The date is finally out: Mahindra will launch the Marazzo MPV on September 3, 2018.
Known as the U321 to most for the longest time, Mahindra's upcoming MPV finally has its official name - it's called the Marazzo. The Marazzo name has been derived from a word in the Basque language, which translates to ‘shark’ in English.
The Marazzo is the first Mahindra passenger vehicle to be co-developed by its Research Valley, in Chennai, and its North American Technical Centre, and has been co-designed by Pininfarina and Mahindra’s Kandivali design studio, in Mumbai. Ananthan Ramkripa, Chief Designer at Mahindra, says the design of the Marazzo is inspired by a shark, with several elements – inside and out – styled to mimic certain aspects of a shark.
The Marazzo MPV will be offered in seven- and eight-seat configurations. The seven-seat variant gets captain seats for the second row, while the eight-seater Marazzo gets a bench seat. To access the last row, the captain seats on the seven-seater can be flipped forward, and the same goes for the eight-seat Marazzo, as its foldable bench has a 40:20:40 split.
The Marazzo gets a black-and-beige T-shape dashboard with faux aluminium inserts, leatherette seat upholstery, a 7.0-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system, automatic climate control and AC vents for all three rows.
As is the case with other Mahindras, expect the Marazzo to be packed with creature comforts and equipment such as Mahindra's latest infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, steering-mounted audio controls, automatic climate control with vents for all three rows, projector headlamps, daytime running lights and more.
The Marazzo will debut Mahindra’s new 1.5-litre diesel engine, likely to produce around 121hp and 300Nm. A six-speed manual will be the only gearbox available initially. All variants are expected to get airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors as standard.
Mahindra says the Marazzo does not replace any of its existing products, and is not a successor to the Xylo, but is instead a premium product positioned slightly above it. Size-wise, the Marazzo will slot in between the upcoming second-generation Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and the Toyota Innova Crysta, but will be closer to the former in terms of price.
What do you estimate will be the starting price for the Marazzo? Let us know in the comments.