Launched in September 2018, the Mahindra Marazzo MPV is arguably one of the most underrated products on the Indian automotive market. At the time, it served as a desirable bridge between Maruti Suzuki’s Ertiga and Toyota India’s Innova Crysta. Carrying a starting price of about 10 lakh ex-showroom (Innova Crysta prices started from 16 lakh then), the BS4-compliant Mahindra Marazzo offered enough and more on the inside. However, it could not witness the success Mahindra & Mahindra had initially expected.
The Indian automotive industry shifted to BS6 emission norms in April 2020 and major OEMs have introduced their bestsellers in improved, facelifted or totally revamped BS6 avatars. However, Mahindra is yet to launch the BS6-compliant Marazzo even though it was spied a few times over the months. Meanwhile, the Indian automaker will finally unveil the new-gen Mahindra Thar BS6 offroader on August 15, 2020.
The new Mahindra Marazzo BS6 is priced from Rs 11.01 lakh for the base M2 trim. This when compared to the BS4 base M2 trim, is a price hike of about Rs 1 lakh. In the BS4 format, Marazzo was offered with M2, M4, M6 and M8 trims. In the BS6 format it is offered with M2, M4+ and M6+. There is no longer an M8 trim in the BS6 update. All three variants are on offer with 7 seater as well as 8 seater format.
Expected features and equipment include projector headlamps with LED DRLs, cornering lamps, 7.0-inch touchscreen, wireless charging, 17-inch alloy wheels, puddle lamps, rear parking camera + sensors, automatic climate control, roof-mounted rear ac vents, multiple seating configurations, Eco mode, all-wheel disc brakes, six airbags, etc. The MPV would most likely look identical to its phased-out BS4 counterpart.
Certain top-end features in the BS4 model, such as leatherette upholstery and cruise control might not be available. This is quite reasonable considering the reduced pricing. Once launched, it will go head-on against the Maruti Suzuki XL6 in addition to being an affordable Innova alternative.
Apart from certain modifications carried out to comply with stringent BS6 emission norms, the 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine remains almost the same. It churns out 121bhp (98bhp in Eco mode) and 300Nm of torque. This is coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission powering the front wheels. Like in most modern-day diesel vehicles, there is a separate urea tank.
Launch of the new Marazzo BS6 is in the next few days. In July 2020, Mahindra has started dispatch of BS6 Marazzo to dealerships. Mahindra is supposedly developing an AMT variant for the diesel mill. Rumours also claim that a BS6-petrol Marazzo is also in the works.