Mahindra diesel truck--30 mpg

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: labman
There was a time when people laughed at Hondas.

True, but many of those same people laughed at Renault and Fiat cars at the same time.

Hyundai was laughed at in the 1980s because their cars were awful. However, they kept improving and around 2005 many Hyundai products were good.

Only time will tell if Mahindra trucks will pass the tests in the USA.

 

[fdcg27]

Go to the same site, and check out the crash performance of American brand (not necessarily made, of course) small crossovers.
Do that, and you'll understand why I am glad we own a Subaru Forester.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: labman
There was a time when people laughed at Hondas.


I still laugh at Hondas, but those typically have obscene body kits, lowered with atrocious camber, have 4" [censored] cannons and triple-decker wings on them.

 

[Max_Wander]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: labman
There was a time when people laughed at Hondas.


I still laugh at Hondas, but those typically have obscene body kits, lowered with atrocious camber, have 4" [censored] cannons and triple-decker wings on them.

seriously!

 

[H2GURU]

That looks like an interesting vehicle that would fill the requirement of most homeowners, except if you tow something. I've been waiting for Hyundai to come out with a vehicle of this sort because the rest seem to have forgotten about this market segment? People who were fortunate to have owned a HILUX type pickup will attest to their ruggedness and simplicity, both virtues from an industrial farm equipment manufacturer that I would expect.

 

[tangojetta]

Starting price is $20-25k.

 

[HM12460]

i like a lot of the feature's and the size, but leery of the truck's quality and crash worthiness. i wish ford would build something like this to replace the ranger. or better yet, build something similar and call it a ranger.

 

[Steve S]

There could be potential, the tractors are pretty good.

 

[Gary Allan]

Pig in the poke autotransmission as the only non-option? No thanks.

This thing will have no dealer support. It will probably have parts that literally have to come over on a slow boat from India. I predict a poor showing.

It looks like the designers really liked watching the Alien franchise. That grill and light scheme just sorta grows together in some techno-bioesque warped art deco manner.

Have Honda produce it here first.

I don't think you can go back to the simpler times of the light Asian pickup.

 

[moving2]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
Fuel efficient it may be. Safe? No. Probably not even a 2 star US safety rating on that piece of junk. [...] Lol go to youtube, and type in "chinese car crash test" And you will never, ever want to buy one of these.


rudolpha- lol. It's truly amazing how you can judge the crashworthiness of a vehicle you have never seen in person, test-driven, or apparently even read much about-- all based upon the vehicle's styling in pictures and a comparison with a youtube video of a crash test of a completely different vehicle from a totally different country. You should work for the IIHS or NHTSA. That's either genius, ESP, or crazy. lol.

Seriously, according to pickuptrucks.com, "In addition to sourcing powertrain and interior components from Tier 1 auto suppliers such as Bosch, AVL and Lear, Mahindra has reached out to Mercedes-Benz for help testing the pickup to meet U.S. safety and emissions standards. Mercedes has been putting the trucks through their paces both in Europe and at a test center in Laredo, Texas."

See: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/08/us-importer-says-mahindra-pickup-has-come-a-long-way.html#more

You think they're spending the big bucks to do safety testing with Mercedes so they can come out with a 2-3 star crash test rating? Talk about lol.

 

[robbobster]

The proposed MSRP is a deal-breaker for me. I'd consider it at a price in the mid-to-high teens. But I won't be a guinea pig for a price well into the $20K range.

 

[Tornado Red]

Originally Posted By: expat
It's said to be the size of a Toyota Tacoma, 7'2" Bed with a 1.3 Ton Payload!
Not so keen on the Automatic though.


It's supposedly an Aisin automatic, so that should be reliable. And it has Bosch fuel injection and electronics.

My biggest worry would be with the diesel particulate filter (DPF) system, which I assume is required in this truck. A trouble-free DPF is hard enough for the companies which have built vehicles for the US for decades.

 

[yota4me]

A few days ago, a rep from Global Vehicles told me it will have a urea reservoir accessed from the truck bed. The truck will have a refill reminder/warning/countdown starting with xx engine starts remaining.
Needed urea refills are designed to coincide with the 10,000 mile oil/filter change intervals.

 

[ARB1977]

Pretty cool. I wonder how big it is compaired to the Tacoma. As long as there is plenty of room inside im game.

 

[yota4me]

Here's the specs on the Australian version. Looks like the main difference will be engine, transmission, & mpg.

http://www.mahindrapikup.com.au/pdfs/W_MAHA6694_SpecSheet_2009.pdf

 

[George7941]

The 4.55 rear axle ratio on the Aussie truck seems like a very numerically high ratio. Even with a OD ratio of .79, the diesel engine will be revving a lot to move the truck along at speed.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: George7941
The 4.55 rear axle ratio on the Aussie truck seems like a very numerically high ratio. Even with a OD ratio of .79, the diesel engine will be revving a lot to move the truck along at speed.


106hp and over 4,000lb empty, they don't have much choice. Still, at 2400 rpm at 60 mph it is only 200 rpm over peak torque at 60 mph and well under peak power rpm of 3800 rpm.

 

[gtx510]

http://www.ancap.com.au/results/261/
2 out of 5 stars in Aussie crash test, up there with Chinese Great Wall or (Thai? Filipino?) Ford/Mazda pickups

http://www.ancap.com.au/results/search/?search_type=year&year=2009-01-01+00:00:00
big crash test results list

 

[moving2]

Originally Posted By: gtx510
http://www.ancap.com.au/results/261/
2 out of 5 stars in Aussie crash test, up there with Chinese Great Wall or (Thai? Filipino?) Ford/Mazda pickups

http://www.ancap.com.au/results/search/?search_type=year&year=2009-01-01+00:00:00
big crash test results list


gtx510- I guess you must've missed my post above, so here ya go:

According to pickuptrucks.com, "In addition to sourcing powertrain and interior components from Tier 1 auto suppliers such as Bosch, AVL and Lear, Mahindra has reached out to Mercedes-Benz for help testing the pickup to meet U.S. safety and emissions standards. Mercedes has been putting the trucks through their paces both in Europe and at a test center in Laredo, Texas."

See: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/08/us-importer-says-mahindra-pickup-has-come-a-long-way.html#more

You think they're spending the big bucks to do safety testing with Mercedes so they can come out with a 2-3 star crash test rating? Talk about lol.

 

[ffracer]

No manual transmission, high riding, and no proof of not rusting out in salt.

No interest from me.