Mahindra has unveiled a new EV under its sleeve to disrupt the EV market in India, After the successful launch of its SUV siblings Scorpio-n, Scorpio Classic and XUV700; Mahindra is now ready to heat up the EV game with its newest car- XUV400. Though the model is highly inspired from the previous generation- XUV300, it is heavily modified and updated for an electric personality of its own in India. We will try to find out what we get in this car and can it really stand in the market against the EV such as Nexon and Tiago?
Read till the end to find out in this Mahindra XUV400 review-
Exterior & Design Language
Mahindra has modified the car to give it a distinct EV identity. The closed front grill with small ions and a touch of copper coluor around the car gives this car a look of its own and we kind of like it. Surely, Mahindra is trying to make this car stand out from the crowd. The front headlights are identical, yet there are no fog lights. But the overall size of this car is bigger with 4200 “ in length. There are 16” wheels which are respectful and the rear is also redesigned. The car has hints of copper colour elements all around and looks subtle if not overworked. It has a midsize SUV kind of build and look. The big size is a plus as it attracts the subsidy. This also acts as a plus as it offers 378 litres of boot space. Though the major design and imagination is borrowed from XUV300, the differentiation comes with a new bumper, copper colored accents, and more that does give this car an identified by EV look.
Interior and Seating
When you get inside the car, you will notice that the sprinkle of copper theme is carried here also. Accentuated on the rotary knobs for volume and air conditioning, the air vents and gear lever and updated logo of Mahindra on the steering. All finished with a touch of copper. Mahindra is trying to give a strong EV message here. To be honest, the Gear Shifter is the most nice-looking thing in the cabin, rest is pretty much identical with the XUV300 just differentiated with the all black accents. There is a 7” infotainment screen with dials to navigate and dated knobs and buttons unlike with the new infotainment offerings by Mahindra in XUV700 and Scorpio.
When it comes to connectivity, mahindra has done much more here, it has the BlueSense Plus Tech that gives around 60 features including remote operated functions like range, climate control, etc. Glovebox is reasonably large but there is no proper place for a phone or no wireless charging pad either. There are perforated and comfortable seats on the front but with no option of ventilated seats. Coming to some corner cuttings, there are no rear AC vents and front parking sensors which is the least expected from an EV of this range.
One the plus side, there is plenty of cabin space, it feels even bigger than the Nexon. Good amount of legroom and headroom is available for average adults. The cabin can easily accommodate three people. The battery is under the centre console, which means that the only place which is thicker is in the middle passenger section, leaving the side rear passengers’ space intact. To sum it up. The cabin is quite comfy and spacious and has most of the updated technology if not the cutting edge one.
Performance & Charging
There is an electric powertrain in the heart of the Mahindra XUV400, and it is no less than the competition either. The motor generates 150hp and 310 Nm of torque on the front wheel only. There is a 39.4 kWh battery that offers a range of upto 456 km as per the company official figures.
Everything is packed on the front and in the bottom middle of the car making it greatly balanced. Motor hum or whine are at lows, and the overall insulation of the XUV400 too helps keep the cabin stay quiet.The NVH levels are also low in this EV and we are happy with Mahindra here.
The XUV400 comes with three drive modes, cheesily named – Fun, Fast and Fearless – and the instrument cluster beings a different hue for each mode.
Mahindra has also stated that this EV will be getting traction control as standard in the future which is a good plus considering the power and wheel spin this car brings in Fearless mode. This will be a helpful feature in wet conditions.
One the performance front, Mahindra XUV400 does not disappoint. In fearless mode, the car managed to do a 0-100kph in just 8.7 sec which is tad faster than the Nexon EV Max. The official top speed is 150 kmph but on road, the car even touches 160 kmph which is quite nice with the form factor this SUV is of and weight it has. It is heavy at 1,578 kg.
Here is a matrix for clearer speed run timings. In different modes-
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Mahindra has given these three modes for different styles of driving be it day-today, casual outing or fierce mode for hurries and if you really want to take it to ultra-sensitive everything mode.
All three modes generate regen and the steering is not very different in all three modes, but the sensitivity of acceleration and brake changes accordingly. There is still need of some finetuning before this EV finally hits the roads in the coming months.
Refuelling the XUV400 with electric power is quite easy and pretty quick if you plug it into a 50kW DC fast charger, which Mahindra says will take the battery from 0-80 percent in 50 minutes. A 7.2kW wall box AC charger, the most common that you may install, can charge a completely flat battery to 100 percent in 6.5 hours, and 13 hours if you use a 3.3kW regular socket.
Pricing
Mahindra has not officially commented anything on the pricing yet, however, as the company finally has the chance to disrupt Tata Nexon EV’s hold in the market. There are stipulations that XUV400 can be priced anywhere around Rs 18 lakh-20 lakh (ex-showroom), which definitely will make it attractive as well as competitive enough to attract buyers.
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