XUV 700: Total Package!

XUV 500 is one of the most successful models of the Indian automobile marquee Mahindra and Mahindra motors limited. Broken its cover in 2011 and wrapping up the production in 2021 XUV 500 was the masterpiece of the Indian automaker. Within the 10 years of production the XUV 500 became a hot cake of Mahindra and thus became the trend setter in the segment. With XUV 500 Mahindra planned to create a bang on the premium SUV segment and things worked as planned. XUV became popular for the premium features style and the go anywhere feel and the confidence given to the driver. Within the 10 years XUV 500 was given two face-lifts which included cosmetic tweaks and on the second facelift the XUV was given more powerful heart along with feature updates. XUV was so popular all around the world that the car was exported heavily to Australia, Chile, Italy, Nepal, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, and Spain as a complete knock-down unit which will be assembled in the respective local assemblies. The most successful export was to the South African market which clocked sales of 1200 units at 2013 February. The XUV 500, apart from just being a premium cross over SUV was powerful enough to participate in rallies and competitions. XUV 500 bagged “INRC DRIVERS' & CONTSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP” trophies in the years 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 (constructors championship only), 2014 and was the overall winners of the DAKSHIN DARE rally in 2012 and 2018. There are many more trophies in the shelf and this article will not be enough to cover them all!. After 10 years the Indian automaker has announced they are wrapping up the production of the XUV 500 which was really a bad news, later Mahindra conformed that they are planning to re-introduce the XUV 500 in the coming years. Now shifting gears to the future, an all new player have joined to the club. The Indian automobile marquee has pulled the covers of their all new SUV, the XUV 700. As the name suggests the XUV 700 is placed above the XUV 500 the popular rock star of Mahindra. The Indian automaker is famous for their never compromising SUV projects which pulls the crowd and take their trust. Also the Indian automaker is famous for their utility vehicles and go anywhere vehicles, Mahindra now by the launch of XUV 700 has stepped into the premium SUV segment and the XUV 700 literally smoked out every single rival with the pricing. Mahindra started developing the XUV 700 under the code-name “W601” and from the very next day they ignited flames of conspiracies and contradictions. And to make things more spicy Mahindra frequently posted videos on the new features and updates on their social media pages. Also the ‘test cars’ which did the test run in camouflage was caught frequently in roads. Initially it was rare to find a testing car in camo and lately it became a common incident. And recent months saw the 3D render concepts and drawings which almost ruined the image we have created of the XUV 700. to add extra heat to the meal Mahindra on 8 th April announced the revealing timeline of the XUV 700 and about 4 months later they unveiled the XUV 700 and everybody was shocked to see it. The new XUV 700 is on the roads with first in segment features and international styling, which cuts the rivals like the Safari, Harrier, Hector Plus, Alcazar, Creta and their own little brother the XUV 500 flat off Is the new XUV 700 better than XUV 500? Lets have a look in detail.

The key highlight of the new XUV 700 as you all know is the new Mahindra badge which takes its debut with the new XUV 700. The new badge known as the “Twin Peaks” is pretty sharp, timely and minimalistic. As the name suggest the logo contains two peaks pointing up towards the sky. The minimalistic logo, as Mahindra said is having so many inner meanings and one can only read it after quiet a bit of observation, clever trick it is!. The “Twin Peaks” which actually mimic the letter “M” is also speaking to you of the legacy of Mahindra motors in making the SUVs and also says to you to “Explore the Impossible” and to take new challenges everyday, pretty motivating! The new logo is specially designed for the SUV segment of Mahindra motors and it will not be placed on other utility vehicles. There are two M’s on the logo symbolizing the expansive and exciting days which are coming and also announces the need to be rooted with the heritage. Honestly I have never thought of this huge description for the logo! Great move and effort from the Indian automaker!. The new XUV is freshly equipped with an aggressive bold and commanding face generating the complete stance of the SUV from the front end. The signature front grille is finished with piano black and chrome stripes. The stain chrome dual grille lines placed vertically on the front grille stands out in the piano black backdrop, the lines at the center bent a bit on the top and lines at both sides blend in with the grille design the total design is making it somewhat similar to that of the XUV 500 showing that it has carried the DNA but with subtle changes. Right at the center sits the all new Mahindra logo the “Twin Peaks” finished in shiny chrome and covered in piano black and under the logo sits the front camera too pretty tricky to find it!. The edges of the front grille is thicker and it merges with the headlamps, also thus creates a massive air intake. The headlamp units are placed on both sides of the face and the exceptional design generating massiveness and commanding feel makes the front end more bolder. The C shaped headlamp cluster is integrated with Dual LED DRL and the strips runs down, creating an angry eyes. The headlamp unit also houses the turn indicator and dual headlamps for the high-beam and low beam. The headlamp unit is also featuring the auto booster headlamps, the feature gives an extra brightness to the headlamps as we approach a dark region at night. The front hood is plane without any kind of sharp character lines apart from the two cuts and one big crease right at the center, two mild character lines on both ends of the hood and that is the common line we see in almost every SUVs. The front lip and the two fog-lamps cum cornering lamps placed at the bottom end and the air curtains given to them are really throwing out the SUV character.

