Having confirmed the name of its compact SUV last month, Mahindra has now announced that it would launch its new offering ‘TUV300’ on September 10, 2015 in India. The launch will take place at the company’s Chakan Plant, near Pune Maharashtra. The company has already revealed its sketches and its production model have been spotted various times in the country. The new compact SUV will not replace Bolero as it is still a bestselling vehicle for the car maker, retailing in five digit figures.
The TUV 300 is based on all new ladder platforms and has taken inspiration from a battle tank while the research and development of the vehicle has been carried out at Mahindra research valley (MRV) in Chennai. The M&M was one of the earliest to enter into compact SUV segment with Xylo but it failed to find customers due to its ugly design.
India’s leading SUV maker, Mahindra is positioning TUV 300 as a True blue SUV in which T stands for toughness along with stylishly design SUV. The company is aiming to target those customers who are looking for a compact vehicle but are confused between a SUV and a crossover.
As what was seen from the spy shots, the TUV 300 carries a boxy design with base variant getting black front-rear bumpers while the top variants get Honeycomb mesh grille with vertical slats, sweptback headlamps, high nose, high ground clearance and short overhangs. The rear has a spare mounted tail gate, vertical tail lights and two reflectors.
On the inside, it will feature with a dual beige dashboard, seven seat configuration (5+2), multi function three spoke steering wheel, touchscreen infotainment system with navigation, AUX-In, USB and bluetooth connectivity. There is a twin pod instrument cluster that houses two circular chrome ring dials and air condition.
Powering the TUV 300 will be a 1.5l three cylinder diesel engine which is badged as mhawk80. The number 80 here might be hinting at 80PS power delivery of the car and it will come initially with a 5-speed manual gearbox powering the front wheels while an AMT or AWD might be launched at a later stage.
The TUV 300 will compete against the likes of Ford Eco Sport and Renault duster and expect the price to start in the range of Rs. 5.5 lakhs (ex-showroom).
