[pavi]

Such an awesome Diwali gift from team-bhp. Even though MPVs never excite me in any way (I am more of a sedan/hatchback person), the review was exciting. Every minute detail were covered and thank you ‘I have been missing official review taste for sometime now’.

I am actually concerned about the stalling part, there may be reasons for that but I don’t think this is not expected from a Diesel engine as they are usually torquey at lower rpms. Something which adds more salt to the wound is this car is a people mover which is supposed to carry more ‘body mass’ compared to other cars. I wish to know if you guys have driven the car stuffed with 7/8 adults, if yes how was it?

[mohan41]

Thank you for the excellent review. A great effort by M&M, however they could have offered more safety features such as knee airbag and side and curtain airbags.

Originally Posted by Aditya

• Bench seat option is unavailable on the top variant

Why are manufacturers (Toyota and now Mahindra) not giving bench seat in top variant? A bench seat is always more useful for a big family. Especially in this case the third row is not wide enough for three people. If we hire a driver for a long family trip, we are left with 3 very good seats and and not so good 2.5 seats in 3rd row.

[yogesh.8984]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Exposed screws & bolts under the dashboard on the driver's side look ugly! Further, they could hurt you if driving bare feet (I know many people who prefer to do so on the highway)

This is a serious miss in an otherwise very well progressed car in their line up. How can they even leave it like that?

[arbaz906]

Fantastic review and pictures as usual. And an equally awesome effort by Mahindra.

Originally Posted by R-Six

On another note, is that rust already under the front passenger side dashboard?

Whoa! That's some eagle-eyed observation there and unfortunately it is rust. Seems concentrated at one particular point, and I guess above this point lies the cooling mechanism for the glove box? Maybe that's the culprit.

[arvi86]

Fantastic review, as always! Thanks for this exhaustive and stunningly-detailed review.

We're on the look out for a car with three rows of seats in our family and the Marazzo, frankly, was the most impressive of the lot. To our eyes, it looks better than all other MPVs in the market including the Innova Crysta. It's incredibly refined, it rides well, handles unlike any Mahindra I've driven before and the third row is fantastic. My dad and wife loved being seated there. The interior quality is amazing too in relative terms (We've a Thar in our extended family, so you know what I mean).

Unfortunately for us, the Marazzo isn't making the cut because of the lack of boot space with all three rows in use and the lack of bench seats in M8 variant. We enquired about replacing the superb captain's chairs with a bench seat at the dealer but that was refused. We were even willing to settle for the M6 but had to back out when the boot wouldn't even fit a cabin trolley we had carried if the back rest is reclined to a comfortable angle. Sadly, we had to let this go!

A classic case of so near yet so far for us. That apart, the Marazzo is a brilliant effort from Mahindra. I would even rate this their best product yet, yes, even better than the XUV5OO!

[Rshrey22]

While the young would prefer Marazzo for its features and tech, the old and mature will take the TUV300 Plus. The latter is more abuse friendly, tractable with its 2.2 mhawk and is a better overall package with its butch appeal while being in the similar price bracket. I may not be old but will take TUV300 Plus anyday over the Marazzo.

Kudos to mods for excellent review *****

[landcruiser123]

Fantastic review, rating it 5 stars.

So many times the word "small irritant," "design error," "lack of attention to detail" and their synonyms have been used. I think M&M should have not tried too hard to be creative, just done the basic job well and focused on quality. That engine bay and the handbrake deserve a special mention.

Lack of AT is understandable (remember the old Scorpio AT that was BAD?) if they don't have the technology, but 6 airbags should be easy to integrate into the design.

[TSourav]

Awesome review and it really shows that the reviewers are passionate about cars and not just reviewing for the sake of catching eyeballs or to please someone. Had you guys been at the QC of the car manufacturers, we would have never had a crappy car ever. Great job!

However, I still have my inhibitions against this car. Here's why:
1. The engine bay: What if I want to disconnect the battery in case of an emergency or if I just want to clean the engine bay? An inaccessible battery is just a recipe for disaster. The fuse box is also not easily accessible, thus limiting the freedom to quick-fix the car. I am also having a nagging doubt on how effective the cooling would be in the engine bay. The more cramped it is, the less is the air circulation and the more is the heat buildup. The small engine bay will make the owners dependent on authorised service stations for even trivial issues and that's something which the cabbies will not like.


2. Long clutch travel with high propensity to stalling: That's exactly what a diesel MPV should not be. A strong low end is mandatory for this class of vehicle. If it stalls with a new clutch, then what will happen when I load the car with 7 burly guys with a trailer on the back on an uphill climb in a snowy mountain pass? Will it stall with hiccups or chug along like a true MPV?


