The most awaited mini-SUV under development at Mahindra – S101, has again been seen and photographed on public roads. The latest images come from Chennai, courtesy an Indianautosblog.com reader. Similar test mules were spotted and photographed last month as well.
As has been the case, Mahindra has taken pains to mask the test mules comprehensively and with deceptive padding to give curious eyes nothing more than an abstract idea of what lies beneath the shroud. And there are those dummy front and rear tail-lamps.
What makes this development interesting is that the SUV fits inside the 4-meter DMV marker, which would hint at a rather tempting on-the-road pricing. The figure bandied about ranges from INR 4.50 lakhs to 7.5 lakhs depending on the variants. This compact SUV is expected with the XUV500 gene, which again would mean that on the looks and performance department, the vehicle will give more than sleepless nights to the Ford EcoSport and probably a few to the Renault Duster as well.
Would this S101, with whatever name Mahindra christens it later on (possibly XUV300?), be able to bring back the sales laurels, the company enjoyed thoroughly once? Appears to be the case considering that they are also planning a more luxurious variant S102 which will get a lot more equipment and features. With expected luring price tags, these new compact SUVs may just be the next big things in the market.
The only issue, major one at that, is the launch period, which, according to speculations, is not anytime soon and no not within this year as well. Possibly sometime next year is the more appropriate time when we can expect Mahindra to start unleashing these mini-SUVs in our markets.
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