Cool Jeeps You Can't Have - Mahindra of India

[bitbckt]

Obviously going 80 on a nasty dirt road isn't really an option

Don’t let the Raptor and TRX buyers hear you!

Looking forward to more Morning Mahindra as the thread develops.

 

[jscherb]

Don’t let the Raptor and TRX buyers hear you!

Looking forward to more Morning Mahindra as the thread develops.

I've easily got 3 or more months of Mahindra photos and brochures and other stuff on the subject to post every morning .

 

[BritKLR]

ha yeah well I suppose I should make the correction that 'in small towns where the sheriff doesn't mind responsible use of atv's on the road' - to be a bit more accurate. It also warrants the comment that many of the highways where I live have speed limits not conducive to atv's for long distance travel and no real side street to use. which is a shame - everyone wants to always go so fast around here :-( I just think it would be cool if such vehicles were able to be used as another option. But so many laws and rules won't allow for it I suppose. Except for those small towns

LOL......yeah, generally speaking any roadway that received federal funding to construct and maintain won't allow OHV on them....Lack of enforcement doesn't mean it's legal. I personally have no issue with them for their intended off-road purpose, it's just when people put them on the roads with 6000 lbs vehicles and distracted drivers that I have issue with.

 

[Chorky]

Don’t let the Raptor and TRX buyers hear you!

Looking forward to more Morning Mahindra as the thread develops.

Ha yeah no doubt those are impressive. I'm considering a rebel in the future - so no room to talk but still wish there were 'simple' options here in the US

LOL......yeah, generally speaking any roadway that received federal funding to construct and maintain won't allow OHV on them....Lack of enforcement doesn't mean it's legal. I personally have no issue with them for their intended off-road purpose, it's just when people put them on the roads with 6000 lbs vehicles and distracted drivers that I have issue with.

MM not quite sure I agree. Many of the towns I am in, and even 'cities' by definition allow legal road and even highway use of OHV so long as they have lights, are licensed and registered, etc... See them all the time. Just not on long 3+ hr drives is all. I suppose where I go with that comment is wishing there was still the true and actual ability to connect between towns across the states via dirt road and not the 'requirement' to be on a highway or interstate at some point.

Anyway, not to derail. Jeff, have any more pics for today? I'm curious to see more of these India photos - any of central/south Africa also?

 

[billiebob]

computer systems (if they even exist)

one thing about India, their brilliant minds are truly brilliant
and for those with access to it, their education in technologies is second to none

 

[jscherb]

MM not quite sure I agree. Many of the towns I am in, and even 'cities' by definition allow legal road and even highway use of OHV so long as they have lights, are licensed and registered, etc... See them all the time. Just not on long 3+ hr drives is all. I suppose where I go with that comment is wishing there was still the true and actual ability to connect between towns across the states via dirt road and not the 'requirement' to be on a highway or interstate at some point.

I'm trying to keep this thread about Mahindras in India, so maybe the OHV vs. highway discussion can be carried on in its own thread? Doesn't really apply to Mahindras in India. .

Anyway, not to derail. Jeff, have any more pics for today? I'm curious to see more of these India photos - any of central/south Africa also?

You can look forward to new posts every morning. Like I said, I've got material for several months of mornings to post so in order to keep this thread from becoming a full-time occupation I'll focus on new material every morning. Thanks for understanding.

 

[autism family travels]

I can't tell from the photo. Is the Thar coil or leaf spring?

They are all solid front axle with leafs front and rear. At least hear. My friend is a mahindra / Roxor dealer. The only engine option here is the turbo diesel.

 

[jscherb]

So far in this thread the Jeeps I've posted haven't looked that different from those in the U.S., so today I'll show one unlike anything we've seen here. This is a Commander, it's a 4-door (5 if you count the rear barn door) with a non-removable top. The roof is high to provide a lot of headroom inside and it's got a longer wheelbase than the Thar.

Mahindra has done quite a few variants of this design including various lengths, wheelbases and even widths and roof heights and I'll cover all of them with photos and sales brochures as the thread progresses.

The photo above was taken in the town of Sabalgarh in Madhya Pradesh. It's a town on the narrow gauge Gwalior Light Railway, which is the longest (in miles) currently operating 2-foot gauge railway in the world and I was there on a magazine assignment to do an article on the railroad. The railway is truly a lifeline in Madhya Pradesh, for many rural villages it is the only transportation to the village other than a footpath. I hiked several kilometers from a main road to the village of Thara, where I took this photo of the approaching train. The number of people on the train is typical of both trains and commercial vehicles in rural India.

I've got a lot of photos of Mahindras in rural taxi service in India and they're often piled high with passengers just like the train above. I'll post some later in the thread.

More Indian background - in any town or city name that ends in "garh" (like Sabalgarh) you'll find an ancient fort, there are hundreds of amazing forts throughout India.

I know the train and background info doesn't have anything to do with Mahindra jeeps, but hopefully as I go through the thread and post more background this info will provide more appreciation for the counbtry and the role Mahindras have played there.

 

[jscherb]

They are all solid front axle with leafs front and rear. At least hear. My friend is a mahindra / Roxor dealer. The only engine option here is the turbo diesel.

Correct, the Roxor has solid axles on leafs front and rear. The Thar, from which the Roxor is derived, was made with either solid axles/leafs or independent front suspension with torsion bars rather than springs in the front depending on the specific model. I'll post some Thar sales brochures and ads soon that will provide more info and technical specs.

 

[billiebob]

Typical highway scene, fully loaded TukTuks. The passengers will often rotate positions.

 

[billiebob]

A Commander in its normal overland mode.

 

[jscherb]

A Commander in its normal overland mode.

View attachment 639919

I hope he's in the correct lane! Check the writing above the lanes...

Actually toll booths in India are somewhat chaotic, there isn't a correct lane.

I took this photo in Rajasthan on a road trip from New Delhi to Jaipur.

 

[rnArmy]

Too cool. Looking forward to more pictures and info.

 

[jscherb]

I started my last post by saying that many of the jeeps in India don't look that different than the Jeeps in the U.S. (the Thar, for example, looks a lot like a CJ-7), but they are very different in many ways. The Thar is an extension of the development of the original early flatfenders, not a variant of the later U.S. CJ's like the CJ-7. Mechanically it probably has more in common with the CJ3b than the CJ7 although some models of the Thar are more advanced than the CJ-7, having common rail diesels and IFS.

A Thar brochure.

Notice the specs on this next page: the CRDe model has independent front suspension. The red one in my last post has IFS (and torsion bars instead of springs).

 

[pith helmet]

The first time I saw the Thar, I didn’t like it. That brochure might change my mind!
I have a friend with a Jeep looking Roxor at his hunting camp. I’m not a fan of it as it’s very impractical, especially for the money.