CarBrandLogos archive · Mahindra · 2021

MahindraMahindra XUV700

Driver aids and a 200-horsepower petrol engine, priced where nobody expected them.

Photo: DriveSpark · CC BY 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Mahindra history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Mahindra XUV700, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Mahindra spent the 2010s known for tough vehicles that were not especially sophisticated. The XUV700, launched in September 2021, was the deliberate correction. It replaced the XUV500 with a longer, wider, stiffer body and a specification sheet that read like a segment above: adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping and autonomous emergency braking on a car that started well under the price of most rivals' base models.

2021 Mahindra XUV700 2.2 AX7 rear view · DriveSpark · CC BY 3.0

Design and engineering

Two engines carried it. The 2.0-litre mStallion turbo petrol gave Mahindra a genuinely quick SUV for the first time, while the familiar 2.2-litre mHawk turbodiesel did the long-distance work, both offered with six-speed manual or automatic gearboxes and front- or all-wheel drive. Inside, a pair of joined displays ran AdrenoX, an infotainment system built with Amazon's Alexa embedded, and the flush door handles that popped out on approach became the car's party trick.

2021 Mahindra XUV700 2.2 AX7 interior · DriveSpark · CC BY 3.0

In production

The launch was a genuine event. Mahindra took more than fifty thousand bookings on the first day and rationed the introductory prices; waiting lists stretched past a year at some dealers. Crash testing returned a five-star Global NCAP result, which mattered in a market where that had long been the exception.

Legacy

The range has since grown upward rather than sideways: a facelifted XUV 7XO, and an electric XEV 9S variant that swaps the front engine for a rear motor driving the rear wheels.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2021–present

Engine

Petrol engine

Body

5-door SUV

Technical specification

The Mahindra XUV700, in detail.

Production: September 2021 – present
Class: Compact crossover SUV
Body style: 5-door SUV
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive or rear-motor, rear-wheel-drive (XEV 9S)
Engine: Petrol engine; Petrol: ; 2.0 L mStallion Straight-four engine; I4 Turbocharger; turbo ; Diesel engine; Diesel: ; 2.2 L Mahindra mHawk engine; mHawk I4 Turbodiesel; turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual; 6-speed automatic
Assembly: India: Chakan, Maharashtra
Manufacturer: Mahindra & Mahindra