മഹേന്ദ്ര ക്വോന്തോ

After a long waiting at last a car is here among the overpriced i20's, Polos, etc that serve the purpose better and is cheap. Yes I am talking about the recently launched Mahindra Quanto. At first when we check the car from the front it seems that a Xylo is standing in front of you but when we take a round of this car we come to a conculsion that this is a beautiful car having better proportion than a Xylo. Looks of this cars are good and would appeal the young to buy it. From the bold black grill, side foot railings to the rear view having stepni in a classy  cover every thing goes in stride for this mini SUV. The tail lights look  impressive with black portions and feels as part of the car unlike the Scorpio or Xylo If we check the interior out then we find alot of space for our legs to  rest. The dash is borrowed from the Xylo even the air vents are same and you  feel as if you are sitting in a Xylo. Front seats are comfortable and give a  good view of the road which makes driving easier.  Rotary controls feel a bit far if your height is not good. Driver seat is height adjustable.  There are a lot of bottle holding spaces in front and back and snack trays at the back. There are charger ports at the back also The last row in this car is what I am pretty sceptical about as the same is not having comfortable seats to qualify Quanto for a seven seater. It can be said that Quanto is a 5 seater with a large boot if somebody wants to sit in that boot the same would not be much comfortable. Hand/elbow rests for both the  front seat comes handy for longer drives. Sadly there is no centre arm rest in the middle row. There is also a sunglasses holder in front which is handy rather than to take out your glasses from the glove box. The dash color in the front if grey or black could have looked cool. You start the engine and it is smooth. You do not at all feel that you have started a big  deisel engine. You step on the gas and the Quanto starts to glide. The car does a good a job in the city traffic and the 1.5 litre 3 cylinder MicroHybrid engine is peppy and responsive at slow speeds. It is only at higher speeds the car lags a turbo and it is left behind its other counterparts. You have to work hard for taking this car to drive on highway. There was a lot of body roll also for this car at smaller curves. The ride quality is not one of the best and is bumpy espiacially for the middle and rear passengers. The microhybrid engine stops when the cars is at halt for long and automatically  starts when the clutch is again pressed. The car claims a good 17.21 KMPL as per ARAI rating which can be taken as 15-15.50 KMPL in city conditions and is a decenet average. Mahindra could have installed bigger tyres so as to increase the SUV feel and riding comfort Now let us look at the price and Mahindra have done a commendable job to start the pricing from around 6 lacs thanks to the sub 4m length of the car. The base model C2 starts at around 6 lac and it goes to 7.36 lac for a C8 having ABS, airbags reverse parking assist, alloy wheels, immobiliser, frnt fog lamps and many more features.   In and all the car is a good package for a family of five having a good space and better  looks at a competitive pricing. Competitors:-   1) Premier Rio 2) Reanult Duster 3) Maruti Ertiga   Cars in this range are Hyundai i20 & Volkswagen Polo