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Indian automotive giant Mahindra will equip its upcoming new five-door Thar off-roader with advanced safety tech according to Autocar India, possibly paving the way for the Jeep Wrangler look-alike to get the green light for Australia.
Mahindra is yet to officially confirm the five-door Thar’s arrival timing in India but when it does debut it’s expected to be named the Armada and take its place above the three-door Thar already on sale.
According to a report by Autocar India higher grades in the Armada range will get ADAS2 (Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) safety tech such as AEB, lane keeping assistance and blind spot warning.
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That might be enough for Mahindra in Australia to consider bringing the new Armada here where Australian Design Rules mandate brake assist systems and manufacturers are expected to provide vehicles which score high in ANCAP’s crash rating system.
Currently, the three-door Thar sold in India has no advanced safety technology such as AEB and even stability control is only offered on some variants.
The upcoming five-door version of the Thar will be underpinned by a new ladder frame chassis and is likely to be powered by the same 2.2-litre diesel four cylinder engine found in the Mahindra Scorpio large SUV and a 2.0-litre petrol four-cylinder from the XUV700 mid-sized SUV. A smaller 1.5-litre diesel may also be offered in an affordable entry level grade.
CarsGuide contacted Mahindra to learn more about the possibilities of the Armada coming here, but has yet to hear back.
Mahindra currently sells the Scorpio, XU700 and S11 Pik Up four-wheel drive ute in Australia. If the Armada joins them it will take on rivals such as the Jeep Wrangler and Suzuki Jimny.
If you were wondering how Mahindra is able to circumvent copyright restrictions with the design of its Thar being so similar to Jeep’s iconic Wrangler, the answer is murky. Mahindra claims it had a licensing agreement to produce Willys Jeeps in the 1940s and from there the design evolved into the vehicles it sells today.
Jeep’s owner Stellantis has long taken issue with the design similarities, but lost a court case in 2023 in the United States to block Mahindra from selling its look-a-likes.
In Australia, Stellantis was successful in blocking the sale of the Thar because of the design similarities and unless the Armada five-door version looks much different than the three-door then the court ruling could prevent the vehicle being sold here even if it meets local safety standards.
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