Review and Test Drive of new Mahindra Quonto

We first broke the news of the ‘mini Xylo’ (code: U203) on our website on June 3, 2010, & it’s been no secret Mahindra has been developing its own sub 4 metre car, one that has finally taken shape as this, the Quanto. The case for chopping the Xylo’s length was to qualify the Quanto as a small car and, correspondingly, a lower 12 percent rate of excise duty. But is this more of a compromise or does the Quanto fit the bill as a mini SUV?

From the front there’s little to distinguish the Quanto from the facelifted Xylo. The ‘V’ on the bonnet is more defined, & there’s a new lip above the toothed grille, but this apart the two cars are near identical upto the rear doors. Where the Quanto looks totally different is from the tail. The Xylo’s large rear windows & sizeable rear bumper have been replaced by a smaller quarter glass & minimal overhang aft of the rear wheels. The result is a rather abrupt tail, which gives the already tall Quanto gawky proportions that are further accentuated by small 15 inch wheels (downsized from the Xylo’s 16 inchers).

The Quanto also gets different D pillars, wraparound tail lamps & comes with its spare wheel mounted on the side opening tail gate, which goes with its mini SUV ethos.

Given the inherent imbalance of a three cylinder engine, we were quite surprised by the engine’s refinement. Idle is fairly quiet, vibrations are well contained & some transmission judder apart, refinement is impressive. Even on the move, that typical three cylinder thrum is obvious but doesn’t become intrusive until you go high up the rev band. However, this isn’t an engine you’d rev hard anyway. Power seriously tapers off post 3500rpm & even on full throttle it doesn’t gather much pace. The Quanto’s heavy kerb weight of 1640kg seriously weighs it down & it took a slow 17.41 seconds in the 0 100kph dash.

However, at slower speeds, the engine shows a more likeable side. Power delivery is linear & there’s decent pull between 1500rpm & 3500rp though it still feels flat for most part.  All this points to a car that will amble well through traffic but could find itself out of depth on the highway. At city speeds, the gear ratios seem well matched to the engine but we found the gearshift quality on the five speed box slightly rubbery & the light clutch a bit snappy too.

Driving the Quanto on Mahindra’s test track, we experienced acceptable levels of road noise filtering into the cabin on the smooth section of the track though the small undulations on the main straight resulted in ride becoming bouncy with lots of vertical movement. The Quanto does share its suspension hardware with the Xylo & uses the same combination of double wishbones up front & a five link setup at the rear. While a smaller body should have resulted in greater rigidity & tidier handling, the top heavy Quanto was slow to change direction & there was lots of body roll too. Its hydraulically assisted power steering (standard across the range) isn’t particularly fast either but is light enough at typical city speeds.

The Quanto’s quirky looks & oddball dimensions are sure to split opinion. But you simply can’t ignore the massive cabin space (at least for the front two rows) & the advantages of its elevated driving position. & while the rear jump seats aren’t very useable, they do add flexibility to the cabin, at least for short stints. Its engine is also nicely refined for a three cylinder unit, has sufficient power for city use & promises to be fuel efficient too. Where the Xylo fails to make an impression is in the areas of ride comfort (bumpy) & handling (sloppy). Interior quality is pretty disappointing too.

But factor in the Quanto’s pricing, which starts at Rs 5.8 lakh for the base C2 model & stretches to Rs 7.36 lakh for the top spec C8 variant (ex showroom, Thane), & it looks a whole lot more interesting. For many it could even be a lifestyle (albeit less sophisticated) alternative to the brigade of premium hatchbacks.
With the Quanto sharing the Xylo’s 2760mm wheelbase, space inside the cabin is fantastic. You do have to step up into the high set cabin, but once inside it’s easy to get comfortable. All round visibility is excellent, the front seats are comfy & the dashboard, a straight lift from the Xylo, adds to the feeling of familiarity in here. Sadly, cabin quality is not quite upto the mark with many crudely finished bits like the front door pockets in direct sight. If there’s some compensation, it’s that you get a lot of features. The top spec Quanto C8 we drove featured power windows, two airbags, a music player with MP3 & aux connectivity & a reverse parking sensor.

The middle row gets lots of space & the flat seat base is comfy, but the non adjustable backrest is a tad too upright. That’s because, believe it or not, the Quanto is a seven seater & the second row backrest has undoubtedly been kept upright to free up space for the rear jump seats. Despite this compromise, space in the back is really tight. There are no headrests either & the knees up seating position & near vertical backrests are far from nice. The safety of these seats in the event of rear end collision is a question mark too. They do fold, though, & with them out of the way there is decent luggage space in the back.

To qualify for excise benefits on small cars, the Quanto had to come with a sub 1.5 litre diesel engine. The engine in question is the new 1493cc motor – the mCR100. Interestingly, this common rail motor is not a grounds up design but actually a downsized three cylinder version of Mahindra’s existing 2.2 litre mHawk diesel engine. While understandably not as powerful as the mHawk, the new engine uses a two stage turbo & an intercooler to output fairly impressive power & torque figures of 98.6bhp & 24.5kgm.


Fact File
Engine
Fuel Diesel
Installation Front, longitudinal
Type 3 cyls, 1493cc, common-rail, turbo-diesel
Bore/stroke 83.0/92.0mm
Power 98.6bhp at 3750rpm
Torque 24.5kgm at 1600-2800rpm
Power to weight 60.1bhp per tonne
Transmission
Type Rear wheel drive
Gearbox 5-speed manual
Dimensions
Length 3985mm
Width 1850mm
Height 1880mm
Wheel base 2760mm
Boot volume 690 litres (with jump seats folded)
Chassis & Body
Weight 1640kg
Tyres 205/65R15
Spare Full Size
Suspension
Front Independent, double wishbones, coil springs, stabiliser bar
Rear Non-independent, five link, coil springs
Brakes
Front Ventilated discs
Rear Drums
Anti-lock Yes
Economy
Tank size 55 litres

Posted in: Mahindra, Random, Reviews, SUV