Mahindra XUV500 2012 Review

Then there’s all the explanations of inspiration by pouncing cheetahs and the like – the kind of stuff guaranteed to dry out the mouths of jaded scribes. But they’re new to this game, so it’s time to sit up and listen. Not least because of the distinct possibility that we’re looking at a concern of future Toyota-like proportions.

The greater Mahindra group is already a very large concern indeed – one of those outfits like Hyundai, with fingers in pies from heavy industry to IT and telecoms, to banking and finance, to being India’s biggest timeshare holiday vendor. Oh, and it’s already the world’s largest tractor maker – the owner of International Harvester, no less.

Although the new XUV500 SUV marks Mahindra’s arrival as a fully factory-backed presence in Australia, this isn’t the first vehicle here to carry the badge. Five years ago, Sydney dealer Tynan gained local compliance for the company’s Pik-Up ute. With Mahindra’s support, it has sold in numbers politely described as modest ever since.

Aside from the obvious vehicular ones, there are a couple of major differences between that entry and this. The new seven-seater marks Mahindra’s formal arrival in this country as an importer and purveyor of passenger vehicles in its own right. From its headquarters in Brisbane, it has set up a nationwide network of 25 rural and metro dealers through NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA and WA, and it’s working to expand.

Launched late last year in India and South Africa, the midsize XUV500 is the company’s first properly global product, the result of R&D programs across the globe, including here. Gone is the old-school separate-chassis formula; the XUV500 uses what the company calls a ‘lightweight monocoque’ body.

But if some of the hype is a bit clumsy, the XUV500 is the progeny of a company with plenty of money, plenty of time and big plans to make a splash. They’ve pitched it into one of the local market's most competitive and fastest growing segments with an aggressive pricing policy and what it calls "an unbeatable combination of aspirational styling, advanced technology and safety features, comfort and convenience". Hmm – never hurts to aim high...

The XUV500 comes in two specs, separated only by the drivetrain, where you can choose between front or all-wheel Drive. The front-drive spec starts at $29,990, the all-paw variant at $32,990. To help ram home the big-value message, both prices are drive-away. Beyond that, it comes with the kind of kit list it needs, coming as it does from a maker unknown to consumers in this segment.

Mahindra has specced the XUV500 to the hilt. On the outside, it comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking beepers, front foglights, folding wing mirrors, a powered tailgate and sensor activation for the wipers and the swivelling xenon projector headlamps.

Inside, there's two-tone full leather upholstery, cruise and climate control and a cooled centre-box. The six-speaker audio package is Bluetooth and iPod friendly, with controls on the 15cm central touchscreen and the wheel.

Driver aids include automatic hill descent and hill hold. In a useful touch for a vehicle being pitched as a proper off-roader, trip computing functions extend to tyre pressure and temperature monitoring.

The options list at this point is zero, although a rear-view camera will arrive in the next few months.

The vehicle comes sat-nav ready but Mahindra has not yet finished setting up the system for the Australian market.

In something of a setback for a new arrival in market segment with a 90 per cent skew to auto transmissions, the 500’s six-speed manual only. We’re unlikely to see an auto here until the first half of 2014, and it will be longer still until we see a petrol engine -- if we see one at all.

On the upside, it’s a user-friendly package with a light, not-too-long shift throw and a soft, light clutch action to match. It’s easy to get familiar with it – there’s enough torque to ensure you have to work pretty hard to stall it.

The brevity of our drive program put any verification out of the question, but the official fuel consumption figure of 6.7L/100km combined (176g/km CO2) for the FWD (7.2L/100km AWD) suggests fuel efficiency is a strength.

Mahindra appears to have made zero effort to disguise or attenuate the rattle and chug of the diesel. There are few oilers on the passenger car market that articulate their 'dieseldom' as succinctly. But, being positive thinkers at heart, we can find an upside to this. That engine noise and the manual-only spec help announce its seriousness of purpose as an off-roader, with the AWD model getting a low-ratio transfer box. The all-paw drivetrain’s ‘interactive torque management’ system makes for seamless automatic shifting when the torque sensors detect the need for it.

The XUV500 gets independent suspension and disc brakes all round.

Dash aesthetics are overly busy in the way of a new kid trying to make a big impression, but its ergonomics are generally adequate. The analogue gauges with digital readouts in their centres give it the look of a school show-and-tell project. The steering wheel has a pleasing feel to it, although the audio and cruise switchgear on it could do with more tactile definition. Using the switches left me wondering a couple of times if I’d done what I’d intended.

A quick ride in the rear seat showed it to be up around the top of its class for legroom. Strangely, even though it’s ducted to accommodate the centre-box cooling, there are no console vents for second- row passengers, but they do get them in the B-pillars.

Neat interior touches abound. Along with convex wing mirrors both sides, there’s a retractable wide-angle 'mummy' mirror that drops from the overhead console and extendable sun visors for use along the side window. Third-row passengers get their air vents and a separately switched booster fan of their own.

Cargo space is decent with the third-row kiddie seats folded flat. Predictably, it leaves you with the choice: third row or cargo, but not both.

Fit and finish are weak points, eg: the textured dash and console plastics look and feel cheap, while the doorskin plastics feature different textures to no good effect at all. Part of the centre box's felt lining was loose, and what looked like protection plastic peeling from a corner of the central information screen was either overenthusiastic protection plastic or part of the screen. We couldn’t work it out.

And Mahindra has yet to learn a thing or two about new-car smell. There’s no doubting the authenticity of the leather…

In ANCAP testing, the 500 fell short of established players in the offset crash test. The testing authority noted: "The passenger compartment lost structural integrity. Protection from serious leg injury was poor for the driver due to excessive rearward movement of the brake pedal."

Four stars is not what we'd recommend for family buyers but there are plenty of LCV-based crewcabs driving around that score the same or lower.

In this competitive segment all the big brands are represented – and most with offerings under $30K. And even if they don’t carry the kit list, most of them are beautifully made, with refined engines on well sorted underpinnings and they all come with that crucial auto transmission option.

And let's also considerable resale value... Here’s hoping Mahindra’s plans are long-term.

Performance figures are in scant supply, but it’s what you’d expect of a relatively small oiler pushing that kind of weight around. It doesn’t set the world on fire from standstill, but it gathers and keeps momentum well. Rolling acceleration doesn’t feel up to some competing diesels, but nor is there any painful shortfall.

On decent road surfaces, it’s generally polite and does what it’s told without a fuss. The steering is overassisted at road speeds, but not to a point that makes it stand out in the company it keeps.

There’s enough sound insulation through the XUV500’s body to keep the road noise at bay; we didn’t work up enough pace to be able to comment on wind noise. That very obviously diesel engine isn’t going to win prizes for NVH any time soon, but nor is it grossly offensive.

The XUV500 looks and feels like early product from an emerging economy. It’s laden with gear by way of apology for falling short of its competitors on more important fronts like drivetrain and chassis refinement. But they’re things that only come with time, and Mahindra appears to know that.

Quite likely to its long-term credit, the XUV500 is all the company’s own work. By not taking partnership short-cuts or buying in European engines, etc, it’s doing the hard yards, learning the lessons it needs to learn.

So it’s a stepping stone, an adequate early effort. It’ll help you go ahead okay, but don’t expect to salivate.

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