The fifth musketeer...
Can the Mahindra Pik Up join South Africa’s big four, especially now that it also boasts an automatic gearbox, or is it its destiny to remain in the background?
When you look at the sales figures, South Africa’s four favorite bakkies are the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Nissan NP300 Hardbody. In fifth place is the Mahindra Pik Up. It would like to join the inseparable four musketeers –D’Artagnan, Aramis, Porthos and Athos – on their adventures, but it’s often seen as an outsider.
During lockdown, we had the Pik Up and the streets to ourselves for a week and could drive it around before heading to the mountains to see how it fares off-road. Can the Mahindra Pik Up join the gang?
The drive
The Mahindra Pik Up’s 2.2 turbodiesel engine runs like a dream in the city and the six-speed automatic gearbox shifts smoothly on the open road. We want to mention this, because unlike the Hilux, Ranger and D-Max you wouldn’t think it when you saw it in a parking lot – that boxy bodywork is anything but aerodynamic, after all, and it’s only the NP300 that looks (and is) slower than the Pik Up.
The ergonomics are good and the steering feels fine, but goodness, the Pik Up’s turning radius is that of an ox-wagon. You have to plan ahead in a parking lot and prepare for fivepoint turns.
We like the large windows and blunt windshield. It’s fantastic for birding as you can swing a 600 mm telephoto lens around without hitting the door frame – and thanks to the near vertical windscreen, the dashboard doesn’t bake in the hot sun. This is better than the Hilux, Ranger and D-Max with their relatively narrow windows and sloping windscreens. The NP300 provides a similar view, but you sit lower than you do the Pik Up.
The Pik Up’s back bench is a bit cramped and your passengers will complain about having to sit up straight. In that regard, we’d rather have the Toyota, Hilux or Isuzu.
And as an off-roader?
We took the Mahindra Pik Up to the Matroosberg Nature Reserve outside Ceres. At the time of our visit, the 4x4 trail – with its difficulty rating of 3 – was dry and without snow (see Drive & Camp #37).
We reduced the tyre pressure from 2,2 bar to 1,8 bar and tackled the first obstacle, Land Rover Hill, in 4H. This wasn’t our first visit to this popular 4x4 trail and of all the vehicles we’ve taken up the mountain, the Pik Up struggled the most. We were certainly able to master the route, but it wasn’t easy.
The electronic traction control was the
Cardinal Richelieu in this tale, because it constantly cut power to the wheels to prevent wheel spin and when it tried to help it only made things worse. Eventually, we switched to 4L, not because the terrain required it, but simply so that we could turn off the electronic ‘aids’. In 4L, the route was ridiculously easy, although of course we now burnt through more fuel.
The top of Matroosberg has a final obstacle with a difficulty rating of 4 (5 if it’s snowing) that consists of high rocky steps, loose shale and a steep incline. All four of the Pik Up’s wheels spun here and the bakkie skidded from side to side, but would not move an inch forward. This didn’t surprise Waldo de Kock, owner of Matroosberg, who said that few bakkies can master the last obstacle – unless they carry some weight on the back.
We reckon the Pik Up is roughly equal to the Ranger, Hilux and D-Max when it comes to off-road ability, but better than the Hardbody as that one no longer has a diff lock.
What does count in the Pik Up and Hardbody’s favour is that you don’t feel so bad treating them roughly as you would a Ford, Toyota and Isuzu.
On our return, we switched on the Mahindra’s electronic downhill control and sat back while the Pik Up handled the braking and gearing. This is a great feature not in the Hardbody, but the others also have it.
Conclusion
The Mahindra Pik Up can square up against its competitors. Sure, we aren’t impressed by the electronic traction control, but we’ll admit that someone who has never done a 4x4 trail can benefit from it.
We agree with the rest of South Africa’s motoring media that the Mahindra Pik Up is good value for money. It may not be as cool as a Ranger Raptor or a Hilux Legend 50, but if you leave ego out of this and you’re simply looking for a simple workhorse, the Mahindra Pik Up is one for all, and all for one.