Hi all, I just spent this weekend clocking up about 300km in the Mahindra Pik-Up. The dealer told me to take it for a good drive - and test it out. And, that’s exactly what I did. It was the 4×4 single cab. I live in a rural area, so with mates in tow, we went down to our local produce shop and started checking out the size and weight. We had a 2001 Nissan Navara single cab and a 1999 Toyota Landcruiser ute to do comparisons with.

First test was how many bales of hay can you fit in the back. The Nissan could stack 40 at a squeeze, we were left pondering whether it was a legal load. The Toyota stacked forty with out too much effort. The Pik-Up stacked a whopping 50, and breezed it in. However to keep the test even we all set out with 40.

Next stop was a 2.5 km steep hill affectionately known as “the gap”. I have had the displeasure of tailing heavy loaded trucks up this hill as they struggle in 2nd gear and going at 10km per hour. The loaded hill climb results were as follows: Nissan took the longest to get up the gap and had to drop to FIRST gear. Second was the Toyota; Matt struggled to get his truck up the top and just about blew his box but had to drop to second gear about 400 meters from the top. The Pik-Up as I said before we loaded 50 bales onto it, so it already won points with me for that, anyhow we had a good run up to the gap and got to the 3/4 mark was still in fourth gear and doing 60kmph. Just where the Toyota had to drop to second gear, I dropped to third and crested the summit at 55km per hour. After returning the borrowed hay I loaded a 1 tonne bag of horse feed on the back, everyone couldn’t get over how much extra room there was in the tray. We then went back to “the gap”. Got same results as the first time.

Next test was the off-road capability; We went to a mates farm and set out the course. A really rough 5km bush fire access track, a rock climb, and an empty dam with a steep wall climb out. Again, we were starting to wonder whether it was the machine or the operator, but the Pik-Up kept on blitzing all the tests we put it through. Anyhow, it’s Monday morning and I dropped the Pik-Up back to the dealer, put down a deposit for my dual cab 4×4. And can’t wait till it gets here. I have a sneaky feeling that a lot of the guys and girls in my area will be trading in their trucks and following the new generation.We love our trucks but when it comes down to the price vs performance the Pik-Up is a winner for me and my friends.