Mahindra 4x4 pickup

[Gurkha]

Shame for the bad review, it wasn't the review I was hoping to read.

OTOH, Force Motors India makes G Wagen clone called Gurkha and in some respects even better than the original and more capable. Earlier it would come with the OM616 turbo and all MB power train, the latest one comes with OM611 and its exported to Germany and other parts of Europe. Why not send them some serious letters and they might consider marketing to US as well.

 

[haven]

PickupTrucks.com is confirming that Global Vehicles USA will delay distribution of the Mahindra 4x4 pickup until late 2009.

The pickup specs continue to be
-- 2.2L 4 cylinder diesel engine
-- 145-150 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque.
-- six-speed automatic transmission
-- part-time 4x4
-- "more than" 30 mpg
-- 7.5 ft cargo box
-- 2,600-pound payload
-- 60,000-mile, four-year bumper-to-bumper warranty.

I'd love to see this vehicle outfitted with a lightweight popup like
the Four Wheel Campers "Ranger" model.

The interesting diesel-electric hybrid shown last Spring has been
postponed, perhaps forever.

Chip Haven

http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/news/mahindra/mahindra-pickup-delayed-until-late-2009.html

 

[gary in ohio]

Delays, delays, same as the crosslander.

who is getting to drive these 25 trucks?

 

[hermanmuller]

Hi there from sunny South Africa.

I own one of these Mahindra 4-seater vehicles, known as the Mahindra Scorpio Pikup Double Cab 4x4 here in South Africa. I am pleased as hell with the vehicle. It is rugged. The prices is very good (R209,900-00 = $26,237-00 USD). You get aircon, electric windows, 4 wheel drive (shift from inside, no getting out), power steering, large loadbox, large interior space (by South African standards) and a front loading CD Player/Radio combo with 4 speakers.

Engine is a 2.5 litre intercooled turbo diesel. It develops 74kW@3800rpm and 245Nm@1800rpm. It has a 5 speed Borg-Warner gearbox with 2H, 4H and 4L settings. Tyre size is 245/75R16 but 235/80R16 (Land Rover Defender) size will also fit easily. Fuel tank size is 80 litres. Ground Clearance is 210mm.

I tow an off-road trailer with the vehicle and it handles it quite well.

Some real world usage statistics of my particular vehicle (I bought mine new):

Average fuel consumption: 10.27 km/l or 9.8 l/100km
Consumption on last tank: 11.33 km/l or 8.83 l/100km
Average cost per litre of fuel: R8.00 or $1.00 per litre
Total distance covered: 57942 km
Total of fuel used: 5582.38 litres
Total fuel costs: R45,678-88 or $5,709.86 USD
Total costs (including services): R56,341.67 of $7,042.71 USD
Total running costs per km: 97c/km or R97.24 per 100km (12c per km or $12.15 per 100km USD)

I used a basic exchange rate of R8-00 to the USD for my calculations, so this may vary.

I don't know whether this is good or bad compared to other vehicles in the US, but it is pretty good for a vehicle in this category in South Africa.

Regards

Herman Muller

 

[hermanmuller]

By the way.

You can download the brochure for the vehicle in South Africa from here http://www.mahindra.co.za/Modules_FE/layout1/downloads/PikUp.pdf. From what I understand, the engines might be different for the American market as your requirements are a bit different to the South African and Australian markets. South Africa and Australia seems to share specs on many vehicles that are sold in both countries.

Enjoy.

 

[haven]

Welcome to ExPo, hermanmuller!

Here's a web site that converts liters per 100 km to miles per gallon.
Remember to specify which gallon you're interested in. The imperial
gallon is bigger than USA gallon.

http://www.sciencemadesimple.net/fuel_economy.php

9.8 liters per 100 km is about 24 miles per USA gallon.

I don't think there is a diesel truck sold in USA with 2500 lb capacity
that averages 24 mpg. The Dodge with Cummins diesel probably
comes closest, but I doubt that you can average better than 20mpg
using one for work. Driving the Dodge unloaded on the highway
with careful attention to the throttle might approach 24 mpg.

