One reason why Mahindra Marazzo is unbeatable

The only reason why the Marazzo interests you is because your budget doesn’t afford you the better MPV, the Toyota Innova and that’s where Mahindra has played the masterstroke, the price, it fits right between the Ertiga and Innova and if you want an MPV in this price bracket, the Marazzo is just unbeatable.

Mahindra has long enjoyed dominance in the UV space, largely thanks to little competition.

That’s the reason sub-par cars like the Xylo continue to be in the market but with more players jumping into the UV space, Mahindra’s dominance has been threatened and how!

To get back its market share, Mahindra has now launched an all-new vehicle, the Marazzo and it really is all new in a slew of ways.

But does launching an MPV in a shrinking market for such a vehicle type make any sense?

Mahindra says the Marazzo has been inspired from a shark and other than the marketing talk, I fail to see how and why this car’s antenna isn’t even a shark fin!

That aside, it does look well designed with certain elements making you feel Pininfarina’s contribution.

But for most part, it either looks like a Honda Jazz on steroids or a mix of Renault Lodgy and Toyota Innova.

That said, it doesn’t look like a Mahindra save for the grille which might remind you of the Xylo.

The headlight is a bit small while the tail-light is a bit too big and on the sides, the rising shoulder line with the chrome belt makes the area above the rear wheels and near the C-pillar look a bit too bulky.

The 17-inch wheels do look good on this car though and the chrome heavy design will find great acceptance.

The Mahindra Marazzo feels fresh as soon as you step inside and see the massive dashboard, courtesy the cab-forward design.

Fit-finish and quality are the best we have seen in any Mahindra vehicle yet and the piano black touch also looks cool but the white accents on the left side of the dash draw polarising opinion.

Marazzo engineers have dived deep in Mahindra’s parts bin, so the AC switches come from the XUV meanwhile the steering buttons come from the Tivoli.

The cabin is largely practical with deep pockets and ample storage spaces.

However, some ergonomic oversights like the MINI inspired handbrake which is all style but little usability remain.

We also found accessing the AUX ports difficult.

The seats are superb, offering great comfort levels and good thigh support.

The legroom in the second and third-row is pretty good making it a genuine 7-seater.

Mahindra has also equipped the Marazzo with AC-vents for all the three rows.

The second and third-row seats offer good flexibility to haul your luggage.

The equipment on the Marazzo is a bit of a mixed bag.

While you get a touch-screen infotainment system with reverse camera and navigation, LED DRLs and projector headlights, it misses out on much essential equipment like an auto-dimming rearview mirror, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and keyless entry with push-button start.

The diesel engine in the Marazzo is essentially the beefed-up unit of the one used in the KUV100.

This Mahindra Marazzo outputs a decent 121 BHP and 300 Nm and as long as you don’t check the car’s weight, which happens to be a sizeable 1,600 kg, you might expect a lot of grunt.

Power delivery is linear for the most part and the turbo lag is well contained.

However, the top-end is weak and you can feel that during overtakes.

Our VBOX tells us this car takes 15.29 seconds to do the 0-100 km/hr sprint, that’s not shabby by any means.

The engine is mated to the smooth-shifting 6-speed manual gearbox.

Mahindra is planning to offer an auto in the near future.

The claimed fuel-efficiency is 17.1 km/l and you also get an ECO mode to aid the economy.

However, the real world figures hover around the 12 mark.

Mahindra uses ladder-frame construction for the Marazzo which is front wheel driven.

The first of its kind in the world and thus patented.

The company says that the front-wheel platform gives it car-like handling but we found persistent role around corners.

Yet the ride and handling balance is pretty good for a ladder-frame Mahindra.

I will update this section once NCAP tests the Mahindra Marazzo, for now, it has dual airbags, should have had at least 6 in 2019, at least as an option.

Mahindra has a good spread of service centres in our country and the company is also quick with its warranty replacements and services too.

If you want a silent, comfortable, efficient, spacious, drivable MPV, then the Mahindra Marazzo is your kind.

It’s not proven yet, small niggles still need to be sorted, and it could do with more equipment.

But who are you kidding, the only reason why the Marazzo interests you is because your budget doesn’t afford you the better MPV, the Toyota Innova and that’s where Mahindra has played the masterstroke, the price, it fits right between the Ertiga and Innova and if you want an MPV in this price bracket, the Marazzo is just unbeatable.

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