Mahindra TUV300 Plus Engine & Performance

The TUV300 Plus gets the 2.2 litre four cylinder MHawk engine from the Scorpio in a lower state of tune. Here, it makes 120 horsepower and 280 Nm of max torque. The engine is smoother than the motor on the standard TUV. Acceleration is linear and there’s good mid-range punch after 2000 rpm. The engine comes mated to a six speed manual gearbox that’s taken from the Scorpio as well. Gear shifts are adequately smooth but there is a notchy feel to it. The clutch feels light too. The tall gear lever has an annoying vibration at idling and can be a bother for someone who likes to rest the hand on the gear knob at say a traffic light. Also, slotting the reverse gear is confusing as it is placed pretty close to first gear and there is no safety lock either. There were more than a couple of times when I mistakenly slot it into reverse thinking its gone into first gear. The engine does feel strained at higher rpms as well because of the short gear ratios. Another grouse I had was the power steering. It’s very heavy and makes life difficult when parking and also when you have to take three point turns.

The suspension has a soft set-up and the ride quality is quite good. You don’t really feel the potholes on the roads and the SUV just flies over them. However, you do get a bouncy feeling and vertical movement over sharp undulations. High speed stability is excellent. Since this a body on frame SUV, there is a lot of body roll going around corners but then, this is not an enthusiast’s car either. Safety features include dual airbags and ABS with EBD.

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