Mahindra’s Product Development Head buys a XUV700

Mahindra’s Senior Vice President and head of Automotive Product Development, R Velusamy has bought a Mahindra XUV700 for himself. He opted for the Midnight Black paint shade, we are not sure which variant and engine option did Velusamy opt for. He shared the picture of the new SUV on Twitter. We can see his family also in the picture.

Prices and variants

The price of the XUV700 starts at Rs. 13.18 lakhs ex-showroom and goes up to Rs. 24.58 lakhs ex-showroom. These are the new prices that came into effect when Mahindra hiked the prices by up to Rs. 78,000, depending on the variant. Mahindra offers the XUV700 in two trim levels. There is MX Trim and AX Trim. The MX trim is offered only as a 5-seater whereas the AX trim is offered as a 5-seater or a 7-seater. The AX Trim is also further divided into four variants. There is AX3, AX5, AX7 and AX7L.

Also read: India”s first Mahindra XUV700 with 22-inch alloy wheels

Engine and gearbox

You can get the XUV700 with a diesel engine or a petrol engine. The diesel engine is a 2.2-litre mHawk unit while the petrol engine is a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that gets direct injection and belongs to mStallion family of engines. Both the engines produce class-leading power outputs and refinement levels.

The petrol engine produces 200 PS of max power and 380 Nm of peak torque. It comes mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

Then there is the diesel engine that is offered in two states of tune. In the MX Trim, the engine produces 155 PS of max power and 360 Nm of peak torque. It is offered only with a 6-speed manual gearbox. In the AX Trim, the power output is 185 PS and torque output is 420 Nm with the 6-speed manual gearbox and 450 Nm with the 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.

Only SUV in segment with AWD

The XUV700 is the only SUV in the segment that gets an all-wheel drive system. It is offered only on the top-end AX7 variant. It comes only with the diesel engine mated to the automatic transmission. It is important to note that the AWD system is not a proper 4×4 system that Mahindra offers on the Thar. The system only sends the power to the rear wheels in case it detects a slip. Having said that, Mahindra does offer a button through which you can forcefully send the power to all four wheels.

Advanced Driver Aids System

Mahindra made a big deal when they announced that the XUV700 will come with an advanced driver aids system. When this was announced, people were a bit sceptical that whether ADAS will work on our Indian road or not but for most people ADAS has been working quite consistently. It gets Autonomous Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Traffic Sign Recognization, Lane Keep Assist, Auto Headlamp Assist and  Traffic Sign Recognization.

Competitors

Mahindra XUV700 locks horns with the Hyundai Alcazar, Tata Safari and MG Hector Plus.

Also read: 10 DC Design cars & how they look in the REAL world: Maruti Swift to Mahindra XUV500