After much anticipation, Mahindra has finally launched the TUV300 Plus at Rs 9.47 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai), confirming our breaking story from December last year. The SUV was earlier sold in some states to a few set of customers. In line with one of our earlier reports, the TUV300 Plus is available in three variants - P4, P6 and P8 (the latter two are priced at Rs 9.83 lakh and Rs 10.86 lakh, respectively) and will be offered in five exterior colour options.

Essentially a stretched version of the sub-four-metre TUV300, the TUV300 Plus can seat nine passengers. The front of the new model is shared with the sub-4m one and it also shares many of its body panels.

The TUV300 Plus is powered by a larger 120hp, 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine, which is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Moreover, Mahindra has equipped the TUV300 Plus with micro hybrid technology, along with a brake energy regeneration system and an ECO mode to better fuel efficiency.

Similar to the TUV300, Mahindra had again put Pininfarina to work on the interiors. Though the design of the cabin is largely identical to the TUV300, Mahindra says that Pininfarina has made necessary alterations in a bid to add more premium appeal. Talking about the premium quotient, the top-end variants of the TUV300 Plus will have seats wrapped in faux-leather along with other up-market features such as a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with GPS navigation and host of connectivity options.

Mahindra plans to launch a bevy of new products; none of them will be replacements for current models and will be designed to fill niches in the market that the brand has not yet had access to. The TUV300 Plus fills the gap in Rs 9-10 lakh range and the company is also set to launch the U321 MPV later this year. In the market, the TUV300 Plus will face competition from the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Renault Lodgy.