Mahindra Quanto Compact SUV Facelift, in CarToq’s Exclusive Render

The facelifted Mahindra Quanto compact SUV has been spotted doing the testing rounds in India, ahead of its official launch later this year. The sub-4 meter Quanto will get a major stylistic upgrade, along with improved suspension and more features. CarToq’s ace rendering artist has put together a speculative render of the facelifted compact SUV, the first sub-4 meter offering from Mahindra.

The Quanto’s first iteration suffered from the Xylo hangover in terms of styling, ending up looking like a miniature Xylo. The compact SUV failed to carve out a separate identity in terms of its looks. With odd proportions to boot, sales suffered. In its second coming, the vehicle’s design shows a clear departure from the Xylo’s looks, arming the compact SUV with a more butch stance by means of a completely revised front fascia. The profile remains unchanged though.

The Quanto Facelift will continue to use a ladder frame chassis and a rear wheel drive layout given the fact that the SUV is an offshoot of the Xylo MPV, with whom it shares its underpinnings. The big addition to the Quanto Facelift will be an automated manual transmission (AMT) unit that Mahindra first showcased in this compact SUV at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo. Back then though, the AMT unit was housed in the pre-facelift Quanto.

The AMT on the sub-4 meter, compact SUV will be sourced from Ricardo, a UK based engineering major. Two modes are likely – economy and regular. The economy mode is aimed at better fuel efficiency, a bug bear of the pre-facelift Quanto, which had to contend with a hefty kerb weight and the rear wheel drive layout. The interiors could get a major revamp with new features in view of the hotting up competition in the compact SUV space.

The ride and handling package of the Quanto Facelift is another area that will see major improvements. Recently, Mahindra rolled out a facelifted version of the Xylo, the 7 seat MPV on which the Quanto is based. The facelifted Xylo got a new ride and handling package, which was a marked improvement from the one on the pre-facelift model. On a similar note, the Quanto Facelift is expected to be a much better compact SUV to drive.