New 2013 Mahindra XUV500 review, test drive

Occupants will have no trouble entering any Mahindra XUV500 variant. The doors open wide and the not-so-high floor means you don’t have to trek your way up to the seats. But once inside, you’ll notice the plastics come in three different textures and the dash seems to be cramped with too many individual elements. The instrument cluster, with chrome-ringed dials and circular centres, looks great, but is not that easy to read. Other nice bits in the SUV include smart, high-quality air-con vents that work well to direct air flow, the chunky steering that’s quite nice to hold, and the air-con and audio system dials on the centre console that have a high-quality feel. However, the same can’t be said about the other buttons on the centre console, which feel like Scrabble tiles, and the fake wood finish doesn’t look very convincing. The interiors may lack the finesse offered by the competition and the fit and finish may not be the best but it is quite acceptable and something you can live with.

The front seats come with generous bolstering and adjustable lumbar support. However, the cushioning is on the firm side and the backrest feels a bit narrow near the shoulders. The steering column, which adjusts for rake and reach (in W8 trim), is still a tad too high, even at the lowest setting.Middle-row seats in the XUV500 have enough legroom for six-footers to stretch out, even with the front seat pushed back. The seats themselves are very generously cushioned and the flat floor makes this SUV one of the best for travelling three abreast. Third-row passengers don’t have it as good though; the leg- and kneeroom are severely limited and headroom is quite tight too. With all seats in place, there’s practically no luggage space. However, the last and middle rows do split and fold flat to convert the XUV into a serious load-lugger and the relatively low floor makes loading easy.

In the cabin, there’s an abundance of storage space for knick-knacks. The biggest selling point of the XUV500 is its phenomenal list of features. The W8 variants get a colour touch-screen that displays GPS data, radio and AUX/USB settings and also doubles up as a DVD player. There is voice activation too and the top variants also get a handy tyre-pressure sensor. All models feature steering-mounted controls for the audio system, rain-sensing wipers, light-sensing headlights, parking sensors and even cruise control. But the quality of most of the electronic equipment isn’t great and does feel a bit tacky. Also, the blood red mood lighting looks quite tawdry. There were electrical issues with early XUV500's but Mahindra claims to have ironed these gremlins out with the recently updated version.