Tata Ace might still be the most popular Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) in India but Mahindra put up a very strong fight with its Maxximo. As the Ace family then expanded to accommodate the Super Ace above and the Ace Zip below with payloads ranging from 0.6 to 1 tonne, Mahindra could no longer pose a threat to its long-time rival.
Spotted testing in Chennai a couple of days back, this new LCV, which we believe is from Mahindra, will change that scenario. Clicked after several minutes of hot pursuit, this LCV is visually smaller than the Tata Ace and Mahindra Maxximo. That means it would, most likely, end up challenging the Ace Zip which has a 600 kg pay load.
Despite the heavy camouflage, certain significant elements of this new LCV are easily noticeable. The most prominent of them all is the slightly protruding front end, not much dissimilar to those seen in Ashok Leyland Dost and Mahindra's own Gio. Apart from the big air dam that can clearly be seen in the frontal shot, the test truck had most other styling elements concealed. The cabin appeared to be reasonably spacious for a vehicle with such a small footprint. The flat loading bay at the rear exposes the chassis underneath that also houses the spare wheel. Plastic wheel arches cover up the space above rear wheels nicely and the taillights seem to be sporting tiny LEDs that glow when braking.
Powertrain details are still unknown and so is the branding to be adopted for this new model. We presume Mahindra would like to build on the success of Maxximo and adopt a strategy similar to what Tata did with its Ace range for this new LCV. Along with the all-new compact SUV that we spotted testing earlier this month, Mahindra is expected to manufacture this new LCV at its upcoming greenfiled plant in Cheyyar, Tamil Nadu.
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