The sub-continent’s biggest maker comes out swinging with a cheap SUV that’s hardly budget.

JUST when you’d imagined China was the best current go-to for unbeatable value, along comes India. More specifically, India’s largest car brand.

‘Sharp new sports utility model freshly arrives in three derivatives’ - and though they’re already talking about one being expendable should its lack of a now commonplace safety assist become an issue – there’s plenty about the Mahindra XUV700 that demands serious contemplation.

Keeping Kiwis happy is core to a new product offensive from a marque making a fresh start here with a new Twin Peaks logo. If there’s a problem, it will work hard to provide a solution.

On strength of the introduction day, the new ‘seven-oh-oh’ is by and large heading down Sweet St.

It places as a modern, well-provisioned and handily-sized 2.0-litre medium sports utility (or, alternately, ‘crossover’ if you think that descriptive is more fitting for something lacking all-wheel-drive), starting at $36,990 in two row five-seat AX5 and also provisioning in $40,990 and $43,990 AX7 three row, seven-seater form.

A package that is obviously built – and built pretty well - for those on a budget doesn’t make it as plain as you might imagine it would be; quite the contrary, in fact.

Yes, the leather is leatherette and there’s a wealth of average plastic trim, but it isn’t a bare bones car. There’s a little bit of tinny-ness and some eclecticism in, all things, the noise the indicator makes, but also some unexpectedly premium elements, including one quite in-vogue at the high end of the market; a fully electronic instrumentation projecting on a flat screen.

Family appeal is the main draw, nonetheless, of the seven-seater derivatives. Achieving that many chairs in a brand-new sub-$50k car is rare. The less expensive of those editions siting as the country’s cheapest is a gob-smacker, given the roominess and its provision.

From a design aspect, it’s delivering distinctive elements with bold badging but being simple, blocky and upright in its shape – less industrial chic than almost style-by-Lego – it’s undramatic.

The same could be said about the driving side, or as much as could be gleaned about that from the launch proper, which restricted to laps of Hampton Downs circuit.

As the sole fly-in I got to pilot one there from Auckland airport; motorway all the way, so you only learn so much. But, still, it’s quiet, the suspension tune is okay and I like the automatic transmission.

Better-shaped seats would be nice and the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder makes reasonable figures, moreso in respect to torque (380Nm) than power (149kW), is unsurprisingly not a sporty unit so the circuit’s not really the place, though I did see 150kmh on the start-finish straight. Bodyroll and brakes were the issue out there; after three stomping laps the front pads were cooking. It felt more relaxed on the open road. Perception from that side of things was that you don't have to mercilessly thrash it to keep up with everyday traffic flow.

There’s one area that’s a bit unclear; highlighted in a media presentation was that it has been assessed by the New Car Assessment Programme as being worthy of the maximum five stars.

However, that’s from an examination specific to India and Africa called ‘Global NCAP’, less rigorous than the interchangeable Euro NCAP and ANCAP tests our legislation recognises.

ANCAP assessment is still possible, as XU700 is heading to Australia. That regime would involve it being put into full frontal, front offset, side impact and side pole tests, generally at 64 kilometres per hour, a step beyond the lower-speed front offset crash impacts it has been subjected to.

Whatever difference that might make, AX5 would not earn more than four ANCAP stars, as unlike the AX7 it hasn’t the automated emergency braking now requisite for a top-tier score. The five-seater is not going to be sold across the Tasman. Perhaps that’s why.

Mahindra is adamant XUV700 in all its derivatives is as good as anything else in its sector in respect to active and passive safety. It also wonders if motorists give much credence to safety scores anyway and conjects the car will still get a top score from RightCar, the alternate pathway for product that doesn’t have recognised crash test paperwork.

Joydeep Moitra (above), senior management with responsibility for this part of the world and Africa, made clear pulling the base car from here isn’t beyond possibility. It’s not forecast to garner many sales. All local pre-release research indicates that Kiwis will see better value in taking the XUV in seven-seat configuration.

“The five seater is there for price. My sense is that, with New Zealand families, everyone will buy the seven seaters. I’ll be surprised if more than five percent of sales are from the entry car.”

Unsurprisingly, given the state of home market roads, XUV700 is about robustness. Mahindra has a big and modern test centre at its factory, but it also finds benefit from extensively testing product internationally. This model clocked 50,000km in South Africa and 100,000km in Australia before sign-off for sale.

As said, it’s also about value. The car is loaded, including in the L spec driven at the launch with a feature normally restricted to luxury fare – a snazzy LCD instrument display panel ahead of the driver.

Every edition is richly provisioned. The AX5 is on 17-inch alloy wheels and delivers with a glass roof, six-speaker sound system, dual 26cm digital screens, reversing camera, LED headlamps and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay as standard features. Highlight provisions in the mid-level AX7 are 18-inch wheels, leatherette trim and seating, power driver’s seat, auto headlamps and wipers, dual-zone climate control.

The AX7 L adds a drive camera, 12-speaker Sony audio system, 360-degree camera, electronic parking camera, telescopic steering wheel, electronic door handles and wireless charging.

There’s a LOT for the money. Mahindra says its pricing is equivalent to what Kiwis have been used to spending on a used Korean or Japanese rival vehicle of the same qualities that’s had around three years’ use. The brand cites the Hyundai Santa Fe as a good example. Brand-new, that car can cost more than $90,000.

The specific targets for the XUV are the Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail, also markedly more expensive than any of the Mahindras.

The strategy is to let the XUV settle into the market for several months and then add the Scorpio-N, which is four-wheel-drive and sits on a ladder chassis.