3. Niggles and maturity A new hybrid chassis, a new engine, super cramped, encapsulated engine bay, inadequate low end, etc makes me feel that the Hexa is still the better bet. Hexa seems more matured in the way it is designed and engineered, feels like it can do much more than carrying people. Overall the Hexa seems like a more textbook MPV that can last for a very long time.

[kovilkalai]

Nice review! What is the impact of the compact engine bay on safety? Specifically, what happens to the front crumple zone upon impact. The whole idea of a safe crumple is that the engine and other parts in the engine bay collapse and are deflected from the passenger compartment. I believe studies show that unibody structures perform better under crash conditions than body on frame models. I wonder if the compact engine bay will make it worse.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Ride & Handling

Laden ground clearance is rated at 165 mm (200 mm unladen). We didn't scrape the undercarriage over any bumps or have any trouble while taking the car offroad for photography.

I was under the impression that body-on-frame vehicles won't lose this much ground clearance (~20%) when fully laden. Or is it a combination of the construction-type and the suspension that dictates how much a vehicle will sag when fully laden?

[PYSO]

Originally Posted by kovilkalai

Nice review! What is the impact of the compact engine bay on safety? Specifically, what happens to the front crumple zone upon impact. The whole idea of a safe crumple is that the engine and other parts in the engine bay collapse and are deflected from the passenger compartment. I believe studies show that unibody structures perform better under crash conditions than body on frame models. I wonder if the compact engine bay will make it worse.

Also, how well are driver and front passenger protected from the risk of engine and other engine bay parts intruding into the cabin, in case of a frontal impact accident? Is it more likely due to a shortened engine bay? Is some sort of shielding done to protect the cabin?

Any info on the NCAP ratings of Marazzo?

Thanks to the mods for a highly detailed review. Even if I bought the car and used it for 10 years, I suspect I wouldnt notice many of the details that have been captured in the review.

[mi2n]

Fantastic review of a very competent package. Marazzo and it's derivatives (as and when they arrive) have huge potential. A giant leap by Mahindra on many front with lots of scope for improvisations.



We were invited by the local dealerships at the launch event and came back very impressed. However, we also observed that the view to the top part of the instrument cluster was blocked by the huge dashboard canopy. We are well below the 6 feet mark and still would be bending our necks to peek onto the top quarter of the speedometer (80 to 120 kph) and 3k-5k range in the tachometer which was simply not visible from our normal driving posture. We did report the quirk to the person claiming to be from the design team. Did you face the same in the vehicles reviewed?

[HighwayofLife]

Excellent review- I noticed the point about the exposed screws in the footwell some time ago. The choice between covering these or leaving them open are the small touches that make a difference between a high quality carmaker and an average one in this day and age, at least perception-wise. I think Tata has really internalized this lesson, and are now producing cars that rival Hyundai (I'm comparing the Tiago and Grand i10 when I say this). Mahindra is yet to learn this lesson, and seem to fall back on their rough and hardy vehicle philosophy. I'm not cribbing as a Marazzo owner- it does more things right than wrong, be it handling, ride quality, or sheer premium feel compared to other Mahindras. But I really feel that Mahindra could have done so much more with this car. Though one part of me says that Mahindra has taken a cautious step forward in not offering too many variants upfront. They might test the market and come with a very strong upgrade in an year or two- they have already mentioned that AT will come with the BS 6 variant. They also apparently have some petrol engines under development which might come at the same time

[blorebuddy]

Excellent review as usual! Kudos to the team. As many of you said, it's a great product from Mahindra and on the right direction. It's reflecting in the sales also. 3810 Marazzos dispatched in Oct which is considerably higher compared to Sep 2018 dispatch ie 2829. Marozzo team should be happy with this market response.

[venkyhere]

1. the storage crevice on top of the playground like dashboard - for the ubiquitous must have car accessory in india - the tissue box !

2. "nice try" to the batterybhai or batterywala technician when he comes to replace the stock battery with a new one, 3 yrs or so later.

3. With such a tight engine bay, and the underbody covered with plastic, I'm sure sales advisors will invent a new excuse for the poor panel gaps around the bonnet shut line - "sir, that is for air circulation"

4. Already we can see the ' air inlet - filter box - turbo ' path having one giant U turn, curious to know how many turns the air piping makes before hitting the engine, particularly since the intercooler is right at the top and engine intake is almost right under the dashboard.