Kelly ‘goes to town’ in the updated Mahindra XUV300.
I won’t sugar-coat it. I am not a fan of the new Mahindra XUV. I am just not. I couldn’t live with one myself and I am glad that I don’t have to. But stick around for its redemption arc.
What’s wrong with it?
It feels like Chinese cars from the early 2000s – it SMELLS like a Chinese car from the early 2000s. The glue, the plastic – the familiar aromas are all there. And some things don’t work. The mute button, for example, did not work. And the Bluetooth connection is weak and disconnects often. Additionally, every time I press a button there’s a beeping noise. Maybe there’s a way to put it off but I couldn’t find it. Then there’s the stop/start system. It’s so abrupt when it kicks in at a traffic light. Then, when you put the system off while you’re in “stop” mode, it just switches the car off and you have to put it on again. I know that’s not a big deal, but it’s annoying. If you own the vehicle, perhaps you get used to it. I have no intention of finding out.
What does it have going for it?
Ok, now that that’s off my chest and out of the way, let’s see what the highlights are. One is safety. Last year, the pre-refreshed XUV300 became the first-ever vehicle in Africa to score the highest safety rating among cars tested at that time by Global NCAP. And seeing as this is essentially the same vehicle with some minor updates, the safety remains the same. Safety features in the newly added W8 edition include seven airbags, disc brakes on all four wheels, ABS, front parking sensors and a dynamic cornering brake control system.
What’s under the bonnet?
The engine line-up is actually pretty impressive and both the petrol and diesel units have received high praise for their performance. There’s a 1.2-litre turbo petrol with 81 kW at 5 000 r/min. Torque is 200 N.m kicking in between 2 000- and 3 500 r/min. This comes mated with a six-speed manual gearbox. I was impressed with XUV’s on-road abilities. It feels nippy and that high torque at low revs came in handy when needing a bit of extra oomph to pull away. As mentioned, there is also a diesel version. The 1.5-litre turbodiesel unit is new to the range and delivers 85.8 kW at 3 750 r/min and 300 N.m of torque between 1 500- and 2 500 r/min.
What’s the standard specifications?
As is common practice with Mahindra, the spec levels are high. This recent upgrade saw the 7-inch infotainment system being replaced with a new 9-inch version with a touch screen. It supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and, of course, Bluetooth connectivity, but as I mentioned, it was a bit patchy when we had it on test. Other nice-to-haves include a satellite navigation system on all models, while the W6 and W8 receive cruise control as standard. As the flagship model, the W8 also comes with dual-zone climate control, a leather-clad steering wheel, a tyre pressure monitoring system, a sunroof, a self-dimming rear-view mirror, automatic headlamps, and window wipers and additional height adjustment for the driver’s seat.
Verdict
I will say this about the refreshed XUV300 – it offers a lot. Especially at W8 level. This iteration is R316 999 for the petrol and R336 999 for the diesel version. The question is: would I recommend this if someone I knew was shopping in this category? My honest answer is probably not. I’d point them in the direction of a Suzuki Brezza, which costs R 300 900 for the high-spec manual version. But with the high safety rating and the option of a diesel unit, I can certainly see the appeal of an XUV300.