Well, the Fiat Linea is here, and it looks like most are happy about the car for a change. Fiat can, for the time being, breathe a sigh of relief, I suppose. Only for a short while, let me add – after all, no one knows whether the Indian car buyer would be gutsy enough to go for the Fiat Linea – after sales service and all that, as we know.

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Finally Fiat Linea is here in India. We had written about the potential launch of the Fiat Linea and Grande Punto for the first time in 2006. Since then, we have heard a lot about the car. Suffice it to say the Linea is one of the most anticipated cars in recent times – but that does not mean there is a guarantee that the car would turn around Fiat India.

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Whew. The wait for some good photos of the Mahindra Xylo has been seriously trying for us. Mahindra has been as secretive as the KGB when it came to avoiding leaks of pictures of the Xylo. With some good reason – pre-release photos of cars get criticised endlessly, and takes away from the anticipation.

This time it worked – curiosity built up to a fever pitch, and automobile forums and bloggers were inundated with requests for photos of the Mahindra Xylo. And all everyone got were a few grainy pics.

Well, we have a minor Mahindra Xylo photo gallery here for you. Without much ado:

Photo: Mahindra Xylo front, top, 3-quarters

Ah well. Not exactly the most flattering pose there, right? The huge front grill – looks like a cross between the Scorpio and Bolero grills – is not as bad as we thought it would be from the initial grainy photos of the Xylo. But it is not doing any great favours to the rest of the car, either. Overall, tolerable.

Mahindra Xylo photo

Chunky alloy wheels, integrated bumper, muscular stance – its all there. If you generally have always liked the Mahindra look in the Bolero or the Scorpio, chances are you would like the Xylo too.

Mahindra Xylo rear photo: Looks best this way?

We think this is the angle from which the Mahindra Xylo looks the best. The read end looks nice, the bumper looks well integrated – and the tail lights are good-looking, though everyone may not like the flourish.

Xylo photo - SUV-like stance?

From this angle, the Mahindra Xylo looks very SUV-like. It definitely looks more masculine than the Toyota Innova – that is probably what Mahindra intended it to look like. Would that work better in the market, or would people prefer the more tame lines of the Innova? We are not sure. In the end, aesthetics are hardly the deciding factor when purchasing a vehicle – especially an MPV – in India. It looks tough and well-built – we personally prefer the more sleek looks of the Innova, but this is a pretty personal decision.

In the end, what would help someone make up his mind are not the photos, for sure. The most important factor would be the price differential between the Innova and the Xylo. Then would come the interior space, and driving comfort, where we suspect the Xylo might score over the Innova.

For now, enjoy the photo gallery, and then rush over to the nearest Mahindra Xylo dealer for a test drive.

Mahindra Xylo, the much awaited challenger to the Toyota Innova, the king of the Indian MPV market, was launched today officially at the company’s Nashik plant.

Public curiosity about the Innova is at an all-time high, and we can expect a few days of high traffic days on this site thanks to the Mahindra Xylo.

The Mahindra Xylo would be initially offered in four variants.

Mahindra Xylo variants and price

Mahindra Xylo E2 – Rs 6,24,500 (ex-showroom Delhi)

Mahindra Xylo E4 Rs 6,69,500

Mahindra E6 Rs 7,32,500

Mahindra E8 Rs 7,69,500

The base version of the Xylo, the e2, is priced at almost Rs 1 lakh below the Toyota Innova – that should enable it to get the taxi market seriously interested.

Mahindra Xylo variants? feature comparison

Xylo prices

Mahindra Xylo photo gallery

Mahindra Xylo Engine

The Mahindra Xylo is powered by the new mEagle engine – a 2500 cc CRDe engine, developed from the 2.6 liter CRDe engine on the Mahindra Scorpio.

Power is abundant at 112 bhp and offers 24 kgm of torque.

We still have not received any official pictures of the Mahindra Xylo – the pictures that are available on the Net are pretyt low- quality, and we are refraining from publishing them for now. Expect clean and clear official photos in a few hours on this site.

Mahindra Xylo interiors

What we have heard so far is that interior space is where the Xylo really shines. Opinion is pretty much unanimous that the Xylo is more spacious than the Innova.

Visit us again in a while for more details and photos of the Xylo.

This is not new information, but thought we should confirm it for you just the same. The upcoming Fiat Linea sedan, which Fiat hopes will turn the company’s fortunes around in India, will cost Rs 9 lakh ex-showroom in India for the top end diesel model.

Fiat Linea priced nice!

Fiat Linea petrol variant pricing

The low end petrol Fiat Linea will have a price tag of Rs 6.20 lakh ex-showroom and the top end Linea would come at Rs 8 lakh. Assume on-road prices of around 6.6 lakh to Rs 8.5 lakh depending on where you live in India.

Fiat Linea diesel price

The basic Fiat Linea diesel will cost Rs 7.3 lakh ex-showroom, and the top end version would cost Rs 9 lakh. For the top end diesel Linea variant, price comes dangerously close to Rs 10 lakh as you can see. But not bad.

If you did not know, AutoCar India has award its Car of the Year Award 2009 to the Fiat Linea – even though most of us haven’t even seen the car in flesh. Remember that the All New Honda City too was launched in 2008.

As we have explained in this Fiat Linea vs Honda City story, this is possibly due to the excellent value for money proposition that the Fiat Linea offers over the Honda City.

We really, really wish this car would turn things around for Fiat. That said, you guys watch out and see if you feel confident enough about Fiat’s sales and service, and only then put your hard-earned money down for the Linea!

For most of us, the answer is clear already – the all new Honda City wins hands down. Hell, sometimes I think it looks even better than the Honda Civic! Fiat will launch its Fiat Linea in India, in mid-December 2008. The C-segment sedan was expected to be launched in September 2008.

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