Feb 7th, 2011 by Dean Hightower
The Mahindra diesel small pickup, which was expected to get 30-mpg highway, has been rated at 19-mpg city and 21-mpg highway by the EPA. Indian company Mahindra has stated that the new diesel-powered small pickup would get 30-mpg on several occasions, so it’s surprising that the truck could miss that mark by so much.
Global Vehicles, the U.S.-based company that will be importing the Mahindra pickups, told Pickup Trucks.com, “Good fuel economy will be an important part of the truck’s appeal, and we’re eager to see the fuel economy for all of the models, especially the two-door, two-wheel-drive model, which Mahindra told us to expect would achieve close to 30 mpg.”
As Autoblog points out, it’s not very likely that simply removing the four-wheel-drive system will net nine miles per gallon on the highway.
Mahindra’s one major selling point for the pickup was its fuel economy, and without a 30-mpg rating it’s hard to imagine many buyers taking a chance on a truck made in India by a company they’ve never heard of, especially when the Ford Ranger and Dodge Dakota are both rated at 14-mpg city and 18-mpg highway. The 2011 Ford F-150 two-wheel-drive with a V6 engine is rated at 23-mpg highway.
Image via Autoblog.
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