SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is a tale of discovery. And unforeseen insight as old beliefs are upended and prejudice turns to acceptance.
Hardy de Kock runs Specialised Adventures, an off-the-known-track tour company that also lends a hand with evaluating 4x4 vehicles for manufacturers and magazines. His fleet consists of 24 Land Cruisers from Brand T. Until now he always maintained that they’re the toughest, most reliable and most competent off-roaders available in South Africa. Other popular brands are considered unsuitable and, as for Mahindra, Ma-what...?
He was therefore apprehensive about accepting Mahindra SA’s offer to take its three flagship models – Pik-up Karoo Dusk, Karoo Dawn, and Karoo Storm – on an 8600 km tour of rugged mountain passes, the Namib Desert and the meanest adventure trails the region has to offer. He needn’t have worried; the only hiccup along the way was one flat tyre.
The vehicles in question are lightly modified versions of Mahindra’s Karoo range of no-nonsense, low-frills, 4x4 pickups based on the Scorpio SUV. Upgrades include heavier-duty rear leaf springs with extended shackles to boost ground clearance, uprated shock absorbers, narrower steel bumpers to improve approach and departure angles, off-road wheels with big-lug tyres sporting greater width and a slightly higher profile (265/75R16 vs 245/75 R16), rubberised load bins, bespoke fittings and individual colours. Interior improvements include leather upholstery and a larger, nine-inch, touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Karoo Dusk is painted black and fitted with a lockable roller-shutter tonneau cover, matching bin bar and a longer nudge unit in front. Karoo Dawn is sandy beige with regular bin cover and a heavy-duty roof rack. Karoo Storm rounds out the range in light blue paintwork and a standard tonneau cover.
There was no real need for snorkels or other special dust-proofing. To quote Hardy: “Nobody can stop dust getting into a load bin and one keeps it out of the cabin by setting air vents to recirculate, turning on the fan and keeping windows closed.” At the two-thirds stage the team stopped in Pietermaritzburg to visit the brand’s joint-oldest, with Bloemfomtein, South African dealership. By then each vehicle’s engine air filter had had dust banged out once.
Common to all are Mahindra’s venerable mHawk 2.2-litre commonrail diesel motor, Aisin six-speed automatic gearbox and Eaton M-Locker rear differential. This is possibly the feature that impressed Hardy and his team the most, keeping the vehicles propelling forward under the harshest conditions.
Other take-aways were that, after as much as 900 km of highway driving on some days, drivers felt more rested and relaxed than after similar journeys spent wrestling with Cruisers. Second, fuel consumption for the trip to that point averaged 9.0 litres per 100 km. Before city dwellers gasp in shock, it helps to know that driving on surfaces as apparently benign as provincial dirt roads consumes fuel more quickly than on asphalt – it’s the added friction between road and rubber that does it. Sustained low-gear work, scrambling over rocks and conquering sand dunes, consumes yet more.
Seen at the start (l-r): Peter King, Jaco du Plessis, Hardy de Kock and Chantal Burger
The five-person squad consisted of Hardy, his wife Chantal Burger and staffer Jaco du Plessis driving the three expedition vehicles, backed by instructor Peter King and cameraman Wilhelmus Venter in a “plain” Karoo without special mods. Despite the apparent disadvantages, they kept up with the others; just having to drive a touch more conservatively. The ride wasn’t quite as comfortable either and there were times when they missed the superior off-road capabilities of the special vehicles.
Of many travel tales, Wilhelmus’ was the saddest. Wild Namib Desert winds twice smashed camera-bearing drones out of the sky, leaving him without those days’ aerial footage. But another more positive tale was one related by Hardy. A friend, with whom they rendezvoused along the way, insisted on showing the crews his favourite, and extremely steep, 4x4 trail - with him showing the way in his Cruiser. Short version: The Mahindras reached the top first and waited for him there.
A scene that played out regularly, when the team stopped at co-ops to refuel, was that farmers would quickly call neighbours to “come and inspect these strange and interesting bakkies.” If initial responses are any guide, Brands T, F and I might soon have serious competition in rural communities.
From Pietermaritzburg the convoy took in Sani Pass, the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Clarens and Bloemfontein before returning to Gauteng.
Outside Mahindra PMB: Rinsed and ready to tackle the final leg of their epic journey
Final take-away by Hardy: “Mahindra isn’t just about price; it’s much more. It should rather be accepted as a competent machine; more comfortable and economical than those I’m used to, requiring less frequent servicing (every 20 000 km vs every 10 000) and costing less too.”
Final, final take-away: Hardy was about to replace one of his fleet vehicles with a new Cruiser but, while still en-route to Pietermaritzburg, he cancelled that order and bought “his” trusty Karoo Dawn instead. Mahindra? Ma-yes.
Price, all versions: R614 999
Follow the trip on: https://mahindra.co.za/karoo-expedition-blog/
Information gathered at a dealer-sponsored promotional event.
We drove a standard 4x4 d/c Pik-up in 2018
This site is operated by Scarlet Pumpkin Communications in Pietermaritzburg.
Unless otherwise stated, all photographs are courtesy of www.quickpic.co.za
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8