The Mahindra XUV300 sub-4 meter compact SUV is the third India-made car to score a perfect ‘5 star’ rating in Global NCAP’s crash test. This is not all. The Mahindra XUV300 actually beat the Tata Nexon and Altroz – two other 5 star rated cars – by achieving a better score in both adult and child protection. While the Mahindra XUV300 scored 16.42 points out of a total of 17 points in adult protection, it managed 37.44 points out of a total of 49 points in child protection. The Tata Altroz scored 16.13 points for adult safety and 29 points for child safety. The Tata Nexon has finished third with 16.06 points in adult safety and 25 points in child safety. In other words, the Mahindra XUV300 is the safest India-made affordable car that Global NCAP has tested.
In the crash test that Global NCAP conducted on the XUV300, it was found that the body of the compact SUV was stable, and could withstand further loading. This indicates that the made-in-India Mahindra XUV300 is a solidly built vehicle that can make best use of its airbags to protect its occupants during a crash. Another Mahindra vehicle – the Marazzo MPV – also got a stable body structure rating during a Global NCAP crash test. Notably, even the Tata Nexon and Altroz exhibited stable body structures during the Global NCAP crash test.
Right from the day of the XUV300’s launch last year, Mahindra has been emphasizing on the high level of safety that the compact SUV offers. In fact, the Mahindra XUV300 is the only vehicle in its segment to offer 7 airbags on the top-end trim, which also protects the driver’s knee during frontal collisions. Other class leading safety features on the compact SUV include a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and seat belt reminders for all five occupants of the vehicle. Other key safety features on offer with the Mahindra XUV300 include cruise control, traction control, ABS+EBD, disc brakes on all four wheels, anti-rollover protection, electronic stability program, ISOFIX child seat mounts, parking camera, speed alerts and hill hold.
The XUV300 sold in India is based on the Ssangyong Tivoli compact SUV, but has been shortened to under 4 meters in length for excise duty benefits. There are two engines on offer with this SUV – a 1.2 liter-3 cylinder turbocharged petrol with 115 Bhp-200 Nm outputs and a 1.5 liter-4 cylinder turbocharged diesel with 115 Bhp-300 Nm.
Both engines get 6 speed manual gearboxes as standard while the diesel also gets a 6 speed AMT option. The petrol motor is now BS6 compliant and shortly, Mahindra is expected to unveil the BS6 compliant diesel variant of the XUV300. Prices of the Mahindra XUV300 start from Rs. 8.3 lakhs, and the SUV rivals the Maruti Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Ford EcoSport and Tata Nexon.
Also Read: Mahindra XUV300 scores 5 stars in Global NCAP's crash test: BEATS Tata Nexon in overall score