One look at the Mahindra Roxor and you can see that its DNA stems from the popular Thar 4x4. While the Thar is road legal, the Roxor has been launched as a recreational vehicle in the side x side Powersports category that is quite popular in the North American market. Building on their legacy that began over 70 years ago with the licence to build Willys’ vehicles for the Asian region, the brand in many ways has returned to its roots with the Roxor through their North American arm, namely Mahindra Automotive North America (MANA).
Off-road ambitions
Setting this off-roader apart from the rest of the plastic-bodied, belt-driven vehicles currently available in the American market, Mahindra has stuck to a steel body on the frame. They deliver a vehicle that is simple in design, yet very robust and built to handle the rough stuff with ease.
Powering the automobile is the manufacturer’s four-cylinder turbo diesel engine that is mated to a five-speed manual transmission. It can touch a top speed of 45 mph (72 kmph) as limited by regulations for side x side vehicles. Currently only on offer in North America as a recreational vehicle, a farm-use version is expected to be introduced as well. While the Roxor isn’t destined for the Indian market, it sure is a matter of pride to see an Indian manufacturer making inroads in the American market.