Mahindra's Maruti Vitara Brezza challenger appears production-ready now

New spy shots show the Mahindra S201 (codename) compact SUV testing alongside the Mahindra Marazzo MPV (codename Mahindra U321), and it appears engineers are ready to sign off the compact SUV for production. The S201 is the desi version of the Ssangyong Tivoli which will take on the sub-4 meter SUV brigade comprising the Maruti Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport and Tata Nexon.

Spy shots have shown that Mahindra engineers have reduced the length of the donor Tivoli to below 4 meters to qualify for small car GST rates. For reference, the Tivoli measures 4,195 mm.

Unlike some products where engineers only need to push in the bumpers (the Ford EcoSport and VW Polo being good examples) to get the length to <4,000 mm, given the Tivoli's 195 mm excess, M&M engineers have had to redo the C-Pillar and the nose. The design of the front and rear have changed radically with Mahindra designers swapping out the vertically set combination lights for horizontal units.

Power for the S201 is reported to come from the all-new 1.5-liter diesel engine which debuts on the Marazzo. This unit, with a 6-speed manual gearbox, is expected to deliver 121 hp and 300 Nm of torque on the front-wheel-drive S201. A new 1.2-liter turbocharged petrol engine is also on the cards for the compact SUV with as much as 140 hp on tap. These engine are the first members of the Mahindra-Ssangyong powertrain family.

Also read: 7 Mahindra vehicles that didn't click in India

Mahindra has a busy financial year ahead as it gears up to launch the Marazzo in September. The Marazzo's launch will be followed by the flagship Mahindra Rexton (G4 SsangYong Rexton) expected before Diwali (November), and finally, the S201 will be introduced before March 2019.

[Source - Thrustzone.com]