Mahindra XUV300 Interior

Push the request sensor on the door handle with key in your pocket to unlock the XUV300. The cabin has a very airy feel to it thanks to the dual tone interiors. The range topping variant gets off-white leatherette upholstery. However, we wish that Mahindra would offer all black interiors as well as cleaning the interiors and the upholstery will be prone to getting stained easily and will be quite a task to maintain. Once you look around, you immediately notice the step up in quality from Mahindra. The dashboard is neatly laid out with silver accents and piano black finishes adding a nice touch. The instrument cluster is easy to read with large dials and can be customized in 5 colours. The MID in the centre shows a host of information including tyre direction monitor when you are parked, some thing that we saw in the Alturas G4, gear indicator and digital speedo. The three spoke steering wheel has a good finish and the audio and phone controls on the wheel reek of quality and have a nice touch and feel. Ditto for the power window switches and ORVM knob and buttons. The centre console houses the climate control display and controls and the XUV300 comes with dual automatic climate control, a first in its class. The display does look quite flashy in our opinion though and dated. Even the bottom half of the centre console does’nt look lvery modern. The seat belts are height adjustable and there are seat belt reminders for all the seats as well. The glove box is large and deep enough to hold a 13” laptop. The XUV300 comes with a 7 inch touch screen infotainment system.  It features Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and navigation with 3D maps. It also gets Internet dongle support, Emergency call, Ecosense, tyre pressure monitor, video playback and photo browsing. The graphics are sharp and easy to read but there is a slight lag at times. The Ecosport touchscreen still remains the best in the business. There are lots of storage spaces, with large bottle holders in the doors and cup holders at the front and rear. Other significant features include auto dimming IRVM, keyless go, one touch power window with anti-pinch for the driver and an electric sunroof. The audio system is pleasing enough but cant beat the superb sound system of the Tata Nexon.

The front seats are well cushioned and comfortable and come with height adjust. The range is good even for short drivers. Support is good and finding a good driving position isn’t difficult. However, I found my knee touching the underside of the dashboard when operating the clutch and that was a bit of a bother. The rear bench has good under thigh support and there’s adequate headroom as well. Legroom is not a problem either. Three can sit quite comfortably due the absence of a high transmission tunnel. The middle passenger also gets a three point seatbelt. There are no AC vents for the rear passengers but there are three adjustable headrests.  The boot at 257 litres is not much, the wheel arches do intrude in too,  but the rear seats drop down to free up 625 litres of space. A party trick is that the boot floor can be raised to bring in line with the dropped seat base. The loading lip is also quite high and we did not find a parcel shelf. That’s necessary in today’s times.

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