Mahindra refuses to play second fiddle to Haval and Chery

While the local uprising of Chinese car manufacturers has been well documented over the last few years, one Indian brand’s steady rise deserves some credit too.

Despite being around locally for three decades already, Indian carmaker Mahindra has over the last few years shown good progress, a reminder that the Chinese are not the only ones in Asia making huge strides in the automotive world.

In 2021 Mahindra’s compact SUV the XUV300 became the first – and still only – car to achieve a five-star safety rating from Global NCAP in the #SaferCarsForAfrica initiative. Quite a feat if you consider the pedigree of the brands which products has not managed five-star ratings in the same test.

More recently the locally-built Pik Up has fought off the GMW P-Series and Nissan Navara to establish itself as the most popular local one-ton bakkie outside the seemingly impenetrable top three of Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max.

Dashing Mahindra duo

Now the ambitious Indian brand is hoping to enhance its status even further through two exciting new products, the Scorpio-N and the XUV700.

While both these offerings are seven-seater medium SUVs, there are many differences enabling them to appeal to different markets.

The rugged Scorpio-N is the replacement for the Scorpio and is what the Indian manufacturer calls a “bush SUV”.

It is only available in diesel, offers the option of a four-wheel drive system and features more rugged styling. We were pleasantly surprised by how good this car is off the beaten during its recent launch in the Western Cape.

The XUV700, pronounced seven-double-oh and not 700, is offered as the ‘’boulevard SUV’’. As this billing suggests, it is meant for suburban streets.

The XUV700 is only offered with a petrol engine, only comes in two-wheel drive, offered loads of tech and styling that is much more refined than its sibling.

The Citizen Motoring recently had the XUV700 in top-spec AX7 L guise as a house guest for seven days and were as impressed with it as we were with the Scorpio-N. For R559 999 it offers excellent value for money.

New Mahindra identity

The car’s exterior styling works well with the combination of a prominent grille with six chrome vertical slats and the new “Twin Peaks” logo flanked by C-shaped LED headlights. Chrome beltlines, chrome-plated roofrails, a floating roofline and 18-inch diamond cut alloys below prominent wheel haunces stand out at the sides, while arrow tip design taillights expand into the tailgate at the rear.

Inside, the theme is modern, elegant and simplistic. White leatherette seats, dash and door inserts combines well with the combination of aluminium, piano black and standard black plastic to create the most premium feel yet in a Mahindra.

The main attraction in the front is two 10.25-inch digital screens, one the touchscreen infotainment system and the other the fully digital instrument cluster, which forms one seamless panel.

The infotainment system can be operated from either the steering wheels or a panel in the centre console, which features, much to our delight, a big old school volume knob.

Comfort in the rear

Other nifty features include wireless phone charging, 360-degree surround view and tyre pressure monitoring system.

Occupants in the second row have access to air vents, one Type-C USB port, individual map lamps and reclining backrests.

While legroom in the third row isn’t great, it’s parred for the course, with drink holders, two air vents and a fan speed controller to boot.

As is the norm with seven-seaters, boot space is rather tight with the third-row seats in the upright position. These two seats do fold (almost) flat to give the boot space a generous boost.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Mahindra Pik Up is an old school cool bakkie

Plenty of oomph

The XUV700 is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine which sends a healthy 149kW of power and 370Nm of torque to the front wheels via six-speed automatic transmission.

The mill has plenty of urge with very little turbo lag. The box also behaves to result in a very smooth drive.
While the 250 km we travelled exclusively in city traffic wasn’t quite enough for an accurate indication of fuel consumption, we didn’t like the fact that we struggled to keep it under 10L/100 km.

The Mahindra XUV700 AX7 L comes standard with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems which includes the likes of adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and lane keep assist

Features in the XUV700 we really liked were the gigantic Skyroof, the 12-speaker 445-watt 3D Sony sound system and smart exterior door handles that subtracts when the car is locked.

Conclusion

The Mahindra XUV700 AX7 L is stylish, offers a comfortable drive, has lots of space, is loaded with technology and is as safe as a house. It is a solid product that doesn’t try and do anything over the top.

It gives Chinese brands Chery and Haval a run for their money and serious food for thought for the more established mainstreamers. Even those that don’t have direct rivals for the XUV700 will still take note of its value proposition.

The Mahindra XUV700 is sold standard with a five-year/100 000 km service plan and a five-year/150 000 km warranty.

Watch videos from The Citizen Motoring