These clear spy images reveal the new Mahindra TUV300 (codename – U301) before its September 10 launch. The sub-4 meter long SUV bears fuss-free, clean styling, albeit boxy, that’ll probably appeal to semi-urban and rural folks to whom the TUV300 is primarily targeted at. That said, it won’t be replacing the Bolero, which will continue to enjoy its position as India’s best selling utility vehicle for some time to come.
The front end makes no qualms about being clearly inspired by Jeep fascias, especially the grille – the only difference being in the number of vertical slats – Jeep counts till seven, while Mahindra makes it five. The bumper is square, with square fog lamps and a square (ok, rectangular), mesh-filled air dam. The headlamps rebel to be unsquared, and are granted some flow into their style. Shards of chrome on the grille and around the fog lamps try to pep things up. The designers have added a clamshell bonnet to the mix too.
The sides get square wheel arches with mild flares, a prominent character line that emanates from the headlamps, a slab like, straight roofline, an inclined C-pillar, blacked out B and D pillars, roof rails and relatively short overhangs to keep the overall length under 4 meters.
The upright back end reflects the lines from the sides, including the design of the tailgate mounted spare wheel cover, which is a visual continuation of the character lines. A conventional bumper, carefully trimmed to keep the length in check, and forgettable tail lamps characterize the rest of the TUV300’s rear end.
The interiors of the TUV300 will accommodate 7 occupants, courtesy twin jump seats in the third row, while the dual-tone interiors will be highlighted with dull silver inserts. Other goodies could include an infotainment system with Bluetooth connectivity and AUX-in and USB ports. The TUV300 has been mostly designed and developed by Mahindra’s inhouse design team and the R&D has been carried out at the Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai. The vehicle will be manufactured at Mahindra’s Chakan plant in Pune, Maharashtra.
The TUV300 will receive an all new diesel engine that will be based on the current mHawK architecture. The motor will be developed at Mahindra Research Park in Chennai.
Images: Carwale
Seriously…
Does Mahindra think that no one has seen a Jeep Cherokee in India??
It looks like a cheep Chinese replica or even worse. Some good body beaters from Kerala can make better replicas… Crap…
Again a failure for sure
They don't learn from their mistakes… Read “Quanto”
Good looking SUV under 4 meters, good ground clearance and high bonnet which SUV lovers definitely going to like. Hope Mahindra launch with competitive price.
Best looking car under 4 meters, front grill inspired by Jeep Cherokee. Looks to have good ground clearance and high bonnet which SUV lovers definitely going to like. Hope Mahindra will launch with competitive price.
Sorry not to join the super-critical bandwagon (trailing mail) ! – I felt that M&M have done a fair job of projecting a contemporary squared-off exterior – shades of Yeti ! – as befits a proper SUV. Instead of the candy-floss cross-over soft-roaders that much off the industry has been off loading on us in recent times (S-cross, Etios Cross, Aventura, Creta with more to come), the bulk of them being nothing more than hatch-backs on steroids ! Who has heard of an SUV without AWD/4WD, or at least RWD ! So far M&M has not trodden that path
Yuck!!!! What's it with Mahindra and its lousy styling ??? You can trust them to make uglier and uglier cars each passing day. The Ssangyong models are the only better looking ones. Come on Anand and Pawan, you guys can definitely spend more on design. Hire a designer….go the extra mile… The competition is gonna kill u otherwise…looks do matter!!!