2019 Mahindra Alturas Review
Mahindra has launched its new SUV,
Mahindra Alturas at a starting price of Rs 26.95 lakh. The top-of-the-line Alturas G4 4X4 variant is priced at Rs 29.95 lakh. The Mahindra Alturas G4 will be Mahindra's debut in the premium SUV segment where it will rival the likes of the
Ford Endeavour and the
Toyota Fortuner.
Mahindra has been trying to increase its product range and line for some time now. Over a period of time, they have managed to break both the 10 lakh and 20 lakh ceiling to come out as one of India’s top automobile companies. By launching Alturas they hope to crack that barrier and enter the product range of 30 lakhs. Alturas is the name Mahindra gave to the acclaimed Korean G4 Rexton. G4 Rexton was created by Mahindra And Mahindra’s Korean subsidy, SsangYong. The vehicle is a mid-sized SUV and the company hopes to make some movement in the market with this one which is currently dominated by Maruti and Hyundai. Let us take a close look and see what does the car has to offer.
Mahindra Alturas Exterior
The car commands everyone’s attention wherever it goes. With a width of 1.9M, the height of 1.8M and length of 4.8M it becomes very difficult to not notice the grand vehicle. It takes everything from Rexton with the only change coming in the front where in place of a SsangYong framework there’s the Mahindra grille, and the fog lamps have been made a lot smoother. Sides also have a careful design with the help of creases above the wheel arches and across the doors. From the side, Alturas looks huge making its 18-inch wheels look rather small. It is the rear which doesn’t look as grand as the front but looks a bit bulky and confused. More attention should have been placed there. The Alturas gets the standard LED daytime running lights however the LEDs in the back-lamps too stay illuminated in the day. The place where the design department could have clearly done a better job was in the placement of ‘Alturas G4’ badge in the rear. For now, it looks as if someone forcefully placed it over there and looks like it was added for the sake of it.
Mahindra Alturas Interior
The first thing one notices while dealing with interiors is that the high step one has to take to enter the car. The lowest point of the vehicle is 244mm making ingress a bit inconvenient. A sidestep as an additional accessory is available. The front seat also slides back all the way to make entry and exit easier. The cabin is impressive. The dash is stylishly laden with use of leather, piano black and some metallic bits. The tan and black theme on the variant, the quilting on the dash front, the metallic highlights on the buttons and the overall feel of the materials used is all great and in perfect quantity, not overdone, not underused. The steering is different cause it gets thinner in the 9-3 position and thicker in the 12-6 position. The seats are both comfortable and spacious. They have great cushioning, posture is great and the front seats even get the useful seat cooling feature. Also, the seats being high give the driver's seat a throne-like feel and provides a commanding view of the road. Something which most such subcompact SUVs sell as a by-product is a tone. They are supposed to be regal and dominating. The driver's seat manages to give that to the buyers enhancing the overall experience. However, special attention needs to be given while driving through crowded areas, given the heavy external body might block some view. Here is where the front camera comes in handy. The leg space looks cramp. The reason is simple that the colours used are dark. While sitting one might not feel that the head and leg space is less but the darkness might make people claustrophobic. The place looks small and if one doesn’t comfortable to the lack of light space for sure feels way less than it actually is. The back seats also recline to comfortable positions. Interestingly the second row only gets two rows of seat belts. Maybe the makers expected only people who put comfort over anything will buy their vehicle but this omission is strange to the point that it feels arrogant. The third row is for sure uncomfortable. Looking at the third row it feels as if the makers simply didn’t care about what happens behind. The leg space is not enough, the view is bad and the seats are very low. Adding on to the tone of arrogance. It feels as if the makers thought that no one important was going to sit over there and hence let's pay less attention to it.
Mahindra Alturas Driving
The Alturas G4 gets is led by the all-new D22DTR 2.2-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine, making 181hp and 420Nm of torque. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels or all four wheels through a 7-speed automatic transmission (torque converter). Start this motor and it settles into silence. And it’s not just the engine that’s really advanced, the sound condition just overall is great, so passengers are cut off even from outside noises. On highways, the vehicle is so silent that one doesn’t even realize the real speed one is cruising at. It is after 2,500rpm that the car becomes vocal but the diesel drone never gets too loud. Handling and controlling clearly aren’t the strong forte of the car. The car, first of all, is very big, so navigating it through a crowded area was always going to be a tough job. In narrow streets carrying this SUV will be an altogether difficult job. The car can take bumps but road shocks, something very commonly experienced, in urban Indian areas aren’t dealt with properly. The wheels at point start screeching way before the suspension or drivers limit, adding unnecessary panic. The body roll for such a tall car is fair but around bends, you need to be a bit extra careful to avoid unwanted situations. The steering doesn’t give immediate feedback, which is usually required.
Should I buy Mahindra Alturas?
The car is currently being placed against Fortuner and Endeavour. In comparison at places, it clearly lags behind. Handling a Fortuner or an Endeavour is not that a difficult job as it is in the case of Alturas. The two also have a lot of credit to their name because of the time they have spent in the segment. However, the vehicle does offer more in many areas. It looks like a royal ride and gives its driver the feel they were hoping for. It offers various features which make driving a less tedious process. Also, a lot of attention has been given to the driver and second-row seaters comfort which makes the car more desirable. Features like nine airbags and cool seating just add more credit. The car isn’t that expensive either and should be something Mahindra loyalist would enjoy.
The detailed review is also available on the page
2019 Mahindra Alturas Review.
Interested in other models of Mahindra cars? Click on
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