During the second week of January the Xylo celebrates its third birthday. The launch of the Xylo was the first time IndianAutosBlog.com witnessed a product launch. We got to see the car before the rest of the world and that memory will remain with us for years to come.
The Xylo was launched at a shocking price of 6.24 lakh rupees but didn’t create a revolution in the way people traveled. Mahindra offered similar features of a top-end Innova for the price of a base Innova. Mahindra’s efforts were not rewarded as the Toyota continued to impress showing no signs of slowing down.
In 2012, General Motors and Maruti Suzuki are ready to launch their missiles in the Xylo land. The MPV segment is on the brink of a model shower and the existing players are giving their vehicles a makeover to stay in the race. GM will launch the refreshed BS4 Tavera, the Innova facelift breaks cover and Auto Expo and the Xylo we see here, has gone under the scalpel too.
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An IndianAutosBlog.com reader who wished to remain anonymous, sent us images of the Mahindra mini Xylo (code – U203) testing in west India. We’ve already brought readers 20 images of the mini Xylo in a post last month and the latest installation provides a clear look of the vehicle’s interior.
The area adjacent to the gear lever houses a cup holder. In the normal version you get a cup holder, but not in the same position.
The mule caught testing is a high end model with the DDAS (Digital Driver Assist System) feature. There are no steering mounted controls for audio and the rest of dashboard, from what we infer, is alike the Xylo. The previous collection of spy shots showed two small jump seats at the rear. Will that make it to the production spec model?
For the benefit of new readers, here’s a list of features we expect on the mini Xylo.
- Some variants could be equipped with a start button
- It could be a 5+2 seater. Jump seats fitted to the rear are strictly for children in the family.
- A 3 pot engine producing 70hp and 160Nm of torque will be strapped to the vehicle
- There will be no roof-mounted AC like on the normal Xylo
- The compact Xylo stands on 205/65/R15 tires
- Seat backs will have aircraft style trays on select variants
- Spare tire will be mounted on the rear door
- The tiny quarter glass behind the jump seat will make it look like a grown up Wagon R
Can Mahindra price the mini Xylo from 4.99 lakh rupees?
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Mahindra has introduced a special edition Xylo called the Celebration II available in a pearl white color along with a special Xylo corporate Advantage scheme providing buyers with special discounts and personalization services. There have been a few special edition models in the past to remind buyers of the slightly old Xylo.
Apart from the new color the Xylo special edition gets
New Badges and graphics
Blue Vision Headlamps
Ski Racks
Blacked out B and C pillars
Italian leather seat covers, steering and gear knob
The accessories and special color gives the Xylo a face wash till a proper facelift bows in next year.
With a commercial vehicle wing rich in creativity and products, Mahindra has launched yet another vehicle that will make you sit up and take notice – a dual cab Genio which is aimed at small and medium entrepreneurs. We thought the dual cab Genio was just a Genio with rear seats. Turns out that’s just the beginning.
Priced at Rs. 5.46 lakh (ex-showroom Karnataka, BS3) for the base version the 1,100 kg payload Genio dual cab has features like 2 din Music System, Air conditioner, Power Windows, central locking, keyless entry, door trims for housing bottles and magazines and immobilizer that commercial vehicles are denied of.
Radial tubeless tyres, brake force distribution, Oil change interval of 20,000 km, ELR seat belts and electronic headlamp leveling device are some other interesting and thoughtful features on the pickup.
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Photographs of the Xylo derivatives – Genio single cab and mini Xylo – testing on ice have emerged online. Spy shots of the mini Xylo mounted on a truck have appeared on many websites but the location of capture wasn’t clear. If you look carefully at the image, the mini Xylo is mounted above the Genio on the hauler.
With a modicum of camo and some thoughtfully placed tape, the prototypes give rise to many questions among which is Is Mahindra developing a 4WD system for mini Xylo? We are aware that the Xylo 4WD is production ready and test mules were spotted a long while back. Mahindra is waiting for the right time to launch the 4WD variant, a compulsory addition in countries which experience snowfall.
The mini Xylo could be launched in the next few weeks according to newspaper reports with large cabin space, Xylo level comfort for five passengers and the fuel economy of a three-cylinder diesel engine. Rumor has it that the price will be at par with B segment hatchbacks. We’ve posted 20 spy photographs showing different angles of the mini Xylo last month.
At the launch of the Genio, Mahindra officials said the dual cab version will follow shortly. We have caught the dual cab Xylo on test a couple of times and other than an added row of seats and doors, there’s nothing new in that.
Our friends at BharatAutos.com have grabbed close-up photographs the compact Xylo undergoing test runs in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. Vehicles like the Xylo pickup and W201 have been tested for high altitude performance in the popular hill station that attracts plenty of summer-dodging vacationers. Pilot production of the compact Xylo has started according to one reports which go on to add that the market introduction is less than 8 weeks away.
The mini Xylo will have a similar front-end, but Xylo’ rear-end design will not be carried over on to the sub-4 meter sibling. Tail lights are located on top of the D-Pillar and the space wheel mounted on the rear door will spice things up on the otherwise mundane rear. Reverse guide lights are implanted on the bumper and a two-tone paint job could be unique to the mini Xylo. Bharat Autos points out the hideous wheel wells is perhaps the only eye sore from the design stand point, but this is a practicality-over-presence vehicle offering generous amounts of space and comfort to entry-level, value-favoring sedan buyers.
The new mantra for Indian Automobile companies seems to be – ‘Small is Money’. After the huge surge in the hatchback market, Mahindra&Mahindra wants to take the fight on an entirely new level. M&M has been testing a compact version of its successful MPV – Xylo for a year or more now.
Sure, we have spied it countless number of times on the Indian streets. But the big news is that the little MPV is now entering the trial production phase. EconomicTimes is also reporting that the Mini Xylo will be launched in the next 2 months. The price range expected for this baby MPV is around 5-7 lakh rupees. It is expected to have a very fuel efficient diesel motor under the bonnet.
It would be certainly interesting to see whether this unique product from M&M is able to make a considerable dent on hatchback and compact sedan sales in India.
Team-Bhp member Ushuaia caught the Mahindra Xylo Compact testing on a rainy day in Manali. The Xylo Compact has been spied twice before. The latest shot gives a little more away on the rear. From this angle, the Xylo is reasonably good looking.
Mahindra’s marketing team will pitch the Xylo compact’s unbeatable space-for-money proposition when it hits the market just before Diwali. The mini Xylo is strapped with a 3 pot 1.5-liter diesel engine along with the Xylo’s 5-speed manual transmission.
At the starting price of 5 lakh rupees, it puts it amidst hot sellers like Ford Figo, Suzuki Swift Dzire and Tata Indigo Manza.
Mahindra can offer two rear jump seats as an option for cab operators who ferry IT and BPO employees inside the city. A fuel efficient 7 seater with air-conditioning for under 6 lakh rupees is every cab operator’s dream.
During the second week of January the Xylo celebrates its third birthday. The launch of the Xylo was the first time IndianAutosBlog.com witnessed a product launch. We got to see the car before the rest of the world and that memory will remain with us for years to come.
