A taller ground clearance is one of the reasons SUVs are so popular in India. Even if you look past the aesthetic advantages a higher clearance provides – a more commanding driving position and a more powerful road presence – there’s also the fact that it simply works better on our typically terrible roads.

So when the government announced at this year’s Union Budget that there would be an additional three-percent duty levied on SUVs, it seemed like a low blow to carmakers and car buyers alike. It was as if it was milking something just because it was popular. What’s more, one of the government’s defining factors for the SUV classification was ground clearance, with anything taller than 170mm making the grade. The other two were engine size (greater than 1500cc) and overall vehicle length (greater than four metres).

The good news is that failing to meet any one of those criteria would leave a car exempt from the tax, and as we reported a little while back, Mahindra has been working on exploiting this loophole with its range of SUVs by lowering their ground clearance. We have now learned that the popular XUV500 is the first Mahindra to have its clearance reduced, and as a result, prices have dropped across the range. Previously rated at 200mm, the XUV is now lower by 40mm, and the new 160mm clearance comfortably ducks under the government’s 170mm limit. The W6 trim is now Rs 27,000 cheaper than before, while the W8 trim is Rs 33,000 cheaper. Continued..