MAHINDRA 7XO

With the XUV 7XO, Mahindra hasn't tried to start over. Instead, it has refined, upgraded and very carefully nudged a winning formula into its next, more ambitious chapter

- DIPAYAN DUTTA

Improving on an already excellent product is one of the hardest things in the car business. When a car gets it right the first time, every change that follows is scrutinised not just for what it adds, but for what it risks losing. The Mahindra XUV700 was one such car. It arrived with confidence, capability and an uncanny ability to feel far more premium than its price suggested. It didn't merely compete; it took on rivals who had grown comfortable doing anything less than perfection. Which is why the arrival of the Mahindra XUV 7XO feels less like a routine facelift and more like a high-wire act. Change too little, and you're accused of complacency. Change too much, and you risk upsetting a formula that worked brilliantly. The good news is that Mahindra seems acutely aware of this balancing act. The 7XO doesn't attempt to rewrite the XUV700 story. Instead, it edits it with a sharper pen.

At first glance, the proportions are reassuringly familiar. The stance, the width, and the visual heft that made the XUV700 feel properly SUV-like are all intact. But linger a little longer and the differences start to emerge. The face has been reworked with a new grille that feels more assertive without tipping into aggression. The lighting signature has evolved too, with the DRLs now forming a single, cleaner unit rather than the split arrangement of the older car. The projector headlamps sit neatly within the cluster, and there’s a faint visual echo of Mahindra's other SUVs here — a subtle family resemblance rather than outright imitation.