The Korando crossover from Mahindra group owned Korean automaker SsangYong has been spotted again in India. The car was caught testing near Pune, Maharashtra.
Based on a monocoque platform, the Korando comes with a 2.0L turbo diesel engine producing 175PS of power. The car is a modern, compact SUV which is designed and built primarily for the European markets. The engine is mated with a 6-speed manual transmission. The current generation of Korando is a huge improvement over its ugly looking predecessor which was totally out of line with contemporary design.
Now, even though the Korando has been spotted testing in India on more than a couple of occasions, the car doesn’t seem to be headed our way. Mahindra hasn’t revealed any plans of launching the Korando in India. What is instead coming our way is the Ssangyong Rodius, a full sized MPV that might take on the Toyota Innova and the likes. Also, the Korando is soon to get a facelift and hence, it seems even more unlikely that we would get the crossover anytime soon.
So what exactly is this car doing in India? Good chances are that this car is a part of Mahindra SsangYong’s global testing program and has been spotted undergoing routine tests. Unfortunately, it seems like Korando is nowhere close to entering our car market. However, we are sure that with the compact crossover trend fast catching up in our country, the Korean auto maker will be sooner or later compelled to launch the Korando in India.
Pics- Car Blog India