Mahindra will launch a new SUV in the first week of April. The NuvoSport will add to Mahindra’s extensive line up of SUVs from the KUV100 to the Ssangyong Rexton.
The NuvoSport styling is interesting. The decked up front fascia has a black hexagonal grille with vertical slats. The angular headlamps sit below the LED eyebrow-like daytime running lamps. The front bumper gets a bull-bar like blacked out lower half with a silver accent for a faux bash plate. The bonnet gets a wide slit for air intake. It is only when you move to the sides is that you are reminded of the Quanto. The body shell with the blacked out pillars gets cladding on the bottom. The tail is from the Quanto with new tail lamps.
There is no concrete information about the interiors but an informed guess would mean that Mahindra will try and include as many features as possible. As for the engines, we expect to see the 1.5-litre m-Falcon series engines in the NuvoSport. While the diesel option is a given, it will be interesting to see if Mahindra gets the petrol engine. The sub-four-metre SUV is built on the new Scorpio platform and hence will be lighter than the Quanto.
With the launch of the Vitara Brezza, the dynamics of the sub-four-metre compact SUV segment have changed. Now with the NuvoSport sharing space with the TUV300 and the Ford EcoSport in that segment, the pricing strategy of the Indian SUV maker will be interesting to see.
