[DImPo]

Very detailed review indeed. I am also planning to upgrade to a 7 seater in the near future, but decided to wait some more time to evaluate the following before taking a call.
a) initial ownership reports or Marazzo for niggles and FE.
b) Crash rating of Marazzo
c) next gen Ertiga
d) BRV facelift
Having said that, will blindly book Toyota Rush,if in case, it is launched in the next 1 year or so.

[caffeineAM]

Excellent and thorough review as always. I get the feeling they started designing the car for the commercial segment and then adapted it for personal use customers. The mating of the dashboard and the A pillars just looks like a hack job. To me it looks like the interior and body shell teams were on different pages during their meetings

PS: I have NO idea how cars are designed.

[HighwayofLife]

Originally Posted by mohan41

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.

Possible reason- who buys the top variant? Mostly more senior corporate people and business-owners, and mostly in company name or on lease. Since these cars designate themselves 8 seaters with a bench seat, such buyers would be required to get a yellow-board. This might be a primary reason for only 7 seaters in top variant. Hexa and XUV 500 don't have this problem since they designate themselves 7 seaters with a bench in the middle row

[kskthere]

Excellent review once again!

Mahindra Marazzo looks fabulous and appealing. They seem to have gotten it right in terms of looks, dimensions and price, and by placing this MUV in between two market leaders. With decent numbers to start, it's exciting to see how does it fare in sales charts in the months to come.

[unmesh]

I think one feature is missed out in the review:
Even I stalled the Marazzo twice during test drive , and learnt that the ignition is single touch (like on some of the premium bikes where one has to just thumb the starter momentarily and leave it). I twisted the ignition key for just a second and released it. The starter kept cranking until the engine fired up

[pavi]

Originally Posted by HighwayofLife

Possible reason- who buys the top variant? Mostly more senior corporate people and business-owners, and mostly in company name or on lease. Since these cars designate themselves 8 seaters with a bench seat, such buyers would be required to get a yellow-board. This might be a primary reason for only 7 seaters in top variant. Hexa and XUV 500 don't have this problem since they designate themselves 7 seaters with a bench in the middle row

So by your logic, no private registration is possible for the 8 seat variants. I am missing something in your comments?

I believe who ever goes for the higher variant will be looking more for creature ‘comforts’. Captain seats are any day better than bench seats, hence such people would always prefer a captain seat over a bench seat. Hence the omission should not be creating any issues.

[HighwayofLife]

Originally Posted by pavi

So by your logic, no private registration is possible for the 8 seat variants. I am missing something in your comments?

.

An 8-seater can be private-registered if the buyer is an individual, but not if the Buyer is a company. My thinking is that in most cases, the top-end variants are leased from a fleet-management firm like Avis or bought in company's name for senior people in the company. This means there are likely to be few takers for 8-seater top end variants, since taxi operators mostly buy the entry-level variants. It's just a thought and might not be right

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by Aditya

In-Car Entertainment

M8 variants get a 7.0-inch touchscreen system with a haptic touch interface and Capsense technology.

Hey Aditya,

Wanted your views on the haptic touch feedback? Was it noticeable? Could you share your experience?

[vsbabu]

I did a test drive last month. Liked it. undecided whether to buy or not. Lack of 8 seater in top trim is one reason. I found middle bench seat much better than captains seat. Ditto for Innova too. Somehow I found underthigh support was way better in bench. Also, a bit of convenience too to keep laptop and phone when not in use there

[HighwayofLife]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Hey Aditya,

Wanted your views on the haptic touch feedback? Was it noticeable? Could you share your experience?

The feedback from the screen is quite nice, in my view, and you certainly feel it. It's more responsive than the Pioneer 2-DIN HU that I had in my Scorpio. And one very nice touch- the HU stays on when you start the car, without switching off when the engine cranks- don't recall how this works in XUV. This isn't the case with the stock HUs that I've seen (may be I haven't noticed enough) and definitely not with aftermarket units. I absolutely adored this feature.

[vikrantj]

An excellent review as would be expected from a TBHP reviewer. Fair and to the point.