The side profile, which is equally similar to the XUV 500 is also mostly plane apart from the small crease and bulges on the middle line and the front and rear wheel arches. The wheel arches, which are masculine and is also integrated with black cladding, the SUV signature incorporated in a stylish way, houses the 18 inch diamond cut dual tone ten spoke alloy wheels. The wheels are finished in silver and is also given black accents. The out- circle is given gun metal black and the front and rear disc breaks are clearly visible with the silver finished calipers. The alloys are elegantly designed and is really complementing to the SUV stance of the XUV 700, the wheel arch also holds the “ADRENOX” badging which is the variant. The window line adorned with chrome, rises as it approaches the C and D pillars, remaining window borders are finished in black and other highlight is the all new pop-up door handles are housed in a small cavity, which we have only seen in the high end luxury cars like the S Class and others. The windows are massive and on the tail end they are integrated with the quarter glass and the C pillar region feels pretty much like that of the XUV 500. Up in top the XUV 700 is equipped with a massive panoramic sunroof or ‘Sky-roof’ as Mahindra calls which Mahindra claims to be the biggest in the segment, a shark fin antenna and the roof rails finished in brushed silver to give the SUV cult.

On the rear end the design is sharper, tight and contemporary than the plane front and side profiles. The sharp character line which runs through the center connecting the two tail lamp units is making the rear profile so aggressive than the front and side profiles. The “Twin peaks” Mahindra badge sitting at the middle is exhibited in a special space created which adds point to the design in the rear end. The portion below the logo, where the license plate is placed is a design element adapted form the predecessor XUV 500. The tail lamp cluster is integrated with “arrow head” LED tail lamps are really classy and futuristic and is also equipped with sequential LED turn indicating blinkers and halogen reverse indicating lamp. The “XUV 700” name badge is sitting on the right bottom panel and the “XUV” and the variant name “AX” name badge is finished with chrome and the “700” is given an electrifying blue finish. The rear bumper houses two parking sensors on the center and two reflectors on both sides. The rear skid plate is finished with fauxed aluminum-silver finish and the negative point is the single side invisible exhaust, Mahindra could have given the dual exhaust finish with the chrome or silver exhaust tip. The new XUV 700 is available in ‘Electrifying Blue’, ‘Candy Red’ and ‘Silver’.

Now coming to the most entertaining part of the XUV 700, the interior. Cockpit of the new XUV 700 is dominated by the big multi functional infotainment screen which extends to form the digital meter console and the dual tone black and creamy white interior feels absolutely luxurious!. Flat bottom leather wrapped steering wheel placed perfectly in position and the chrome finished ‘twin peaks’ sits right at the center. The steering wheel is also ornamented with gloss black inserts on the spokes, which includes the multimedia control buttons and all other buttons like the cruise control and meter control. The spokes are also outlined with silver accents and the silver finish on the two spokes at the top is thin meanwhile the one at the bottom is thick, also the wheel is tiltable and telescopic hence providing you the best driving position to be in. the upper and lower deck of the front dashboard is given black leather upholstery and the middle portion is finished with creamy white or beige. The stitch patterns are embroidered well into the dashboard with dual parallel lines at the center. The massive 20.5 inch infotainment screen taking much of the space of the front dashboard is housed vertically on and screen is divided into two, one for the instrument console and one for the infotainment system, given brushed silver border lines. As far as I have seen the infotainment screen is integrated with a nice GUI (Graphical User Interface) and overall is really futuristic meanwhile accountable two targets in one shot!. The AC vents placed on either sides are finished in the same color as that of the dashboard and is outlined with brushed silver finish, similarly the central AC vents are also given the same finish and is surrounded by the fauxed silver plates. The electric start stop button is sitting right at the left of the steering wheel and it is ornamented with a chrome outline ring and is given black finish in the inside. Further down the AC vent sits the climate control switches and nobes, the nobes are given brushed silver finish on the outer part and gloss black on the inside. The button panel is finished with gloss black and is given thin chrome accents vertically on the center. The border of the panel is also ornamented with chrome accents and thick gloss black borders. Down the climate control there are small small storage pockets to store your accessories like phone and all. The storage pocket is featured with a USBC port and induction charging slot. The center console is also evenly spread with gloss black and the gear shift column, integrated with the gear knob and the electronic parking break is totally dipped in gloss black and given a brushed silver outline separating it from the remaining. The gear shift is leather wrapped with dual parallel stitching along with brushed silver neck. Just after the gear nobe sits the rotary nobe for the multimedia control. The knob is finished with gloss black on the top and is rounded with a rough texture and colored with brushed silver. The knob column is separated with brushed silver border accents, there are brushed silver lines running down the extreme end of the center console which act as a border to the console and there is a multi-functional armrest cum storage unit, integrated with small tray which is integrated with rubber mat on the bottom and air ventilation, finished in artificial leather or leatherette. The seats in the front row are captain seats, which is not a mind blowing feature these days and the seats are upholstered with beige leatherette in contrast with the overall interior theme, comfy and cozy! the stitching and piping on the seats are interesting with patterns creating outline for each part of the seat, along with interesting technological futuristic dot patterns at the center of the upper part. The dual parallel stitch line pattern has been followed everywhere.

