Published on March 2, 2018 11:08:00 PM 59603 Views Follow us By Autocar India News Desk

Author: Autocar India News Desk

The redesigned Thar version will be manufactured and sold in the United States as a side-by-side power sports product.

Mahindra Automotive North America (MANA) has launched a new off-road utility vehicle called Roxor for the American market. The automaker is trying to capitalize on its image as a manufacturer of agricultural vehicles and utility vehicles in the United States, and will assemble new models in Detroit. In addition to being sold as side-by-side or utility vehicles (classified as off-highway vehicles in the United States), Mahindra will also provide vehicles to the U.S. Federal Postal Service.

The new off-road vehicle looks like Mahindra Thar from the grille to the wheel arches, which is not surprising considering that Roxor is based on Thar. Therefore, Roxor uses a steel body on a boxed steel frame. It is powered by a 64-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder diesel engine and a five-speed manual transmission.

Roxor is designed to be a durable vehicle in the Thar mold, with four-wheel drive as standard. Because it belongs to the category of off-road vehicles in the United States, the maximum speed is limited to 72 km/h. Mahindra is trying to position Roxor as a competitor alongside the Polaris RZR ATV and Kawasaki Mule Pro series. Interestingly, although others in this segment usually use smaller two-cylinder or even three-cylinder engines and all-around independent suspensions, Mahindra uses a four-cylinder engine and simpler leaf spring rigid shafts at the front and rear. Roxor also differs in the use of manual gearboxes to counter automatic gearboxes in other models. Another interesting point is the use of a five-slat grille on the Roxor, which is different from the typical seven-slat grille of Mahindra's current vehicle, which is also seen in jeeps.

In the first six months, the two Roxors will provide few customization options. However, everything from exterior and interior colors, safari seats and rear seats and ride height to hard tops, winches and side covers will provide a high level of personalization. In fact, buyers will be able to choose from more than 900 paint shades.

Mahindra will not retail Roxor through the standard dealer network, but through the new powersports dealer network, which will help it enter the powersports market. This model is the first Indian automaker to come from a new assembly plant in southeastern Michigan. There is no news about when Roxor will be officially launched in the United States, but Mahindra is expected to share more details at the end of this month. The price of this model is US$15,499 (approximately Rs 1.01 lakh). 

Since the 1940s, Mahindra has been assembling Wiley cars in India and has used the licensed Jeep name for a long time. Although the Indian automaker no longer owns the rights to the Jeep brand when Roxor was launched, Mahindra did clearly mention it. Their American relations.

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