In the world of car manufacturing, new variants, facelifts, brand extensions etc., don’t come cheap. Re-engineering takes time, costs can be quite high even for some small changes and the risk of failure always looms large, especially when the original hasn’t been that successful.

In that light, we can understand why Mahindra took its time launching the new Verito Vibe and it is also easy to see why M&M had to limit its urge to chop and extensively rebuild this sub-4-metre car. But, will the buyer be that understanding?

Essentially, the Vibe is targeted at hatch or small car buyers, but is really not a hatch or even a notchback in its construction. Cosmetic surgery of its rear has not included reconstructing it to incorporate a hatch door, it has simply been a case of ‘liposuction’ where the Verito has lost its rear.

This hatch-like Verito Vibe represents the next stage in the evolution of what was the Renault Logan, and then the Mahindra Verito. The plan that M&M has worked on obviously seems to be one which allows it quick access to the small car market. But, it had to work within a budget to keep the development costs low and consequently also enable it to price the new Verito Vibe competitively. Mahindra calls the Verito Vibe a sporty compact sedan.

Design

As a result of this, the Verito Vibe is very familiar when looked at from the front. The headlamps, the front fender and the bonnet grille are all near identical to the Verito. The rest of the front of the car and the design of the panels on the sides are all carry forwards too. The light metallic blue shade of body paint sits well on this car though. So, upfront the design of the Verito Vibe seems quite dated very much like the sedan.

The only redeeming feature was the handsome 14-inch alloy wheels that my test mule came with. But, even these rims shod with 185/ 70 tyres couldn’t fully fill out the flared wheel arches in the Verito Vibe. Also I am not sure if this is part of standard fitment.

The redesign work is all loaded at the rear of the Verito Vibe. With high-set tail-lamps that feature a vertical configuration, the Vibe looks very much like a Ford. But, the lamps have been designed and executed well, and finish quality is good with the top of the tail-lamp unit tapering off and merging neatly with the roof rails. The chrome garnish with the Mahindra logo is a lift from the Verito and the rear bumper hasn’t seen much of a change either.

But if you are wondering why there are no hinges on the roof for the hatch door, it is because, like I have explained before, the boot door has changed in shape to accommodate the chopped off rear. But the access to the boot itself continues to be the same overall configuration. So, while the rear glass continues to remain fixed, the boot lid is now a rectangular slab instead of the Verito’s classic inverted ‘L’ shape.

What this means is that the access to the 330-litre boot is quite tedious and the loading height is also high. If the hinge was on top of the C-pillar, opening the hatch door (including the rear glass) would have provided convenient access to a cavernous boot.

Inside the Verito Vibe, you get the same vibes that the Verito sedan would have sent out. The simple, practical and structured overall layout of the dashboard and other features continues. Of course, in many places it seems over-simplified and the plastic quality is average. There is nothing to complain about the fit and finish quality, and the knobs and controls for the aircon and music system actually feel healthy.

But, you can’t escape the feeling that you are sitting inside a car that has been built to a price. Also with competitors in the premium hatch segment offering a lot many more convenience features, the Verito Vibe does feel Spartan in comparison. The seats are very flat and don’t offer enough support, though the size of the base and backrest, and the amount of shoulder room offered are really good. The steering wheel can’t be adjusted for rake or reach and there is no seat height adjustment either. So, big built or tall drivers might have a problem finding the right position. A few plastic parts have been changed in the Verito Vibe. The best part about the interior of the Vibe is the amount of space you get – as much as in the sedan. You also get a massive 50-litre fuel tank.

On-road performance

The new Verito Vibe is being offered only with the 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine. The 1.4-litre petrol engine will obviously not qualify for the lower excise duty benefits offered for sub-4-metre cars. The Renault diesel engine is set to the same state of tune and generates an identical 65 PS of peak power and 160 Nm of peak torque in the Verito Vibe too.

The torquey 4-cylinder engine behaves similarly too. There is enough low-end torque available to handle the most frustrating city traffic conditions. Power delivery is also very quick and very predictable, though there is no top-end to talk of and with the needle past the 4,200 mark you can expect the engine to sound quite strained. The engine also gets noisy past that point, though it remains fairly quite in the 1,000 to 3,000 rpm-band.

Surprisingly, the Verito Vibe is a tad bit heavier than the Verito sedan, but that doesn’t affect its performance. The 5-speed manual gearbox that has been mated to this engine also remains the same. It is the gearbox has been tuned with bias towards city driving. Shift quality of the short throw gear stick is good too.

The same suspension set up has been carried forward into the Vibe from the Verito sedan. The ride quality, as a result, is very much like the sedan’s. With the focus being on comfort, the Verito Vibe predictably manages to swallow and soften most of the impact of bad roads. There is enough support from the 185/70 tyres too. But the high sprung setting and the comfort-oriented set up affects the handling and shows up in a bit of body roll too.

Bottomline

The new Mahindra Verito Vibe is a bit of a rear boot entry into the sedan market for those that were hesitant to buy the Verito sedan. The new compact sedan does attempt making the offering a bit younger, but it is not sufficient to completely surprise the premium hatch buyer. Priced in the range of Rs 5.7 lakh to Rs 6.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Verito Vibe is not very much cheaper than the sedan. But it has space, the efficient diesel engine and promise of low ownership costs going for it.

muralidhar.s@thehindu.co.in

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