Mahindra wants to make sure their truck is absolutely right before they introduce it to the American public. As such they have decided to delay the trucks introduction by six months. By that time test versions will have racked up 3.2 million miles of testing on U.S. roads. The company has a lot riding on this truck, so they are being extra careful with the rollout. Expect it to show up here in late 2009.
I'm looking forward to this vehicle, as it's the first small pickup in that can perform many tasks that big trucks can. It will have a 2600 pound payload and will come with a 2.2L turbo-diesel paired with a 6-speed automatic. Later a hybrid diesel will be offered. In addition, it will come with a 60,000-mile, four-year bumper-to-bumper warranty.
Here's Green Car Advisor's take: Mahindra Elects to Put Diesel Pickup Through More Testing Before Sending to U.S.
firstwagon says:
08:36 AM, 08/25/08
Looks like it's designed to be a work truck which is a big plus. Pick ups now are too compromised by trying to be family cars, luxury cars and muscle cars are rolled into one over-sized package.
Needs a real manual trans though.
James Riswick says:
09:35 AM, 08/25/08
Mahindra Pickup delayed??!!!!??? Oh god no! Why, oh, why, oh, why?
orangutan says:
09:40 AM, 08/25/08
I'm really excited about the truck, but I have my doubts on whether or not that crook John Perez will actually deliver the vehicle instead of just take off with the money.
brn says:
01:55 PM, 08/25/08
Every review I've read of Mahindra has been less than favorable. I don't know why anyone is excited about it coming here.
Bob Holland says:
02:48 PM, 08/25/08
"I don't know why anyone is excited about it coming here."
It will be priced from the the low-mid $20K range, do an honest day's work, and get great fuel mileage.
With a payload of 2600 pounds, you're in the neighborhood of a 3/4-ton truck.
Sounds pretty appealing to me.
Here's an earlier report from Pickup.com.
http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/news/mahindra/dieselhybridandmore.html
brn says:
05:58 AM, 08/26/08
Bob, let me rephrase. Every review (in other countries) I've read of the pickup has been horrific. I was trying to be polite. Not much else matters if it's junk.
2600lbs isn't 3/4 ton territory. The F150 (1/2 ton) goes up to 3000lbs. You can also currently get a very basic F150 for about $15K. The F150 will take a 4x8, which the Mahindra won't.
I'll take the proven and more capable F150 for less money, even if the mileage is worse.
Bob Holland says:
06:48 AM, 08/26/08
The F-150 with the "optional" 8100 GVW package can carry 3000 pounds. If you recall, that payload package was merely nothing more than a re-badging of the earlier (pre-Super-Duty) F-250, which was a 3/4-ton truck. No other so-called 1/2-ton offers a 2600 pound payload.
The link below is a 1998 F-250 that I mentioned above. It's just a beefed up F-150 with 7-lug wheels, and is badged as a F-250. This evolved into the current F-150 with the 8100 GVW option.
http://webiol.homenetinc.com/dealers/4210/17468/8306D.jpg
orangutan says:
07:21 AM, 08/26/08
Nearly every 1500/150/whatever pickup tops out by about 1800 pounds payload capacity.
brn says:
09:57 AM, 08/26/08
Bob, you may very well be correct that an F150 with a 3000lb capacity isn't much more than a F250 in disguise. The whole ton rating on pickup trucks confuses me anyway. It used to refer to the payload, but that's clearly not the case anymore. Is there a more applicable definition for modern ton ratings?
Btw: The a bare bones F250 can be had for about $19K (carsdirect.com).
Bob Holland says:
11:26 AM, 08/26/08
"The whole ton rating on pickup trucks confuses me anyway. It used to refer to the payload"
Yep, those terms are useless these days. 40 or 50 years ago they meant something, but not any more. The problem is "truck people" still use them—and won't give up those old terms, no matter how out of date they may be.
firstwagon says:
01:09 PM, 08/26/08
I think the problem lies more with the huge variety you can get in trucks more then the "term".
Payload is GVWR minus the empty weight. The problem is empty weight can vary by a huge amount these days.
Take a base regular cab, 2wd, manual trans, no options 3/4 tonne and compare empty weights with a fully loaded crew cab, 4wd 3/4 tonne. The gross weight will be the same but the empty weight may be as much as 2000 lbs more.
All of that 2000lbs comes out of your payload.
Manufactors often publish payload based on base curb weights. Owners of loaded trucks really should have thier trucks weighed before carrying anything near the limit. That might be surprised how little payload is available.
Bob Holland says:
01:36 PM, 08/26/08
"Take a base regular cab, 2wd, manual trans, no options 3/4 tonne and compare empty weights with a fully loaded crew cab, 4wd 3/4 tonne. The gross weight will be the same but the empty weight may be as much as 2000 lbs more."
Maybe, maybe not. I've noticed that a lot of trucks (now) offer different GVWs depending the configuration. It's not unusual to see a crew cab 4x4 have a higher GVW than a 2WD short-bed. Most if not all full-size truck makers employ this type of rating within the various 1/2- 3/4- and 1-ton models.
Here's Ford for example:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/superduty/features/specs/
Click on the "Payload Package Selector" tab and you'll see what I mean.
Also you'll see that the Mahindra's 2600 payload is right there with several F-250 Super Duty models.
thisisstupid says:
09:01 AM, 09/18/08
offer it with solid axle, lockouts, manually shifted transfer case, and 5 speed. and make it look like a 1983 Toyota SR5 pickup.