While the local uprising of Chinese automakers has been well-documented over the past few years, one Indian brand’s persistence deserves praise as well.
Despite being local for three decades, Indian automaker Mahindra has in the past few years shown great progress, a reminder that it’s not just the Chinese in Asia who are making big strides in the automotive world.
In 2021, the Mahindra XUV300 compact SUV became the first – and still only – car to achieve a five-star safety rating from Global NCAP under the #SaferCarsForAfrica initiative. It’s impressive when you consider the pedigree of the brand that the product has not yet managed a five-star rating in the same test.
More recently, the locally built Pik Up has battled 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 hopes to increase its status further through two exciting new products, the Scorpio-N and the XUV700. While these two offerings are seven-seater medium SUVs, there are many differences that enable them to appeal to different markets.
The rugged Scorpio-N is the replacement for the Scorpio and what the Indian manufacturer calls the “bush SUV”. It is only available in diesel, offering the option of a four-wheel drive system and other rugged design features. We were pleasantly surprised by how well the car was beaten during the new launch in the Western Cape.
The XUV700, pronounced seven-double-oh and not 700, is offered as a “boulevard SUV”. As this bill suggests, it is intended for suburban streets. The XUV700 is only offered with a petrol engine, only with two-wheel drive, offering a lot of technology and better style than its sibling.
Citizen Motoring recently had the XUV700 in top-spec AX7 L guise as a house guest for seven days and they impressed us the same as Scorpio-N. For R559 999 it offers excellent value for money.
The new Mahindra identity
The car’s exterior styling works well with the prominent grille combination with six chrome vertical slats and the new “Twin Peaks” logo flanked by C-shaped LED lights. under the famous wheel haunces are visible on the sides, while the rear lights of the arrow tip design extend to the tailgate at the back.
Inside, the theme is modern, elegant and simplistic. The white leather seats, dash and door inserts are combined with a combination of aluminium, piano black and standard black plastic to create the most premium feel of any Mahindra.
The main attraction up front are two 10.25-inch digital screens, one a touchscreen infotainment system and the other a fully digital instrument cluster, which forms one seamless panel. The infotainment system can be operated from either the steering wheel or the panel on the center console, which features, much to our delight, the big old school volume buttons.
Comfort behind
Other cool features include wireless phone charging, a 360-degree surround view and a tire pressure monitoring system.
Occupants in the second row have access to air vents, one USB Type-C port, individual map lights and backrests. While the legroom in the third row is not good, it is par for the course, with a drink holder, two air vents and a fan speed controller to boot.
As usual with seven seats, the boot space is a bit tight with the third row seats in the upright position. Both seats fold (almost) flat to give you a generous boost of boot space.
Also Read: WATCH: Mahindra Pik Up is an old school cool bakkie
Lots of oomph
The XUV700 is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine that sends a healthy 149kW of power and 370Nm of torque to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.
The factory has a lot of urge with a little turbo lag. The box also acts to produce a smooth drive.
While the 250km we traveled exclusively in city traffic was not enough for an accurate indication of fuel consumption, we were not happy that we struggled to maintain 10L/100km.
The Mahindra XUV700 AX7 L comes standard with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems that include adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and lane keep assist.
The features in the XUV700 we really liked were the gigantic Skyroof, 12-speaker 445-watt 3D Sony sound system and the smart outer door handle that subtracts when the car is locked.
Conclusion
The Mahindra XUV700 AX7 L is stylish, offers a comfortable drive, plenty of space, is loaded with technology and is as safe as home. This 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 without direct competition for the XUV700 will still note its value proposition.
The Mahindra XUV700 is sold as standard with a five-year/100,000km service plan and a five-year/150,000km warranty.