Mahindra TUV300

Thar - 26. Slowly but surely getting there. haha
Seems like Mahindra is moving a good amount of KUV's
 
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Can Mahindra take on the compact SUV players?

It goes without saying that Mahindra is an oddball choice in any of the vehicle segments it operates in, but with a rapidly growing selection of compact crossovers in our market, even the most off-the-wall models are in for a piece of the pie - even it is just a sliver.
The TUV300 on test here technically competes with cars such as Ford’s Ecosport, Renault’s Duster and Honda’s BR-V, but in typically Indian fashion it undercuts them all in price, and by quite a hefty margin too. It also brings some unique aspects to the high-riding, pseudo-adventure vehicle game with a bakkie-like body-on-frame chassis design, rear-wheel drive and space for seven passengers - but more on those later.

Adventure vehicle categorisation is a bit of stretch though, because, while it does have a decent 184mm of ground clearance there is almost zero off-road ability here. I actually got stuck with a spinning right rear wheel on the very same angular driveway entrance a buddy had just negotiated without problems in a lowered hatchback. That said, it’ll be at least as good as its aforementioned front-wheel drive rivals when it comes to straddling middlemannetjies or travelling the odd rutted out of town route.

The TUV’s body-on-frame design might mean little to buyers in this league, who wouldn’t know a unibody from a unicorn, but it’s because of this unconventional setup that occupants sit so high up in relation to the road. And that’s the name of the game with the current crop of crossover SUVs - the more altitude the better. The TUV is deceptively lofty, and at robots I noted various 4x4 bakkie drivers sitting at eye level with me. Its funny dimensions do make for a rather peculiar looking package, as this Mahindra seems almost as long as it is tall.

On top of the elevated seating position is an even higher roofline, and Abraham Lincoln could sit in here without removing his trademark top hat. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t all make for a top-heavy feeling on the road, and the TUV300 struggles to keep an even keel around sharper corners at speed. It may bob and sway more than the competitors mentioned above when driven with enthusiasm, but it still manages ride quality well with cushiony springs and balloony 15-inch tyres that smother rough surfaces with softness.

Cruisability

Under the hood is a 1.5-litre turbodiesel with just three cylinders, but it’s impressively torquey and with only a trace of turbolag. Outputs are rated at 74kW and 258Nm, but it’s the latter figure that makes for calm, low rev cruisability. Ratios in the five-speed manual transmission are long, so shifts are infrequent and it’s possible to hang onto one gear for speed ranges that might require two or three in other cars.

Our test car returned an average diesel consumption of 7.9 litres per 100km over a week of mostly traffic congested commutes. That was with its auto stop/start function disabled, however, because in the TUV it kicks off and fires up with a judder that could be measured on the Richter scale. It was also quite slow to react, and I found it better (and safer) to drive without it.

The cabin is far better presented than other recent Mahindras, and as long as you don’t mind the beige bomb that’s exploded over the entire interior (minus a small bit of dashboard and the steering wheel), it’s all well made and styled with 21st century taste. Controls are a little last season however, with a basic two knob radio and three knob climate control system; but I must say it’s refreshing to use such a simple arrangement in a world full of overly complex touchscreens today. Old school is still cool.

Now, about those sixth and seventh jumpseats. Absolutely terrible. They’re side-mounted flip down chairs just like you get in a Fortuner, but they’re so small only a pair of toddlers would fit there ... at a squeeze. And even worse, they have no seatbelts. Unbuckled toddlers are unacceptable in our book, so even if South African homologation laws allow belt-less seating, we think these poor attempts at cramming in extra passengers would be better unbolted and left out.

I would like to say that this seat deletion would free up some cargo space, but it wouldn’t actually help much because the rear wheel housings intrude so far into the boot.

Mahindra claims a 384 litre capacity, or 720 with the middle bench folded, and while that may be true they’re the most awkwardly shaped litres we’ve seen in a long while. If head room is the TUV’s forte, boot space certainly isn’t. Count on around six bags of groceries only.

