Scoop: 2025 Mahindra Thar 2WD Top Model To Get H/T Tyres Instead Of A/T Tyres | V3Cars

Nov 19, 2025, 11:20 AM IST
By Mahesh Yadav
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We have recently learned that Mahindra are switching from A/T tyres to H/T tyres in their top-spec Thar 2WD variant, which gets the 18-inch alloys. The lower variant with 16-inch wheels already gets H/T tyres to keep the costs low. Meanwhile, the 4WD variants will continue to get A/T tyres. What does this mean for you (the buyer) and the carmaker? Let’s find out.

Exclusive: No More All-Terrain Tyres For 2025 Thar 2WD Top Model

5 Standardised Terrain Types For Tyres

Generally, there are 5 standardised terrain types for SUV tyres:

Highway Terrain (HT): As the name suggests, this type of tyre is suitable primarily for road use but it can handle some mild off-roading in gravel, sand and slush.
All Terrain (AT): This type of tyre is usually best for SUVs when the manufacturer wants to offer satisfactory performance in almost all terrain types. These tyres can certainly handle the kind of off-roading that most Thar owners would doubt their vehicle or they themselves can handle. If you think this tyre failed you in a 4WD vehicle, then you’re probably pointing the finger in the wrong direction. It’s most likely a skill problem and not a tyre problem. Or, you’re in the top 0.001% of SUV owners who know what they’re doing and you do it quite often. But then, you’d also know the limits of the tyres depending on the terrain.
Mud Terrain (MT): These tyres are best for wet & slushy terrain. The compound of these tyres and the block patterns are designed to latch on to the shape-shifting mud and paddle its way over surfaces you would not even dare to walk. Since sand also behaves much like mud when stuck under the blocks of an SUV tyre, these tyres also do well in sand dunes.
Rugged Terrain (RT): Rugged terrain tyres are primarily for dry, rocky, technical trails as they can handle sharp edges of the rocks hitting them repeatedly from various angles.
Extreme Terrain (XT): Also known as Hybrid. The hybrid part here means that they are designed for specific purposes with a mix of various requirements. For example, the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac XT is 80% RT & 20% HT; as in, it’s an extremely off-road centric tyre but still usable on-road.

Benefit Of Switching Thar 2WD To HT Tyre For Mahindra

The advantage Mahindra will derive out of this change is simple — cost efficiency. Since they are only making this change for the 2WD variant with 18-inch rims, this won’t affect most Thar buyers. Moreover, this further aligns with the SUV’s drivetrain as 2WD is anyways slightly more road centric option than the 4WD.

Benefit Of Switching Thar 2WD To HT Tyre For Buyers

Here are the following 5 benefits we can easily see in switching from an all-terrain tyre to highway-terrain tyre for the Thar 2WD:

Road Noise: Since Highway-spec tyres are designed for road use, these will have less blocky tread, which will drastically reduce the tyre noise. Thus, making drives a bit more silent.
On-Road Grip: Because of a less blocky pattern, the HT tyres have more rubber in contact with the tarmac. Therefore, the HT tyres in the Thar 2WD will improve your grip and braking distances for on-road use.
Tyre Life: The benefit of having more rubber making contact with the road also means that there's more rubber to chew through before we need to replace the tyres. This will also increase the tyre life considerably and therefore lower the overall cost on a set of replacement tyres.
Fuel Efficiency: The highway-spec tyres are also more aerodynamic because of their less blocky surface. Since they don’t have big blocks of tread for off-roading, they can afford to have a compound with lower rolling resistance, which will further improve your car’s mileage.
Smart Cost Cutting: Those who intend to do some off-roading in their 2WD Thar and testing its limits would anyways want to upgrade to a more aggressive off-road set. So, if you want to make the switch, it’s simple and only a swap away. This is the kind of smart cost cutting that we would like to see in cars. Instead of saving costs on features such as telescopic steering, adjustable headrests or height-adjustable driver seat, removing features such as alloys or tyres is a much smarter decision. These issues are easy to address post purchase with the aftermarket options without any compromising factory finish.