First Look: Mahindra TUV300

Mahindra has launched their new compact SUV, the TUV300. The sub-four metre model takes on the Ford EcoSport, with some old-school charm and great deal of utility. While we wait to drive the car on public roads and bring you the detailed road test, here are our first impressions after a short spin at the Mahindra facility.

Mahindra tied up with the Italian design house Pininfarina to develop the TUV300. The sub-four metre model is designed to look like a true blue SUV, which is why it gets a very boxy design. The front grille with the five vertical slats is reminiscent of the Grand Cherokee Jeep design and it makes the TUV300 look aggressive.

The angular design is part of the overall theme; the front bumper itself is squarish, the air dam inside is a proper rectangle and even the fog lamps are like two mini cubes. Plenty of chrome is used in front taking into account the liking of the Indian audience. We liked the front design; it looks fashionable without losing the traditional SUV touch.

Where the efforts on the front are appreciable, it seems the side profile was completely ignored. The TUV300 looks ordinary from this angle. There is nothing to speak of apart from the blacked-out B-pillar and 10-spoke alloy-wheels. The rear profile has been carefully worked upon to make the car look bigger; the tailgate-mounted spare tyre adds some bulk to the rear. Rest of the design cues including the vertical tail lamps are similar to that of the Quanto.

While we like certain aspects of the TUV300 design like the front , I am not completely happy with the looks. The TUV300 is too simple for the today’s age, though if looking like a proper SUV was the only objective, mission accomplished.

It is evident that Mahindra has taken lot of efforts to improve the interior quality compared to its previous models. The TUV300 interior with its beige and black dual-tone treatment looks premium. The music system with a small LCD display and the AC vents sit inside a hexagonal unit with chrome surround.

The boxy design has liberated ample space inside the car while the headroom and knee room in the second room is commendable. The jump seats in the third row can be used by children, the space here is more useful as a 384litre boot.

The features list on the car is decent, the music system has everything including Bluetooth telephony and audio, there is parking assist and also passive cornering headlamps. All, but the base variant, get ABS-EBD as a standard feature, while the T4+ is the first version to get front airbags.

The Mahindra TUV300 is powered by the 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. The engine is tuned to produce 84bhp and 215Nm for the manual variant, while the one with AMT transmission has output of 81bhp and 215Nm. Both the manual and AMT are five-speed units powering the rear wheels. There is no turbo lag and the power delivery is very smooth, the problem, however, is that this a heavy vehicle and feels underpowered with this set up.

Mahindra has also worked on the refinement of the powertrain and the NVH levels of this car are pretty decent. The short drive on the track wasn’t enough to tell us about the ride quality, but there is some amount of body roll due to its proportions.

The TUV300 is available in five manual and two AMT variants. The Ford EcoSport competitor in the compact SUV segment is available in seven colours - bold black, molten orange, majestic silver, dynamo red, verve blue and glacier white.