Mahindra Furio - First Impression

Only a few days back Mahindra launched the all-new Furio in India and with it, the company stepped into the Intermediate Commercial Vehicle segment. The Furio is placed below the Blazo range in the company’s lineup and will rival the offerings from the likes of Tata Motors and Eicher. Unveiled way back in 2014, Mahindra has worked pretty hard on the Furio and even claims to draw solutions for many real-life issues and problems faced by the Indian drivers. Being a local brand, Mahindra claims that the Furio is specifically designed for Indian road, load, and weather conditions. And address a lot of unmet critical needs of this segment, in a manner that’s most profitable for the customer.

Before going forward with the Furio’s first impression, here are a few key highlights -

• Currently, the Furio is available in two trims, first in the FURIO12 19ft HSD priced at INR 17.45 lakh, and second is the FURIO14 19ft HSD for INR 18.10 lakh
• The company offers the Furio with a 5 years/5 lakh kilometers free AMC along with 5 years/ 5 lakh kilometers transferrable warranty
• Mahindra has tested its new ICV range for over 17 lakh kilometers across diverse Indian terrain
• Mahindra-owned Italian design house Pininfarina has designed the Furio specifically for the Indian road conditions
• It is manufactured at the company’s world-class facility in Chakan, near Pune, Maharashtra
• Furio development cycle involved 4 years of rigorous hard work and comprised of 500+ engineers and 180 suppliers

So, here’s what we have drawn from Mahindra Furio’s first impression -

1. Comfort without compromising profitability

• When it comes to ICV segment, even the basic level of driver comfort is missing. With Furio, Mahindra is offering India’s first day-cabin for both the driver and co-driver. Berth measurement reads 750 mm long and 550 mm wide.

• Taking care of India’s challenging tropical weather, Pininfarina has infused the Furio’s cabin with the industry first full-body ventilation system. It comprises of eight air outlets - 4 natural ventilation and 4 blowers. All this without compromising on fuel efficiency

• The outer body is designed with a lower rake angle ensuring that lesser sunlight enters the cabin. It results in a 5-degree cooler cabin, leading to a long and comfortable drive. All this is achieved without compromising even a bit on the aerodynamics or efficiency front

• It is blessed with a quieter cabin, with up to 64% lower in-cab sound level and 40% lower vibration

2. Market-friendly design

With Furio, Mahindra has tried its best to address all the challenges faced by the driver - be it the road condition or tiring long journeys. And therefore, the Furio provides 70 mm more headroom compared to its competitors.

3. Better ride and handling

When it comes to commercial vehicles, ride and handling is an essential component as it is related to the driver's fatigue level and thus has an impact on the driving hours and profitability. The Mahindra Furio has been developed on an all-new platform with stiffer chassis that optimizes the ride and make sure the fatigue levels are low.

4. Safety

• The items delivered by ICV (perishable goods, e-commerce, JIT application) are ones that require high-speed deliveries and even night commuting. Thus, safety paraments like powerful brakes and crash-safe cabin are critical in the segment. Taking care of the issue, the Furio is provided with 10 bar system along with bigger brakes, reducing the average stopping distance by 7 meters at 31 meters

• It also gets industry-first fog cum cornering lamp, making the night visibility brighter and better

• Benefits from radial tyres as standard fitment include better stability, higher tyre life, higher speed capability, improved puncture resistance, and better fuel efficiency

• As for the cabin safety, the Furio has surpassed all current Indian regulations and that too with a significant margin. It provides best-in-class survival space with ample legroom, broader cabin sections, energy absorbing mounts, lower rake angle, and interior volume

5. Maximum revenue with minimum cost

• This is achieved by best-in-class fuel efficiency. The Furio is powered by a mDi Tech, i.e., three engines in one truck that provides best drag coefficient, best-in-class BSFC, and optimized driveline ratios

• Best-in-class payload has been achieved by optimizing all the aggregates. Be it the frame, load body, axles, fuel tank, spare tyre carrier, or battery carrier all are designed via computer simulations

• Mahindra also claims the lowest maintenance cost, up to 40 % lower than the competition

6. Rugged and durable

There is no doubt on Furio’s durability and ruggedness. Mahindra has incorporated Furio with an improved and robust chassis, high strength body, high clutch life, higher aggregate life, heavy duty suspension, and rear axle.

So, that’s Mahindra Furio - an intermediate commercial vehicle that addresses the smallest need of the drivers, while making sure that the profitability is not compromised even by a fraction.