Mahindra U321 Named Marazzo, Launch By September 2018

For starters, it's not called the VUV500. Plenty to be happy about there. Mahindra has chosen the name 'Marazzo' for its upcoming MPV. The Marazzo follows Mahindra's custom of naming their cars with names ending in 'o'. How do you pronounce it? 'Muh-rat-zzo', add that stereotypical Spanish 'zzo' sound at the end. What does it mean? A shark, in the Basque language spoken by people residing in the north of Spain and southwest France. Mahindra will reveal more details of the Marazzo in the run-up to its eventual launch in September 2018.

This MPV was seen testing across the length and breadth of the country, codenamed U321 at that time. Interestingly, Mahindra isn't targeting the lower end of the MPV spectrum and picking fights with Maruti’s Ertiga. Instead, the Mahindra Marazzo will aim straight for the byword for MPVs in India, the Toyota Innova Crysta.

Does it pack enough to take on the big Toyota? Mahindra hasn't spilt the beans about the full specs just as yet, but there were some interesting aspects of the Marazzo shown through sketches. The design is inspired from a shark, though Mahindra has not mentioned which species of it specifically. Design wise, the Marazzo looks nothing like any current Mahindra. It isn't a mish-mash of the curves and creases we've seen on other Mahindra products such as the KUV100 and the XUV500. Instead, it opts for a clean, smooth design with a prominent snout - like a shark. 

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The design and development of the Mahindra Marazzo was an international effort, with inputs from the company's North American Technical Centre, design inputs from group company Pininfarina,  its design studio in Kandivali, Maharashtra and technical inputs from the Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai. Highlights on the outside include a shark nose-like front fascia, flanked by twin-pod projector headlamps, the 'shark tooth' inserts on the grille, a sleek window line which rises towards the rear and a large shark fin-like taillamp.

Mahindra has also revealed some sketches and images of the Marazzo's interior. The Marazzo will be offered in both 7- and 8-seater configurations, with the company promising world-class levels of space, quality, comfort, performance and handling, for both versions.

The sketch shows a simple, but nice, sleek dashboard with a prominent touchscreen infotainment system. The instrument cluster features large analogue dials with what we assume are customisable lighted rings (like the Maruti Vitara Brezza) straddling a large TFT multi-display screen. 

A big highlight on the inside is the roof-mounted climate control system whose design, Mahindra claims, is inspired by the body of a shark. What is unique about the unit is that it has large vents on the sides which can blow diffused air onto second- and third-row passengers for comfortable long-distance trips. It is definitely an improvement over smaller vents whose output is not very easily controllable.

Mahindra did reveal a sketch of the diesel engine which will power the Marazzo. And it did reveal elements which supposedly make it refined, powerful and affordable in terms of maintenance, though specifications have not been revealed yet. Mahindra officials say this is a 'virtually new' engine, which makes us think it shares the basic architecture with the company's existing 2.2-litre mHawk engine. There are chances that the monocoque chassis (the third after the XUV500 and KUV100) and weight-saving measures have made the Marazzo good enough to be powered by the rumoured all-new 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine.

Prices for the Mahindra Marazzo are expected to start around the Rs 9 lakh mark and top out at around Rs 14 lakh. This will ensure that it slots right in between the bestsellers, the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga (of which a new generation is expected by Diwali), and the hugely popular Toyota Innova Crysta.