Mahindra Major 4x4

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Lamda ..Tell them you were referred by the chap who came by with the Black MM540 Jeep with KL registration. He probably doesn't remember my name.

4*4, thanks a lot for the wonderful explanation. I am a die hard of a Mahindra 4*4 (actually the judo 1st, but hard to see many), I think you and GTO may be the good persons to ask my question.

I am seriously thinking of buying a NEW Major 4*4 mahindra 1st hand. Costs around 5Lacs OTR in bangalore. Its purely to reflect my taste and character.

1) Is it feasible to drive one daily to and fro to office. (of course after a few basic mods like a crash bar like many jeeps have one above the drivers head, and probably better seats and may be a paint job, and a simple audio system with 2 tiny speakers to break the monotony.

2) What can I expect in such a automobile? Other than the new turbo engine; does it come with disc brakes in the front and a brake master and tandem cylinder? I know the old ones came with direct hydraulic system where you can brake with the engine off, right?

3) What is the average FE on flat surfaces, 2WD mostly, you know - bangalore city traffic. Of course with the Lambda free wheel hub.

4) give me some other gyan what a new 4*4 owner can expect. I really dont have the brains and technical knowledge to buy a old 4x4 and restore it. the last thing I need is a leaking, not working, sputtering, rust bucket. And i am seriously no-no on the next(higher) cheap option of a 4x4 bolero LX & Invader, i want a open jeep, the old style. with Leaf springs. I heard they are easier to maintain and cheaper to replace?

Eagerly awaiting...
santosh

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

I am seriously thinking of buying a NEW Major 4*4 mahindra 1st hand. Costs around 5Lacs OTR in bangalore. Its purely to reflect my taste and character.

I wouldn't recommend a Major. These vehicles are purely designed for Farm/Agricultural/taxi use and offer absolutely no creature comforts. If you want a new open top jeep, I would recommend either a Gypsy (petrol ofcousre) or a Bolero Invader 4x4. The Invader top can be removed easily but it also comes with creature comforts like Power Steering, front doors etc. Moreover, the GLX can be ordered with a 5 +1 speed transmission so you can also use it for highway driving unlike the Major that has the same 4+1 transmission as my MM540. On the highway, I stick to about 85 kmph since anything more than that really strains the engine. The other option is to try and find a good used MM540 and invest some money to bring it into shape. So basically if you want a new 4x4 soft top jeep you choices are Bolero Invader or a Maruthi Gypsy.

Originally Posted by svsantosh

1) Is it feasible to drive one daily to and fro to office. (of course after a few basic mods like a crash bar like many jeeps have one above the drivers head, and probably better seats and may be a paint job, and a simple audio system with 2 tiny speakers to break the monotony.

I drive my MM540 to work every day. No AC, No PS, No Music, No BS. Forget about listening to music in any jeep. You really need a super system than can silence the deisel engine.

Originally Posted by svsantosh

4) give me some other gyan what a new 4*4 owner can expect. I really dont have the brains and technical knowledge to buy a old 4x4 and restore it. the last thing I need is a leaking, not working, sputtering, rust bucket. And i am seriously no-no on the next(higher) cheap option of a 4x4 bolero LX & Invader, i want a open jeep, the old style. with Leaf springs. I heard they are easier to maintain and cheaper to replace?

Eagerly awaiting...
santosh

Santosh, If you want a new vehicle, I would suggest not ruling out the Invader 4x4. I have driven the earlier GLX version with the Peugot XD3 with the 5 speed gearbox and it is a nice vehicle.

They no longer offer the Peugot XD3 engine since it is not BSIII compliant but the now put turbo DI engine in the GLX, but it comes with PS and you can air con it. They are still very basic, rudementary and cheap to maintain. If you ask me the only thing lacking in a Bolero Invader is the classic jeep look. I even considered the crazy idea of buying a new GLX and swapping out the body with my MM540. I get the benefit of a brand new power train and the classic jeep look. I just haven't had the time to do further research on what mods I need to do a body swap between an MM540 and Invader, but don't be surprised if you see Invader MM540 hybrid in my garage in the future.

[ex670c]

Engine - MDI3200TC
G-Box - NGT520 + TCase (5+1) and 4WD
Front Axle - Full-Floating Open Knuckle (3.73:1)
Rear Axle - Full-Floating (3.73:1)
Suspension - Leaf Spring with Telescopic Damper (Shock Absorbers)
Steering - Re-Circulating Ball.
Brakes - Booster Assisted Front Disc & Rear Drum

The Major is a derived from the CJ500D/CL550 range. You can definitely go top down in it.

The Major is very refined compared to the older CJ500D/CL550s.

JEEPs are meant to be Off-Road (FARM & AGRICULTURAL) use that is where no other modern 4x4 can come near it.

Regards,

Arka

PS - Boleros & Maruti Gypsy do no way belong of the JEEP genre.

[Blue Thunder]

Is the Bolero Invader 4x4 available new, off the shelf? I think there would be a waiting period.
I know the Gypsy is not available off-the-shelf, and has a long waiting period (dealers discourage this, similar to the dealers of Gurkha).

