Mahindra XUV500 petrol explained in detail

We had reported earlier about the introduction of a petrol powered Mahindra XUV500 in the UAE market. Now, without any fanfare, Mahindra has officially introduced the XUV500 with a gasoline powerplant in India at a price of Rs 15.49 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi).

The petrol powered XUV500 is launched in a single G variant with an automatic transmission. Under the hood is a new 2.2-litre mHawk four-cylinder gasoline engine that generates 140bhp of power at 3750rpm and 320Nm of max torque between 1800-2800rpm. The transmission is a six-speed automatic sending power to the front wheels only. The transmission is sourced from the Japanese gearbox manufacturer AISIN. 

The G AT trim comes loaded with all the bells and whistles. The XUV500 G AT gets a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto. The petrol SUV is filled to the brim with features like automatic projector headlamps, rain sensing wipers, keyless entry with push-button start, cruise control, automatic climate control with rear AC as well. The driver seat is 8-way adjustable and with an adjustable steering wheel. In terms of safety, you get dual front airbags, ABS with EBD and the electronic stability program with rollover mitigation built into it. There are no visual differences between the upholstery of the cabin layout compared to the diesel counterpart.

Mahindra exports the petrol XUV to the UAE market. In the UAE, The FWD model is the W8 trim while the AWD is the top-of-the-line W10 variant. Sources suggest that it is priced at 74,900 dirhams (approx. Rs 13.24 lakhs). Here in India, the carmaker has priced the petrol powered XUV at a strategic price point. There are no direct rivals for the petrol automatic XUV in the price range; where the Duster, Creta are Rs 2 lakhs cheaper and the new boy Compass, or the Hyundai Tuscon are almost Rs 4 lakhs expensive. The Hexa doesn’t offer a petrol powerplant yet.  However, the Toyota Innova Crysta 2.7 GX AT retails at Rs 15.02 lakhs which is an excellent alternative for someone looking for a practical MPV.

At the same price of the petrol XUV, there are choices of entry-level variants of D-segment sedans like the Toyota Corolla Altis, Skoda Octavia, and Volkswagen Jetta. However, these sedans are diesel and come with a manual transmission in the base-level guise.