Verito Vibe isn’t your everyday compact hatchback. It looks different and should be more appropriately called a sedan with hatchback-like dimensions. Mahindra has done something impressive here, it has created a hatchback out of a sedan, which is kind of an opposite trend followed by the other Indian auto makers. The front fascia is just like Verito sedan, but the tail end is the place where the more interesting things emerge. Verito Vibe has been designed with a radical approach, which reflects from its raked rear windscreen and the large pillar-mounted tail lamps. The rear design looks sporty but somehow feels out-of-sync with the entire car, which basically is the same old Verito, or should we rather say Renault Logan!
Mahindra Verito Vibe is available with only diesel engine set-up at the moment. Speaking of the ride quality, this compact sedan feels slightly imprudent when it is stuffed with five passengers. Negotiating tight parking corners was slightly difficult in my case, since I (being medium height) found rear windscreen slightly smaller and at an odd height. Things may be different with other drivers but that is my opinion. Further, pick-up was a little slow and the engine needs some time to get warmed up in order to deliver what its driver demands, I guess.
The 1.5 litre diesel engine is just as slow in response and pumps out a meagre 63 bhp of peak power at 4,000 rpm. Hence, I was somewhat disappointed with the car’s performance, since at similar pricing there are many more exciting options available in the market. This, cross between a hatchback and a sedan, model negotiates speed bumps and corners nicely, and a better and more powerful engine is probably the only way for this Verito Vibe to lure customers in the country.
Verito Vibe isn’t a pure bred sedan or a hatchback. Its dimensions and overall design suggest that the car is a hatch, while its fixed rear windscreen and interior space suggest sedan upbringing. However, both things are true. The interior design and character have been borrowed from the elder sister Verito; so no excitements should be expected in this regard. The car’s main selling points are its sedan-like legroom and shoulder room, besides a very impressive and spacious loading space. Vibe boasts of a whopping 330 litres of boot space in its portfolio, but everything isn’t sweet. For instance, the fixed rear windscreen makes it a little hard to load the car’s boot with big bags and luggage.
