I haven’t taken the time to look over our reader demographics and conclusively figure out just who makes up our vast, erudite audience, but I am pretty sure that at least some significant percentage of our audience are dogs. I say this for a number of reasons: first, there’s the way that stories about trucks, wagons, and driving with your head out of the window do so well, traffic-wise, and also because we’re constantly getting emails from readers demanding more stories about beef jerky, wads of ground beef, or stories about dropping entire rotisserie chickens on the ground.
I think these readers must be dogs. Also in this category are multiple emails a day from readers demanding to know if they’re a good boy/girl, and requests that we throw various balls. Of course, we can’t possibly address all of these canine-focused requests, but I figured the least I could do was to try and find out if any automaker actually produces a truly dog-focused vehicle, right from the factory.
Again, I don’t mean dog-themed one-offs like the Rolls-Royce Spectre Bailey:
…or concept cars like the Genesis X Dog:
… I mean something one can actually buy. And for that, I think there is precisely one option: the SML Mahindra Dog Van!
Yes, that’s right, it’s just called the Dog Van, and it’s an Indian-built machine from SML Mahindra, which until just last year, was known as SML Isuzu, so if you have been wondering what happened to your local SML Isuzu dealer, that’s what.
The Dog Van is one of SML’s Special Application Vehicles, which includes things like police vans and prison vans and garbage trucks and water tankers and so on, but what strikes me most about this category is how it’s abbreviated on the website:
Spl.Apl. There’s something about those combination of letters that’s just, I don’t know, funny. Spulll aaapulll. Splat Apple. Splooge Application. Splash Appliance. Split Appellation. Spline Aplomb.
There’s also a section on the website called simply “Tenders,” and I half expected to see this there:
But I didn’t. There are no delicious truck-shaped chicken tenders there.
Okay, but back to the Dog Van. Here’s how SML describes it:
“SML’s Dog Van is a specialized vehicle designed for safe and comfortable transportation of dogs, equipped with features like secure cages, climate control, and easy access for grooming or veterinary care, ensuring the well-being of canine passengers during travel.”
I mean, seems like a pretty sweet way for a dog and a bunch of dog friends to travel, right? It’s got a 3455cc common-rail diesel under the hood making 100 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque, which seems reasonable for the application. It seems to be based on the same platform as this SML Sartaj 5252 XM, which I was able to find a review of, albeit in what I think is Hindi and English:
But here’s the big question: why is the Dog Van so damn cool? Scroll up and look at that thing again. It looks like a badass overlanding camper rig. The body isn’t a cab and crude separate box, it’s an integrated, one-box design, it has great ground clearance and a ton of off-road lights and even a cool two-tone paint job with a yellow stripe.
This is a Dog Van you can use to take a pack of dogs camping or water skiing or out on the town! Compared to the rest of the lineup, it’s by far the sleekest, most consumer-friendly vehicle that SML offers!
I could easily see this thing being sold as a cool overlanding vehicle for big bucks. But it’s for dogs! It’s the Dog Van, and as far as I know, this is the only truly dog-as-primary-passenger focused vehicle you can get that’s not from an upfitter or is used to ferry dogs to the pound.
I really should see if there’s any dog freelancers out there who could review one for us? And has access to India, because I don’t think these are sold here. I’ll check my contacts.
(top image: SML Mahindra, Jason Torchinsky)
The post This May Be The Only From-The-Factory-Van Designed For Dogs appeared first on The Autopian.
