“Appa! Don’t go fast, this is not a plane and you’re not on a flight!’ When a small child’s voice yelled this at me, preceded by a loud warning chime, I am not exaggerating when I say I jumped out of my seat; only the seat belt prevented me from making further progress towards the roof. I knew that Mahindra, in the lead up to the XUV700’s launch, had teased a bunch of its new SUV’s features, and that a speed-limit warning in a loved one’s voice was one of the options. I was, however, completely unprepared for an irate preschooler to be admonishing me once I hit 120 kph, and I daresay that I would have preferred a good old repetitive beep, however annoying. Still, I can see this feature being effective – imagine recording a friend swearing at you to slow down – just as long as you know what’s coming once that needle goes north of 120.
And trust me, the needle will go north of 120 very easily (and often) if you’re at the wheel of the petrol-powered XUV700. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol puts out a thrilling 197 bhp at 5000 rpm and 38.75 kgm at 1750-3000 rpm, and it is an absolute firecracker of a power plant. As soon as I started the XUV up and peeled into the convoy heading to Mahindra’s newly-built proving grounds outside of Chennai, I knew it was going to be a fun drive – the engine felt eager straight out of the blocks, and was asking for its legs to be stretched, even as it was happy to glide along at 60 kph and below. It’s difficult to flog a car when you’re in a convoy (an enormous one, to boot), and some crowded sections on the roads leading to the facility meant that I was able to see how the XUV behaved when not on the boil.
This story is from the September 2021 edition of Motoring World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2021 edition of Motoring World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
STRENGTH TO STRENGHT
What's New for 2024? We dive deep into the redesigned Mercedes-Benz GLE 450
BUILDING BLOCKS
Harley-Davidson takes us on a tour of the Hero Motocorp garden factory plant in Neemrana
PRACTICALLY SMART
The Jupiter 125 was already a comfortable and practical family scooter; what has changed this time around?
SEDAN CHIC
The Mercedes-Benz A200d has style and function and makes a compelling case for sedans
SOFT LANDING
City slicker by day, off-road warrior by weekend: Land Rover's Discovery Sport tackles it all.
MORE IS MORE
And less is a bore seems to be BMW's philosophy with the iX. Does it work?
BAVARIAN BOOST
The BMW iX1 offers thrilling performance and luxurious comfort in a compelling all-electric package
URBAN SPRINTER
From school trips to boardroom meetings, the Force Urbania reimagines the van experience with surprising comfort
N LINETENMENT
Pardon the dad joke, but the Creta N Line is worthy of its price tag, even if doesn't quite take you to motoring nirvana
THE ROADS AHEAD
Volkswagen India's Annual Brand Conference revealed what's in store for India this year.