The launch of Mahindra’s latest SUV, the XUV 3XO, was timed to coincided with the company having been in South Africa for 20 years. This milestone was celebrated with a drive from Gauteng, where the brand has its headquarters, to Sun City in the Northwest Province.
Since its entry into SA in 2004 with the launch of the Bolero, the brand has steadily introduced new models and expanded its presence, while it consistently invested in its support infrastructure, dealer network and training facilities. SA is also the first country outside of its motherland India to welcome the XUV 3XO, which shows how valuable the country is in an automotive sense.
Mr Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa, spoke at the model’s launch and explained that the purpose of the XUV 3XO is to disrupt the market by offering the customer a value-added product at the lowest price point. Some of the offerings it competes against are the Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger and Hyundai Exter.
More about the model
Mahindra billed the XUV 3XO as a brand-new model as opposed to being a facelift of the XUV 300 and they say this because there are lots of new additions. The front grille is finished off in piano black and has a unique LED headlight design. Also included are LED daytime running lights and LED fog lights. All models ship standard with 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, and there are several wheel designs to choose from.
The SUV is powered by a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine that delivers 82kW and 200Nm of torque paired with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic gearbox. With that in mind, the SUV can accelerate from 0-60km/h in 4.6-seconds. In addition to the Zip, Zap and Zoom custom drive modes, the SUV also features first-in-segment steering modes - Comfort, Normal and Sport.
The interior is decked with a floating 10.25-inch infotainment system and 10.25-inch digital cluster. The infotainment system comes with wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay. Depending on the grade chosen, there is also a Harman Kardon sound system and panoramic skyroof.
As for the features, the range comes standard with six airbags, disc brakes all round, 3-point seat belts and seat-belt reminder for all seats along with passenger airbag on/off and ISOFIX child seat moiunts. Over and above that are a 360-degree surround view system with Blind View Monitor, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with hill hold control and hill descent control.
The boot can accommodate up to 364-litres while the XUV also offers best-in-class leg and hip room for the first and second row passengers.
The drive
Most of our driving time was spent behind the wheel of the MX3 and AX5 derivatives equipped with an automatic gearbox. Just by the driving dynamics we could tell that the XUV 3XO is such a well put together package. It’s not uncommon for brand-new cars to have squeaks or rattles while driving and there is none of that here. It doesn’t feel at all like a facelift, but more like a brand-new offering.
The compact SUV is stable at high speeds and the four-disc brake system is a great addition that improves stability under hard braking. As for noise inside the cabin on longer stretches of road, there is virtually none thanks to good insulation.
The engine has quite a punch and that is due to the substantial 200Nm on offer available at 1500-3500 r/min. Overall, it is such an easy SUV to drive, and also feels very functional with all the controls in one place so that you don’t have to navigate and find things from behind the wheel. At no point during the drive did we ever think this SUV wasn’t worth the price tag.
Spec, pricing and aftersales
1.2T MX2 MT - R254 999
1.2T MX2 AT - R274 999
1.2T MX3 MT - R274 999
1.2T MX3 AT - R294 999
1.2T AX5 MT - R319 999
1.2T AX5 AT - R344 999
1.2T AX5L AT - R374 999
1.2T AX7L AT - R404 999
The Mahindra 3XO is sold with a 5-year / 150 000-kilometre mechanical warranty. MX models are offered with a 3-year / 55 000-kilometre service plan, and the AX models have a 5-year / 100 000-kilometre service plan.
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