Mahindra mini-Xylo spotted again!

The Mahindra mini-Xylo, set for a mid-2011 launch, has been spotted yet again. Looking at the photos released by IndianCarsBikes, it appears that the Mahindra mini-Xylo will have exactly the same exterior as its bigger cousin, complete with the walrus-inspired grille. The door handles and outside rear view mirrors on the heavily camouflaged test mules are all black, which suggests Mahindra may launch a basic variant of the mini-Xylo priced less than Rs. 5 lakh.

Some photos of the Mahindra mini-Xylo test mules were revealed by the company earlier, too, on its Facebook page. The pictures showed the car with a rear-mounted spare wheel as in the Mahindra Bolero. The mini-Xylo will have a sub-4 metres length that will help it earn excise duty rebates similar to small cars. The compact Xylo will compete with the not-so-popular Premier Rio – currently the only “SUV” in India that measures under 4 meters. Related: Mahindra mini-Xylo spy photos

Mini-Xylo engine

It’s hard to tell what engine will power the compact Xylo, though, there are speculations that Mahindra is developing a 1.5-litre common rail direct-injection diesel engine to satisfy the government’s definition of a small diesel car. Also read: Mahindra Xylo photo gallery

The Xylo platform is turning out to be a useful one for Mahindra, with the company building several new vehicles on the platform. In January 2011, it launched the Xylo-based 1.2 tonne Genio pick up priced at Rs. 4.99 lakh (BS III) and Rs. 5.15 lakh (BS IV) ex-showroom, Mumbai . The Genio is powered by a 2.5 litre CRDe diesel engine that produces 75 bhp of maximum power and 220 Nm of maximum torque. Related: Mahindra Genio pickup launched

Mahindra will also launch a full-fledged SUV, currently code-named the W201 (World SUV) followed by the Ssangyong Korando C and Rexton in India this year.

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