Damn! Mahindra XUV700 has disrupted the market even before the bookings are open. What a pricing! Mahindra has done it again with the ultimate pricing no one ever expected. My guess was around ₹15 lakhs but a starting price of ₹11.99 lakhs has surely taken away a large chunk of buyers from a majority of cars in the ₹11-20 lakhs budget buyers. And not just that, there’s much more to the value proposition that Mahindra is offering with the XUV700. Without wasting any time, let’s take a look at 5 reasons why Mahindra has just disrupted the automotive market with a launch that has left carmakers with sleepless nights to come.
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Mahindra XUV700 offers an ultimate performance
If you were to ask me which car to buy under 14 lakhs on 13th August 2021, I would have suggested you go for Nissan Kicks. Or, you might have settled for a naturally-aspirated petrol engine-powered Seltos or Creta. Well, no more! A 2.0-liter mStallion TGDi petrol churning out 200ps of power and a peak torque of 380Nm. Or a 2.2-liter mHawk CRDi diesel capable of producing 185ps of power and a peak torque of 420-450Nm! Both the engines are offered with a 6-speed Manual or Automatic transmission. Both options are under ₹14-15lakhs! Why would someone settle for less? Although these figures are all on paper and are yet to be seen in real-world driving, we can expect Mahindra to deliver what they claim. Mahindra claims that the XUV700 can go from 0 to 60kmph in just 4.6 seconds, again best-in-class.
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You are getting a whole bunch of first-time features
Enter the cabin and you see the driver seat going back so that you can enter easily. A dual-screen setup with infotainment and cluster. Alexa built-in so that you can command your XUV700. Smart door handles, clean zone, driver drowsiness alert, and whatnot. 3 drive modes to choose from: Zip, Zap, and Zoom. What’s more, you can make a custom drive mode too. Largest in segment sunroof, dubbed as Skyroof. And the list goes on. Even if I was to spend ₹20 lakhs to get all this with ADAS or Advanced Driver Assist System, why wouldn’t I?
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Hyundai Creta to Tata Safari: 5 or 7 Seater? No Worries!
The amount of options Mahindra is giving here is endless. You are out in the market to buy a Creta base model for around ₹12-13 lakhs? Buy an XUV700 instead. Or are you looking for Tata Safari for around ₹17-18 lakhs? But XUV700 instead. And even if you want to spend more and get a car which has ADAS, well you don’t need to spend more now. Mahindra has not just disrupted one segment but multiple segments due to the pricing. Be it the 5-seater or the 7-seater, Mahindra is going to be a nightmare for many segment leaders.
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Ultimate Pricing
MX base variant starts at ₹11,99,000 while the AX5 variant comes at a cost of ₹14,99,000, both ex-showroom. Mahindra is yet to announce the pricing for automatic variants or the variants with AWD and ADAS. But even then, I don’t expect the prices to go above ₹20 lakhs. And I haven’t seen any carmaker till now offering a car for the masses at such an unbelievable price. Now, any car in the price bracket of ₹12 lakhs to ₹20 lakhs will have to justify its position against the Mahindra XUV700.
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Mahindra XUV700 offers All-Wheel Drive under ₹20 lakhs!
A name synonym for 4WD in the yesteryears was the Safari. Well, Tata launched a 7-seater SUV with a front-wheel-drive and named it Safari leaving many fans disheartened. If it was 13th August 2021, I would not be able to name one car under ₹20 lakhs offering AWD, except the Mahindra Thar. But now, I have an SUV that I can drive daily to the office, which has a massive road presence, powerful performance, and an AWD option. Although Mahindra is yet to reveal the price for the model with AWD, I don’t think it would be more than ₹20lakhs. I hope Mahindra will not prove me wrong, yet again!
And, these are just the minuscule amount of reasons from the endless pile that I can go on when it comes to why Mahindra XUV700 is worth buying over any other car, not just in the segment but out of the segment too. Want to take a detailed look at what all the car has to offer, click here. I will still wait to witness the real-world experience of this car, but what all has been revealed has shown that this product is an outcome of extensive research. There might be a long waiting period for the XUV700, just like many other cars due to the global chip shortage, but it will be worth the wait. Mahindra will open the bookings from October 2nd. If so is the case, I have my hopes high for the upcoming Mahindra Scorpio and many other SUVs that the SUVmaker plans to launch by 2025-26. What are your thoughts about the new true SUV in the town? Let us know in the comments section below.