Mahindra XUV300 AMT Test Drive Review – Costly But Good

Mahindra XUV300 AMT Review

Car Tested: Mahindra XUV300 AMT; Road Test No. 1135; Test Location: Mumbai

Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 11.86 – 15.26 lakhs

The most powerful and feature-loaded compact SUV now comes with a smooth 6-speed AMT with the diesel engine

The Mahindra XUV300 made an explosive entry into the crowded compact SUV space earlier this year. Based on the SsangYong Tivoli, this vehicle left us impressed on a lot of counts. Mahindra offers both petrol and diesel engine options with this car and the only major negative was the lack of an automatic option, something that a lot of customers had been waiting for. Now, the Mahindra XUV300 gets a 6-speed AMT with its diesel engine and we drive the car extensively to find out what the vehicle has got up its ante!

Exteriors – The Mahindra XUV300 has a good design and since it is a sub-4-metre car, the rear appears a bit flat. Nonetheless, the vehicle does have some striking design elements and has decent enough road presence too. Even though it is based on the Tivoli, the designers at Mahindra have tweaked a few things to make the XUV300 fit in with rest of its siblings. The tear-drop DRLs might not be to everyone’s taste but apart from that, there’s barely anything to not like in the XUV300’s styling.

Interiors – The AMT is offered on the W6, W8 and W8 (O) trims. The XUV300 is a pretty feature-loaded car and the top variant gets equipment like 7 airbags, auto headlamps, auto wipers, front and rear fog lamps, projector lamps, dual-zone climate control, sunroof, heated ORVMs, TPMS, front parking sensors, etc. The equipment list for the MT and AMT variants remains unchanged. What has changed though is the gear lever and of course the display in the instrument cluster which shows what mode the transmission is in. The XUV300 offers good cabin space and the seats are quite comfy too, but the boot’s 257-litre capacity is a bit limited.

Performance – The AMT is offered only with the diesel engine which is a 1.5-litre unit producing 117 HP and 300 Nm. The 6-speed gearbox is sourced from Marelli and it is way better than the AMT offered on the XUV300’s siblings like the TUV300 and NuvoSport. The engine is the most powerful and torquey in its segment and it shows in the way the XUV300 pulls. The mid-range is very strong and this compact SUV actually feels fun to drive. The AMT gear knob has the drive mode on the left, reverse at the bottom and neutral on the right.

The 6-speed AMT is refined but sometimes the shifts do feel a bit jerky

Fire up the car and the engine impresses with its refinement. Slot the gear into A and let go of the brake pedal slowly when the creep function of the AMT kicks in and the XUV300 starts pulling in a linear manner. It also has hill hold which comes in to be very useful when you’re starting off on an incline and it prevents the car from rolling backwards. The AMT works smoothly if you don’t go hard on the throttle but still, you do feel some jerks while changing cogs. However, this is much better than most other AMTs that we’ve seen on mass-market cars.

On the highways, the AMT functions well and when you’re in the need for more power and mash the throttle, the gearbox does downshift a cog or two but getting in the right powerband takes some time and that’s when the tiptronic mode comes in handy since it allows you to take manual control. The manual mode isn’t very quick either which is typical of an AMT. Fuel efficiency figures haven’t really gone for a toss with the AMT and the XUV300 diesel continues to offer low running costs.

Driving Dynamics – The Mahindra XUV300 has a very sorted suspension setup which offers a really good ride on all kind of roads. The car feels well-balanced when you drive over undulations and on the highways too it feels very composed and stable. Same goes with the steering which is direct and comes with different modes like Comfort, Sport and Normal, altering the steering’s response and feel. The steering feels noticeably lighter in Comfort mode which is useful in the city while Sport mode is handy on the highways when you want some more weight out of the steering. The brakes offer good stopping power but the modulation could have been better.

Verdict – The Mahindra XUV300 is an impressive compact SUV but it is also the most expensive car in its segment. With the addition of the AMT, Mahindra will definitely get more sales. The AMT variants are priced at a premium of about Rs. 60,000/- over their manual counterparts and we think that this premium is totally worth it since the convenience offered by an automatic in traffic is too good to be ignored. While its rivals like the Maruti Vitara Brezza AMT and Tata Nexon AMT are priced considerably lesser, the XUV300 does offer much more features and power than both these vehicles.

What’s Cool

* Striking and attractive design
* Feature-loaded and practical cabin
* Refined diesel engine with smooth AMT gearbox
* Impressive ride quality and handling

What’s Not So Cool

* Limited boot space
* Pricey

Alternatives: – Maruti Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, Honda WR-V, Hyundai Venue

Further Reading –

Mahindra XUV300 Review
Mahindra XUV300 Video Review
Mahindra XUV300 Pros & Cons In Hindi [Video]

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