VERDICT

A very high riding alternative to the usual compact crossover suspects. The TUV300 is easy to drive and offers a commanding view of the road, but if you need space for seven souls, we urge you to look elsewhere.

MAHINDRA VERSUS RIVALS

TUV300

1.5 turbodiesel, 74kW/258Nm, 184mm ground clearance, 7 seats - R229 995

Ford Ecosport Trend

1.5 turbodiesel, 74kW/205Nm, 200mm ground clearance, 5 seats - R283 900

Honda BR-V Comfort

1.5 petrol, 88kW/145Nm 210mm ground clearance, 7 seats - R252 900

Renault Duster Dynamique

1.5 turbodiesel, 80kW/240Nm, 210mm ground clearance, 5 seats - R279 900

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/road-tests/can-mahindra-take-on-the-compact-suv-players-8661469

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5 reasons why Mahindra's TUV300 is a suprisingly likable car

'Once in awhile a car arrives that nobody is excited to drive but then it knocks your socks off with its cute charms,' says Janine Van der Post as she drives the Mahindra TUV300.

The Mahindra TUV300 arrived at our office amidst other test units and was parked in a corner. It's akin to a new kid at school that hasn't made any friends yet.

I was always the one who'd introduce myself to lonely, shy new kids at school - "Are you new here? I'm Janine..." It's also how I met my best friend at university.

It was the same with Mahindra's TUV300. I don't blame my work mates for not being excited about driving it since one of our previous test with its smaller sibling, the KUV100, was a fiery experience. And besides that, the build quality left much to be desired.

The difference between the KUV100 and TUV300 is night and day, with the latter, a much improved version of the former.

The interior colour is an acquired taste and it's not really an SUV but it can grapple gravel roads.

Here are 5 reasons that might make you like this car:

1. It's not a bad-looking vehicle

The TUV300 isn't the most adorable-looking car, nor is it sexy in any way... but, it's not ugly either and judging from Mahindra's previous offerings, that's a good thing.

2. It's such a friendly car.

A warm, friendly gentleman's voice welcomes you every time you start the car. No, really, the voice says "Welcome to your Mahindra TUV300".

It also pauses the audio to tell you when you switch to Eco Mode.

3. It's like an over-protective parent

It tries to tell you very calmly that you seat belt is not fastened, getting more excited the more you don't adhere to its friendly request. But it's Eco mode is something special and left me giggling every time I turned it on, or off.

The car literally goes into what feels like 'limp mode', akin to a parent gently holding the harness tighter when their child wants to run off in a shopping mall. It also has dual airbags, but since this is a seven-seater, I'd like to see more airbags for rear passengers too.

4. It sips fuel like a princess having a cup of tea.

Eco mode certainly helps reduce the fuel consumption a whole lot more. During my couple of days driving the KUV300, I hardly used any fuel. Mahindra SA claims a combined fuel figure of 5.4-litres/100km.

5. Ohmygosh, it's so spacious!

The second row of seats genuinely sits three adults comfortably without anyone having to remove elbows from their sides. I usually prefer seven-seaters to have the third row of seats fold completely flat into the floor to maximise boot space, but I enjoyed the TUV300's two seats in the boot.

There are two individual seats on either side of the boot, with the seat part neatly folded up. This still leaves more than enough space for shopping bags or other larger items. And, the seats are not just for small kids - because you don't really want them sitting there anyway (for safety reasons, they should be in car seats), adults can comfortably ride along and have a great chat facing each other.

There are a couple of niggles such as the window controls sitting in the centre console next to the handbrake lever. The positioning is a bit awkward, and you often find yourself fumbling to put the window up or down. And the voice commands' novelty wears off after a while and becomes annoying rather than cute.

But with all that said, this car makes for a decent family vehicle: it's spacious, economic and is affordable from R229 995 for most customers trying to find something affordable that won't cost a limb or two.

http://m.wheels24.co.za/wheels24/Ne...-tuv300-is-a-suprisingly-likable-car-20170621

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I think the TUV 300 needs bigger wheels. Probably some better looking alloys too.

edit. Look what I found on cars.co.za. Loads better than the standard wheels.

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