Ssangyong Korando Turismo 11-seater MPV may come to India!

You thought seven-seater MPVs were the rage? Now check this out – the Ssangyong Korando Turismo, an eleven-seater MPV with seating in four forward facing rows. What’s more, this vehicle has the potential for India, and that view comes from none other than Mahindra chairman and managing director, Anand Mahindra. 

A couple of days ago Anand Mahindra tweeted that this vehicle has potential for India and that it would be displayed at the Paris Motor show (a later tweet corrected that to Geneva Motor show). This Korando Turismo is what will be sold as the new Rodius in Europe. Given the Indian obsession with big, brute SUVs – this MPV or MLV (multi-leisure vehicle as Ssangyong calls it) does have good potential for India, and would be lapped up by those looking for plenty of space, and enough room to carry an entire cricket team!

Forget buses and LCVs, this Korando Turismo, could open up a whole new segment in the private vehicle space. And since Mahindra now calls the shots at Ssangyong, the chances are really high. And it’s not really a gawky looking vehicle – it looks like a proper SUV, and comes with four-wheel drive. It’s much larger than even the Rexton and shares only its name with the smaller five-seater Korando. Also read: Mahindra says no Ssangyong Korando this year

The Korando Turismo is just about the size of a Ford Endeavour in length – it is 5,130 mm long, just about 70 mm longer than the Endeavour, but it is wide at 1915 mm and not that tall at 1815 mm (slightly shorter than the Endeavour in height). However, it has a long wheel base of 3,000 mm, which is just 25 mm less than the Force One’s wheelbase, and that allows for much better internal space utilization.

The seating configuration is 2+3+3+3, where the three rear rows are completely flexible. They fold flat, allowing one to transport plenty of equipment, they can half fold into tables (second and third row), so you can set up some family entertainment or a game of poker on the move, or do anything you want with it.

Going by the pictures available on Ssangyong’s site, it looks like the Korando Turismo will share a lot of its mechanical components with the Rexton, which would make for interesting price positioning in India – it could be sold alongside the Rexton at similar or slightly higher prices, and give vehicles like the Ford Endeavour and Toyota Fortuner a run for their money. We see politicians and corporate houses lapping up such a product. Also watch: Mahindra Ssangyong Rexton VIDEO review

The vehicle is going to be sold worldwide in three variants – Luxury touring (LT), Grand Touring (GT), and Royal Touring (RT), with plenty of equipment including sunroof, GPS navigation, multiple airbags, ABS, touchscreen infotainment system etc. Engine choice is likely to be a 2-litre diesel engine putting out 153 bhp of power and 360 Nm of torque, mated to a six-speed manual transmission or a five-speed automatic transmission. This vehicle also has Mercedes Benz roots, and many of its components are Mercedes sourced. Also read: Mahindra Ssangyong Rexton road test and review

Given Anand Mahindra’s interest in the vehicle, it is likely that M&M may consider bringing in this vehicle sometime next year, after its global debut later this year. In the meantime, M&M may launch the five-seater smaller Korando first. Share your thoughts on this humungous 11-seater!