Driving Mahindra Blazo X
Assuring a significant change over the Blazo, the Blazo X is about higher fuel efficiency, payload and the ability to seek better productivity and profitability.
Assuring a significant change over the Blazo, the Blazo X is about higher fuel efficiency, payload and the ability to seek better productivity and profitability.
It is an exceptionally warm day at Chakan, Pune, and quite unlike the weather in December. A Blazo X in a distinct shade of yellow is rolling out of the final assembly line that the Furio ICV has also started to share. Reflecting the changes at the plant level, which include a shift towards process and system orientation, the Blazo X marks a significant change at a lot of levels. Pointing at higher reliability and durability, the truck promises fuel efficiency gains of five to seven per cent. In some models, the gains are to the tune of nine to 10 per cent, according to sources. An outcome of the online and off-line process changes, the truck gains from an amount of investment in new technologies and equipment that are helping to put in place stringent testing processes. Involving the installation of modern torquing equipment (DC nutrunners) at the assembly level in place of pneumatic and manual torquing equipment, the changes at the assembly level, other than improving manufacturing consistency, would ensure that every Blazo X has the same quality and fit-finish levels.
Contributing to the journey of Blazo to Blazo X, the changes at the manufacturing stage have also had an effect at the engine level, and include the use of different components in the cooling system, in the fuel delivery system, and at the transmission and axle level. If the rising manufacturing discipline would help to address future requirements, the changes at the plant level are ensuring that the Blazo X meets the market requirements as well as the regulatory changes. Accounting for a change in the takt time with the Furio sharing the line with the Bazo X (in view of the move to BSVI emission norms in mid-2020), the changes are expected to take place at the sediment level. They are also expected at the supplier level. Ensuring the incorporation of an amount of flexibility, the changes at the plant level would improve tracking, traceability and ‘Poka-Yoke’. The connection with the changes at the plant level are evident after looking at
the truck. It flaunts good fit and finish standards. Not a big departure from the appearance of the Blazo, except for the badging and stickering, the Blazo X gains from some significant changes deep down and inside. The first to be evident is the gain in refinement. From behind the wheel of a Blazo X 31 (lift axle), the gain in refinement is immediately apparent. Though not fully suspended, the cabin of the truck, airy and comfortable, feels better sealed than that of the Blazo.
Aimed at the container, tanker and bulker markets among others, the cabin of the Blazo X 31 feels airy and spacious. With controls within reach, the cabin is equipped with storage bins at the top. Behind the seat is a berth that could be used by one driver to sleep when the other is driving. The seats itself are quite supportive and comfortable. The driver’s seat offers an amount of adjustability to ensure a commanding yet comfortable driving position. The sweeping dash is a modern design and identical to that of the Blazo. On the centre console is a sole blower switch with a round dial and a button. Drawing air effectively, the blower follows the government mandate that came into effect in January 2018. Turn the ignition switch and an array of warning lamps come on. As some of them go off post the diagnostic check, they remind of the tiny lights on a Christmas tree. Reflecting the modern nature of the truck, the instrument panel contains an LCD readout at the centre. It works as an information system, and indicate the average fuel consumption, air brake pressure among other info. One of the few trucks in the market to be equipped with a 10-bar air pressure brake system even before the new axle norms came in, according to Vinod Sahay, CEO, Mahindra Truck and Bus, the Blazo X comes to life with a muted growl. The 274 hp, six-cylinder 7.2-litre common-rail diesel engine settles down to a smooth idle. Immediately apparent are the refinements levels. The Blazo X feels more refined than the truck it suceeds.
Engaging the gear on the modern six-speed Eaton gearbox gets the truck going. The shift quality of the robust unit may not compare with that of a car, it is, however, good when compared to some of the older designs on the market. Contributing to a positive driving feel, the truck moves out of the bay with nary a hesitation. Of the three switches of the Fuelsmart tech, it is the ‘heavy’ mode that is on. Responding well to the inputs, the truck, hinting at how the market requirements and regulations are coming to influence the evolution of trucks, picks up speed. Subject to two to three major technical changes, according to Sahay, the truck feels easy to manoeuvre. The major technical changes, he explains, is the move to a new waste-gate turbocharger, an intercooler, an electro-viscous cooling fan, and low friction oil (for the engine, transmission, and rear axle). Coming across as a different animal when compared to the Blazo, the Blazo X is an outcome of customer feedback, which sought higher efficiency than the Blazo could offer on account of a portion pocketed by the driver. Over the Blazo, the Blazo X, according to Sahay, provides five to seven per cent increase in fuel efficiency on account of the technical changes.
With the factory cabin capable of meeting the basic norms prevalent in Europe with some changes, the Blazo X has seen an amount of additional reinforcement in some areas of its chassis to account for the rise in GVW post the axle norms, according to Sahay. Made necessary by the amount of weight reduction carried out during the transition from Mahindra Navistar to Mahindra Truck and Bus, the truck employs high strength steel for its chassis construction. The reinforcements are found inside the ‘C’-section chassis in the portion between the rear axles and the engine. Claimed to have a GVW of 36.5-tonnes post the axle norms, the truck moves on to the road. With the commanding yet comfortable driving position working in favour of the driver, it is not to be missed that Mahindra Truck and Bus has carried out extensive trials with their company drivers