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Mahindra XYLO – engine, looks and price

So it is not the Ingenio anymore – its the Mahindra Xylo. Pronounce it Zy-Lo, as the company wants you to. Or as silo, as in missile silo!

This is an update to our earlier story about the Mahindra Xylo, the new name of the so-called Ingenio. We have had a pile of stories on DWS Auto India about the Mahindra Ingenio, and a couple of pissed-off ones too, I think. Hearing about it incessantly for two years can do that to you. Another similar culprit is the Toyota Fortuner. I almost want to fervently pray that it flops miserably.

Mahindra Xylo variants? feature comparison

Xylo prices

Mahindra Xylo photo gallery

Mahindra Xylo engine: Same as the Scorpio’s CRDe?

Back to the Mahindra Xylo, then. As far as the engine goes, so far, all we know is that it will be a 2.5 liter CRDe mill. We do not hear anything about a petrol engine for the Xylo so far.

Power output and other details are not available as of now. What we do know is that the Scorpio CRDe diesel engine which is 2600 cc produces 115bhp at 3800rpm and 28.3 kgm of torque between 1700-2200rpm. The 2.5 liter engine which the Mahindra press release talks about for the Xylo could well be the same engine as the one in the Scorpio CRDe, tuned slightly differently for more torque and fuel efficiency and a little lower top speed.

Xylo looks and design

I really, really hope that the rumours about the Mahindra Xylo’s looks are wrong. I have come across a few spy shots of the Xylo where it sported that Scorpio-Bolero grill with that garish chrome garnishing in the middle. The Scorpio’s vertical grill barely looks tolerable on the Scorpio front; on an MPV like the Xylo, it could be positively negative!

The rest of the Mahindra Xylo looks like its top competitor, the Toyota Innova. the rear looks a little less clean that the Innova’s. I personally think the Innova itself looks like a big fat steel pig – but it is a good-looking pig. I am not so sure about the shape of the Xylo from what I have seen so far.

But if Mahindra really thinks that they can get away by sticking on that ugly Bolero grille on the face of the Xylo, on behalf of all people with a sense of aesthetics, I hereby record my protest and promise to always hire an Innova instead of a Mahindra Xylo. Listen to me, no Mahindra grille. Delay the launch if you want, but just because that Scorpio grille looks a bit like Anand Mahindra’s moustache, it does not make it automatically suitable on an MPV!

At this point, we cannot make any predictions about the fit and finish – but I doubt if Mahindra would make a mistake in that aspect, considering that the standards have been set by the Innova.

Price

Lower than the Innova, any day! I suppose a kid would be able to predict that. the Xylo will likely be a great value for money proposition compared to the Innova. Difficult job, but I am sure Mahindra would pull off that part very well indeed. For every version of Innova, you can expect a comparable lower priced version of the Mahindra Xylo.

Future competition

A newer version of the Innova, and the upcoming Tata Xover MPV.