Mahindra’s Hyundai Creta-rivaling SUV: What it’ll look like

Mahindra has begun work on an all-new crossover that will rival the Hyundai Creta. This SUV will use a Mahindra platform but will be shared with Ford under the Mahindra-Ford joint venture for the Indian market. Both brands are missing a Hyundai Creta-sized SUV in the Indian market, which is why the new SUV will sit right in that segment.   We got our ace  rendering artist Vipin Vathoopan to imagine what it’ll look like. Here’s what he came up with.

As the render indicates, the new Mahindra compact SUV will rely on styling inspired by the XUV300 but will be larger, measuring over 4 meters in length.  Mahindra is likely  to dump the vertically slatted grille for a more contemporary, chrome laden horizontal slatted unit. We’ve seen this happen with both the facelifted XUV500 and the recently launched XUV300, and many more new Mahindra monocoque SUVs are likely to follow a similar path.

The platform used by Mahindra’s Hyundai Creta challenger is likely to be the same one that the XUV300 uses – the Tivoli’s underpinnings. What remains to be seen is whether the new compact SUV will be a 5 seater, or if it’ll take the 7 seat approach considering the fact that the next-gen Hyundai Creta will be a seven seater.

On the inside, expect a full makeover. New designs for the dashboard and seats are expected, along with new colour  schemes and materials. As for safety, the new Mahindra compact SUV will meet the BNVSAP norms, and is expected to have a lot of safety features, some of them segment leading ones. Pedestrian safety will also be factored into the new SUV’s design, along with compliance with European and other international safety norms.

As for mechanicals, the new Mahindra compact SUV is expected to use the XUV300’s 1.5 liter-4 cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that’s also designed to meet Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission norms. This motor is expected to be supplemented by the 1.2 liter-3 cylinder turbo petrol engine, again BS6 compliant, and ready to be offered in international markets as well.

Both manual and automatic gearboxes are likely to be on offer with both engines. A front wheel drive layout will be standard across variants. The new SUV will also be ready to hit the electric button as and when market conditions call for it. The electric version of the SUV will use the powertrain from Mahindra’s Electric Vehicle division in Bangalore.

With Mahindra sharing the new compact SUV with Ford, the latter’s version will carry over the mechanicals and platform but will have totally different styling. This styling will reflect Ford’s global design philosophy. Also, Mahindra is likely to manufacture the SUV and simply supply it to Ford to sell in the Indian market. After sales service from Ford will also be independent of Mahindra’s facilities.