Crossover cars have become extremely popular in India over the past year. Which is why manufacturers have been lining up with new launches—Maruti Suzuki’s S-Cross, Hyundai’s Creta and Renault’s recently updated Duster are some examples. And now, Indian car maker Mahindra has launched the TUV 300.
The cabin has a clean layout. Though it packs in technology on a par with most rivals, it is not overwhelming. Everything is placed within easy access of the driver, and simplicity seems to have been the primary criteria for the designers.
The feature that will instantly get your attention is the infotainment system. Mahindra has still not gone with a touch screen. Or a colour display, for that matter—in fact, it has bright orange-coloured fonts. This is a bit perplexing, to be honest.
On the positive side, TUV 300 buyers will appreciate the matte display that offers unhindered visibility during the day, a time when sunlight and reflections play havoc with infotainment- system screens in a lot of other cars. This system offers visual and audio notifications for alerts such as handbrake engaged and door open, which a lot of other cars do not offer.
There is a complete phone connectivity suite, which allows users to sync their smartphones to the system—making it easier to make or receive calls and use the music system’s speakers for Bluetooth audio. The quality of the factory-fitted speakers is impressive—they’re not very bass-heavy, but the clarity of the vocals is quite good.
Mahindra has a smartphone app called Blue Sense, which is available as a free download for Android and iOS devices. Essentially, it pulls system data from the vehicle when connected via Bluetooth and makes it easier for the user to access vehicle information, warnings and status messages. This is the same app that also works with the TUV 300’s elder and more expensive sibling, the XUV500 W8 SUV. No car maker has so far offered such an app here that pulls in data real-time from the vehicle’s on-board computer. However, the app itself needs to be updated—the layout looks a tad dated.
The reverse parking sensor shows the distance notification on the screen in terms of centimetres, which we feel is much more precise and helpful than the metres standard a lot of such systems use.
The steering-mounted controls have been laid out on only one side. Normally, car makers spread these buttons on the left and right sides of the wheel. This means that as a driver, you need to remember the placement of the functions for a genuine “never take the eyes off the road” experience. Secondly, we really like the soft finish on each key, which gives it a premium feel. The only niggle is that there isn’t enough gap between each button.
The TUV 300, just like the XUV500, has a feature that can automatically shut off the engine when the car is stationary for more than 2 seconds and no gear is engaged. This is something the more expensive German cars offer. However, during our test, we did notice that there were a couple of times when the engine didn’t automatically switch back on when the clutch was engaged (it did so perfectly at other times). This could be a bit disconcerting at a traffic signal. This is most likely a software issue, something we expect will be corrected soon enough.
Most variants of the TUV 300 get driver and passenger airbags as standard. This is in line with what the S-Cross offers too. However, we expected the option for curtain and rear-seat airbags as well. The anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) are standard in all except the base T4 variant.
The price of the Mahindra TUV 300 starts at Rs.6.98 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), while the fully loaded T8 variant costs Rs.8.48 lakh. We would recommend this crossover for the high riding position, the straight design lines and the simplicity of the gizmos. We do look forward to more improvements, however.
