Ssangyong’s compact SUV, codenamed S102, has been spotted again. Seen in heavy camouflage, the car has been spotted before on different occasions in China. The Korean manufacturer has been displaying several concepts at the motor shows around the world and this SUV will borrow bits and pieces from many of them. Based on the X-100 platform, the S102 will be the first joint product of Mahindra and Ssangyong.
The car will roughly carry similar dimensions as the Renault Duster, though the camouflage makes it difficult to figure other details about the car. The front features split bumpers while the headlamp assembly features DRLs. Ssangyong and Mahindra have also been working on a 1.0-litre engine, similar to Ford’s EcoBoost engine. With emphasis on good fuel efficiency, the engine will be equally powerful as higher capacity engines. The two manufacturers have been collaborating to develop the platform, engines and components since the Mumbai-based manufacturer acquired Ssangyong in 2011. The car will be launched here under Mahindra’s badging and will be manufactured at the company’s Nashik facility.
Unlike the rest of the industry, which has been seeing a negative growth for a past few months, the compact SUV segment has been a bright spot for manufacturers like Ford and Renault. Despite being the only seven-seater compact SUV in the market, the Quanto hasn’t tasted much success but with this product, Mahindra hopes to grab a bigger bite of the segment.
Source: PaulTan
