Blue blooded
Mahindra recently launched its flagship SUV. Cyril Klopper had a look to see if this vehicle is fit for a king.
In July 2022, Mahindra gave us a sneak peek of the XUV700 and Scorpio N, but the XUV700’s actual launch was only later in December. The Indian vehicle manufacturer says the XUV700 is its flagship SUV – and therefore also the first to sport their new emblem on the grille.
“The XUV700 heralds an entirely new range of Mahindra models that will arrive in the next six months. As the first model to carry our new Twin Peaks logo, it is also the first Mahindra SUV that welcomes an entirely new phase for the brand,” says Rajesh Gupta, head of Mahindra South Africa.
What do we have here?
Initially, the XUV700 was supposed to be a second generation XUV500, but because it’s all new from the ground up, it was decided to rather give it a new model designation. Mahindra has plans to launch more models and the company might want to keep the XUV500 name for another vehicle.
The XUV700 is available in South Africa in three trim levels: the AX 5, AX7 and AX7 L, which costs R475 000, R525 000 and R560 000 respectively. All have a sunroof, mag wheels and seven seats.
The AX7 distinguishes itself from the AX5 base model by the inclusion of radar, alarms, cameras, and all kinds of sensors to prevent you from getting in an accident.
The car also has ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System), making it the first Mahindra with Level 1 autonomous driving – you can’t yet order your Mahindra to take you home while you nap, but it will briefly take over steering if the computer senses that you’re heading for trouble.
The top model AX7 L has all the bells and whistles, plus a dash cam, a Sony 3D sound system with 12 speakers, and storage space for your cellphone that recharges it cordlessly via an induction charger.
Inside and out
You can see from the hip line and the headlights, the XUV700 was almost an XUV500. The XUV700 is just as wide and tall, but it’s 11 cm longer than the XUV500.
Something we noticed is that the door handles work the same as those of the Beijing X55 (read our Driving Impression on p 76). We don’t know who borrowed from who, but Mahindra is known for doing their own thing.
On the inside, it is remarkable how much leg room there is. On our test drive, we squeezed in seven people and, just for laughs, insisted the two boykies sit in the third row. Everyone managed to fit – although the lads in the back weren’t comfortable.
The instrument panel is our favourite. There’s an ultrawide screen that stretches from the driver nearly to the front passenger – it’s actually two 10-inch screens next to one another, but it looks like one wide one.
Under the bonnet
At this stage the South African market gets the 2.0 mStallion turbopetrol engine with a six-speed automatic transmission, while
certain countries will also have access to the 2.2 mHawk turbodiesel engine with a sixspeed manual transmission. Demand will determine whether we will get the diesel and manual options as well.
More than a thousand XUV700s were ordered within the first two weeks of the launch – an indication that this will probably be a success story for Mahindra. We will, however, have to wait and see whether this SUV will be that crown prince that ascends the throne because the much larger Mahindra Scorpio N is hot on its heels and, to be totally honest, we’re even more excited about the latter.