Ok back to the review,
I drove the Mahindra for a couple of hours today, no back aches with my thin cushion, I am convinced a shorter driver would not have any issues though. The Defender leather seats are better, but I think these are better than the seats in the td5 (we have a td5 fire truck).
The radio is good, but the Defender radio does pull in the weak signal better. There is a poor reception area on the way into town and the Defender radio looses a bit of quality but does not break up , but the Mahindra radio breaks up in this patch, apart this the radio is very good.
The gear stick points toward the driver ie it is not vertical this is great for changing gear, but relaxing in fifth gear if I spread out the stick touches my knee, only if I rest my clutch foot close to the seat , it is a minor moan but worth mentioning. Driving on the road is great, apart a slightly hard suspension which you soon forget you zip along, it really feels more powerful than the Defender you seem to change gears less often and I do love the clunk free drive line you can shift like you do in a normal car. Plenty of get up and go overtaking, on paper it is slightly less powerful than the Defender, but it must be a power to weight ratio thing as it feels like it has loads of grunt. I parked next to a 76 series and only then you realize how big the Mahindra is, it is huge, but without a reference it looks small, not sure why as it is a very big ute indeed.
Inside the cab was quite and very roomy, I have never driven a car before where it is possible for me at 6 foot 3 inches to put the seat too far back to reach the pedals!!
I am off to fire brigade training tonight at 7pm and I will be back after 9pm so I will see how good the headlights are tonight.
I will report more soon
Chris
