The new Mahindra Marazzo is a pretty impressive vehicle and one that genuinely surprises you

The process of launching a new vehicle has changed a bit over the years. Once upon a time, it was a press conference followed by drinks. Then the drinks disappeared and you got a sound and light show with dancers bouncing around the stage and your ears pleading for mercy from the 200 beats per minute Euro House music that accompanied the car being driven onto stage. If you, as a carmaker, wanted to make it fancier, you got European dancers instead of Shiamak Davar’s troupe. Nowadays, it is a bit different, it usually begins with a mass ‘leak’ in a couple of newspapers and automotive magazines, followed by surprisingly accurate renders of the vehicle in question. Then there are the spy shots all over the web. And this is where I give you an idea. If you want to set up your own “spy shot” website, just go to the Himalayan Expressway between Zirakpur and Parwanoo. Then there are the teaser emails and factory visits and what not. A car launch process often stretches for around six-eight months, even the marketing around it.

So when Mahindra sent out an email saying how their new car would be “shark”-inspired and what not, you really didn’t expect the Marazzo. Yes, you kind of knew that this car was replacing the Xylo and would be a van, and honestly there is only so much one can do with a van. But, you know, shark and all. That is the fault of your brain because when you hear shark, your mind almost automatically assumes the sleek and deadly Great White. Because your brain really did not know until you Googled it that there are over 500 species of sharks and rays. It is a very disparate family of fish, but of course, what we consider sharks are the order of Mackerel Sharks, or Lamniformes. And I am sure that Mahindra designers thought the same. Shaping a van like a Great White would be rather impractical but the Marazzo does look like a Basking Shark with its mouth agape. As I said, it is a large, multi-person van. It is not supposed to be good-looking. But you know what, the Marazzo is not ugly. In fact, it looks fairly reasonable. Sure, the marketeers would always try and make it macho, but they should not have, as I will go on to explain.

Frankly, the last time I drove a Mahindra vehicle, I was left awfully disappointed with the KUV100. With the Marazzo,  boy was I surprised. First, the Marazzo looks far better proportioned than the Xylo, and while it is a big van, in the burgundy red colour I got the tester, it looks quite smart. The real surprises are not so much in its looks though but the way it drives.

The Marazzo may not be perfect and I will get to that later, but it is fabulous when it comes to Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH). It really does feel very comfortable and quiet to be inside the cabin, quite unlike any other Mahindra every before. The other thing is that the Marazzo is on the whole a very sedate car to drive. The engine, which is a highly turbo-charged 1.5 litre diesel unit, does take some time to get up to speed and the first few times you drive the car you might stall it, starting up from a red light. But the power comes on relatively quickly once you get the hang of it, and despite having 121 horsepower in a pretty large car, it does not feel massively underpowered, although you would not really want to push it past the highway speed limit.

Now, one issue I did have is that the Marazzo, partially because of its size, is not the most adept handler. Of course, throwing a large people carrier into a corner is never a recommended course of action, but one has to do these things in a road test, but that said, body roll characteristics are far superior to the Xylo and the XUV500. One strange problem I encountered while cornering hard was that the car would warn me that my bonnet was open. I put that down to the centrifugal force opening the circuit, but a strange warning nonetheless and I hope it was peculiar to the vehicle I had. Over three days and 250 km on city roads and some highway stretches, I got a creditable 15 km per litre.

Interiors, I was driving the top-end M8 six-seater with the captain seats in the second row and rear-legroom was pretty decent. As for the third row, well, third-rows are not very comfortable for adults in most vehicles. The Marazzo is also a little shorter than the Innova, so it is a bit cramped, but it is a bigger third row than the Ertiga. The few issues I have were with the fact that I am not a fan of hard-plastic steering wheels, the fact that the third row does not fold flush to the floor and the start-up of the infotainment system, which takes a while and is a particular pain if you want to start reversing immediately. I really can’t imagine getting this car without a reversing camera system because it is very long.

Honestly though, the issues were few and far between. I can imagine someone buying the Marazzo as a comfortable long-distance family cruiser. Also, for those who need a vehicle to transport a lot of stuff or pets, you can remove the third-row completely. Sure, calling it a competitor to the Innova is a bit of a stretch, but then again at under Rs 14 lakh for the top-of-the-line M8 six-seater, it is incredible value, cheaper than even a second-hand Innova from 2014-15. Personally, I like the Marazzo and hopefully it signifies the start of some excitedly from Mahindra, the new XUV700 (a Ssangyong Rexton with a Mahindra badge) is on its way later this month and I hope the company can keep its momentum going.

If you have any questions, queries or generally want car advice, or just to chat about cars, do reach out to @kushanmitra on Twitter.