I want to buy an SUV, and my budget is around 20 lakh. I have seen the MG Hector, the Mahindra XUV and the Tharr Rox. Which car should I buy, and given the current scenarios on the govt policies, should I go for petrol or diesel?

Autocar India

•57m

The Safari's biggest advantage over the XUV 7XO is its third row packaging and the slightly more premium second row experience. However, once performance, drivability, technology and overall ownership proposition are considered, the XUV 7XO pulls ahead in most areas.The waiting period is understandably frustrating, but considering this is likely to be a long-term purchase, a few extra months of waiting is generally easier to justify than living with a second choice for several years.The only reason to choose the Safari would be if second row comfort is overwhelmingly more important than every other factor, and the vehicle needs to be purchased immediately. Otherwise, the XUV 7XO AX7L Diesel Automatic is the better all-around product and worth waiting for.

Mahindra XUV 7XO

Tata Safari

Autocar India

•4h

Go for the Mahindra XUV 7XO diesel automatic. Your guaranteed highway running every year is exactly what a DPF likes, and the diesel will be cheaper to run and nicer to cruise with its strong torque. With your usage, the diesel should return clearly better highway economy than the petrol and feel more relaxed on long trips.Your pattern is low-risk for DPF trouble. Those steady highway stretches will keep the filter clean via passive regen, and Mahindra’s active regen will step in if needed. A workshop 3 km away also means any rare forced regen is easy to sort.The car sitting Monday to Friday does not create soot. Soot builds only when driving, especially on repeated cold starts with short, crawling trips. Your weekend 15-20 km runs are long enough to get the exhaust hot unless they are pure bumper-to-bumper. The monthly 150 km city loop adds a good safety margin.Between diesel AT and petrol AT for you, diesel wins. Expect lower fuel costs on highways and stronger pull when loaded.

Mahindra XUV 7XO

Autocar India

•2d

In your case, we would actually stick with the diesel. The reason is that this is not going to be your primary city car. You have clearly stated that it will be used mainly for highway travel, occasional family trips and as a second vehicle. Those are exactly the conditions under which a modern diesel is happiest. With regular highway runs, the DPF gets the opportunity to regenerate properly, so we would not be overly concerned about DPF issues.The bigger factor is your planned two-year ownership period. In the used market, the diesel XUV 7XO is likely to be more desirable and easier to sell than the petrol, especially because buyers looking at a large SUV often prefer the stronger torque delivery and superior fuel efficiency of the diesel. That should help residual values as well.If you were doing 5,000 km a year entirely in city traffic, we would steer you towards the petrol. But your usage pattern is different. The car will spend most of its time doing exactly the kind of driving that suits the diesel powertrain.

Mahindra XUV 7XO