New Mahindra bakkie coming to South Africa – What to expect

A new Mahindra bakkie is on its way to South Africa – the Pik Up Karoo Dew.

The fourth model in the popular, locally-exclusive Karoo series, the Dew joins the Dawn, Dusk, and Storm offering a brighter colour scheme in addition to all the rugged fitments found on its siblings.

The manufacturer has not announced when the Dew is officially going on sale, but it did display the bakkie at last month’s Nampo Agricultural Expo; and at least two accredited dealers, Mahindra Amanzimtoti and Rola Mahindra Vredenburg, already have a Karoo Dew on sale both listed at R624,999 – though it’s worth noting the Rola advertisement says “price excludes pre fitments.”

As such, these examples of the Dew are priced identical to the Karoo Dusk, but R10,000 less than the Dawn and Storm.

What to expect

The special-edition Karoo line-up is equipped with rugged accessories designed to enhance the double cab’s off-roading capabilities.

Each one gets:

Side steps
Karoo decals
Rear sports bar
All-terrain tyres
Rear overfenders
Off-road suspension
Rubberised load bin
Rugged 16-inch alloy wheels
Roller shutter/tonneau cover
High-strength steel “Bundu Gear” front and rear bumpers

The Dew comes in white with red decals, while the Dawn is in sand dune paint with orange decals, the Dusk is black with blue decals, and the Storm is grey with dark grey decals.

Inside, the Karoo bakkies sport a 9-inch infotainment system with onboard navigation, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto, accompanied by leather seats, automatic airconditioning, a multifunction steering wheel, and automatic air conditioning.

The spec sheet is further filled with light-sensing headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, keyless entry, cruise control, and a reverse camera with rear parking sensors.

In front, the entire special-edition Karoo stable drives through a 2.2-litre, turbo-diesel motor connected to a six-speed automatic transmission with low range, and they come in 4×4 only with a rear-mounted mechanical diff lock.

The powertrain develops 103kW and 320Nm, burns fuel at an average rate of 7.9l/100km, and lets the bakkie carry up to 995kg in the load box and tow a maximum of 2,500kg.

Thanks to the new bumpers, a large approach angle of 34 degrees, breakover angle of 18 degrees, and exit angle of 15 degrees are also on the cards, as well as a ground clearance of 210mm.