Much has been said about its shark-themed name and design, and we've seen plenty of teasers, too. But now that the Mahindra's new MPV, the Marazzo, is out, it's time to place it next to its rivals-in-chief - the current-generation Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and the Toyota Innova Crysta - and see just what exactly does it have to offer, on paper.

Dimensions

We'd told you the Marazzo would slot in between the Ertiga and the Innova Crysta, and a glance at the spec sheet confirms the same. It easily dwarfs the Ertiga in terms of dimensions, but is still one size smaller than the full-size Innova Crysta. That said, of this trio, it is the Marazzo that is the widest, and at 2,760mm, has the longest wheelbase, too.  That translates into a good amount of interior space, but only a real-world comparison will establish how close the Marazzo gets to the Innova Crysta in this department.

In terms of boot space, the Marazzo fits right in between the two - with all three rows up, you get 190 litres of luggage space, a shade more than the Ertiga's 185-litre boot, but notably smaller than the Innova Crysta's 300-litre boot. What's interesting to note is that the Marazzo's 45-litre fuel tank is the same size as the Ertiga's, down on the Innova Crysta's 55-litre tank. However, despite the Marazzo being closer to the Innova Crysta size-wise, its claimed turning radius, at 5.25 metres, is closer to the Ertiga's 5.2 metres than the Innova Crysta's 5.4 metres.

Engine and gearbox

The Marazzo finds an empty spot between the Ertiga and Innova in another department. Its 1.5-litre diesel engine is an all-new unit that produces 123hp and 300Nm of torque, which is a good deal more than the Ertiga diesel's 90hp and 200Nm, but is not as powerful as the Innova Crysta. The Innova is offered with two diesel engines - a 2.4-litre, 150hp, 343Nm unit, and a 2.8-litre, 174hp, 360Nm motor. There's not much in the way of choice with the Marazzo when it comes to transmissions, as there is just a six-speed manual on offer for now. The Ertiga and Innova Crysta are both also available in petrol guise, and can be had with an automatic - on the Ertiga, only with the petrol, and on the Innova Crysta with the petrol or the 2.8-litre diesel.

Fuel efficiency

Unsurprisingly, the Ertiga, being the smallest and lightest MPV here, is also the most efficient – by quite a margin. Claimed efficiency for the Ertiga is pegged at 24.52kpl for the diesel, 17.5kpl for the petrol manual and 17kpl for the petrol-auto. Impressively, the Marazzo, despite being significantly larger, mirrors the Ertiga’s fuel efficiency figure – Mahindra claims it’ll return 17.3kpl. Understandably, the Innova Crysta’s fuel efficiency figures are the lowest of the lot – the 2.4-litre diesel is claimed to run 15.10 kilometres to a litre, while the 2.8-litre diesel – available only with the six-speed automatic – has a claimed FE figure of 14.29kpl.

Price

Mahindra wants the Marazzo to fit into the wide gap that exists between the people's people-carrier and the premium MPV. Marazzo prices start at Rs 9.99 lakh and go all the way up to Rs 13.90 lakh. Given the features and specification, the Marazzo offers a lot of MPV for the money. The prices also neatly slot the Marazzo between the Ertiga diesel (Rs 8.78-10.69 lakh) and the Innova diesel (Rs 15.46-21.57 lakh).

*All prices, ex-showroom, Delhi

*Mahindra Marazzo prices are ex-showroom, India

Do you think Mahindra's approach to position the Marazzo between the Ertiga and the Innova Crysta will pay off handsomely? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.