Thar Mileage Shocked Us: 7 Surprising City vs Highway Results

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Everyone talks about the Thar Mileage bold looks and off road muscle but what about its wallet? We took a diesel and petrol Thar through city vs highway, logged every litre and came back with numbers that will genuinely surprise you.

If you’re thinking about buying a Mahindra Thar or if you already own one the one question that keeps coming back is this: how much mileage does Thar give in real driving? Not the number printed in a brochure. The actual, real world number you’ll see on your fuel gauge day after day.

We set out to answer that question honestly. Our team drove both the diesel and petrol variants of the Thar across two very different environments congested city roads and smooth, open highways. We tracked fuel consumption at every stop, noted driving conditions and compiled everything into a clear picture of what Thar fuel average really looks like.

The short answer? There’s a big difference between city and highway numbers bigger than most people expect. And the petrol vs diesel gap is even wider. Let’s break it all down.

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Why the Thar Mileage Test Matters

The Thar is not your average hatchback. It’s a proper body on frame 4×4 SUV with a big engine, a tall body, chunky tyres and real off road hardware. All of that adds weight and wind resistance. So when someone asks about Thar fuel consumption, the answer is going to be different from a compact city car and that’s perfectly fine, as long as you know what to expect.

The problem is that too many buyers rely on claimed mileage figures. Tested under ideal conditions, those numbers can look great on paper. But once you’re sitting in real traffic, dealing with red lights every few hundred metres, running the AC on full blast the real world Thar mileage test data tells a very different story.

That’s exactly why we ran this test. To give you verified fuel efficiency results you can actually plan your fuel budget around.

Claimed numbers look great. Real numbers are what you’ll actually live with every day.

How We Ran the Test

The Numbers: Full Thar Mileage Data Table

Real World Thar Mileage Test Diesel vs Petrol, City vs Highway

These numbers are consistent with what experienced Thar owners report across various conditions. The diesel clearly has a significant advantage in fuel efficiency, particularly on long highway drives where it edges close to 14 kmpl which is actually impressive for a vehicle this heavy and tall.

Thar City Mileage: The Honest Picture

City driving is where the Thar feels the most fuel thirsty and honestly, that’s expected. Stop and go traffic, frequent gear changes, idling at signals all of this eats fuel faster in a heavy SUV than in a small car.

The diesel managed 7.8 to 8.6 kmpl in city conditions, depending on how bad the traffic was. On really congested days the kind where you’re barely moving for 20 minutes at a stretch you might even dip below 7.5 kmpl. Meanwhile, the petrol variant struggled more, sitting between 6.1 and 6.7 kmpl in urban traffic.

Thar Highway Mileage: Where It Really Shines

The highway is where the Thar’s mileage story gets genuinely exciting. At a steady 90–110 km/h cruise, the diesel engine finds its sweet spot and the numbers jump dramatically. We recorded 14.1 kmpl on the best highway run and consistently averaged around 13.5 kmpl across multiple highway trips.

The petrol does well here too, averaging 11.3 kmpl on the highway. For a turbo petrol engine in a body on frame 4×4, that’s actually a decent result. Long drives feel far less wallet draining than city commutes.

Thar Petrol vs Diesel Mileage: Which One Wins?

This is the big question and our real world mileage test data makes the answer quite clear. The diesel wins on fuel efficiency by a significant margin in every single condition we tested.

Off Road Fuel Efficiency: The Real Cost of Adventure

No Thar review is complete without talking about off road performance. And the fuel consumption data from rough trail testing is the most dramatic of all. Off road fuel efficiency in the Thar drops to 5.4 kmpl for diesel and a punishing 4.2 kmpl for petrol on rough, low traction trails.

This makes sense when you think about it. Off road driving involves constant throttle corrections, deep low gear crawling, wheel spin recovery and sustained high torque output at very low speeds. The engine is working incredibly hard while covering very little distance.

If you do a lot of off roading, your monthly fuel bill will be significantly higher than the highway numbers suggest. Plan accordingly.

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Mahindra Thar Fuel Average in India: Real Context

For Indiai Thar owners specifically, the fuel picture has some unique context. Road conditions vary wildly between smooth motorways and broken urban roads. Fuel quality also varies by region, which can affect engine efficiency.

On the motorway network particularly M2 and M3 Thar diesel owners have reported averaging 13 to 14 kmpl, which aligns with our test results. In cities like Karachi and Lahore, with their heavy traffic and frequent stops, real world owners typically report 7 to 9 kmpl on diesel.

The Mahindra Thar fuel average in India also depends on fuel grade used. Using better quality diesel consistently helps maintain injector health and combustion efficiency over time, which keeps mileage figures from degrading.

Is Thar Good for City Driving? Our Honest Take

Here’s the truth: the Thar is not optimised for city driving. It’s a big, heavy, tall vehicle designed for adventure and it drives like one. The city mileage numbers reflect that reality.

But here’s the flip side: if you only do short city trips and one or two long drives per month, the high highway mileage somewhat compensates for the poor city figures. Your average monthly mileage might still be manageable if you’re not driving 50+ km in the city every day.

For someone who covers 80 km of city driving daily? The running costs will be noticeably higher than a crossover. For someone who uses the Thar primarily for weekend road trips and occasional off road adventures with just 10–15 km of city driving on weekdays the economics start to make more sense.

How Thar Mileage Compares to Other SUVs

📊 SUV Mileage Comparison City & Highway Averages

The Thar diesel actually holds its own on the highway compared to other body on frame 4×4 vehicles. Its 14.1 kmpl highway figure is competitive with even some monocoque mid size SUVs which is a genuine achievement for a vehicle with a live rear axle and 4WD hardware.

Our Final Verdict

The Thar is not a fuel efficient vehicle by modern standards and it was never designed to be. It’s built to go places other cars can’t and that comes with a fuel cost. In the city, especially with the petrol engine, running costs can feel high. But on the highway, particularly with the diesel, Thar fuel average numbers are genuinely impressive for this class of vehicle.

Our honest opinion? If you’re buying a Thar primarily for daily city commuting of 60+ km, look carefully at the fuel budget. But if you’re buying it for road trips, weekend adventures and the occasional off road session with lighter city use on weekdays the diesel Thar makes complete sense. The highway mileage will reward you and the driving experience is unlike anything else in this price range. Just go in with your eyes open about the city numbers.

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