MAHINDRA XUV 700: An EXTRAVAGANT UTILITY VEHICLE???

MAHINDRA XUV700: An XTRAVAGANT UTILITY VEHICLE ???

So If you still haven't heard about the most flamboyant launch of Mahindra XUV 700, I am 100% sure that you are living under a rock. After almost 2 years of real-world testing in camo exteriors, and an absolutely disappointing spy shot of the car where the camera angle tampered with the proportions of the vehicle when the vehicle launched, It took the internet by storm. Everyone got their mind blown and had them check if they were in their dream when Mahindra launched the car and announced the prices of 3 variants of the car. They just nailed it in every part. It was a well-engineered car with the best torsional rigidity, great build quality, packed a lot of advanced tech and features, 2 very powerful engines, optional AWD, and all this came with a starting price under Rs12.5lakh.

This pricing literally pulled everyone's eye out of their socket and blew up their brains with dynamite. Soon after the launch, the media reports were so great that anyone who was looking for a mid-size SUV had their eyes on this car. Mahindra simply nailed the whole marketing strategy, The booking numbers prove the same. This car literally got 75000 bookings in 3 days of its launch, that too without even talking a closeup look at the vehicle. Just imagine that. It shows how excited the masses were and how much they trusted this car. 

So is XUV 700 really that great? Is it the best car you can buy right now?? Or is Mahindra hiding something??? We are gonna discuss just that.

I always wanted to drive the XUV 700. When launched in 2011, It was my favorite car. The striking design, the butch SUV stance, and the performance figure, and all specs were so good for its time that almost all loved it. Even though XUV could never actually challenge Innova in its sales numbers, They managed to sell decent numbers throughout the years. Until Jeep Launched the Compass in India, Xuv500 never really had a challenger to care about.

But that's not the scenario now, with Tata Launching Harrier and Safari, MG coming with hector, and Hyundai bringing Creta to start a new segment called the compact SUV segment which really affects Mahindra's sales numbers. This is when we came to learn that Mahindra was launching an updated XUV500 and named it XUV700 to keep it above the former in the line-up.

I never felt XUV 700 wow me with its design like XUV 500 did when I saw the photos. It's a decent design but didn't like a few elements and felt those were very much overdone. But when I visited the showroom to drive the car, I actually felt the design to be much better to see in real. The headlight no longer seemed disproportional, the tail lamps don't look awkward and all the creases cuts and design elements do look much better in real. I took a few photos and again I felt the car look odd in the pics. So what I came to understand is that the car is not photogenic.

ARROW HEAD LED TAIL LAMPS

FRONT DESIGN IS UNMISTAKABLY XUV

I am not a big fan of the door handles but I'll give that it sure does look unique. Entering into the cabin I am welcomed with a uber premium dashboard and decent leatherette seats which have a really good comfortable position. The dashboard looks premium with 2 large screens and AdrenoX infotainment system which has more features than your smartphone. The materials used in the interior are of pretty good quality and all the touchpoints have great materials which makes you feel expensive. Thankfully there are physical buttons and switches for most basic functions which are. good thing. The second row is spacious enough and the large panoramic sunroof surely does provide a more airy feel to the cabin, Seats are comfortable and have nothing to complain about. In most 7 seaters the last row is said to be for kids and manufacturers use this as an excuse to make it unusable. Here in XUV700, the rear seats are not that bad, Being 6 ft tall I never expects it to hold me but it surely was decent for my friend who was 5ft 4inches.

Overall I was impressed by the feel of the car from exterior and interior especially compared to other SUVs of the segment. Harrier is Robust and good. But XUV feels the same but also luxurious and extravagant, So I keep XUV above all other SUVs in this segment.

PREMIUM INTERIOR WITH GREAT FIT, FINISH AND QUALITY

NOT A BIG FAN OF THESE DOOR HANDLE, BUT IT WORKS

When I got to drive the first thing I observed is that I was instantly comfortable with the dimensions of the car. It is a big SUV and there is no denying that, But the car offers incredible visibility and a perfect sense of dimensions. When I got into the driving seat the car was parked in a tight position and had to reverse out of it, But I wasn't intimidated and did reverse it out to the road without any issue, I didn't even have to use the rear parking or 360 camera which was there in the car. 

XUV 700 I drove was the 2.2 l Mhawk engine with a 6-speed torque converter auto gearbox. It is the same gearbox in the Thar but with a different state of tune and lots more power. At 185bhp it obliterates the competition just like how xuv500 did in 2011 and it does feel fast. The engine is punchy and the gearbox is smooth. I won't complain Torque converter gearbox being slow with shifts or to be not as responsive as a DCT. TC is the best automatic gearbox with a lesser chance of failure and is more convenient. So saying an apple is not good as it doesn't peal like orange is not something I wanna do. 

