As the name suggests the XUV700, is a step-up over the XUV500. And in that regard to give it more presence, it is bigger. It is longer. So it’s a sizeable car and this change in proportions just makes the lines flow better. It looks more mature. The lines are softer and cleaner, so the XUV700 may not look as striking as the XUV500. But it is big enough to look confidently straight at its rivals. The overall design in terms of the details, there’s no one element snatching the attention. Therefore the entire car looks better.
The front portion wears an all new grill and the logo. The dual ‘C’ shaped led DRLs are an evolution of the design seen in the XUV700. Features like the swipe style turn indicators, and of course, full led headlamps, LED fog lamps and cornering lamps adds value to the car. So you’ve got something that’s fact and distinctive.
The side profile has got some nice attractions too especially with the pop-out door handles. There are two variants of these pop-up door handles, the one with the simple mechanical kind, which just pops out when you use it. It retracts right back in. And then there’s the motorised kind, which pops out when you unlock the car and then goes back in when you lock it. If you are looking for a simpler and less complicated version, I would suggest the mechanical version. Another interesting element to notice is the wheel arches and the window line, which looks like an XUV’s DNA.
The rear portion looks better with some sharp edges. The tail lamps also look sharp and give a premium feel. The placement of the new logo and reverse camera look like an aftermarket fitment. While looking at the entire tailgate, it is made of plastic to accommodate sharp lines. Also by using high strength plastics in many areas the XUV700 is lighter by 160kgs which translates for better fuel efficiency.
The boot has enough space for a small overnight journey with all three rows in use, and if you need more luggage space, you can drop one of these seats down the back end more. If you are looking for more luggage space then you can go for the five-seat variant.
Let’s get into the house now. House? Yes, I have a reason for that. We always look for a spacious house for comfortable living and now cars are said to be the second home and the XUV700 offers ample space for all the passengers. This car will be marketed as a seven seater so first we stepped into the third row and this isn’t really bad. The space that was offered in the third row is enough to accommodate a normal person who is around 5.5 inches and more than enough for kids. Getting in and out is also pretty easy and you’ve got enough foot room to sit comfortably. The third row also gets independent control switches for air-condition, one charging socket, cup holders and a big glass area for greater viewing.
Since the car is wider it is very comfortable to accommodate three people in the second row. The front seat can be adjusted from the second row and even with a taller passenger in the front, you can get plenty of knee room. The window lines are low and have a good glass area. So it feels like an airy cabin. With the supportive and comfortable seats and flat floor the long distance travels are going to be very comfortable.
The driver and co-driver seats welcome you with a great viewing around the car. It is such a mature looking cabin, nothing feels overdone. In fact the materials are soft touch and are nicely done. The interior is made up of hard and soft plastics but it all looks like quality stuff. There are even wood finish in certain areas, which gives a premium feel. So the front seat experience in the XUV700 is certainly a big step forward, with the basics, hitting the spot that XUV will treat you well in every role.
Also by using high strength plastics in many areas the XUV700 is lighter by 160kgs which translates for better fuel efficiency.
XUV700’s design is good, has spacious cabin and now the features. The feature list is long and well spread out. Even in the base MX variant the car comes with an eight inch touchscreen system and a seven inch digital display for the driver. AX3, you get a few more goodies like the Reno X system with the two 10.25 inch displays, which are super crisp. The AX5 variant gets the curtain airbags for all the three rows. XUV700 also comes with a DVR feature, which allows you to capture the feed from all the cameras. I like the dash cam and there’s a lap time recorder. And finally, if you have to talk about the AXM variant, that’s where you get all the bells and whistles, like the dual zone climate control, powered seats and if you’re wondering about the Sony 12 speaker sound system and the wireless charger, well, all those are going to be part of the tech pack.
XUV700’s design is good, has spacious cabin and now the features. The feature list is long and well spread out. Even in the base MX variant the car comes with an eight inch touchscreen system and a seven inch digital display for the driver.
