Mahindra S101

Mahindra may have repeatedly denied working on a small car, but a good picture, as the saying goes, is worth a thousand words. Caught out in the open with its camouflage partially removed, this is Mahindra’s new compact sub-four-metre car. Looking for all the world like a jacked-up version of a large hatchback, the new S101 (as it is known internally) will join Mahindra’s two other compact offerings, the Quanto and the compact Verito, in the company’s own sub-four-metre club. 

It will compete with Chevrolet's much anticipated EcoSport and Renault's Duster.

Who in the Indian government could have dreamt that a sop to encourage sales of hatchbacks would result in a slew of compact utility vehicles, compact saloons and compact crossovers or SUVs like this one? It’s all down to one thing, of course — Indian engineering ingenuity or juggad. Modifying things to fit our requirement is part of our DNA, after all.