A 2.7-litre mCRD engine with no DPF and a 2,646 lb hitch let this punch well past its 37 hp rating. Mahindra has retired the 2600 series in favour of the 2100, leaving the series brochure as the only maker document that still describes it.
1.18 PTO hp per $1,000 of list price
As published by the maker
On the price: The maker's own published starting figure for the base build. A dealer adds a loader, a deck and freight on top.
Lift figures are the maker's and are quoted at whichever point the maker chose; the about page explains why two loaders with the same number do not lift the same pallet.
Comes with
From owner discussion and long-term write-ups
Gathered from owner reports
Owners buy the 2638 for two reasons and both come up repeatedly: it has no particulate filter or regeneration cycle to think about, and the nearest dealer sells it. One owner describes simply putting diesel in and going, with no thought given to emissions management; another chose it over a Kubota that was further away and significantly more expensive, and over a Deere whose prices would have forced him down a size. The reliability reports are quietly good — five hundred hours without an issue for one owner, and a 2023 bought new whose only fault was a leaking radiator overflow bottle that the dealer replaced under warranty within days. Smaller problems in the file are a slow fuel leak at the pre-filter, a three-point that operates erratically, and a rear PTO lever pin that sheared off after a lift arm rammed it.
Where owners disagree is power, and the disagreement is really about what you are doing with it. Two separate owners say they would buy 50 hp or more if they were choosing again — one on 24 acres of Texas hill country found it simply could not pull cedar out of the ground and now cuts and grinds stumps instead. But another owner with a grapple has spent three years picking up big cedar trees with no trouble at all. The distinction is between lifting and moving heavy material, which it does well, and dragging rooted trees out of the ground, which it will not. One sensible addition owners mention is a heavy-duty skid plate to protect the hydraulic lines underneath.
Summarised from public owner discussion, not from testing. Nothing here was measured by this site, and a report that recurs is not the same as a defect rate.
Cross-shopped against
Same brand or same size, nearest in price
Mahindra
Middle rung of the 1600 series, and the point where Mahindra stops publishing a price: the series figure belongs to the 1626, so this one is priced off dealer books at about $25,659 for the 8F/8R synchro shuttle. A three-range HST runs roughly $2,500 more, and a heated cab is offered only on the HST.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Mahindra
Four cylinders instead of three is the real story at the top of the 1600 series - 166.7 cu in turning slower, for 38.7 hp and 29.9 at the PTO. Dealer books put the base synchro shuttle near $28,885; the HST is about $31,191 and is the only way to get the cab.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Mahindra
At 24.7 hp the 1626 is a compact tractor with a Mahindra 3-cylinder diesel and class-leading loader lift for the money, backed by a long warranty. It targets value buyers who want more loader muscle and coverage than the premium brands offer at the price.
Spec sheet & owner notes