Mahindra's compact car Verito Vibe [Pictures and Details]

New Delhi: Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra has launched its first indigenously developed premium hatchback, Verito Vibe. The car marks the entry of the automaker into the high volume compact car market, dominated by Maruti Suzuki Swift. M&M says the Verito Vibe redefines the compact car segment in terms of its spaciousness, reliability and unique crossover style for the Indian consumer. Here's a look at Mahindra's new car. The Verito Vibe is available in three variants, D2, D4 and the D6. Since it is based on the Verito platform, it gets similar interior styling like the Verito. Most of the interior of the car is the same as the Verito sedan.Verito Vibe will retail at Rs 5.63 lakh to Rs 6.49 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) excluding Octroi.Verito Vibe is powered by Renault's 1.5 litre dCi diesel engine. It delivers a mileage of 20.8 km a litre (ARAI certified). The Verito Vibe also comes fitted with a state-of-the-art Driver Information System, which gives customers real time updates on mileage, temperature, distance to empty and more, making the Vibe a very dependable compact family car.Developed at an investment of Rs 60 crore on the Renault's Logan platform, the sub-4 metre Verito Vibe shares 80 per cent common parts with its elder sibling Verito sedan.Verito Vibe is a wide-bodied compact car, which can comfortably seat three adults in the rear seat, and has been designed with a three-box style with a boot separate from the passenger segment, similar to sedans.M&M has priced Verito Vibe on par with Maruti's best-selling premium hatchback Swift at Rs 5.63 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai, without octroi). Swift's entry-level model is priced at exactly the same price point in the city. The top-end version of the Vibe is priced at Rs 6.49 lakh.The Vibe offers a great opportunity for the Mumbai based company to address the 1.3-million units a year hatchback market, which is about 50 per cent of the domestic passenger vehicle market.Due to lack of a small petrol engine option, the Vibe will be available only with a diesel model with three variants. The engine is the same 1.5-litre dCi engine bought from Renault, which also powers the Verito sedan.The process of building Vibe started nearly two years ago, a year after M&M bought its partner Renault's stake in the joint venture company Mahindra Renault (MRPL), which used to make the Logan sedan.“We are entering into a larger volume segment with the Vibe. We are a UV (utility vehicle) player with six to eight models and one car. The Verito matches our company's DNA of being rugged, stylish, reliable and a boot to go with,” said Pawan Goenka, president (automotive and farm equipment sectors), Mahindra and Mahindra.M&M is hoping at doubling the sales of the Verito platform with the Vibe's launch. Sales of the Verito sedan have skidded to around 800 units a month in recent months from an average of around 1,300 units a month last year.The car comes with safety features such as ABS with EBD, air bag, engine immobiliser and side impact beams.Based on the existing platform, M&M is currently working on the electric version of the Verito that is expected to be launched in the next fiscal year.