Hi guys, I had an opportunity to click a few pictures of this Savari that was being modified for use as a taxi in the hills of Darjeeling. So sharing them with you.
This particular Savari is a 2004 model with a DI non-turbo engine. I think the Cubic capacity is 2500.
At present, if one buys a Savari then only the turbo version is available. The owner of the vehicle was telling me that Non Turbo Savari's were more sought after because of them having more reliable gearboxes and crown tails ( in his opinion).
The OTR price of a stock Mahindra Savari in W.B is 5.3 lakhs Approx. With that you get the following:
1) Two rows of front facing seats.
2) Two 3 seater jump seats in the back.
3) A soft top but without much support for it.
4) Official carrying capacity is 9 adults.
After purchasing a savari, the owner takes it straight to the workshop and makes the following changes:
1) Add 4 rows of front facing seats.
2) Remove the jump seats altogether.
3) Strengthen the soft top.
4) Add a heavy duty roof carrier.
5) Increase the carrying capacity to 15 including the driver.
Some Info about this particular savari:
Purchase: Used.
Route: Kurseong to Daarjeeling (35 kms one-way)
Fare: Rs.50 (Rs.40 for office going regulars)
travel time: Approx 1 hour.
No of trips:
Off season (Dec-Feb, June-Sep) 1 trip Kurseong-Darjeeling-Kurseong.
On Season (Feb-May, Sep-Dec) 2 trips Kurseong-Darjeeling-Kurseong.
I will let the pictures do the talking now.
The interiors all taken out, and the floor boards all repaired. Every rust spot taken care of. A close up of the interior work done. You can see the original factory paint on the doors, the rest of the entire area has been worked upon. Darjeeling being a very wet and damp place, rust is a very common problem. The unmistakable Mahindra hood. Note the strengthening done to the roof to accommodate a heavy duty roof carrier. I guess this strengthening will also help strengthen the entire Savari body and minimise body roll to a certain extent. The external body also all patched up and then primer-ed up. Now ready for the colour. Due to budget constraints, the paint was done out in the open, no paint booths here. And now the finished product. The Mahindra Savari Taxi. Though it was painted without a paint booth, I was quite impressed with the quality of paint work. Not bad at all (relatively speaking). There are only 2 doors on this side and it looks like a normal Savari form this angle. From this angle you can see the cut out of the 4 doors. Ladies and gentlemen may I present to you the 15 seater mahindra Savari (Darjeeling edition) with 4 rows of front facing seats. Plus with a small boot as well. The End