Both come from a common factory about 200 kilometres from Mumbai and ship directly to our two countries. There’s no issue with volume as the plant can make half a million vehicles a year and the supply issues that dogged during the coronavirus period – when the brand represented with just the elderly, budget commercial Pik Up and now defunct XUV500 SUV – are sorted.

“During Covid period and just after there was a lot of congestion at Singapore, so all the deliveries to New Zealand as well as Australia were delayed by last two to three months. All of that has been sorted out. In fact, the cars have started coming in earlier than expected,” Moitra explained.

“One of the approaches that we have taken is that we want have very, very good supply and solid stocks of vehicles. We don't want to do any start-stop.

“There should be enough cars in all variants, all colours … everything should be available from day one for all dealers across New Zealand. We don’t want to have anybody disappointed.”

Though well-supported, the SUV/crossover is nonetheless ripe territory as it accounts for more than 60 percent of new passenger model sales.

Selling the elderly, more rudimentary Pik Up gave Mahindra an insight into what Kiwis like from vehicles, but the product incoming now and onward is taking it into a much different and more lucrative sphere.

Mahindra’s strategy is for progressive growth; it wants more of everything out of NZ – customers, of course, but also dealers. There are no volume targets. It intends to be patient. At same token, it’s not aiming to knock off the likes of Toyota or Ford. A modest market share would suffice.

Moitra’s perception of the New Zealand market is that it has been really open to experimenting with new brands.

“They obviously expect the best technology, they expect the best of customer service and customer experience. But, clearly, they've been very open. And there's no national brand.

“Consumers (here) are open-minded to competitive products and if the customer experience is great.

“We believe if we can have competitive products and a channel that gives among the best customer experiences in New Zealand, considering we are a small volume player, I think we can aspire to do that.

“We think we can hit the kind of numbers that some of the new brands have been able to hit in NZ. We were in a very niche segment and now we are coming in more mainstream.

“We really expect there is space in the market. We would not be commenting on competition and volumes … we will be known as a, as a specialist SUV brand with a very capable set of products.”

The first aim to properly establish the brand.

“It's a process, right? It goes in a positive spiral. From the manufacturing side, we are saying (to the distributor and retailers) ‘you don't have to worry about any supply chain issues … you concentrate on doing your part of the work.’”

Mahindra has modest dealer representation but you can expect to see the Twin Peaks signage in more places, with greater visibility. Moitra says he wants truly national coverage and ambition to secure A-league multi-franchise dealers is supported from India. That's happened in South Africa and in Australia.

“There are dealer groups having active conversations with us. This event (the XUV launch) is the start of very, very serious conversations. We want more professional dealers working with us.”

Multifranchising being so common in NZ helps. Mahindra will also stand out as brands with “contemporary technology, good design and potential for growth” are valued.

New Zealand and Australia have become very important for India from a geopolitical view. India has just signed up a free trade agreement with Australia.

“From a government level, they're looking very actively to engage with this part of the world in both trade and services. That also aligns with our focus on building in this region.”

India’s been a quiet achiever in respect to automotive engineering excellence and the sub-continent’s success as a major global centre of Information Technology shows what can be achieved.

Also useful is that India is another right hand-drive market. Makers that develop right hand drive from left hand drive product “never ever get the balance of the original car” he contends.

“That's what makes me more positive … I see a very good convergence happening between the Indian market and the Australia and New Zealand markets, be it with emissions, safety expectations, technologies … everything else.”

The XUV700’s engine is Euro 6B compliant, ahead of local standards, yet not so clean as to avoid a $2357 Clean Car Discount penalty. Economy-wise, too, it’s more fair than fantastic. But 91 octane is okay for it, so there’s saving there.

The engine being Mahindra’s own is point of pride, though developing fossil fuel powertrains is almost secondary, now. India has committed to becoming a global centre of electric vehicle development and production. Mahindra, which will make everything but the battery – they’re partnering with a provider in China for that, at least initially - has up to five EVs coming out within the next five years. All are in SUV formats, because that’s its speciality now.

“We are betting heavily on electric.” Forget no mild or plug-in hybrids; there’s no point.

“We have chosen to make the direct leap. No intermediate steps. Our aspiration is to be a very well-known SUV brand with a full range of both ICE as well as EVs.”

Mahindra’s first electric model is the XUV 400, a spin-off from the petrol XUV 300. Both will come here, but the electric will only be released for export after comprehensive trials to ensure it meets international expectation. So maybe in 2024?

“We give ourselves about a year, at least with domestic introductions before we start thinking about international,” he says.

“I'm not giving a date right now because we are just launching in India and it takes time to stabilise India supplies, then to get my international testing done. We are very, very particular about that testing.”

The XUV 400 (above) order book achieved 20,000 domestic signings within 48 hours, so clearly domestic demand could account for every example. But Moitra recognises the NZ market potential and says we would have priority access over Australia.

“I sense the excitement. I think New Zealand will be more important (for EVs) than Australia. This is a place where we want to build the brand.”

“We have a portfolio of about three SUVs with ICE and maybe another three to five SUVs in EV, eventually.” Some electrics will be based on ICE cars, others will be bespoke.

There’s much to learn about Mahindra. At customer level, just getting your head around model designations might be a challenge. The XUV prefix is basically to say ‘SUV’. But it doesn’t mean platform commonality. XUV is on a different underpinning to the first entrant.

The numericals? Not seating count, but vehicle length. Sort of. “The three-oh-oh is about 4.1-4.2 metres. The five double oh was about 4.5 metres. Seven double-oh is about 4.7 metres.”

The writer attended this event as a guest of the distributor, with travel, meals and a modest gift provided.