Despite the fact that you may not have heard of Mahindra vehicles before they’ve actually been in Australia for several years now and have 24 dealers spread throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia and back in July released the second generation of Mahindra Pik-Ups in Australia.
With a drive away price of $25,499 for the single cab 2-wheel drive ute and $30,990 for the single cab 4-wheel drive version the Mahindra Pik-Up is certainly competitive and they not only have a decent load carrying space but they also come with plenty of standard bells and whistles in both creature comfort and safety too.
Included in the creature comforts are features such as:
- air conditioning
- power steering, windows and mirrors
- central locking with immobiliser
- ergonomic seating and
- a rear window demister
Safety features include:
- driver’s and front passenger’s airbags
- ABS brakes
- audio controls on the steering wheel
- side intrusion beams
- fire-retardant interior fabrics
- load adjustable headlights
All models are powered by a 2.5L turbo diesel that meets Euro IV emission rules and that gives the Mahindra Pik-Up 2.5 tonnes of carrying capacity with a range of up to 800km.
The Mahindra Pik-Up is also available as a dual cab version in both 2-wheel drive and 4-wheel drive. The current drive away price for the 2-wheel drive version is $29,499 and you can expect to pay an extra $3,000 for the 4-wheel drive version.
Drive away prices for both the single cab and dual cab models are even cheaper if you happen to have an ABN.
So the price is good and the vehicle certainly looks rugged enough … in fact every time I look at it I can’t help thinking that I can see a Mark I Land Rover in some of the lines of the Mahindra Pik-Up … but whether it’s as tough as it looks remains to be seen. I have been hearing Mahindra and the Dakar Rally being mentioned in the same breath lately so maybe we’ll see just how tough they are quite soon.
Mahindra is planning on moving into the US market early next year although the ever-changing exchange rate appears to be causing them some problems when it comes to fixing a sticker price for the Pik-Up in the United States. It’s planned that the US market will get both the single and dualcab versions and Mahindra’s US website is also advertising an SUV that’s not yet available in Australia.
