Mahindra KUV100, TUV300 and Thar 2016 Review

Mahindra KUV100, TUV300 and Thar
International launch,
Pune, India

It's easy to be a big fish in a moderately big pond – one that's a step removed from the raging oceans of international trade. Mahindra is now turning its attention to global markets, and Australia among them. The company's product is going through a gradual renewal, but will a refreshed product portfolio have the wherewithal to take on rival brands from Asian economies in mature markets like Australia?

Mahindra is a strong-selling brand in its native India. The manufacturer holds a 40 per cent share of the SUV market and 53 per cent share of the light commercial vehicle market. By building cars in a low-wage economy – with a new-car market amounting to around three million vehicles a year – Mahindra is isolated from the sort of intense competition Aussie manufacturers had to battle right up to the point where they collectively threw in the towel.

While in India for the first drive of the automatic XUV500, motoring.com.au was granted an opportunity to drive some of Mahindra's other products too. It was just a brief drive around Mahindra's banked test track at its Chakan plant, but it was enough to learn a little about the company's products – some of which will make it to Australia.

Here's how they fared...

KUV100
The smallest of Mahindra's SUV range, the KUV100 measures less than 3.7 metres long – that's only 10cm longer than the original (W168) Mercedes A-Class from the late 1990s.

As the latest Mahindra product to reach the market, the KUV100 owes its styling to nothing else on the road, unless it's the lovechild of a Nissan Micra and a Juke, with a mutant strain of the long forgotten Hyundai Coupe from the mid nineties thrown in. In packaging terms it perhaps comes closest to matching Mitsubishi's ASX.

There are some original idiosyncracies in the KUV's styling, with, for instance, door handles in the C pillar that are highlighted in chrome, rather than fully concealed as is usually the case with this sort of styling treatment.

Entering and leaving the KUV100 is really easy, thanks to the high hip point. I found the rear roofline was a little low and had to duck my head, but the rear of the KUV was very roomy for adults once seated back there. Mahindra claims 243 litres of boot space in the KUV100.

There were no face-level vents for the kids in the back. While the KUV tested was a five-seater, there's three-abreast seating available in the front for some variants, taking total seating capacity to six. A child seated between the outboard passenger and the driver could enjoying the refreshing air from the climate control system directly. The centre seat position is integrated with the front-passenger seat, and the two slide fore and aft in unison. A folding backrest for the front/centre position becomes a centre armrest with integrated cupholders when folded flat.

Like other Mahindras tested on the day, the KUV100 lacked support in the driver's seat for harder cornering, but it is quite comfortable up to the point where the car begins to change direction. That's when you find yourself clinging desperately to the wheel to offset the growing g forces.

The KUV100 was as quiet and soft riding at 100km/h as most other Mahindra SUVs tested on the day. It was prone to understeer and suffered from steering rack rattle. However, the KUV's cornering demeanour was somewhat better than larger models tested. It rides on MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear. Braking is by a disc/drum combination and the steel wheels measure 14 inches in diameter.

The 1.2-litre diesel engine tested was nominally redlined at 5000rpm, but it lingered at 4500 and proceeded no further. In reality, the engine was pretty much on the downhill side of the torque and power curves by 4000rpm. It developed little in the way of performance until 2000rpm, so it was all about the mid-range, which made it easy enough to drive, but it could definitely do with more power. Output was a fairly ho-hum 57kW and 190Nm.

There's a petrol engine available in the KUV100 as well, and that engine apparently makes a better fit in the KUV than the diesel. Changing gear, the KUV100 was subject to some engine flare. The manual transmission is a five-speed job with the lever rising out of the dash for optimal packaging efficiency. It's fine for changing gears – it's actually fairly slick most of the time – but there's no lock-out for reverse gear, so some gear-grating on the downshift from fifth is a real prospect.

Mahindra is evaluating the KUV100 for Australia. Without an automatic option it will struggle to sell in respectable volumes. A high-grade KUV100 would have to be priced well below $20,000 to overcome that lack of an auto option, and a mid-spec model would have to be priced under $15,000.

TUV300
In looks the TUV seems to have channelled plenty of Renault 19, and its grille wouldn't look too out of place on a Jeep Cherokee.

