Coming soon: Mahindra’s 7 seat luxury SUV to rival the Toyota Fortuner & Ford Endeavour

The Ssangyong brand is nearly dead in India, and Mahindra has no plans to resurrect it. Instead, the Indian utility vehicle maker is all set to bring the next-generation version of the Rexton to India, with a Mahindra badge on the bonnet. And this is how it’ll look like.

What’s all it about?

Code-named the Y400, the next-gen Ssangyong Rexton SUV is deep in development at South Korea. For the Indian market, Mahindra will localize this SUV, rebadge it, and sell it as a flagship vehicle in its line up. The Fortuner rivaling 7 seat SUV is expected to be much cheaper because of the extensive localization.

While Mahindra is yet to give its new flagship SUV a name, expect a moniker with an O at the end, just like its other siblings sold in India. The 7 seat vehicle will be based on the Ssangyong LIV-2 concept, and this means that it’ll be massive. How massive? How does a wheelbase that’s a full 120 mm more than that of the Fortuner sound!

 

In terms of length, breadth and height,  4,850 mm, 1,960 mm and 1,800 mm, are a bunch of figures that indicate a large SUV, bang in Fortuner and Endeavour territory. It’ll sit on a ladder frame chassis that’ll also support a pick up truck (Ssangyong Q300) for international markets.

What’s under the hood?

A 2.2 liter-4 cylinder turbo diesel engine that puts out 184 Bhp-420 Nm is the motor said to be earmarked for the Indian market. 6 speed manual and 7 speed automatic gearboxes are likely to be offered. Expect both rear wheel drive and four wheel drive layouts.

On the inside, the new SUV is likely to combine luxury with cutting edge infotainment options. Leather clad captain seats, mood lighting, electric side steps, a dash-mounted 9.2-inch infotainment screen with Wi-Fi, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are the expected features. In terms of safety, 9 airbags, emergency braking, ABS+EBD, traction control, ESP and a bevy of other features could be on offer.

When’s it coming?

End-2017 is the timeline that’s being bandied about. Now, that’s less than 12 months away, and this should get plenty of people excited. Given the fact that the last-gen Rexton was priced very competitively, expect the Mahindra badged 7 seat luxury SUV to undercut rivals significantly. A price tag close to the 20 lakh rupee mark is anticipated.

Via AutocarIndia