Chip Haven

 

[gary in ohio]

With the current economic condition will we every see the Mahindra truck in the US. Financial plus diesel at 2x gas going to make for a hard sell to the masses.

 

[CA-RJ]

The Mahindra USA website has been updated so it looks like they're still planing on releasing trucks here. The site says 2009.

Mahindra USA

 

[mauricio_28]

The Mahindra competes in the Australian market against the Big Dogs: the Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton. But the Big Dogs handily and easily best it.

I posted this query earlier and it went unaddressed: What happens to the Mahindra when Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi sells their venerable trucks in the U.S. with diesel powerplants?

India is still India, and Japan remains Japan. If you could buy a diesel Tacoma or a diesel Frontier, would you rather buy a Mahindra in the U.S.? Once the Big Dogs enter the fray, the Mahindra will become the Yugo of the pickup trucks.

 

[astn]

I don't think there is a diesel truck sold in USA with 2500 lb capacity that averages 24 mpg. The Dodge with Cummins diesel probably comes closest, but I doubt that you can average better than 20mpg using one for work. Driving the Dodge unloaded on the highway with careful attention to the throttle might approach 24 mpg.

I'm no scientist, but I think it's hard to compare U.S. diesel to "other places" diesel. We've been slowly robbing diesel fuel of most of it's advantages as we've transitioned to Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD). Anecdotally, I know of few people who claim they lost 2-4 mpg now that they're running ULSD.

Austin

 

[L8 APEKS]

Interesting...at this point, a 14mpg gas engine would be cheaper to drive than a 25mpg diesel.

However, it's hard to accurately predict and forecast fuel cost. In the long run, though, fuel will only get more expensive. So which one will climb at the faster rate? Gasoline or diesel? Figure that out, then buy the opposite one!

 

[Gurkha]

The Mahindra competes in the Australian market against the Big Dogs: the Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton. But the Big Dogs handily and easily best it.

I posted this query earlier and it went unaddressed: What happens to the Mahindra when Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi sells their venerable trucks in the U.S. with diesel powerplants?

India is still India, and Japan remains Japan. If you could buy a diesel Tacoma or a diesel Frontier, would you rather buy a Mahindra in the U.S.? Once the Big Dogs enter the fray, the Mahindra will become the Yugo of the pickup trucks.

Exactly my point, the Toyota will easily run for 400,000+ miles with no issue whereas the max this Mahindra will do is around 80,000 miles tops before needing some serious service.

 

[Beowulf]

For me the cost per mile for Diesel vs Gasoline is not about the money. I just want to be able to drive farther per tank full.

 

[4Rescue]

With the current economic condition will we every see the Mahindra truck in the US. Financial plus diesel at 2x gas going to make for a hard sell to the masses.

Maybe if there was a solid factual reson for why Diesel (which is simply an UNREFINED version of Gasoline) is selling for 2x the oprice of a more costly-to-produce Fuel??? Were getting hosed and I honestly feel like the oil co.'s are trying to make damn sure we don't all start getting good milage and low service intervals out of our vehicles. Diesel is the way of the future. Bio-Diesel is the miracle fuel we are all looking for but were going to play a game of scare the consumer so that we all keep looking at E85 (garbage if it distracts from Diesel's ok if it's developed right along with it I guess) and Electrics (the battereies cause more polution to make than a diesel truck causes in it's life span)

Cheers

Dave

For me the cost per mile for Diesel vs Gasoline is not about the money. I just want to be able to drive farther per tank full.

Add to tha the added bonus of simplicity, Waterproof running, vastly extended service intervals, and the ability to run on a myriad of fuels and you have the best internal combustion cycle ever invented... Thank You Dr. Rudolph Diesel.

 

[98roamer]

hmmmmm

Exxon Mobil Corp. will spend more than $1 billion to boost output of “clean diesel” fuel at three oil refineries,

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6166616.html