for an early-morning excess of enthusiasm with the accelerator. But such minor transgressions aside, these machines are generally driven with steady restraint by those who value reliability, character and durability – qualities that rarely find mention on Instagram videos posted by younger Thar enthusiasts.

My relationship with the Thar is less about exhibition and more a nostalgic throwback to the Indian Army disposal reconditioned Mahindra Willys Jeep I owned in the 1990s, during my younger and considerably less solvent days. That old machine possessed all the rugged romance of a frontier vehicle: canvas flaps that snapped in the wind, a floor-shift gear stick that invariably needed coaxing and an engine that seemed permanently hungry for fuel, providing a heroic, but wallet-crushing mileage of barely five kilometres to the litre.

Yet it carried a peculiar charm at the time – the sort that made even routine drives feel adventurous in addition to occasionally drew mildly envious looks from passers-by.

Compared with that earlier contraption, the Thar is remarkably well behaved. It starts without coaxing, is economical to run, and has never demanded the sort of roadside mechanical attention that once defined jeep ownership. What previously was a noisy, temperamental exercise in stubborn motoring with the Willys has, with the Thar, evolved into something grand and luxurious – a rugged machine that does its job with quiet competence, leaving the theatrics largely to its younger patrons.

But what these newspaper headlines and social posts overlook is that the Thar is hardly just a macho plaything. It remains one of the more sensibly priced vehicles genuinely well suited to Indian driving conditions that often resemble an obstacle course of potholes, broken tarmac and unpredictable traffic. For many older owners like me, its appeal lies as much in its practicality and value for money, as in its rugged, well-proven roadworthiness.

One obvious place to begin is the price. The three-door hatchback Thar starts at around Rs 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom) for the entry-level diesel model, rising to about Rs 17.6 lakh in the top trims with automatic transmission. This places it squarely in the territory of a seriously valued vehicle, especially of one capable of both city commuting and serious off-road work with equal felicity.

What’s more, a cross-section of Thar owners report that the jeep holds its value well, a factor savvy buyers appreciate when it comes time to trade it in or sell. In a market where many sports utility vehicles (SUVs) depreciate rapidly, the Thar’s rugged reputation and sustained demand have helped keep its resale values steady. Fuel economy, too, is reasonable for a vehicle of this type, with several owners reporting averages in the low teens – around 12-13 kmpl – which, given the machine’s capability and generous torque, is respectable for a lifestyle SUV with genuine off-road competence.

In comparison, many SUVs with similar presence, engine performance and ruggedness trade at significantly higher prices –often with abysmal resale values – without offering the genuine 4×4 capability and torque-rich engine that make climbs, mud and broken roads feel like light work. Maintenance, too, is widely regarded by Thar owners as relatively inexpensive, with service bills that are reasonable and predictable and at intervals that do not demand constant workshop visits.

The mechanical simplicity of the Thar – fewer frills and more function – adds to its charm. There isn’t an avalanche of complex electronics to babysit, just a potent engine, solid 4×4 hardware, and a drive-train built to shrug off rough conditions. Of course, the Thar is by no means a luxury cruiser with micro-adjustable seats and whisper-quiet cabin finesse.

Its rugged interior – with hard-wearing plastics, exposed bolts, washable surfaces and controls large enough to be operated without a degree in electronics – simply reflects a practical and uncomplicated design. And on highways, once you settle into a rhythm, the Thar feels composed and confident – not fragile or nervous, but confidently purposeful. Besides, its high driving position offers a commanding view of the road that few sedans or compact SUVs can match.

In cities, too, the Thar proves far less intimidating than critics suggest. Its compact footprint, short wheelbase and upright driving position make it surprisingly practical in dense traffic. Its high seating – so frequently criticised by police as supposed encouragement to swaggering and macho behaviour – actually offers a clear view over the usual swarm of hatchbacks, scooters and impatient delivery riders across chaotic city roads. And, in places like Delhi’s perpetually jampacked Khan Market or Lajpat Nagar, for example, the highly manoeuvrable Thar is easy to park.

Meanwhile, in one respect, I must confess to failure as a Thar evangelist.

Some years ago, I had enthusiastically suggested to a few senior Mahindra executives in Mumbai, as well as an assortment of social media influencers, that they should popularise a cheerful little ritual for Thar owners – exchanging a friendly high-five whenever passing each other on the road. I explained that it was inspired by the genial custom once common among Volkswagen Beetle owners in Britain in the 1980s, who acknowledged one another’s presence as members of a slightly eccentric club.

Alas, the proposal never quite left the drawing board, leaving the expanding Thar fraternity to thunder past one another in majestic silence, as if each driver were performing a one-man parade of ruggedness and indulging in the occasional burst of enthusiastic driving that has given the vehicle its somewhat unruly reputation. But, for discerning drivers, the Thar most definitely, remains a vehicle more sinned against than sinning.

© The Wire