CAR journalist Marius Boonzaier bids farewell to his Mahindra XUV300 1,5 Diesel W8 Manual after a six month tenure behind the wheel. The XUV300 was revealed by Mahindra in December 2018 as the brand’s all-new compact crossover that adheres to India’s sub-four metre sement.
The XUV300 sources its underpinnings from the Ssangyong Tivoli but boasts shorter dimensions. It’s currently offered in South Africa with two engine options; an 82 kW 1,2-litre turbo-triple and an Engine of the Year winner in India 1,5-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel as seen here which claimed the title of India’s Engine of the Year.
Both units are mated to a six-speed manual gearbox as an automatic option is not yet offered. With front MacPherson struts and rear twist beams with coil springs, the XUV300 offers 180 mm of ground clearance and an impressive ride quality that’s tailored to the rural roads of India.
This flagship model boasts 17-inch alloys, added chrome for the grille, electrically folding side mirrors (with integrated turn signals) and silver-painted skid-plates (fore and aft), plus a rear armrest with cup holders, a height-adjustable driver’s seat and chromed interior door handles.
It also gains dual-zone climate control, cruise control, keyless entry (with start button), a glass sunroof, a TFT display in the instrument cluster (which itself boasts adjustable colour lighting), leather trim for steering wheel, faux-leather upholstery, a pair of dash-mounted tweeters and a sunglasses holder. Safety equipment includes two airbags, ABS (with EBD), Isofix child-seat anchors and an immobiliser. A neat “wheel direction indicator” is also included.
As of January last year, Mahindra South Africa added a new W4 entry-level derivative to its XUV300 range, dropping the line-up’s starting price to R254 999.
As a reminder, at launch in May 2019, the local range kicked off at R249 999 for the petrol-powered W6 variant. Interestingly, the new base XUV300 W4 draws its urge from the Indian firm’s turbodiesel engine. Currently, the W4 is some R30 000 cheaper than the W6 with the same powertrain.
A look through the specs reveals the W4 features two airbags (as opposed to the seven employed by the flagship W8), ABS with EBD and Isofix child-seat anchors.
