Mahindra U321 MPV Launch In September; Spotted Testing Again

Mahindra's upcoming all-new MPV, codenamed U321, is expected to be launched in September 2018. While the company has already confirmed a 2018 launch for the new MPV, sources in the known have told us that the launch is expected in the first week of September, before the festive season starts. The name of the new U321 MPV will be announced before the launch, possibly towards the end of August 2018. Interestingly, the MPV is still undergoing testing and we recently spotted a heavily camouflaged near-production model in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

This is not the first time that the Mahindra U321's test mule has been spotted in India. Over the past few months, we have shared images from several sightings of the prototype MPV, and all were heavily camouflaged. This indicates that Mahindra is keen on keeping the identity of the MPV a complete secret until it's ready to be unveiled.

Also Read: Upcoming Mahindra MPV U321 Is A Global Product: Rick Haas, CEO, MANA

Based on the prototypes we have seen so far, we certainly know that the MPV will be bigger than the existing Xylo, which it's going to replace. Visually, it's likely to carry forward the Mahindra styling and characteristics like the chrome-toothed grille, large sweptback headlamps with double barrel projector headlamps, sporty alloys, and larger vertically stacked taillamps, a hint of which is also revealed in these latest spy images.

Mahindra U321 cabin gets touchscreen infotainment system, fabric upholstery, climate control

A set of previously leaked images confirmed that the Mahindra U321 will also come with a well-equipped cabin featuring two-tone interior and a large piano black finished surface that covers a major portion of the dashboard, along with a large touchscreen infotainment display at the centre with buttons and dials on either side. There are large central air-con vents, a new three-spoke steering wheel, a twin-pot instrument cluster and large air-con vents on either end.

Under the hood, the U321 is expected to feature the all-new 1.6-litre diesel and petrol engines that Mahindra has been developing for a while now. The engines are likely to come mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox and an optional 6-speed automatic torque converter, borrowed from the XUV500. Upon launch, the Mahindra U321 MPV will go up against the likes of the Toyota Innova Crysta and Tata Hexa.