Mahindra's new Pik-Up built tough for farmers

With a near-corner site close to the hall, manager Ben Robinson was run off his feet showing visitors the selling points of Mahindra’s new, tougher Pik-Up.

Mahindra markets tractors, four-wheel-drive utes, SUVs and UTVs. However, the three Pik-Ups on display were the biggest drawcard at the field days.

Mahindra has just released the 2018 Pik-Up, complete with a five-year warranty (up from three years), and five-year roadside assist (phone 1800 241 467).

The dual-cab four-by-four is about $32,000 drive-away. It can tow 2.5 tonnes and carry up to 1t in the back.

Mr Robinson has been selling vehicles in Maitland for seven years at 4wd Industries. A mechanic by trade, he says he stands by the Mahindra.

“Their reliability is their best asset – and they’re tough,” he said. “They are simple, no nonsense and do what they’re designed for. And the ute’s price is a big advantage for tradies and farmers. They are half the price of the others out there.”

Mahindra is manufactured in the burgeoning Indian market.

In the Pik-Up range, it uses its own engine with the Eaton Mechanical Locking Rear Differential as standard, which reacts to the wheel speed differences and automatically locks the rear axle, so drivers keep going over sand, snow, muck, ice or rocks.

There’s even electronic stability control with hill hold.

The Pik-Up has an updated 2.2-litre four-cylinder mHawk turbo diesel engine, which uses a variable geometry turbocharger to produce 103 kilowatts. The torque peak of 330Nm is reached at just under 1600rpm and sustained to 2800rpm, according to the manufacturer.

The engine is linked to a six-speed manual gearbox driving the rear wheels, with 4x4 transmission including low range.

The Pik-Up comes in single cab two- and four-wheel-drive, and dual cab four-wheel-drive.

Standard safety features include ABS, EBD, rollover mitigation, airbags, crash protection crumple zones and a collapsible steering column. It has new rear head rests and three-point lap sash seat belts for all seats with two ISOFIX anchors in the rear seat including three top tether points for all double-cab models.