The door pad shine with the gloss black and wood trim finishes. The upper left part of the door pad is finished with a wood trim which houses the driver seat adjustment buttons finished in gloss black which highlights itself in the light wood trim. The door open handle is finished with chrome and texture of the wood trim feels extra premium and classy. Below that sits the door handles adorned with gloss black, the door handle is also integrated with the power window controls and the ORVM adjustment knob, which are dipped in gloss black. The doors are also integrated with storage pockets where one pocket is for bottles and another is for umbrella. Another highlight which can be seen from the inside is the extension of the door pad form the shoulder line this has been done to make the dashboard and door pad intersection look seamless but that's a bit awkward as you see it from the outside even though looks good from the inside.

The rear second row is given bench seats with the middle seats integrate with cup-holders and having similar stitching and piping patterns as that of the front end. The rear end is looking roomy and is evenly spread with light with the massive window and quarter glass. The rear window panel is also similar to that on the front in finish and texture also there is dual ac vents on the rear portion the AC vents are given the brushed silver outline as you have seen in the front end. The seats are also equipped with ISOFIX child seat anchors on both sides. The third row is as in every car recommended for kids only and the seats are include 3-point seat-belts, adjustable headrests, cup-holders and the A/C blower control. The backrest is split in a 50:50 ratio and can be reclined or folded forward. Strangely, it can only be reclined from the boot, and not by passengers sitting in the third row. The third row is luckily not so claustrophobic, thanks to the massive quarter glass on the rear end. The third row seats critically affect the boot capacity of the XUV 700, thus the boot space is too low for a weekend outing, but things change as you start folding the seats, the boot space changes to extra spacious as we fold the seats.This beast is powerful enough with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that makes 197 BHP and 380 NM. It’s offered with a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission. The second engine on offer is a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel that makes 153 BHP & 360 NM mated to a 6-speed MT in the MX (base) variant. The same engine is offered in a higher state of tune in more expensive variants and makes 182 BHP & 420 NM with the 6-speed MT. In the 6-speed AT trims, it has 30 NM more torque. Yes, the XUV 700 does have that true Mahindra DNA, the 6-speed AT is offered with an optional AWD system as well Drivers can select from three drive modes – Zip, Zap and Zoom which sounds a little fantasy and childish.

Verdict on the new XUV 700 is that it is an electrifying much needed update from the XUV 500 which is not old though!, carrying the DNA from XUV 500, the XUV 700 is bold and beautiful premium SUV which is not more like a rugged off-road cult SUV with aggressive character, but kind of premium plushy SUV best suit for family outings which also features mild off-roading the exterior is well built and also equipped with many features like the 360 camera huge panoramic sunroof, ADAS or Advanced Driver Assistance System, and first in segment features like the pop up door handles and the auto booster headlamps. And the price cut the heads clean off the rivals. This feature rich comfortable big boy from Mahindra is priced from Rs 14.03 lakhs on-road to 17.48 lakhs on-road which is the petrol variant and the only one diesel variant which is available at 14.61 lakhs. Apart from the fuel there are 2 variants that is the AdrenoX and MX series. The perfect family SUV rich in features with the trust from Mahindra which is a perfect combination!.

So this is all about the all new XUV 700! See you again with another post another day!, Adios! Thank you! Follow me on Instagram @petrofestauto. Feel Free to comment your opinion in the comment section.