Mahindra begins testing the stylish Ssangyong Rexton W in India

15/08/2012 - 10:06 Ssangyong Rexton W, Mahindra, Spy pictures Kaustubh Shinde

When Mahindra was testing the old Rexton in India, we predicted that the Indian automaker is only testing the platform for Indian roads.

At the back of our mind, we thought that Mahindra wouldn’t possibly launch the 10 year old outdated Rexton in India.

We predicted that Mahindra would bring in the Rexton W – a facelifted version of the Rexton which was showcased at the Busan Motor Show - for the Indian market. A few weeks later, our friends at BS Motoring told their Facebook fans that Mahindra is considering the W over the model brought to the Auto Expo. And guess what!

Thanks to our good friends at Oncars.in, we can confirm that Mahindra has started the testing phase of the Rexton W in India. Thus, we can now safely assume that the updated Rexton W will be the Ssangyong brand's debutant. The test mule is covered in psychedelic camouflage on the front and the rear fascia.

The Ssangyong Rexton W received a comprehensive design update at the 2012 Busan Motor Show. It still uses the same old Mercedes M Class platform but now has a very premium design with exquisite details such as

An all-new chrome grill
18-inch alloy wheels
Double barrel headlamps
LED DRLs
ORVMs with turn indicators
Sporty tail lamps

The Rexton W is powered by an all-new 2-liter diesel engine that makes 154bhp/367Nm. A twin-turbo version of the same engine is also on offer with 200bhp. Both the engines are mated to a Mercedes-sourced 5-speed automatic transmission. The new engines are designed to sip fuel while providing the adequate fire power to match the looks. The new engines return 13.7 km/l (2WD A/T), an improvement of 20% over the old Rexton.

Got tech? Oh yes! The new Ssangyong Rexton W features:

ESP (Electronic Stability Program)
ARP (Active Roll over Protection)
TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System)
UWS (Ultrasonic Warning System).
Smart key
Cruise control
Bluetooth connectivity
Rain-sensing wipers

The most expensive SUV that Mahindra has on market is the sensational XUV500. While Mahindra may not have any experience of selling luxury SUVs, the automaker has made every SUV launch work in India.

The Rexton should head to India in late 2012 or early 2013 with a price tag of 20-25 lakh rupees pitching it head on against the Toyota Fortuner. All we can say is the Rexton W indeed looks promising to take up the challenge.

Source: Oncars.in