New Mahindra PikUp: 2023 Scorpio-based ute imagined

With the arrival of the third generation of the Mahindra Scorpio in Australia in April, it begs the question of when a new PikUp will follow.

The PikUp is Mahindra's 4x4 ute vehicle and, unlike most of its competitors that rework their body-on-frame ute platforms to accommodate a wagon body (think Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X, Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport), Mahindra goes the other way and starts with a wagon followed by the PikUp.

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The new Scorpio SUV

The PikUp has been available in Australia for many years, but it is derived from the old second-generation Scorpio platform. You can see the PikUp’s wagon roots at the rear of the double-cab’s body where the rear doors are scalloped to go around the wheel arches of the shorter wagon wheelbase.

It looks like many of the large 4x4 utes (primarily LandCruisers) in Australia started as wagons but have been cut-down and lengthened by aftermarket companies, to create full-size double-cab utes.

While most Mahindra staff on the Australian launch of the new Scorpio remained tight-lipped about the prospect of a new PikUp, others suggested it would be inevitable.

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2024 Mahindra PikUp rendering | WhichCar.com.au

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2024 Mahindra PikUp rendering | WhichCar.com.au

India is the biggest market in the world for right-hand drive vehicles and Mahindra sees other RHD markets like Australia and South Africa as major customers. With the popularity of utes in the southern hemisphere markets, a new generation of PikUp will be important, especially one that promises a more refined drive, as the new Scorpio does.

The current PikUp has a narrow and very tall, upright cabin which generates considerable wind noise around the A-pillars, not to mention being shaped like a brick. So the swoopier design of the third-generation Scorpio with its laid-back windscreen and wider body will be a welcome addition to a new ute derivative.

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While the current Mahindra PikUp also uses the mHawk 2.2-litre diesel engine and Aisin six-speed automatic transmission, a new model would benefit from the latest version of that engine as found in the new Scorpio.

Like the new Scorpio, the next generation of Pik-Up will need to include the latest safety features such as AEB, lane-keeping technology, road speed sign recognition and radar cruise control, if it is to compete with the established leaders in the category.

Those features are missing from the Scorpio at its launch in Australia, but hopefully they will be integrated in to the platform by the time it spawns a new PikUp.

When that will be is open to speculation with nothing official confirmed as yet, but we expect to see a new Mahindra PikUp in the next three to five years incorporating all these latest features.