Mahindra XUV300 Engine & Performance

The Mahindra XUV300 comes with the choice of two engines, a 1.2 litre 3 cylinder turbo petrol that’s seen on the KUV100 and a 1.5 litre 4 cylinder diesel engine from the Marazzo. The petrol engine makes 110 horsepower and 200 Nm of torque and the diesel is good for 115 horses with 300 Nm of torque. We drove the diesel on this drive so the petrol review will have to wait. Straight away the engine impressed us with its refinement. Coming from the Marazzo, this was expected. There are no typical diesel vibrations either. The XUV300 feels quick right from the word go and turbo lag is well controlled. This is thanks to the variable geometry turbo. There is a strong mid range post the 2000 rpm mark that really adds to the driving experience. Performance tapers off after 3,500 rpm while the redline stands at 4,500 rpm. Both the engines come mated to a 6 speed manual gearbox. The gearbox has smooth shifts but there is a bit of lever travel. The light clutch makes driving very easy. The engine is very tractable too and you can pick up the pace from as low as 1200 rpm in fourth gear too. While we didn’t indulge in any highway driving, we are sure the XUV300 will make for a fantastic highway cruiser.

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