Back to Marazzo, I am disappointed. The way they had advertised this product with sharks etc , it falls real short of it. Now for a car costing more than 16Lakh on road , I would expect a much much better fit and finish, better safety features like airbags and yes more importantly better ergonomics. Engine bay is a total disaster . What is Mahindra expecting goto a authorized workshop to get a fuse replaced or maybe replace a battery ?

If my money is on the line here, I would stay away from this and buy something from competition.

[mohansrides]

Detailed and informative review as usual.

However, I have to disagree with this review and other reviews on the web on one major aspect. Interior space. We found the space inside to be far less than what we were led to believe. The 2nd and 3rd rows do not recline. The legroom in the second row is nothing great. It's not bad. But, not remarkable in any sense. And when we pushed back the 2nd row to liberate leg room, the 3rd row had absolutely no leg room at all. My wife and MIL came right out and remarked that the car felt claustrophobic to them. This, when I hadn't even asked them that question specifically!! At that point, I was just glad that I hadn't taken my mom along for the test drive. She is certainly the least bashful of the lot (to put it mildly); and she would have let me have it for wasting her time.

Finally, if the Marazzo is carrying 6 people, one can forget about any luggage space. One would have to cram stuff between the seated occupants and use the boot for a couple of very small bags. The Marazzo is a genuine people mover only for very short distances. Like if you have a wedding in the family and you have to ferry people back and forth between the house and the venue. For long distances, the car is simply for 4 adults (with captain seats), or 4 adults and a child in the bench seat avatar.

Other than this, I found the car acceptable in all other respects. The engine is good - refined and responsive. NVH levels were superb. Brakes were decent.

Incidentally, for 6 to 7 people, the Honda BRV is really the standard in interior space and the perception of space by occupants. Frankly, I don't really like the car for the usual reasons (Mobilio looks, narrow width, high price and missing features). But, over the past year, I have literally put my family through the grinder in testing out family movers. My family members do not share my affinity for automobiles. So, their perspective is purely based on their comfort. Everyone has been unanimous in maintaining their vote for the BRV. After a lot of thought, I have to reluctantly agree with them that the BRV is unmatched.

• The seats are thin; but comfortable.
• It appears narrow from the outside. But, somehow the 2nd row in the BRV feels quite spacious once seated. Especially for 2 adults and a child.
• The 3rd row is approachable from both sides of the vehicle through two 1 touch tumble seats.
• Both 2nd and 3rd rows recline by huge angles.
• The 2nd row slides fore and aft by a big margin.
• Knee room in 2nd and 3rd rows is fantastic as it is. If 2nd row is pushed all the way back, one gets more 14 inches of leg room in the 2nd row, while the 3rd row still had at least an inch to spare in front of the legs of an occupant seated there.
• With all rows up, the space in the boot is the biggest we have seen.
• Most importantly, everyone in the car was outspoken about how open and non-claustrophobic it felt on the inside.
• Finally, that 1.5 liter engine performs very well pulling everyone; especially in the CVT.

For reference, no one in our family is above 5'7". So, leg room assessments should be seen from that point of view. For shoulder room, please note that some people in the family are quite wide

[HighwayofLife]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

Detailed and informative review as usual.

However, I have to disagree with this review and other reviews on the web on one major aspect. Interior space. We found the space inside to be far less than what we were led to believe. The 2nd and 3rd rows do not recline. The legroom in the second row is nothing great. It's not bad. But, not remarkable in any sense.

Finally, if the Marazzo is carrying 6 people, one can forget about any luggage space.

Other than this, I found the car acceptable in all other respects. The engine is good - refined and responsive. NVH levels were superb. Brakes were decent.
in our family is above 5'7". So, leg room assessments should be seen from that point of view. For shoulder room, please note that some people in the family are quite wide

I took my bro-in-law, his wife, my wife and son for TD, and we had the dealer exec with us. We first tested the Innova- it didn't have good legroom, and surprise surprise, Toyota have reduced footwell space on driver and passenger side in the Crysta. The result was that my bro-in-law and I, both of who are around 6'3" and fairly wide, had a lot of trouble in the passenger abd driver seats respectively. My wife wasn't a fan of the middle row or the last row either. Next we tested the Marazzo. First thing we loved was the footwell room in the driver and passenger seats. Next, my wife really enjoyed both the middle and last rows. My wife is about 5'7" or thereabouts by the way.

