The All-New Mahindra Roxor UTV

It never ceases to amaze us just how creative companies can be. Building not only a new vehicle, but potentially creating a new segment, of sorts, along the way. With a stout company name, worth a stunning 19 billion, Mahindra has possibly done just that. For many years we have all heard the name “Willy’s” in the jeep world. Well, it was actually Mahindra that was producing that vehicle. Last week, in the Auburn Hills area of Michigan, Mahindra unveiled a new off-road vehicle for side by side enthusiasts called ROXOR. This is an off road only vehicle, according to Mahindra, that is powered by a proven turbo 4-cylinder engine but it sure looks like it should have a tag on it. Unfortunately, according Mahindra the speed is limited and drive-ability fashioned for off road only.

This New ROXOR is moderately priced at $15,499 for the base unit with a limited edition being in the $18,000 plus range. It is a USA assembled machine with sourced parts from Mahindra’s home base in India. Built on a steel box frame the ROXOR looks extremely robust and utilizes automotive parts that can seemingly be replaced at most automotive stores. It also looks very easy to work on and from an off-road adventure standpoint that is extremely refreshing. The ROXOR uses a traditional 5-speed manual transmission and a 2-speed transfer case with an automotive style driveline. It is literally a truck drive train. The rubber meets the road via the BF Goodrich K2 tires via either steel or custom aluminum wheels depending on the package you purchase.

Looking over into the cab of ROXOR will not see much in the way of fancy but more of functionality. The steel body’s interior and underneath as well as the bed has been covered in a “rhino” lining of sorts for durability and the rear cargo area spacious as well. The PPG automotive paint then dresses the rest of the sheet metal. ROXOR’s suspension is of a leaf spring design that uses a more rigid leaf in the front with stabilizer bars and leafs on the rear with automotive style shocks on all four corners. There are no adjustable elements to the shock at all so what you see is what you get from the factory.

The diesel fuel 4-cylinder power plant provides 62 horse power and a respectable 144 ft lbs of torque. I can see guys adding a larger turbo to get even more power out of this machine with no problem at all. The aftermarket world is so open for this rig and I’m sure it will not be long before the performance guys drop a few products to its favor. I for one am excited to see the ROXOR and I am excited to drive this machine in real off-road terrain. Although it does bother me to think of loading it on a trailer and I think a tag would be much more exciting.