Sub 4 meter compact SUV segment is going to witness some serious competition this year. A lot of new products are going to launch in this segment and one such product is the Mahindra XUV-300. XUV-300 is gaining popularity from the movement when it was revealed in the month of December. The reason behind this popularity is the looks of the SUV, the name itself as it is from the XUV family and of course the long feature list (some of which are a segment first). XUV-500 will launch in the month of February 2019.
We will be comparing it with another Indian brand, the Tata Nexon. Tata Nexon is doing a decent job in the segment and manages to out sale the segment creator, the Ford Eco-sport in some months. Nexon manages to do so due to a lot of reasons, some of them are the looks, attractive prices, and value for money package.
LOOKS
In this department, Nexon is doing a good job and gets many awards for its looks. Nexon is based on tata motor’s Impact Design 1.0 concept. It gets all the design elements in the right place which adds to its overall looks. To add in to looks Nexon gets DRLs, dual color combinations and a white ceramic line that wraps around the entire car. Nexon was also criticised for its looks, as some people perceived it as the Indica on steroids. But overall it’s a good looking car and looks is one of the factors that help Nexon to gain popularity.
Unlike Nexon, XUV-300 has the proper boxy SUV looks. XUV-300 is based on the Ssangyong Tivoli’s platform which has a global presence. Although Mahindra has done certain changes in its looks and uses some design elements from XUV-500 and hence gets the name XUV-300. Mahindra called it the cheetah-inspired design.
But we still believe that Nexon is still a good looking SUV with a crossover type design rather than old-school boxy design. Although the design is the subjective matter and depends on the individual’s choice.
INTERIOR
Just as exteriors, Nexon's interior is also well put together rather it is one of the best tata’s interior with good material quality. It has a floating infotainment touch screen which avoids the distraction of driver from the road while operating it. The cabin is quite practical and has many usable storage spaces and decent size glove box with a tablet holder. Just like exteriors, Tata has also used various color combinations in interiors as well. The seat comfort is good like all Tata cars have.
XUV-300 will be launching in the month of February, so commenting about its interior will be quite earlier as we haven’t get the chance to feel its interior materials, but from the available pics on internet we can say that the interiors of XUV-300 is quite simple as compare to Nexon but is definitely more functional, as it has more features in it.
FEATURES
XUV-300 has a lot of features some of which like 7-airbags, factory fitted sunroof, dual zone climate control are segment first. On the other hand, Nexon also offers some of the unique features like voice commands, multiple drive modes, and 8 speaker Harman music system in attractive prices which makes Nexon value for money.
ENGINE
Nexon comes with two engine options, the 1.2L turbocharged 3-cylinder Revotron petrol engine producing 110 hp @5000rpm and 110 N-m torque @5000 rpm and a 1.5L turbocharged Revotorq diesel engine which produces 110 hp @3750 rpm.
XUV-300 will come with Diesel as well as Petrol engines. 1.5 liter D15 Diesel engine is going to be more powerful in the segment producing 123 HP of power and 300N-m of torque. 1.2-liter Petrol unit will be 2nd most powerful engine producing 120 HP and 170 N-m torque after Ford eco sports who’s 1.0 Eco Boost engine produces 125 HP.
