Mahindra Marazzo to get a 1.6 liter turbo petrol engine

Mahindra will equip the Marazzo MPV with a 1.6 liter turbocharged petrol engine by April 2020. This announcement was made by Mahindra’s top management at a recent ‘Analyst’s Call’. The engine is a newly developed, 4 cylinder unit that will be based on the same platform as the XUV300’s 1.2 liter turbo petrol but will have a cylinder extra. It’s also likely to be more powerful than the diesel unit, with 140 Bhp of peak power while peak torque is likely to be lesser, at about 250 Nm. A 6 speed manual gearbox is likely to be standard with a 6 speed AMT offered as an option. The Marazzo’s petrol engine will allow it to straddle the empty space in India’s MPV segment – between the Maruti Ertiga and Toyota Innova Crysta Petrols. The petrol powered version of the Mahindra MPV will be meant mainly for personal car buyers while the diesel will continue to be attractive to cab operators despite the increase in cost after the Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission norms kick in.

Currently, Mahindra sells the Marazzo with a 1.6 liter-4 cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that the MPV shares with the XUV300 compact SUV. On the Marazzo, the diesel motor makes 121 Bhp-300 Nm, and is paired to a 6 speed manual gearbox. With the XUV300 Diesel AMT just around the corner, the same engine-transmission combination is likely to be offered on the Marazzo shortly. Mahindra even confirmed that the AMT variants of the Marazzo were in the pipeline at the launch last year. The Marazzo has been doing steady numbers for Mahindra, with monthly sales averaging around 2,000 units. While these numbers are a lot more than what the Mahindra Xylo used to do, they are still way behind those of the Ertiga and the Innova Crysta. The petrol engine and AMT option for both the petrol and diesel engines are likely to boost sales by 20-30 %.

The Marazzo is not the only Mahindra SUV to receive a turbo petrol engine. The next-generation XUV500, Scorpio and Thar could all go turbo petrol from next year as Mahindra is putting together a brand new, 2 liter-4 cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that it has developed from ground up. This motor will be capable of outputting up to 180 Bhp of peak power. 6 speed manual and automatic gearbox options are likely to be offered with this engine. Mahindra’s move towards petrol engines comes at a time when diesels are expected to get much more costlier than petrols thanks to BS6 norms. However, in the longer term, diesels could make a comeback as the Real Time Driving Economy (RDE) norms – due in 2023 – will clamp down on petrol engines as well. Mahindra wants to be in a position that allows it to thrive in a market that could swing in either direction.