Late last week, PickupTrucks.com’s Mike Levine posted great article describing their test drive of non-US versions of the Mahindra TR20 and Mahindra Scorpio SUV. Again, these aren’t the exact trucks the US will be getting, but are close enough for a decent evaluation.
The article contains no hard performance data, just a seat of the pants evaluation. Levine does praise the pickup’s handling and ride, but gives the truck demerits for poor interior quality, fit, and finish. The Scorpio did not have the larger 2.5 liter mHawk diesel, but did have the US version 6-speed automatic mated to the 2.2 liter mHawk. The automatic did receive high praise for shifting well, and not hunting gears (as many 5 and 6 speed automatics tend to do in truck applications).
Overall, Levine seemed satisfied with his time in both trucks. Now we just have to wait until the US versions are on the streets and ready for a thorough shakedown!
For the complete article: PickupTrucks.com: Taj Mahauler
Photo: via www.PickupTrucks.com
“What we found was that parts of the trucks managed to only live up to our low
expectations, but we also came away impressed -- no, stunned really -- by how
well the trucks are setup in certain areas.”
The article contains no hard performance data, just a seat of the pants evaluation. Levine does praise the pickup’s handling and ride, but gives the truck demerits for poor interior quality, fit, and finish. The Scorpio did not have the larger 2.5 liter mHawk diesel, but did have the US version 6-speed automatic mated to the 2.2 liter mHawk. The automatic did receive high praise for shifting well, and not hunting gears (as many 5 and 6 speed automatics tend to do in truck applications).
“Overall, we’re impressed with Mahindra’s four-cylinder diesel pickup truck –
much more so than before we drove it. The interior has glaring weaknesses but if
this truck can live up to Global Vehicle’s marketing hype of up to 30 mpg,
1.3-tons of payload and 5,000 pounds of towing ability, Mahindra and Global
Vehicles will have a pickup truck like no other to sell to U.S. truck buyers.
They’ll effectively be competing in a segment of one and in cases where a heavy
duty diesel is overkill for the application, we think they’ll be an excellent
alternative to help out on a farm or construction site.”
Overall, Levine seemed satisfied with his time in both trucks. Now we just have to wait until the US versions are on the streets and ready for a thorough shakedown!
For the complete article: PickupTrucks.com: Taj Mahauler
Photo: via www.PickupTrucks.com
3 comments:
Damn thing hasn't even hit ground yet and I already have issues with pricing.
In Australia, they're advertising the crew cab, 4wd for 26,999 Australian bucks. Converted to American, that's:
Live rates at 2009.09.01 00:51:54 UTC
26,999.00 AUD
=
22,746.66 USD
Australia Dollars United States Dollars
1 AUD = 0.842500 USD 1 USD = 1.18694 AUD
Mahindra has just set the bar and I won't cross it.
It does seem that as the launch gets delayed, the price seems to climb. You have to wonder what the final price will be, especially if they make the customer eat the “chicken tax”. Still, how much is the next cheapest (base-level) 1-ton diesel truck sold in the US? USD $32,000? Sales numbers will tell quite a story when we finally get them here.
"how much is the next cheapest (base-level) 1-ton diesel truck sold in the US? USD $32,000? "
Okay, well that brings up another issue.
I'm not, nor have I ever compared these trucks with full size American rigs.
I have only compared them with Colorados, Rangers, Tacomas, and so on.
These trucks aren't full size by a long shot.
The way I see it, their base 2wd regular cab 2wd should be about $16,000 and no more.
Honestly, I'll give these guys a shot, but they got to be serious about it.
I'm comparing their pricing with Chevy and Toyota.
Post a Comment