Mahindra KUV100 to be launched on January 15

Mahindra’s compact car, the KUV100 will be launched on January 15, two weeks ahead of the Auto Expo, next month. The official sketches and the name were revealed last month.

The KUV100 is a compact car with the butch looks of an SUV. It gets a monocoque chassis with a front-engine front-wheel-drive setup. The car will seat five people with a probability of the sixth passenger thanks to the bench seat in the front. The tall-boy design ensures space in the car in spite of the smaller dimensions. We still are not very sure about the equipment in the car, but an informed guess would mean you will be able to see a long list.

Under the hood, you will get Mahindra’s new Falcon series of engines, the 1.2-litre MFalcon G80 petrol engine developing 82bhp of power and the 3-cylinder 1.2-litre diesel D75 churning out 77bhp. The engines will be mated to a five-speed transmission. While Mahindra have denied any plans for an AMT, we think the KUV might get an AMT soon owing to the popularity of automatic cars in the compact car segment.

The KUV100 will compete with the likes of the Ford Figo, Maruti Swift and Hyundai Grand i10 with an expected price tag between Rs 4 to 6 lakh (ex-showroom) Delhi.