Pickuptruck.com’s Mike Levine got a chance to drive the Mahindra Pik Up regular cab stateside and he has some good things to say about it.

The version driven was the recently refreshed Australian version of the pik-up with the 2.5 Litre CRDe Turbodiesel engine which is a generation behind the all new 2.2 Litre mHawk engine that will be sold in the U.S.

The test drive left him suitably impressed even though he drove the lesser powered 2.5 Litre engined variant which is sold in Australia.

Jump over to read what they had to say, both positive and negetive about the newest Mahindra overseas.

To read cubiccapacity’s review of the Scorpio mHawk, Click here!

Source: pickuptrucks.com

“What we found was that parts of the trucks managed to only live up to our low expectations, but we also came away impressed — no, stunned really — by how well the trucks are setup in certain areas.”

“the bed is impressively deep and wide enough, at 5-feet 3-inches, easily handling 4×8 sheets of plywood.”

“The tight, tall cabin gives the driver excellent visibility out of the side windows and over the hood and the rear glass has integrated defrosters. The sightlines are best in class; you always know where the Pik-Up is in relation to other vehicles and when navigating tight spots.”

They werent too pleased with the  refinement and feel of the interiors but this is something which Mahindra can easily rectify with renewed focus on the quality right at the outset.

Impressively, it were the road manners which impressed them the most.

“What most impressed was the Pik-Up’s driving manners. Mahindra’s pickups are naturally set up to carry those crazy-heavy payloads in developing countries, so we expected a joltingly stiff ride, but the version we drove has surprisingly good road feel. The steering isn’t numb or loose, but is reasonably solid. When we turned corners or changed lanes at highway speeds there was very little body roll or handling slop. The truck goes where it’s directed with minimal fuss. As much as we beat up on the interior, there weren’t any noticeable shakes or rattles, though the small cabin had louder than average wind noise. Overall, ride quality and noise, vibration and harshness is very competitive with current U.S. midsize pickups, if not superior to some. Shocking, we know, but it’s true. This is a truck that could function as a daily driver as well as a workhorse.”

And even though the engine was the generation older 2.5 Litre CRDe Turbodiesel, they had good things to say about it. The new 2.2 Litre mHawk which would eventually be sold in the U.S. will be even better.

“The motor clatters like a modern diesel, not like the third world mill we’d expected. Every shift was clean except for third gear, which requires a longer throw to the right and more shift gate hunting than we’d like. “

To read the complete review, Click Here!