The New Luxury Mahindra Karoo Dusk And Game Viewer

New Mahindra Pik Up models

The Mahindra Pik Up Dusk and Game Viewer

I first heard of “a technical” from a journalist friend who returned from war-torn Somalia in the 1990s. The term referred to bakkies with a heavy machine gun or light cannon mounted on the load bed, used by the local warlords in that unfortunate conflict. It illustrated, in an extreme way, the versatility of the bakkie. Although I doubt that Group1 Mahindra currently sells such armed bakkies, they do seem to have a lot of different bakkies.

The range of Mahindra Pik Up bakkies is vast and has a bakkie suitable for every task and budget. From the very basic, no-frills, get it dirty and get the work done, to full-featured 4×4 double cab beauties for when you want to go in style and comfort. So it was a bit of a surprise to learn that there are now two new Pik Up models. But once you look at these, they make sense. Let’s have a look at the new Pik Up Karoo Dusk and Game Viewer.

Mahindra Pik Up Karoo Dusk

The Dusk is a limited-run luxury bundu basher based on the top range Karoo but kitted out for rough terrain. The matt black finish looks great but is actually a hardwearing film to help against scratches and scrapes. A large and elaborate roll/styling bar behind the cab is ideal for trying things on, or for people in the load bed to hold onto when viewing game. Oversize fenders and steel side steps, as well as the non-slip surface of the rear bumper all add to off-road practicality. This bakkie also features the handy roller shutter door found on the standard Karoo.

The machined steel bumpers have been designed to increase the approach and departure angles, with the rear featuring a mounting point for a high-lift jack, extra heavy-duty recovery loops and a tow bar with flush-mounted power connections.

The bull bar in front is shaped to protect the headlights and has LED spotlights, recovery loops and jack mounting points.

The suspension is quite special too: heavy-duty gas off-road shocks with chunky leaf springs and suspension bushes to match. These, while not making the ground clearance higher, vastly improve off-road performance, while still giving a civilised ride on the tar.

The Mahindra Karoo Dusk starts at under R550K, and you will not find a similarly kitted off-roader for half again that.

Mahindra Pik Up Game Viewer 4×2 and 4×4

A game viewer is an open vehicle to allow lions to jump in and eat the tourists. Just joking, because that seldom happens. Never. Okay, a game viewer is an open plan bakkie that will allow a group of tourists to view game as closely as possible while sitting on comfortable seats, with space for a wildlife guide to move among them to point at specific animals.

The Mahindra Game Viewer is based on the S4 Single Cab and comes in 4×2 and 4×4 models. In the back are nine tourist seats in three steps for better viewing. Each seat has a lap belt. The cabin is open to the back to allow the guide to speak to the guests and move about.

It has a fold-down windscreen for sunsets and a rubberised interior. The upholstery is rugged ripstop canvas, as is the canvas cover of the high roof that doubles as a roll-cage. The Game Viewer has an 1195kg payload and 210mm ground clearance and has a mechanical diff lock.

People who will buy a Game Viewer operate game lodges and the like, and their requirements will differ. The Game Viewer can be customised as needed, including an extended foldaway polycarbonate windscreen that reaches the roof, a marine ply roof cover, canvas roll-down sides, 12V plug points in the cabin and a nudge bar.

The Mahindra Game Viewer has the well-known, dependable 2.2-litre turbodiesel that gives you 103 kW and 320 Nm, with a six-speed manual transmission. The base model 4×2 starts at R407 999, while the 4×4 starts at R446 999*.

*Pricing correct at the time of publishing this blog.


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