Mahindra S201 (Hyundai Creta/Tata Q501 challenger) sighted near Pondicherry

IAB reader Prabhakaran Sivasamy has shared a spy shot of a Mahindra S201 from the Pondy-Tindivanam highway.

The five-seater monocoque SUV is based on the SsangYong Tivoli's X100 platform. Reports have said that the Mahindra version will have a different exterior and interior, embed with the company's DNA. On the prototype, there's little or no difference at the rear. Perhaps, Mahindra will take time to put the production version with the final design into testing, as the launch is at least a year away. The Mahindra S201 will have dimensions slightly different from the SsangYong Tivoli which is 4,195 mm long, 1,795 mm wide and 1,590 mm tall. It would be a big ask for the Mahindra S201 to duck under the 4m barrier.

Mahindra is developing two new engines with SsangYong. The first is a 1.5-litre petrol engine, and the other is a 1.6-litre diesel engine. Both are expected in the S201. The 1.6-litre diesel engine will debut in Mahindra U321 MPV this year. A 1.5-litre version of this engine is also reportedly under development.

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The S201 will go on sale in India in the second half of FY2018-19 (October 2018 and March 2019), Mahindra has confirmed.