The quirky-looking passenger and goods carrier Multix that you see here is the first product from the joint venture between motorcycle and commercial vehicle manufacturer, Eicher Motors, and US-based powersports vehicle manufacturer, Polaris Industries. First launched in 2015, the Eicher Polaris Multix was upgraded recently to meet the BS-IV emissions standard that is set to become a mandatory requirement for all vehicles on sale from April 1, 2017. While it was initially available for sale only in Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, the Multix will now be available in additional states across the country. We get our hands on the personal utility vehicle at an off-road adventure track in Mumbai to see what it is capable of.
The Multix was designed keeping in mind the requirements of an independent rural businessman, according to the company. It aims to fulfil their personal needs, that of transporting their family as well as meeting business needs which may include accommodating tools, machinery or goods. As I found out after a short drive around the track, while sitting at the rear, the utility vehicle can accommodate five average-sized adults rather comfortably and also boasts of a storage capacity of 418 litres which is extendable to 1,918 litres. The latter is possible after dismantling the rear glass, folding the rear seat, and removing the rear cover, which converts the Multix into a goods carrier within three minutes. So it can transport not just people, but also a dozen crates of veggies, for instance, with relative ease.
Additionally, the utility vehicle is equipped with what Eicher Polaris calls ‘X-Port’, a power take-off (PTO) point which can generate power of up to 3KW that can be used for generating electricity for running refrigerators, lighting up homes and also powering machinery such as drilling machines and water pumps. A PTO or a driveshaft (commonly found on a tractor) transfers power from the engine to the rotary input shaft of the generator and can be easily connected and disconnected.
“The idea behind providing the X-Port was to optimise the utility of the vehicle and reduce the things a businessman has to buy or hire (such as a tractor), thereby lowering his operating costs,” Pankaj Dubey, CEO of Eicher Polaris told us.
