Mahindra is busy readying its new MPV for the Indian market scheduled to arrive this festive season. Codenamed Mahindra U321, the upcoming Mahindra model was recently spotted testing on the Mumbai-Nashik highway by Team-BHP user anilp.
From the looks of it, the test mule appears to be wearing a production-ready body. It features steel rims with wheel covers and a rear windshield wiper. This indicates that the Mahindra U321 seen in the images here is likely to be a mid-level spec. As revealed by spy shots published previously, the Mahindra U321 boasts a classic MPV silhouette. Up front, it gets a 'toothed' grille flanked by headlamps with projector units and black bezels. The LED DRLs are placed in the bumper along with the fog lamps. The MPV gets an upright rear with vertically stacked tail lights.
Inside, the top-end variant will come with features like a touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control, multifunction steering wheel and more. The instrument console appears to have lavender backlighting.
The Mahindra U321 was conceived at the Mahindra North American Technical Center (MNATC) in Michigan. Later on, its development was taken over by Mahindra Research Valley near Chennai. After the XUV500 and KUV100, the U321 will be the company's third product based on a monocoque chassis.
A report from December last year claims that the upcoming MPV will employ a new 1.6 L diesel engine. This motor will develop 125 hp and 305 Nm, the report adds. While a petrol engine is also expected, details regarding the same are unavailable at the moment.
Mahindra has confirmed that they will launch two new products by the 2018 festive season. One will be the U321 MPV while the other will be Maruti Vitara Brezza/Ford EcoSport/Tata Nexon rivaling Mahindra S201 compact SUV derived from the SsangYong Tivoli.
Also Read - Mahindra to launch four new products in FY 2018-19
Mahindra is likley to position the U321 between the Maruti Ertiga and the Toyota Innova Crysta somewhere in the INR 10-15 lakhs (ex-showroom) price bracket. Other rivals of the Mahindra U321 will be the Renault Lodgy and the Honda BR-V. The new-generation 2018 Maruti Ertiga is expected to arrive before the Mahindra U321 in August 2018.
[source - Team-BHP]
