Mahindra & Mahindra is leaving no stone unturned with the Marazzo, to grab a slice of the MPV segment that’s been locked out by the invincible Toyota Innova Crysta at one end and the popular Maruti Suzuki Ertiga at the other. In fact, the Marazzo is the start of a new chapter for Mahindra that is trying to reinvent itself.
To that end, it gets an all-new chassis, a new engine and gearbox, new mechanicals and crucially, comes with a fresh design language. Even the people behind it are all new. The Marazzo is the first car to be created by the Mahindra North American Technical Centre (MNATC) in Michigan, USA. The result: a car that neither looks nor drives like a Mahindra .
What’s it like on the outside?
It’s a smooth and well-rounded design that may not instantly wow you, but it certainly won’t put you off either. In fact, sitting on its rather long 2760mm wheelbase, the Marazzo is nicely proportioned and has a typical cab-forward MPV silhouette.
Viewed from the front, the short bonnet and small headlamps don’t give it the same road presence as the Innova. However, it distinguishes itself with some interesting touches like the mock LED strips on the headlights, wide door-mounted mirrors and some sculpting on the bonnet. The toothy Mahindra grille, other than the badge, is the only thing to tell you that this is a Mahindra.
Giving the Marazzo a purposeful tipped-forward stance is the rising window line, neatly accentuated with a chrome strip. Design elements like the floating roof and flush-fitting windows lend an air of sophistication. If the styling isn’t very unique then the chassis certainly is. The Marazzo uses a hybrid chassis that combines a ladder frame and a monocoque, which Mahindra says is the first of its kind — the company has even filed a patent for the design.
The Marazzo uses MacPherson struts suspension up front, and a twist beam suspension at the rear, which are mounted on the ladder frame for optimal wheel location. However, the unique chassis arrangement has come at the cost of weight, and the Marazzo weighs around 1.6 tonnes. That may be light compared to other body-on-frame MPVs like the Innova, which weighs upwards of 1.8 tonnes, but compared to the Ertiga, the Marazzo is a good 400 kg heavier.
What’s it like from the inside?
Like the exterior, the interior design is an exercise in restraint. Strong horizontal elements divide the dashboard, which is a good mix of textures and materials. The black-and-light beige combo works really well, whilst the piano-black panel gives it a premium feel. There are enamel white accents too.
The black plastics on top of the dashboard and door trim tops are richly textured and whilst the plastics lower down aren’t as good, they are far from cheap or tacky. The seats, too, on this top-spec M8 variant, are superbly finished and feel like they’ve been plucked from some European mid-size car.
The all-new 7-inch infotainment system is easy to use. Android Auto is standard, but Apple Car Play is expected pretty soon. There’s no faulting the driving position. You sit nice and high, visibility outside is terrific and all the controls fall easily to hand. It’s not all perfect: The aircraft throttle-style hand brake lever may look cool but it’s fiddly to use. The worst snafu is that you can’t access the rear door bins with the doors shut.
The front seats offer good lateral support, and are designed to take large frames, but it’s the pair of captain seats in the middle row that are truly impressive. Accessing the third row doesn’t require you to practise yoga, thanks to a relatively low (by body-on-frame standards) step-up height into the cabin and a one-touch release which flips and folds the middle seat in a shot. Luggage space with all three rows in place is best for a few soft bags, but with two rows down, you can use the Marazzo to move house.
In terms of safety, the Marazzo comes with dual airbags (for the driver and co-driver) as standard, but top versions, at least, should have offered more. Useful bits of equipment are reverse parking sensors and a rear-view camera.
What’s it like to drive?
Power is provided by an all-new 1497cc four-cylinder diesel engine, which belongs to the same mFalcon engine family as the KUV’s 1.2, three-cylinder diesel, but with an extra cylinder. The first and most lasting impression of this new motor is how refined it is. It’s quiet at idle, gets mildly vocal when you pile on the revs, and it’s only when you’re pushing to the rev limit that it gets a bit noisy. Whilst cruising and driving at moderate revs, you’ll be seriously impressed by how silent it is.
The other big surprise is how light the clutch is — possibly the lightest we’ve experienced on any seven-seater. The Marazzo pulls away cleanly from standstill on Mahindra’s Chakan track, and initial impressions are all about its responsiveness. The 1.5 diesel has wonderfully linear power delivery, and a pretty broad torque spread which works on part-throttle inputs. At low revs, you won’t miss the distinct turbo lag, and although this engine is nowhere near as tractable as, say, Honda’s 1.5 diesel, it doesn’t get as bogged down as Suzuki’s 1.3 diesel on the Ertiga. Once you get past the 1500rpm mark, it pulls fairly strongly but without any vigour.
It’s when you want to drive in a hurry that you expose one of the Marazzo’s few weak points — a poor power-to-weight ratio. There’s only so much a 120hp engine can do in a car that weighs over 1.6 tonnes. Hence, flat-out acceleration isn’t very impressive and the Marazzo builds up speed slowly. On the long straights at the Chakan track, you can feel the Marazzo labouring past 100kph. It doesn’t have a sense of urgency, and appears to only gather speed in a relaxed manner. This means overtaking, especially on a single-lane road, would need more planning and patience, especially when the seven-seater is loaded. The Marazzo does feature cruise control, for when you really want to enjoy the long haul, however.
The gearshift is fairly light and easy to slot, though it misses that precise, rifle bolt feel of a good Japanese ’box. Also, I found the gear lever, which sits high up, a bit too long, and as a result the shift throw is correspondingly wide.
Should I buy one?
Priced from ₹9.99 lakh to ₹13.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), it slots between the Ertiga and the Innova, with the potential to pull buyers from both ends of the MPV market. It’s a lot of car for the money and great value.