Yes, the middle row seats don't recline back fully, but they recline back as much or a bit more than aircraft seats, and the last row has a natural angle which is decent. However, given the limitations of all vehicles in this class, the last row is always suitable only for really short adults or children on long drives.

So, in my view, it's not really right to say the car doesn't have legroom. It isn't the segment leader in middle row legroom, which honour goes to the Hexa, but isn't a slouch in this department either. It definitely beats the far far more expensive Innova on this front

[mohansrides]

Originally Posted by HighwayofLife

Yes, the middle row seats don't recline back fully, but they recline back as much or a bit more than aircraft seats, and the last row has a natural angle which is decent. However, given the limitations of all vehicles in this class, the last row is always suitable only for really short adults or children on long drives.

I never compared this car with the Innova. The Innova plays in a different league altogether.

With regards to the last row, this very review (and every other review online) uses the phrase “a last row usable for adults”. Given my observations and what you yourself have stated, this statement is patently false. This is an important point because one of the main reasons people buy this class of vehicle is for maximum seating capacity with good luggage space.

For your own reference, go sit in the BRV and see the difference.

Originally Posted by HighwayofLife

So, in my view, it's not really right to say the car doesn't have legroom. It isn't the segment leader in middle row legroom, which honour goes to the Hexa, but isn't a slouch in this department either. It definitely beats the far far more expensive Innova on this front

First of all, I am well within my rights to say whatever I want based on my own observations. So I will most certainly say that for a car costing 16 lacs on the road, and for a car whose marketing USP is built around the space inside, the legroom in the Marazzo is quite unremarkable. Certainly not worth the 5 or 6 lac premium over the Ertiga (which also I do not particularly like by the way).

To be clear, I am an ACTUAL buyer. I am not TDing these cars out of academic interest or for fun. Certainly my family wouldn’t indulge me with their time if I am just goofing around.

So if I am saying that the space inside the Marazzo is a disappointment, that’s after careful consideration and after desperately wanting to like the car as a candidate for purchase.

Like I said, people should set aside their distaste for the external design and sit in the BRV with their families and drive it around. Then, they should do the same with the Marazzo, the Ertiga, and with every other 7 seater in the market (including the Innova). I am willing to wager that a lot of them will find that the BRV’s cabin is the most open and the least claustrophobic of the lot. Plus it has a very usable boot.

Again to be clear, I really dislike the BRV’s design and badly wanted it to fail. But the darn thing kept ticking all the boxes by a good margin.

[HighwayofLife]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

I never compared this car with the Innova. The Innova plays in a different league altogether.

This car and the Innova are very much in the same market segment. Just because Toyota prices their cars higher and people want to pay them high price, doesn't change the market segment. Both cars are more or less the same length and width, and have more or less the same features. A Marazzo automatic in the future, with better safety features, would completely close the remaining gap

Originally Posted by mohansrides

First of all, I am well within my rights to say whatever I want based on my own observations. So I will most certainly say that for a car costing 16 lacs on the road, and for a car whose marketing USP is built around the space inside, the legroom in the Marazzo is quite unremarkable. Certainly not worth the 5 or 6 lac premium over the Ertiga (which also I do not particularly like by the way)

To be clear, I am an ACTUAL buyer. I am not TDing these cars out of academic interest or for fun. Certainly my family wouldn’t indulge me with their time if I am just goofing around.

Where in my post have I questioned your right to comment and criticise? I'm just debating with you. And FYI, I'm an ACTUAL owner of a Marazzo and am debating from that perspective- not goofing around here. So please tone the rudeness down when responding, Sir. My post in response to yours was completely factual, and based on actual experience of TD