Mahindra’s Alturas G4 BS6 comes with no extra features or performance compared to its BS4 counterpart
Mahindra & Mahindra has launched the 2020MY BS6-compliant version of its most premium product. The new Mahindra Alturas G4 BS6 comes at a starting price of Rs 28.69 lakh for the base 2WD variant. Its higher AWD version is priced at Rs 31.69 lakh. The figures mentioned here are ex-showroom and Mahindra has increased the 7-seater SUV’s pricing by Rs 1 lakh.
Besides becoming compliant to BS6 emission norms, the 2020 Mahindra Alturas G4 does not sport any extra bits in terms of cosmetics, features or performance. It continues to rival the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour; both of which were updated to BS6 earlier this year.
Like the Alturas G4, Toyota has not given a major upgrade to the Fortuner BS6 but a facelift is apparently in the works. Meanwhile, the BS6 Ford Endeavour comes with a new 2.0-litre diesel mill mated to a 10-speed automatic.
The Indian automaker has launched the 7-seater at a time when the market is going through tough times like never before. COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on automotive sales as dealerships remain shut down under the government’s lockdown protocols. OEMs have turned to online platforms to make sales. In fact, Mahindra has also opened online bookings for select platforms.
Mahindra has not shared the exact specifications of the Alturas G4 BS6 but we expect the numbers to be slightly lower than its BS4 counterpart, without affecting real-world performance. In BS4 format, the 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine makes around 178bhp and 420Nm of torque. The power plant is mated to a 7-speed TC automatic transmission sourced from Mercedes-Benz.
Mahindra Alturas G4 is essentially a rebadged Ssangyong Rexton Y400 which shares most of its mechanicals with the W163 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class (1997-2005). It packs features such as ventilated front seats, dual-zone climate control, powered tailgate, sunroof, nine airbags, 360-degree parking camera, HSA, HDC and more. Despite being a decent product, the Alturas G4 witnesses substantially lower sales compared to its rivals from Ford India and Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
On the other hand, MG Motor India plans to launch the Gloster luxury SUV soon. The MG Gloster or Maxus D90 competes with the likes of entry-level Land Rover and mid-segment Jeep models in global markets. However, the SAIC-owned brand might price it competitively to rival the popular trio. Skoda Auto Volkswagen India has also got two interesting products coming in the same price segment: Skoda Kodiaq and Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace.
