The company started importing vehicles into the country back in 1996, with the belief that our economy would be able to support it and in turn, it would support the country. Today
Mahindra has an assembly factory in Durban, and is one of the largest, if not the largest,
Mahindra market outside of India. Lately they are even selling over 1 000 new vehicles a month in the domestic market, thanks to a number of products, including the updated
XUV300.
The
XUV300 (officially pronounced
XUV three double O), is positioned between the
KUV100 NXT and
XUV500, the latter of which will soon be replaced by the
XUV700. It plays an important role in their product mix by attracting young, affluent customers to the brand. As such, the car has to reflect that market well, and cater to their needs. Previously the
XUV300 came with a cream interior, which looked really good but was of course, not so great for long-lasting cleanliness. Especially for people with young children.
Therefore for the 2022 model year,
Mahindra has decided to offer a black interior. Not only does it remain looking classy, it also gives the owner much peace of mind when it comes to cleaning it up. Another consideration made for this update was the infotainment system. I must say, I did not see anything wrong with the previous one, which also came with a 22.9cm full-colour touch screen. Nevertheless the new system is based on Android and I found it not as easy to use as the previous version. Furthermore, the radio system kept losing signal in urban places where one does not expect to lose radio signal.
Mahindra has kept the same 1.5-litre turbo diesel engine in the range-topping W8 model that I drove, but there is also a 1.2-ltire petrol in the range, producing 81kW and 200Nm of torque. As for the diesel, that makes a heady 86kW of power, and 300Nm, while mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The system works well together, although an automatic transmission should be considered for potential customers in high-traffic areas. Above all else is the car’s frugality, which we measured at 6.5 litres per 100km in mixed driving conditions. That is super for a 42 litre fuel tank.
Mahindra is marketing the updated XUV300 as “the safest car in Africa”. The reason for this is that it was crash tested by Global NCAP for India and Africa. It received a score of five stars (16.42 out of 17) for adult protection, and four out of five stars for child protection. Some of the safety items included in the car are front wheel position, spare wheel pressure monitor, ABS brakes with EBD, 7 airbags, an immobiliser, a reversing camera, ESP with rollover mitigation, front parking sensors, Hill Hold Assist, and others.
