Mahindra quietly expands Karoo touches to single cab Pik Up

Officially South Africa’s fourth best-selling bakkie behind the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max, Mahindra has quietly expanded the ever popular Karoo designation to the single cab version of the locally made Pik Up.

Return to roots

A staple of first the S10 and then later, the S11 derivative of the double, the cosmetically enhanced Karoo designation debuts on the S6 trim level that tops the single cab Pik Up range with or without four-wheel-drive.

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Returning to its roots on the S6 that become the first trim grade to wear the Karoo nameplate as a way of celebrating local production commencing in 2018, the single image released by Mahindra on its website reveals only the frontal image with no images of the rear or interior being disclosed.

What’s on offer

As with the double cab, the unique exterior touches are easy to spot and consist of a Karoo branded sports bar and nudge bar, colour coded wheel arches, Karoo decals at the base of the doors, a standard tonneau cover, Karoo specific 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, side-steps and a bespoke colour option called Sand Dune.

Inside, seemingly no alternations have taken place, meaning the Karoo carries over the S6’s list of features comprising a heated rear window, dual front airbags, ABS and EBD, the seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth and USB, cruise control and a reverse camera plus:

• fire retardant cloth trimmed seats;
• auto lock/unlock doors;
• front armrest;
• electric windows;
• keyless entry;
• height adjustable driver’s seat

Power and load

Underneath the bonnet, the stalwart 2.2 mHawk turbodiesel engine retains its outputs of 103kW/320Nm, directed to the rear or all four wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox only.

Regardless of the drive wheels, both the two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive receive a mechanically locking rear differential, with only the latter being privy to a low range transfer case. Claimed ground clearance on both is 210 mm.

Unchanged from the standard Pik Up S6 is the Karoo’s payload of 1 195 kg for the two-wheel-drive, 1 096 kg for the four-wheel-drive and the braked trailer tow rating of 2 500 kg. Respective fuel consumption figures are 7.7 L/100 km and 7.9 L/100 km.

Price

Similar to the S6, the S6 Karoo’s sticker price includes a four-year/120 000 km warranty and five-year/90 000 km service plan as standard.

• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S4 Chassis Cab – R258 999
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S4 Chassis Cab (A/C) – R273 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S4 Dropside – R281 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S4 Dropside (A/C) – R294 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S4 – R266 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S4 (A/C) – R279 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S4 4×4 – R307 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S6 – R334 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S6 Karoo – R402 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S6 4×4 – R373 499
• Pik Up 2.2 CRDe S6 Karoo 4×4 – R440 499

Additional information from duoporta.com

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