It's an odd amalgam that would compel the TUV300 to sell in Australia on the strength of its practicality and its seating capacity – seven seats in a vehicle under four metres in length. That's nearly 300mm (or nearly a foot, to use an imperial measurement) shorter than small SUVs the likes of Mazda's CX-3. In Australia, the TUV300 couldn't be sold as a seven-seater though, since its side-facing rear seats in the luggage compartment wouldn't comply with Australian Design Rules. The TUV, if imported at all, would have to be a five-seater only. At least that would free up the full luggage capacity of 384 litres for Australian consumers.

Pininfarina has designed the interior... and it shows. The fit, finish, trim details and general style are well beyond what we've seen in other Mahindra models. As one example, the Mahindra Xylo, a high-riding small people mover in the range, features an interior that literally incorporates styling cues that appear to have been lifted from a Daewoo Kalos, circa 2003. In contrast, the TUV's interior design is significantly more modern.

All that said however, and like every other Mahindra model tested around the company's own test track, there's very little support in the seat when the vehicle is being punted through the turns.

Cornering was far from sporty, but it was as safe as the prodigious understeer allowed. There are cars in the TUV's natural competitor set already on sale in Australia which frankly handle better. As we discovered in other Mahindra SUVs tested, steering kick back and rack rattle were present when accelerating out of corners – even on the gently banked corners of the Mahindra test track. It's considerably less severe in the case of the TUV than in the XUV500 however.

But what may be the nail in the coffin for the TUV's chances in Australia is the drivetrain – a 1.5-litre diesel mated to a five-speed automated manual developed in-house by Mahindra. Cheaper than a conventional automatic or a dual-clutch transmission, the single-clutch automated box holds back the TUV's performance potential, although the little SUV was never going to be a ball of fire with 59kW and 230Nm, even with a conventional manual or the other two automatic options. In fairness, the engine does feel peppier in the mid range.

Like all the Mahindras driven on the day, it rode well – with a dead axle at the rear – and was quiet enough at speed. Braking was by a disc/drum combination.

The hip point was high enough to assist entry and exit, and the rear-seat accommodation was quite generous for adults. There was plenty of room under the front seats to stretch the legs, good knee room and plenty of headroom as well. There were no face-level vents in the back however.

In India, Mahindra sells the TUV300 in multiple variants. The models most likely to make it to Australia would be the T6 variant, with 15-inch steel wheels and full wheel covers, and the T8 flagship that rides on 15-inch alloys. In addition, the T8 comes with front fog lights, piano black trim for the centre console, snazzier looking instruments, static cornering lights, parking assistance, trip computer, electrically-adjustable mirrors, height-adjustable driver's seat, adjustable front-seat lumbar support, storage tray under driver's seat and follow-me-home lighting.

As a guess the T8 would have to be positioned much closer to $20,000 than $25,000, and the T6 might be attractive to buyers at around $17,000.

Thar

Basically a newish name – coined about five years ago – the Thar can trace the fundamentals of its design back to the World War II era Willys Jeep, and that vehicle was the first Mahindra model to be sold in the Australian market.

For the most part, the Thar won't feel too far removed from the Jeep Wrangler, for those who have ever driven the modern classic American offroader. The Thar's seats can't compare with the Wrangler’s, and the diesel engine lacks the same level of performance as the diesel in the Wrangler. But the Thar feels to be at least as safe in corners as the Jeep. Plastic side curtains and fasteners flap and bang in the breeze at open-road speeds, but it remains relatively quiet, that notwithstanding.

The driving position in the Thar is up to scratch, surprisingly, and despite its long-throw gear-shift lever, the shift quality is light and precise, providing a good match for the power delivery from the 2.5-litre diesel. Developing 78kW and 247Nm, the four-cylinder is something of an underachiever, but the Thar can still get along at a good clip.

The Thar actually turns in and holds the road better than its specification (and reputation) suggest. Keep the power applied in a corner and the rear axle starts to wind up as the Thar pushes further to the outside of the corner. It's curious, but communicative in its own funny way. Underpinning the Thar is an independent front suspension system sprung by torsion bars, and a conventional live rear axle with leaf springs. According to Mahindra, the Thar's ground clearance measures 200mm and approach and departure angles are 44 and 27 degrees, respectively. Brakes comprise a front disc/rear drum combination.

Mahindra is already discussing the Thar coming to Australia in very limited numbers to circumvent ADR restrictions that might hinder the Thar's homologation for the local market. At this point there's no word on pricing.