Mahindra XUV300 compact SUV is the most awaited launch in the segment by the home-grown car manufacturer. The new XUV300 is based on Mahindra’s Korean company’s Ssangyong Tivoli. With Mahindra XUV300 price in India between Rs. 8 lakh to 12 lakh (Ex-showroom), it is going to pounce against the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport and Tata Nexon, and to some point, Hyundai Creta. Earlier, we compared it with Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Tata Nexon, and this time, it’s Hyundai Creta and Ford EcoSport’s turn to be compared on paper.
Dimensions
Mahindra XUV300 is the widest and also sits on the longest wheelbase as compared to the Creta and EcoSport. Having the longest wheelbase means that it gets spacious interiors. On the other hand, Hyundai Creta is the tallest and longest SUV here in the segment, as it is not a sub-4 metre offering. Even Ford EcoSport is longer than Mahindra XUV300 but just by 3 mm, which doesn’t make much of a difference. Being the longest one here, Creta takes everything in its hand with a boot capacity of 405 litres, EcoSport sports a boot of 352 litre and XUV300 has the smallest boot of all with just 257 litres capacity.
Dimensions | |||
Mahindra XUV300 | Hyundai Creta | Ford EcoSport | |
Length | 3995 mm | 4270 mm | 3998 mm |
Width | 1821 mm | 1780 mm | 1765 mm |
Height | 1617 mm | 1665 mm | 1647 mm |
Wheelbase | 2600 mm | 2590 mm | 2519 mm |
Fuel tank | 42 litres | 55 litres | 52 litres |
Boot capacity | 257 litres | 405 litres | 352 litres |
Engine
Mahindra earlier said that both the petrol and diesel versions will come with the best-in-segment torque figures. And comparing it on paper with both Hyundai Creta and Ford EcoSport, the numbers are high with both the counterparts. Though the homegrown car manufacturer has not revealed much about the engine, we can expect it come with a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder turbo-petrol engine (which is essentially the tuned-up version of the engine used on the KUV100 NXT) that makes 108 bhp with 200 Nm. Ford EcoSport is offered with two options of petrol engine a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol and 1.5-litre petrol engine that produce 123 bhp with 170 Nm and 121 bhp with 150 Nm, respectively. On the other hand, Hyundai Creta is offered with a 1.6-litre petrol engine that makes 121 bhp with 151 Nm of torque. Now, if we compare the official Mahindra XUV300 specifications here with its rivals, the new SUV gets the highest torque figures of all, but with a bit lowered number, in terms of power.
The diesel version of Mahindra XUV300 compact SUV would come packed with a 1.5-litre engine and the same also caters the Marazzo MPV but with a different tuning. The diesel engine would belt out 117 bhp with 300 Nm. There are two diesel engine options for Hyundai Creta – a 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre 4-cylinder engine that develop 89 bhp with 220 Nm and 126 bhp with 260 Nm, respectively. The Ford EcoSport, on the other hand, is offered with a 1.5-litre diesel engine that generates 99 bhp with 205 Nm. Here too, the XUV300’s 300 Nm torque takes charge. As far as the power figures are concerned, XUV300’s numbers are higher than the EcoSport and 1.4 L Creta, but lesser than the 1.6 L Creta.
Speaking of the transmission, Mahindra XUV300 features 6-speed manual for both petrol and diesel version. Hyundai offers 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic on 1.6 L petrol and diesel versions, while the 1.4 L is offered with 6-speed manual only. Ford Ecosport is available with 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic for the bigger 1.5 L petrol engine and a 6-speed manual is offered on the powerful 1.0 L petrol engine, whereas the diesel variant gets a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Powertrain | ||||||||
Mahindra XUV300 | Hyundai Creta | Ford EcoSport | ||||||
Fuel Type | Petrol | Diesel | Petrol | Diesel | Petrol | Diesel | ||
Cylinder | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
Engine | 1197 cc | 1497 cc | 1591 cc | 1396 cc | 1582 cc | 999 cc | 1497 cc | 1498 cc |
Power | 108 bhp | 117 bhp | 121 bhp | 89 bhp | 126 bhp | 123 bhp | 121 bhp | 99 bhp |
Torque | 200 Nm | 300 Nm | 151 Nm | 220Nm | 260 Nm | 170 Nm | 150 Nm | 205 Nm |
Gearbox | 6-speed manual | 6-speed manual | 6-speed manual & 6-speed AT | 6-speed manual | 6-speed manual & 6-speed AT | 6-speed manual | 6-speed manual & 6-speed AT | 5-speed manual |
Cabin and Features
Talking about the Mahindra XUV300 interior and features, it gets loads of features and is high on comfort. It also gets some segment-first features, such as 7 airbags, front parking sensor, all four disc brakes, mild hybrid tech on the diesel version and not to forget the steering mode that essentially alters the steering weight, all of which are not offered on any of its rivals. Inside, it is well spaced and the Mahindra XUV300 images of its interior do justice to this. The feature list is well above all its rivals nonetheless, the top-end EcoSport gets a first-in-segment touchscreen infotainment system along with HID headlights.
Price
Talking about the Mahindra XUV300 price, we can expect it to launch in a range of Rs. 8 lakh to 12 lakh. If this really comes as the pricing, then all the rivals have to pull up their socks to lose out the sales figure. Ford EcoSport is priced in a range of Rs 7.82 lakh petrol base variant and this range stretches up to Rs 11.89 lakh for the top-end diesel version. Hyundai Creta price starts from Rs. 9.60 lakh and the range-topping SX (O) Executive diesel variant can be owned at Rs 15.63 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi). Now, this price is way more than the Mahindra XUV300’s expected price. Overall, with this on-paper Mahindra XUV300 review, the compact SUV comes as a solid contender against both Creta and EcoSport. However, this comparison is just on paper and the Mahindra still needs to come with a compelling price to take charge against its rivals.
