Mahindra TR40

Mahindra TR40 report, Global Vehicles of Marietta, Ga. (which has been embroiled in an opera of lawsuits, name-calling and musical chairs management concerning its deal with the Indian manufacturer), has had an oft-stated goal of 30 mpg highway fuel economy for the clean diesel truck.

The four-wheel-drive Mahindra TR40 crew-cab pickup with a four-cylinder diesel engine and automatic transmission has been rated by the EPA at only 19 mpg city/21 mpg highway. By comparison, the 4×4 2011 Dodge Dakota with a 3.7 liter V6 engine is rated at 14/18. The TR40′s miserable highway mileage doesn’t even match the Ford F-150 3.7 liter 4×2, which is rated at 16 city/23 highway. The 4×4 Ford Ranger, like the aforementioned Dodge, is rated at 14 city/18 highway. Mahindra’s compact pickup truck offers a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds and a payload of 2,765 pounds.

Global Vehicles says “Good fuel economy will be an important part of the truck’s appeal, and we’re eager to see the fuel economy for all of the models, especially the two-door, two-wheel-drive model, which Mahindra told us to expect would achieve close to 30 mpg.”

The current differential between the Mahindra TR40 diesel truck’s mileage and that of the gas-powered competition is unlikely to turn heads or create headlines. It’s hard to imagine Mahindra squeezing out nine additional highway miles per gallon just by stripping out the 4-wheel-drive system.

Mahindra announced it had terminated its contract with Global Vehicles on last August to distribute the trucks when they finally arrived. GV has publicaly disputed Mahindra’s termination claim, and the two sides are in protracted litigation, leaving dealers in the middle. GV has between 300 and 350 franchise agreements signed with dealers and has collected millions of dollars in franchise fees.