Great rivalries are worth watching. They show us that till what extent one could go to prove itself the winner. Though we are not talking about any kind of war between two kingdoms of sorts, but, we are talking about some great & old business rivalries. There are many to be taken as an example. And it becomes more interesting when rivalries don’t happen on the basis of their past, but they take place on the basis of their present. What do I mean by this? Let me explain.

We all belong to the Indian Automobile Industry, and we have seen some great competitions between various products like, the Tata Safari Storme and the Mahindra Scorpio, Toyota Fortuner vs Ford Endeavour, and the list is long. But, try to observe one thing over here, all of these rivalries have some decade old history of being rivals, due to which they are taking place even today. But, wouldn’t it be more fun, when two cars, which too have their roots planted decades ago, but never rivalled each other, and all of a sudden in today’s world they seem to be just made to rival against each other.

Such is the case with the Mahindra THAR.e concept and the Tata Sierra EV concept. These two cars in their history never stood against each other, because they had their own battlegrounds to play in. But today, thanks to both these brands Tata & Mahindra to place both of their SUVs in a stage where they both are just waiting to go head on with each other. And we too have been noticing some buzz between both the brands, as they want to be ahead of the other in the race of being the top Indian Automaker.

So in this article, we will compare these two concepts - Mahindra THAR.e Concept and Tata SIERRA EV - from both the brands, and predict which of the two brands has the longer hand to grab the trophy.

Exterior Design

Starting off with the design, both these cars are designed in a way to make them look like they are modern SUVs, but not the pseudo ones. They pack a purpose to serve which is definitely not being just a people mover.

THAR.e concept

The Mahindra THAR.e concept’s design is so simple that even a child could design it, as all he needs is a scale and pencil. Look wherever you want on the THAR.e everything has been designed straight and kept simple, so that it sometimes feels like we are looking at a car from an old pixelated game. 

But maybe this is what makes it stand out. Because this simple, straight design gives the THAR.e its own advantage. As heard from the officials, the design of the car has been done in such a way that ‘sustainability’ is at the top, following ‘convenience’. What I mean is that the design elements in-use for the THAR.e are swappable, which means you can literally exchange parts of the car when needed like, the Headlamps and the Taillamps, the Front and the rear bumper, etc. 

The stance of the car is also a topic to talk about. Thanks to its primary purpose of being an off-roader, the stance of the car is tall and fearless. I mean we already are aware of what presence the current 3-door format Thar has, so obviously, there is no doubt the THAR.e to have even better than it. And this being a 5-door Thar makes it so much more practical. Thus, all this might result in a few plus points for the THAR.e over the Sierra EV. 

Overall, the design philosophy which the THAR.e is following leans more towards ruggedness and being a tough off-roader. Look at it, seems it is ready to jump from a cliff right now, looks so tough!

Tata Sierra EV concept

On the other hand, when looking at the Sierra EV concept, it looks like designers at Tata house have worked hard to bring in this beautiful piece of attraction. Even the Sierra moves forward with the boxy design language, but it also contains a lot of inserts which make it look more superior than the Mahindra THAR.e.

Tata has somehow got the sweet spot, where there is neither a lot of boxiness nor too much of curves, well curves are actually very less. Beautiful proportionate straight lines run throughout the design making it look handsome. Especially, some smart play of shapes over the design of the Sierra EV make it look dashing.

And how can we forget that the brand has tried to carry forward the legendary design language of their Sierra in its EV version as well. The curved glass at the back, no doubt reminds us of it. And this Sierra EV being a 5-seater, makes it even more convincing.

Though it might not seem that rugged compared to the THAR.e concept, but, surely its production ready model will have enough off-road capabilities to go head on with it. And to talk realistically, it is for sure that 60% of the THAR.e buyers will end up using it as their daily driver, so off-road is really not the aspect to talk about.

Interior : Two different Worlds

Inside of both the cars is like two different worlds, where the Tata Sierra EV wills to be ‘sophisticated’ and the Mahindra THAR.e wills to be ‘robust’.

THAR.e concept's interior

THAR.e Concept has an absolutely well built interior. Kudos to Mahindra for designing it by keeping the idea of practicality at its peak. The interior is a very designed one in the THAR.e concept, and maybe it is also one of the closest to the production ready model. 

We can see it is wide and very usable. Space in the interior has not been sacrificed at all. Some small bits which enhance the overall practical nature of the car like, the Grab handles on the Dashboard, the big wide Armrests, the straight standing dashboard, etc. And Mahindra being Mahindra, we don’t think ‘comfort’ would be a concerning point over here, as they would calculate all the parameters of it perfectly too.

It has been crafted in such a way that it gives the guarantee of lasting long and being tough. So use it in any way you want, it will still be as it was without a single scratch.

Coming to the technology in-use, then this being the SUV of the future, it will bring in a bag full of features. ADAS features will be standard on it, and this being an off-roader, we will even get to see some newly developed Off-road Assistive features by Mahindra.

Sierra EV concept's interior

The interior over here is plush and sophisticated as said. Unlike THAR.e, the interior over here is made for everyone, and made in a way that everyone would like it too. The use of different shapes to compliment the overall design philosophy of the car has been done correctly.

The interior of the Sierra EV concept shows us how focused this car is about its customer’s convenience and comfort. As said by the design chief at Tata’s house, the Sierra EV stands tall when it comes to passenger’s comfort. We want to give them a pleasant experience by creating a complete lounge at the back.

The Sierra EV is not only comfortable at the back, but it is also very much usable at the front as well. We can see that the language of the front dashboard or the central console’s design is to keep it as practical, and convenient as possible. Various modern or new design elements in-use definitely makes the car’s interior more nicer to be in. 

And technologically speaking, as the THAR.e, the Sierra EV also being the SUV from the future, it will surely have a jam-packed list of features. It will also get some Advanced Driving features to assist the driver. We might even get to see some newly developed technology for the Sierra EV to make it stand apart.

Powertrain

THAR.e concept

The THAR.e being based on Mahindra’s INGLO P-1 platform, it will be a complete electric vehicle, as we already know. So, hence, no ICE variant of it will be introduced.

It is said that it will get a battery pack ranging between 60 - 80 kWh , which will provide it an open door for long distance travelling, predicted range of Kms should be between 450 - 500 Kms .

Sierra EV concept

The Sierra EV concept has an upper hand when it comes to powertrain options. Tata has assured that the Sierra will not only be launched in its electric form, but also in an ICE avatar.

Talking about its powertrains, Sierra EV’s battery pack details have not been shared yet. But, we expect it to have a battery pack sitting between 60 - 80 kWh, just like the THAR.e.

Though we do have some presumptions regarding its ICE powered variants. Recently in the 2023 Auto Expo, Tata Motors showcased their next engines, which also had an inclusion of their newly developed 1.5 L Turbo Petrol engine , which produces 170 PS & 280 Nm of Torque . Therefore there are high chances of this engine debuting with the Sierra ICE version.

Conclusion

Well, after all this comparison, at the end, we can just do one thing, which is rely on the future. The answer for the ‘Best amongst the two’ could be received only when both of these are launched, which is expected to happen either in 2025 or probably till 2026. Thus, for now all we could hope for is both of them to be good in what they do.