I adored how smooth and refined the cabin is. The engine and gearbox combo is tuned to perfection which makes it really good to drive. XUV does hold very good road manners and dynamics. The car feels stable and planted and much more comfortable than how Mahindras used to be. The ride is plush and takes up every undulation and bumps with ease. The car looks luxurious from inside and on the road it feels the same. It feels like a premium luxury SUV to drive and to be driven around, So you wouldn't complain much. In fact, I actually didn't even notice the roll of the car even when I was cutting lanes a bit aggressive to see its dynamic capabilities. Then I tried again to check the roll and realized it does have a slight roll but the comfort and luxury offered by the cabin will make it go unnoticed.

XUV700 comes with a lot of smart technologies like ADAS or Adaptive cruise control, 360-degree parking camera, lane keep assist, blind-spot camera, etc. I was very much impressed by all these, The ADAS works brilliantly well and I genuinely know that's not a gimmick. The blind spot camera turns on when you switch the indicators on, I loved this feature, I literally never had to look into the mirror when changing lanes as the image quality was really impressive. I checked out the rear seats after driving for a few minutes and found it really comfortable, The suspension does make a bit of sound when it encounters large bumps with some speed but those bumps never filter into the seat.

A NICE PLACE TO BE IN

I quick drive and I was really impressed with the new XUV 700 and couldn't find any flaws with the car even when I tried hard to find an issue as we all know nothing is perfect. Maybe I could say the stitching looks cheap at some points, and say the buttons could have had higher quality, etc but that's just nitpicking. Then there was the driver's seat, I generally prefer a very low seating position which was not possible in XUV you always sits high and the seat won't go as low as I would like, But I couldn't complain about that as even when I was not able to find my preferred position, I was really comfortable in the seat.  In short XUV 700 is undoubtedly a world-class product, and no it doesn't need an excuse like "this is a great car for an Indian manufacturer" tagline, This car is great by world standard, period. Recently EVO India broke a 24 hours endurance record with 4 XUV 700s in which all 4 cars(all the engine and drivetrain options) covered 4000km in 24 hours in a specially designed high-speed track. The diesel auto was able to set a new endurance record. This is an incredible stress test to show you how good the vehicle is.

Mahindra XUV700 with its top-of-the-line AX7 diesel auto trim with AWD and luxury package will cost near to 29lakh rupees is what I found, This is not bad pricing considering the hardware, kits, spec, and features this vehicle comes with. But let me remind you that Mahindra launched the product saying the MX variant will cost a little shy of 15 lakhs on road, so people may feel it is expensive at 28 lakhs. In reality, since Harrier, Safari, Hector, and even Compass all price around the same rate, 28lakhs for the top variant of XUV still hold value especially when you look at how the car is. But if you can't afford this top of the line model, it unravels a different story

So when I look at lower models like AX5 which costs over 22 lakhs, I observed that the variant misses out on a lot of basic necessary features that the customers expect from a car at this pricepoint which the competition provides, I am talking about Cruise control, Reverse parking camera and assists, auto headlamps, auto wipers, electric ORVM, Tilt and telescopic steering wheel and many more. All these basic features missing from the AX5 variant of XUV700 don't actually seem to hold a value for money or look so appealing to me like Mahindra markets it especially when Tata Harrier and Safari offers all these deal braking features. Even when AX7 variant offers most features advertised, from around 25 lakhs it still misses out on 360 camera, blind view monitor, telescopic steering, etc which adds to the appeal of the car, To get all these, you need to choose luxury pack which again pushes the cost up by 2-3 lakhs. So even when Mahindra priced lower varients aggressively, They intend to pitch their customers to the top AX7 variant the least, anything lower doesn't hold a lot of VFM in my eyes. Clever Marketing without a doubt.

Reading the last paragraph you might feel that I said XUV 700 is not a great car for its price, but that's not the case. This is the best package to get in the mid-size SUV segment without a doubt. With the level of engineering that went into this SUV, it surely comes out on top of all others in terms of performance, tech, comfort, and luxury. I won't be surprised to see if you mistake it for some European product. Maybe Harrier or Safari can be said to be more of a driver's car with its better connection to the driver, But If you can afford the top-of-the-line variant or any AX7 variant of XUV700. I will say without any doubt that it is the best vehicle for that price. If you can't spend that much I feel Tata Harrier or Safari is a better option.

In short Mahindra XUV700 is a phenomenal car that you must check out if you are looking to buy a Mid-size SUV. This car is now of global standards and doesn't feel anything short of a European car. This is proof that Indian manufacturers are stepping up big time. Tata brought in some great products and now Mahindra is setting new benchmarks with the all-new XUV700.

Written By Ambady Anil

Image credits: Aaron Joseph