[vinod_nookala]

hi SV santosh
I think you should go in for Major 4x4 for the following reasons-

1. It is a CJ3B clone which you can get new......That character isnt there with Bolero or the invader

2. It is very powerful, torquey, fast and nimble....I have driven it. Comes with a brog warner T .case with shift on fly although it is manual selection. The main gear box is 5 speed and not 4- speed as 4x4addict suggested. It has NGT 520 transmission

3.New majors are well built and take lot of beating and has excellent off road ability due to its lower weight. Good part is milage is in the league of 13-15 in city(not kidding)

4. Invaders are no longer available with XD3p engine and doesnt come with P/S either with the new DI engine and is almost a lakh costlier with the same pacakge of Major DI with 3 ddors in addition

5. Invader's havent picked up well hence resale is going to be low and doesnt have a character of Major

6. Major can be fitted with A/c and GTO can be asked as to how to make it effective for a soft top as he has done it in his classic

7. Plonk in good set of radials or else leave it just like that in the interests of lighter steering...major still would look good.

8. You will have a problem while getting in and getting out of major as the ingress is too small to get in and also pedals are set too high bending your knees completely which is very uncomfortable


Hence if you want character, buy Major at the cost of comfort in driving for daily use. If you need a mix of driving comfort with bolero looks buy invader. If fuel is not an issue Gypsy is the best bet, it has both character and driving comfort (ride quality is terrible though).

Choice is yours...........

[simply_sunny001]

can anybody post the link to Mahindra Major ?

[4x4addict]

Interesting. Didn't realize that they started to put the NGT20 5 speed in the Majors. But I would still pick the Invader over the Major.

Would like to point out that both Arka and Vinood who recomond Major, drive MM540s. Perhaps they can explain why they didn't buy a new Major instead ;-).

[4x4addict]

Here is the link to the Major:
Mahindra Corporate

I have a 1986 CJ 500. From Arka's information above it seems like they have made a lot of improvements. Seems like a much better product now. If you plan to put an aircon. You need to figure out how to put doors in front first. PS is really not required unless you plan to put 235 inch tires or something.

[vinod_nookala]

here it is...
Mahindra Corporate

Sad, they dont give technical information in detail there.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by ex670c

Engine - MDI3200TC
G-Box - NGT520 + TCase (5+1) and 4WD
Front Axle - Full-Floating Open Knuckle (3.73:1)
Rear Axle - Full-Floating (3.73:1)
Suspension - Leaf Spring with Telescopic Damper (Shock Absorbers)
Steering - Re-Circulating Ball.
Brakes - Booster Assisted Front Disc & Rear Drum

This is a huge improvement over my CJ500.

Arka, do you know if the Major and the NGCS MM540 which was discontinued share the same chasis or is the Major chasis different.

[vinod_nookala]

4x4 addict,
Wish i had 5 lakhs to put into a new Jeep after my 2 new small cars .....:-):-)

[vinod_nookala]

4x4 addict,

MM540 never came with NGCS. It is the MM550 XD army which comes with NGCS chassis. I remeber Mahindra quadro essentially a MM550 XDb coming with NGCS and those were only few civillian examples. Majors chassis is also NGCS but different to MM550 XDB one. The tracks are different, chassis gauge is different and wheel bases are slightly different.

Any thing more Arka?

[Alfa_Kilo]

Avoid the Bolero Invader 4x4. The problem with the Bolero 4x4 is that a rigid axle has been lashed onto a vehicle with a front end designed for an independent suspension. There is barely 50mm of clearance between the axle and the bumpstop. The front end runs out of suspension travel too soon and it offers a fraction the axle articulation of CJ/MM jeeps off-road.
BSIII DI 4x4 versions are still not available from Mahindra.

If you have a 5lac budget, then you should go for a good second hand MM550/540 or Classic for 1.5-2lac and spend another lac or so on doing it up.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by Alfa_Kilo

Avoid the Bolero Invader 4x4. The problem with the Bolero 4x4 is that a rigid axle has been lashed onto a vehicle with a front end designed for an independent suspension. There is barely 50mm of clearance between the axle and the bumpstop. The front end runs out of suspension travel too soon and it offers a fraction the axle articulation of CJ/MM jeeps off-road.

Good point.

Originally Posted by Alfa_Kilo

If you have a 5lac budget, then you should go for a good second hand MM550/540 or Classic for 1.5-2lac and spend another lac or so on doing it up.

Good classics and MM540/550s worth investing in are hard to come by.

So, I think we are all in agreement that for 5 lakhs the best option for a new 4x4 is to get a Major and modify it. If you can stretch your budget by another 3 lakh's and your timeline by 3 months there is always the Gurkha 4x4.

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by Alfa_Kilo

Avoid the Bolero Invader 4x4. The problem with the Bolero 4x4 is that a rigid axle has been lashed onto a vehicle with a front end designed for an independent suspension. There is barely 50mm of clearance between the axle and the bumpstop. The front end runs out of suspension travel too soon and it offers a fraction the axle articulation of CJ/MM jeeps off-road.
BSIII DI 4x4 versions are still not available from Mahindra.

If you have a 5lac budget, then you should go for a good second hand MM550/540 or Classic for 1.5-2lac and spend another lac or so on doing it up.

Infact the front suspension has enough travel, u must measure the rear one, has hardly any travel for articulation. It has inverted leaf over axle set up. with full load it virtually vehicle rides on bump stops. Having said that i have driven invader and has done some axle bending sessions and found it to be sufficient for most situations. It has better ride qualiy in rear than most jeeps. But for a true jeeper it will leave one wheel in air too soon.

Convert new Major to your taste and have fun. The mechanicals are really rugged and engine is bomb proof. Can virtully keep up with most vehcles on highway till 110 kmph..