Last February, on the heels of the earthquake, I spent some time in Port Au Prince (been going down for years). We had a chance to buy a Mahindra diesel pickup, which was a typical Haitian truck- rode hard and put up wet. It was for sale because it wouldn't run, and the idea was that we would tow it back to where we were staying, and see if we could get her runnning. Then, we would talk deal. So, we had a good chance to crawl all over one. Mind you, it was an older truck- I believe it was a mid 90's. Double cab, 4 cylinder diesel, heavy as all get out. I was not impressed, especially considering the environment in Haiti. For the weight of the truck (mass to move and stop), it was built marginally. I personally would not want 5,000 pounds behind it. The drivetrain was standard design stuff, but not built heavy enough to serve the weight of the truck. The front axle was tiny, the engine was very archaic and "thrown together", and there were designs that were just completely against good logic. The fuel tank, for instance. It was probably 10 gallon, and hung down as low as the rear axle- it definitely was in harms way.
Overall, I had expected a truck which would be designed with practical, solid logic features, and didn't find that. I am not saying that this new truck isn't a better truck, but in general, what I expect from a truck, and the design line that Mahindra took, were very different. I personally would have to look very closely at the truck before I would consider buying it. And, it would need to be out for a while, to see how it holds up, what kinks there are, and how Mahindra runs their auto business.
A final thought- it was a VERY heavy truck to try and move with a 4 cylinder diesel. We did get it running, but it had major cooling issues. What little driving we did, it was a slug.
I have pictures.
Haiti2010245.jpg picture by br549_red - Photobucket
Haiti2010059.jpg picture by br549_red - Photobucket
Mark
Overall, I had expected a truck which would be designed with practical, solid logic features, and didn't find that. I am not saying that this new truck isn't a better truck, but in general, what I expect from a truck, and the design line that Mahindra took, were very different. I personally would have to look very closely at the truck before I would consider buying it. And, it would need to be out for a while, to see how it holds up, what kinks there are, and how Mahindra runs their auto business.
A final thought- it was a VERY heavy truck to try and move with a 4 cylinder diesel. We did get it running, but it had major cooling issues. What little driving we did, it was a slug.
I have pictures.
Haiti2010245.jpg picture by br549_red - Photobucket
Haiti2010059.jpg picture by br549_red - Photobucket
Mark