What else does the top end variant offer you? Safety, yes XUV700 doesn’t just want to keep you safe when you’re in an accident, it wants to help you avoid it altogether. And that’s where the top variant comes in because that’s packing segment first radar based ADAS technology. Basically you’ve got features like lane keep assist, which actually steers the car for you to keep you in your lane. It has lane departure warning, auto emergency braking, which means you can avoid collisions.
When you start driving the XUV700 you realize that the ADAS technology actually works in Indian conditions. So like when you don’t have proper road markings it still senses the edge of the road and steers you in the right direction. So it feels helpful, not annoying. And then you have adaptive cruise control, which understands the distance between the cars in Indian conditions is typically lesser than other countries and it adapts accordingly. The car also comes with the auto emergency braking. And of course, electronic safety aids include ESC and all the add-ons like hill hold, secondary collision mitigation and in terms of airbags, you get seven on the top end.
In terms of powertrain options, the XUV700 comes with manual, automatic, petrol and diesel engines and all-wheel drive as well. The 200 horsepower petrol is one of the smooth engines I have ever driven. It has got a good amount of grunt, which means whether you’re planning for an overtake, it just doesn’t break and gets going easily and smoothly. If you want to hustle it, the gearbox might feel a bit slow, but it is smooth, but you’ve got the grunt from the engine to make up.
The diesel comes in two states of tune, 156 PS for the lower MX variant and 180 PS version with the six speed manual gearbox. The 180 PS diesel engine is really easy to use. It has got good torque right from the low revs. So driving it around isn’t a hassle.
This diesel engine gets three drive modes, ‘Zip, Zap and Zoom. The zip mode is basically for your calm commuting within the city. When you use the zap mode, the steering wakes up, responsiveness improves, so that’s for when you’re in a bit of a rush and the zoom mode, as the name suggests is when you’re in a proper rush, preferably out on the highway, because that’s when throttle responsiveness gets really sharp. All the modes also adjust the ESP, which kind of pushes the braking intervention that much further. And if you use the custom mode that gives you one additional little bit of control, which is the settings for the air-conditioning system.
Mahindra engineers have worked extensively with top Tier 1 suppliers to make the XUV700 the best. The XUV700 comes with a new chassis and updated suspension and components. So you have FSD dampers, which are basically meant to tune out a lot of the roughness or the imperfections. In the rear you have a multi-link suspension, which tackles road surfaces with so much more confidence, it doesn’t get upset over bumps. This is a confident machine and something that you will enjoy spending time traveling with.
When it comes to comfort, the XUV700s suspension can soak up big bumps with ease. And if you’re looking to go off-road, there is a good amount of ground clearance on offer. While talking about off-road the all-wheel drive system will enable you to go further down the rough road if you choose to venture out. But it’s an on demand system. So it’s primarily improving stability and enabling some off-roadable set up.
The suspension setup, which is a bit on the soft side, especially at the rear. If the suspension were firmer, the XUV700 would feel flatter and improve its long legged ability to the end degree. The cabin insulation could have been better, it is not absolutely silent. There are some bits which feels plasticky, but they look fine. There are some feature misses, basic ones, for instance, of the four power window switches, it’s only the driver switch that has auto up and down and the IRVM isn’t auto-dimming, there is no ambient lighting and there are no ventilated seats on offer. For the backseat, there are no sunshades for these large windows. So it’s interesting to see where Mahindra has cut costs, which is on some extra features. It could be a bit more engaging in terms of the cabin experience.
But the new vehicle comes across as a sense of a very usable and very likable machine that is coming with some incredible segment first technology for safety. The new XUV700 is definitely a winner for Mahindra but it has to fulfill the customer demands in terms of deliveries and not to make them wait for a long time.
source https://www.vikatan.com/automobile/car/xuv-700-engineering-marvel-from-mahindra
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