Goa will stop issuing new leasing licenses to Mahindra Thars, after a series of fatal accidents involving SUVs turned the vehicle into a controversial symbol of road safety, state Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho said on Monday.
Godinho told reporters that a proposal to restrict rental permits for Thars self-driving cars will be submitted to the State Transport Authority (STA). He said that if the law had allowed it, the government would have banned the rental of Thars immediately, because they had “too much speed and no control over them”.
The decision came after two incidents. In February, a thug killed 65-year-old Bhopal tourist tenant Bhagat Ram Sharma in Asagao. In May, a thar car driven by a tourist, believed to be drunk, killed a 32-year-old man and seriously injured a minor in North Goa.
This is not the first time Thars has faced controversy.
In November 2025, OP Singh, the then Director General of Police in Haryana, said that owners of Thar and Bullet motorcycles in Gurugram tended towards a reckless mentality, and that the SUV was “not a car”, but a “statement”. A Gurugram resident who used Thar later sent a legal notice to Singh, demanding a public apology for the reputational damage.
This image is not exclusive to Thar. Other SUVs – including the Scorpio and Fortuner – have gained a similar reputation, often associated with drivers defying traffic rules and performing stunts posted on social media.
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The psychology of bigger, taller and tougher
Research on consumer behavior provides partial explanations for the popularity and reputation of SUVs.
A 2025 study published in the journal Human Settlements and Sustainability found that SUV buyers cite a commanding road presence and a sense of protection among their top reasons for purchasing. Cars’ high seating positions and rugged exteriors create a sense of security, even if safety trials and data show otherwise.
A 2022 survey of 100 respondents in Bhubaneswar in Odisha, published in the International Journal of Research Publishing and Reviews, said SUV buyers ranked safety, off-road capability, ruggedness, space and prestige among the top reasons for choosing an SUV. It also described the SUV purchases as “ambitious.”
Another 2022 study in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, based on a survey of nearly 1,000 residents of Vancouver, Canada, said SUV owners view their vehicles as a status symbol that indicates success.
Likewise, a 2023 study in the European Chemical Bulletin, which focused on buyers in the Delhi-NCR region, pointed to a similar trend.
Consumers increasingly describe utility vehicles, including SUVs and compact SUVs, as economical, powerful and stylish rather than just utilitarian, citing affordability, style and prestige as key drivers of demand, along with size, visibility and towing capacity.
Social media has expanded this identity, noted a May 2024 paper analyzing online posts on the Thar website. Digital platforms “amplify their powerful magic while silencing practical concerns, creating a feedback loop of desire,” she said. Separately, online groups such as Gang of Thars, which has 16,200 followers on Instagram, have built a community around the car.
Read also: Goa Thar incident: A student from Delhi has been booked and granted bail after the death of a man from Bhopal
Driving behavior studies
Research across countries has indicated a pattern when a driver is behind the wheel of an SUV.
An observational study conducted in 2017, published in the magazine Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, and conducted at three busy intersections in the Austrian capital, Vienna, recorded 43,168 regular cars and 5,653 four-wheel drive cars. Of these, 13.8% of drivers did not wear seat belts, 3.1% used a mobile phone, and 2.5% used red lights.
The study indicated that violations were more common among drivers of SUVs compared to other passenger vehicles.
Another simulation study, published in the Journal of Traffic Injury Prevention in 2006, tested the effect of placing the seat higher. The study found that drivers sitting higher up chose higher speeds, accelerated or slowed down more often, and maintained a less consistent lane position than those sitting lower down, even though a higher vantage point had no effect on the distance following the slower car in front of them.
Then, a 2006 study in TheBMJ analyzed drivers at intersections in London, and found that those riding four-wheel drive cars — or SUVs — were four times more likely than other drivers to use a mobile phone, and somewhat more likely to skip wearing a seatbelt.
Read also: Five cars were impounded and six vehicles were impounded over a video stunt on NH-919 in Nuh
“Blame the driver, not the car.”
Studies reinforce part of the decline by SUV drivers – it’s not the cars so much as it is a social behavioral problem with some.
For example, on the popular Reddit forum CarsIndia, topics related to a vehicle’s overall image regularly spark spirited discussions. Indian actor Rohit Roy, one of the owners of the Thar, had argued after the Haryana DGP’s comments that “it is not the car that is the problem, it is the people.” He noted that he also owned six motorcycles and had never used them to perform stunts. Actor and car enthusiast Gul Panag also spoke out against sweeping generalizations about SUV owners.
Likewise, Amarjit Singh, of the online group “Gang of Thars”, said it was unfair to pigeonhole an entire monarchy base by the actions of a few people.
HT reached out to Mahindra seeking comment via email. The report will be updated if there is a response.
Whatever the reputational tension, the commercial tension strongly favors SUVs. Utility vehicles, the category that includes SUVs and compact SUVs, accounted for a record 67% share of India’s passenger vehicle market in fiscal 2025-26, Livemint reported.
