Mahindra & Mahindra has unveiled its next SUV, the Marazzo, at a price that is considerably below what the market was expecting.
While the ‘shark-inspired’ UV was supposed to be priced in the same range as the XUV500, the actual starting price is about 20% below that of the 500.
Against Rs 12.6 lakhs for XUV500, the Marazzo will start at Rs 9.99 lakh, ex-showroom.
Marazzo will come in 7-seater and 8-seater options with the 7-seater offering captain seats in the 2nd row.
The 2nd row in 8-seater & 3rd row come with a foldable 60:40 split and will offer 1055 litres of luggage space when completely folded down.
The car is powered by a 1.5 litre, 4- cylinder D15 Diesel engine. The company said the noise level is 43 decibels at driver ear level at low idle.
It also said the model will come with fully automatic temperature control with an option for direct as well as diffused cooling.
The 1.5 litre 4-cylinder in placed in a transverse (east-west) layout, opening up space for the cabin.
The engine produces 90.2kW (121 BHP) power and 300 Nm torque, compared to 148 BHP for the 2.4 liter Toyota Innova Crysta.
The ARAI-certified mileage is 17.3 kmpl, which is higher than most of the competitors.
The car was designed using Mahindra’s global design facilities.
It was “engineered in Detroit for excellence, designed by our in-house team in collaboration with Pininfarina, Italy, with the entire package coming together at MRV, our state of the art R&D centre near Chennai,” said MD Pawan Goenka.
The front grille is supposed to resemble the teeth of a shark, while the tail lamps are supposedly inspired by a shark’s tail.
It also has projector headlamps, fog lamps with daytime running lamps, elegant chrome finishes on exteriors and twin-spoke 17″ machined alloy wheels.
It also comes with patented body-on-frame, front-wheel drive architecture that is supposed to provide a nimble “car-like” feel. The UV is lighter than other similar vehicles, while retaining the toughness of a body-on-frame configuration.
The rear suspensions comes with a lightweight “twist beam” construction with a travel of 245mm.
“The Marazzo chassis is anchored by a fully boxed frame and includes forged aluminium front suspension components, which increases the handling responsiveness,” it said.
The turning radius is 5.25 meter, and can seat up to 8 people, the company said.
It also has dual front airbags, disc Brakes on all 4 wheels and collapsible steering column, crumple zones and side-impact beams. The UV also comes with impact-sensitive door locks that prevent lock-ins, and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS).
The higher end M6 and M8 variants include Rear Parking Camera and Sensors, first-in-class Emergency Call and Cornering Lamps, it said.
There is also an 18 cm (7″) touch screen system withUSB audio/video and Bluetooth, as well as support for Android Auto and Mahindra BLUE SENSE App.