Mahindra XUV300 will be cheaper Brezza and Nexon: Why we think so

Mahindra has had quite an eventful 2018, during which the company saw a positive growth in almost all aspects. It also launched two products, the Marazzo and the Alturas G4, which turn out to be quite good vehicles in their segments.

We now are in the last week of the year and in the form of the XUV300, Mahindra has already showcased what would be its first vehicle launch in 2019. A lot of details about the sub 4-meter SUV are out by now except pricing and engine configuration, besides some other details. However, what if we tell you that the XUV300 could be the most affordable sub 4-meter SUV in the market when it gets launched.

Well, in October 2017, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director of Mahindra, hinted towards the same. Dr. Goenka stated that the compact SUV has been developed by the company as per the demands by the customers. The pricing of the sub 4-meter will be kept between Rs. 6 lakh to 9 lakh. Dr. Goenka said:

The first of such vehicles is being conceived by company engineers. Mahindra plans to introduce the vehicle, priced between Rs. 6 lakh and Rs. 9 lakh. The space that is emerging newer is what one would call… almost a car UV. And that’s where we have to have more products coming in. If the customer is saying I want only a UV look, and everything else should be like a passenger car, we have to design that. That’s the change that has to… will come in our product planning. That we may have to look at a platform that just looks like a UV but is a passenger car.

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza starts at Rs. 7.58 (ex-showroom, Delhi) lakh for the base LDi variant. Tata Nexon, on the other hand, has a asking price of Rs. 6.23 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi), making it the current most affordable vehicle in the segment. If Mahindra manages to undercut both of them in terms of pricing, the company will certainly have an edge over the competition. Moreover, the XUV300 will be the most powerful vehicle in its class and will also come with many segment first features.

However, what Dr. Goenka said in 2017 might not be feasible in 2019 due to inflation. But at least, we have a hope that Mahindra could place the XUV300 quite affordably.

Talking about the car, the XUV300 will come with many segment first features like a dual zone climate control, disc brakes at all four ends, high quality leather interiors, sunroof, upto 7 airbags among others. It will get two engines options at the time of launch, a 1.2-litre turbocharged unit and a 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel motor. Both the engines will feature a manual gearbox only initially. An automatic will be made available at a later stage.

Visually, the car comes quite close to the look of the Maruti Suzuki Brezza – and sort of seems to look like a baby XUV500 from the front. That would be a big advantage. After all, the Brezza is a bit too plain jane, and this would put the Mahindra flamboyance in design against Maruti’s relatively safe and staid designs. Mahindra has learned quite a few tricks from the XUV500, Marazzo and Alturas – and we can expect to see some interesting flourishes in the XUV300 when it launches. If the vehicle is mechanically sound, and a good performer, the XUV300 has the ability the take the fight right into Maruti’s territory.