महिंद्रा एक्सयूवी300

Design

Edgy and stylish! Sure, the XUV300 has been built on the same platform as Tivoli but Mahindra has done well to give it a fresh, new design. We like the way the front end looks. The slim grille is accentuated by the LED projector headlamps and daytime running lamps give it a sophisticated look. The fog lamps get black housing and are sort of connected to a headlamp by a thin DRL strip. View it in profile and you see the typical crossover stance. The character lines above the wheel arches add muscle to the XUV300 along with the plastic cladding on the lower edges of the car. We would have loved to see 18-inch tyres, even as an option. The XUV300 wears 17-inch tyres now and it kind of feels small for the wheel arch. The rear is characterised by smart-looking tail lamps and an integrated spoiler on the white, contrast roof, which looks good in our opinion. The chunky, thick C-pillar adds to the solidity of the XUV300.

Cabin

The cabin of the Mahindra XUV300 is a nice place to be in. The upholstery is done in white leatherette material and the dashboard gets black. The fit and finish inside are good, with minimum buttons and a clean, uncluttered look. The centrepiece is the new 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system which offers smartphone connectivity in form of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Mahindra also offers features such as navigation, tyre pressure monitoring system and segment-first dual-zone climate control with memory function. The other interesting feature is the multi-colour instrument cluster which can be programmed to have different colours for night and day. And of course, in case you want to feel the sky and the sun on your face, Mahindra is offering a sunroof as well.

Driving Experience

The Mahindra XUV300 gets a 1.2-litre petrol, and a 1.5-litre diesel engine, which is essentially a de-tuned version of the engine on the Marazzo. However, it pumps out 115 bhp at 3,750 rpm while peak torque output is 300 Nm at 1,500 - 2,500 rpm, which is best-in-class. The petrol version at the same time makes 110 bhp and 200 Nm of peak torque. Both come with a 6-speed manual gearbox, however, the diesel trim also comes with an optional AMT unit. To start with the diesel version, the moment your foot steps on the throttle, you get a beautiful swell of torque which is so handy, when you are driving on traffic-laden roads. The 6-speed gearbox too works very well, offering smooth and precise shifts. There is enough power on tap for quick overtaking manoeuvres within the city and the highway as well thanks to the electronic variable geometry turbocharger. In the AMT version, the Creep mode on the car helps give that initial push so you don't have to provide too much of throttle input. The gears shift seamlessly and there's no clunking of the gears and that's a big take away.

The petrol version, at lower rpms and lower gears, feels a bit sluggish, however, the minute the turbocharger kicks in it's a whole different ballgame. Things get nice and exciting. So, cruising speeds and just gliding through at reasonably higher speeds is an absolute pleasure and I think that's of course coupled with the fact that, as I have said before, this particular platform.

Safety

The Mahindra XUV300, is right now the safest car in India, as per the Global NCAP, which has given the SUV a safety rating of 5 stars for adult protection and 4 stars for child occupant protection. And that tells a lot. The top-spec model comes with 7 airbags, whereas dual airbags along with anti-lock brakes are standard on all variants along with ISOFIX child seat anchorage. The top-spec model also gets parking sensors up front (a segment-first, again!) and at the rear along with a reverse camera with parking assist and hill start assist as well.

Price

The Mahindra XUV300 essentially comes in 4 variants W4, W6, W8 and W8(O), offered in both petrol and diesel options, which are priced between Rs. 7.95 lakh to Rs. 12.30 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). It manages to undercut the base trim of Maruti Vitara Brezza by Rs. 4,000, the Toyota Urban Cruiser by Rs. 45,000 and the Ford EcoSport by Rs. 22,000. However, it’s still considerably expensive than the base trims of the Kia Sonet, Hyundai Venue and the Tata Nexon, almost by up to Rs. 1.2 lakh.