Mahindra Quanto AMT equipped Compact SUV lined up for an end-2014 launch

The Mahindra Quanto AMT will be launched by the end of this year. This announcement was made by Mahindra & Mahindra’s senior management yesterday, on the sidelines of the Scorpio SUV Facelift’s launch at Mumbai. The Quanto equipped with an automated manual transmission (AMT) will be a first of its kind product in the compact SUV segment.

Likely to be priced about 50,000 rupees higher than its manual gearbox equipped sibling, the Quanto AMT will be the first compact SUV in India to be made available in diesel automatic guise. Also, the Quanto AMT will have the distinction of being the first automatic SUV to be priced below the 10 lakh rupees mark in India. With the launch of the Quanto AMT, Mahindra will be the third automaker in India to go the AMT route, after Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors.

First displayed at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo, the Quanto AMT will use an automated manual transmission unit developed by UK based engineering major Ricardo. The AMT module will work with the Quanto’s existing 5 speed manual transmission, serving to automate the operation of the clutch and the gearing, whose shifts will be controlled by an electronic control unit.

The AMT of the Quanto is likely to be available with economy and regular modes, with the former mode designed to upshift earlier, in order to maximize fuel efficiency. The Quanto AMT will continue to feature a 1.5 liter-3 cylinder twin turbo diesel engine that outputs 98.6 Bhp of peak power and 240 Nm of peak torque. The engine drives the rear wheels of the compact SUV.

The Quanto compact SUV uses a ladder frame chassis, which is a modified version of the one on the Xylo MPV. Sharing its platform with the Xylo MPV, the Quanto will get a comprehensive facelift in 2016. The facelifted Quanto is dubbed the U215 and its development is underway at Mahindra’s North American Technical Center at Michigan, Detroit.