Mahindra XUV300 Review: Price, Features, Performances & More

Mahindra XUV300 Review: A Brief Introduction

Back in the days when Mahindra & Mahindra first introduced the XUV500 in 2011, the Mumbai-based home-grown company has tasted a bunch of success for its powerful, practical and modern face of the big XUV for quite a span of time. However, time flies and things have changed, with the launches of Hyundai Creta and Tata Harrier or Kia Seltos, the Mahindra XUV500 loses out its position that caused the carmaker to reconsider the affordability of the model and jumped in the bandwagon of the compact SUVs with the Mahindra XUV300.

In its second inning, the Mahindra XUV300 has created quite some benchmarks. It is considered one of the well-rounded compact SUVs in India. It is even crowned the safest car in India in the last six years by the Global NCAP. So, does it make the “baby XUV500” a worthy buy? To have a better decision, let’s take a look at our Mahindra XUV300 review by IndianAuto.

Mahindra XUV300 Top Models

The Mahindra XUV300 currently gets 4 main trim levels including the W4, W6, W8 and W8 (O). The number of variants of the Mahindra XUV300 is 13 variants that are listed out in the table below. Do note that Mahindra is also gearing up for the introduction of the XUV300 Turbo Sportz that is set to launch in India by the year-end.

Mahindra XUV300 360 View: Exterior Review

Under the partnership of Mahindra & SsangYong, the Mahindra XUV300 is basically a re-engineered, badged version of the SsangYong Tivoli but Mahindra has restyled it a bit to cater to the taste and preference of the Indian buyers. The XUV300 has been given a much-desired SUV look.

The front end of the XUV300 looks quite aggressive with a chrome-studded grille which looks like a mini version of the XUV500’s unit. The body cladding all around and fake silver bask plates at the front and rear bumpers also help enhance its SUV-ish quotient. The Mahindra XUV300 looks much more interesting with some “Cheetah-inspired” styling elements (as called by Mahindra) such as bold haunches on either side along with the tear duct-like daytime running lamps. The diamond-cut 17-inch alloy wheels look attractive while the large LED tail lamps design do spice things up around the rear end of the Mahindra XUV300.

A major thing that most differentiate the XUV300 with the Tivoli counterpart is that the length. Most of the engineering work done by Mahindra is to trim down the XUV300’s length to make it a proper sub-four-metre SUV, by all means, to avail the tax incentives that the sub-four-metre SUVs can benefit from in India. However, the design imbalance comes as the grouse on the XUV300 therefrom. But except that, it’s undeniable that the Mahindra XUV300 is fairly striking to look at.

Mahindra XUV300 Dimensions: Length, Width, Height & Wheelbase

As mentioned earlier, Mahindra has trimmed the XUV300’s length compared with the SsangYong Tivoli to make it fit the sub-4m SUV hub. Also, it makes logical sense for the XUV300 since it’s sitting under the bigger XUV500 in the company’s product range.

The current Mahindra XUV300 measures 3,995 mm long, 1,821 mm wide, 1,627 mm high along with 2,600 mm in the wheelbase. These number shows that the XUV300 has the longest wheelbase and the widest body in the segment. As compared to the recently-launched Kia Sonet, the XUV300’s width and wheelbase tower over the South Korean rival by quite some margins, specifically 30 mm and 100 mm, respectively.

Mahindra XUV300 Interior Review: What Does Mahindra XUV300 Have to Offer?

Unlike the youthful exterior, the interior of the XUV300 is rather more mature. The Mahindra XUV300 has a lot to offer and it is well-recognised as one of the most feature-loaded compact SUVs in India. The dual-tone black & light beige interior colour theme gives it a tasteful look. The overall design of the XUV300 interior is soothing to the eyes.

The infotainment touchscreen stands out at the centre stage and is flanked by two air vents at either side that looks a bit dated compared with the competition though. The same happens to the physical knobs and button below it. However, the overall interior rolls out an upmarket feel thanks to the textured plastics. The XUV300’s interior might look a tad simple compared to that of its modern rivals like Kia Sonet or Hyundai Venue, having said that, Mahindra has brought in a wide range of comfort and safety features as a compensation.

