It has Willys DNA, and is half the price of a Wrangler new model. But there’s one catch.
The minimum price for a brand new Jeep Wrangler is $27,000, and that’s just for a two-door base model. It’s also not inclusive of all taxes and fees so it’s not surprising that the final price will exceed $30,000. This is a large sum but India-based Mahindra can make it half as affordable to get into off-roading with the Roxor. However, there is one catch. We’ll talk about it in a moment.
First, Mahindra is clearly using a Jeep design. It actually owns the rights to the vehicle. In the 1940s, Mahindra was granted a license to construct and sell the Willys Jeep. This is what you see here. It can’t be called Jeep, as the name is and not readily available, hence the Roxor moniker. Mahindra, however, has been building the original go-anywhere offroader design for many decades in various forms.
It’s only being talked about in America now because the company plans to expand into other markets. And, lest you believe it’s an Indian import, the Roxor was built in Detroit. The Detroit Metro area has a lot of potholes and it is a great place to test the Roxor’s leaf spring suspension. It supports both front and rear solid axles. The steel frame can be removed from the body. Under the hood, a 2.5-liter diesel engine produces 62 horsepower (46 Kilowatts) and 144 pound-feet (195 Newton-meters).
It doesn’t seem like much power to transport the Roxor, which weighs in at 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilogram). The Roxor’s top speed is 45 mph (72 km/h), which is not enough to allow it to be legal for use on interstates. The Roxor is not street-legal. It is designed to be used only off-road and non-highway.
The Roxor is a great choice for anyone looking for a classic Jeep experience with a modern package. It has nine inches of ground clearance, and 3.73 gears that offer an extremely low range. This makes it a serious off-road vehicle right out of the box.
Mahindra said that the Roxor will officially launch in San Antonio, Texas on March 19. The company is currently building a U.S. dealer network via dedicated powersports dealers, with the goal of reaching 300 locations. Already, 230 dealers are onboard.