Mahindra has unveiled the TUV300 — the company’s ‘tough’ alternative to compact SUVs like S-Cross, Fiat Avventura and Hyundai Creta.
The model has been priced at Rs 6.9 lakh prior to taxes etc in Pune. The BS-V version will start at 7.25 lakhs. The high-end version costs Rs 8.4 lakhs in Pune, which is 1.4 lakh lower than the high end version of the Ford Ecosport.
Click below to watch the launch of TUV300 live at 11 AM today.
The vehicle has been called the most refined car produced by Mahindra & Mahindra yet, and that’s including the acclaimed SUV500. The company spent around 200 cr in developing the engine of the new model, and a total of over Rs 1,200 cr on the model’s development.
Mahindra is pitching the TUV300 as an affordable chasis-based compact SUV. Most other competitors are based on the monocoque (single frame) design.
The company said the TUV300 is the only vehicle in its class to offer seven seats (vs five seats). The company also claimed that the total space inside the vehicle is more than that inside the Duster.
It is a rear-whee-drive model. The structure is based on the third-generation chasis derived from the Scorpio launched last year and gives a ‘car-like’ feel, the company said.
There will three variants — T4, T6 and T8. Each of these variants also come with sub-variants that offer airbags, automatic transmission and so on. The automatic transmission was developed in-house, Mahindra said.
The company had almost 2 lakh visits to its website yesterday, it said.
TUV has been designed based for ‘battletank’ toughness, based on customer design, the company said.
SUV now contributes around 25% from 15% three years ago. Out of this, compact SUVs contribute over 40%, the company said.
Mahindra & Mahindra is India’s biggest SUV maker, has a large selection of such vehicles from BOLERO to Scorpio to Quanto and of course, the XUV 500. It also sells SsangYong vehicles in India.
Highlights of the model below:
- Flexible 5+2 seating
- Chasis-based (more robust vs competitors)
- More masculine looks
- 1520 mm wide track
- 184 mm ground clearance
- Torque 230 nm
- Mileage of 18.49 according to ARAI
- Automatic gear shifting
- More space than Duster
- Dual Airbags and ABS option even on base model
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