Comfort Features

The Mahindra XUV300 is brimmed with a long list of comfort features previously unseen in the compact SUVs segment. It comes with heated outside mirrors, smart steering system, dual-zone climate control, smartwatch connectivity, tyre pressure monitoring system and micro-hybrid system, all of which are segment-first. Besides, the Mahindra XUV300 offers a sunroof, a touchscreen for the infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, auto headlamps, leatherette upholstery for the higher-spec models, auto-dimming IRVM, cruise controls among many others that make the XUV300 more loaded to the gills.

Safety Features

In terms of safety, the existing Mahindra XUV300 gets on hand the standard safety features like all-wheel disc brakes, dual airbags, ABS with EBD, speed-sensing auto door locks, ISOFIX child seat mounts, corner braking control, front seatbelt pre-tensioners as standard across the model’s range. Other than that, the XUV300 also endears itself with some premium safety kits like five additional airbags, hill-start assist, ESP, front parking sensors, adjustable neck restraints and three-point seatbelts, etc.

It’s worth noting that the Mahindra XUV300 has been awarded 5 stars from the Global NCAP, thereby making it the safest made-in-India car in the last 6 year.

Seating Capacity

You know, seating capacity becomes a bigger matter of concern among the compact SUV’s buyers and the Mahindra XUV300 does impress us a lot with a capacity to seat five quite comfortably. The XUV300 offers roomy and very comfy seats. The XUV300’s cabin feels really spacious and you can find a good amount of headroom and knee room on the inside the SUV.

With the segment-leading width and wheelbase, it makes sense. We’re really in love with the backseat that is as wide as that of the Creta so three adults can seat abreast comfortably without shoulders overlapping.

There are some grips and grouse here as the rear seat is placed a tad low with less under-thigh support. The boot space is not the best in the segment. The 257-litre boot capacity sounds much inferior to what its rivals have to offer.

Mahindra XUV300 Performance Review: Engine Specifications

Unlike the SsangYong Tivoli, the Mahindra XUV300 is available with a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol and a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine that are both developed and tuned by Mahindra itself. The 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol is the same one seen on the KUV100 but it gets a stronger performance with the power and torque output figures rated at 110 PS/ 200 Nm. On the other hand, the 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel mill also powers the Mahindra Marazzo and again, the XUV300’s mill feels much stronger and more responsive. In fact, XUV300 diesel is the most powerful engine in its class. While sharing the same torque of 300 Nm with the Marazzo, the XUV300’s 1.5-litre diesel motor can develop the maximum power of 116 PS.

Mahindra XUV300 Mileage: Is the XUV300 Fuel Efficient?

Everything has its both two sides, the Mahindra XUV300’s diesel engine delivers the highest power and torque in the lot and it’s the least fuel-efficient car in the category. The diesel-sipping variants of the XUV300 return a fuel mileage figure of 20 kmpl while that of the petrol-powered car gets 17.0 kmpl on offer.

Mahindra XUV300 Price in India: Is it affordable to buy?

Mahindra has been trying to make the XUV300 more competitive in the highly-contested sub-4m SUV segment. Currently, the XUV300 prices start from Rs 7.95 lakh (for the base variant) and top off at Rs 12.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

That said, while the base trim of the XUV300 looks a bit pricy, the top-spec trim marginally undercuts the top-end Vitara Brezza, becoming the most affordable of the lot. However, one needs to keep in mind that the Mahindra XUV300 misses out on an automatic transmission for the petrol while the Vitara Brezza does. A quick look at the XUV300 diesel, you can realize that the car is on the steeper side of the price range. Overall, the Mahindra XUV300 is sitting in the middle of the segment when it comes to the price.

Verdict: Is Mahindra XUV300 Worth Buying?

Clearly, Mahindra has got a winner on their hands with the XUV300 compact SUV. It looks smart, gets a good interior space and a plethora of comfort goodies as well as safety kits. It performs lively on the city roads and both the engines are impressively refined and effortless. Despite having a little tiny boot space and seeing the absences of rear AC and petrol automatic, having said, the Mahindra XUV300 is still a worthy buy. If we need to pick, the diesel-powered XUV300 that is more efficient, quicker and sorted will come as a better deal.

One can’t deny that the XUV300 seems to stay on the steeper side of the pricing range but things get much easier with Mahindra’s revised pricing strategy. Its core strengths like segment-leading equipment, ease of driving, refined engines and ride and handling certainly outweigh all of the deal-breakers, right?