It will soon be two years since Mahindra had introduced its first compact-mini sport utility vehicle, the KUV100. The car was meant to bridge the gap between&nbsp;the hatchbacks and SUVs which worked out well in the beginning for Mahindra but later lost momentum as the rivals had upped their ante in the competition. To counter that, Mahindra has given the KUV100 a mid-life update and launched the new KUV100 NXT model. Mahindra says it has has made 40 changes in the KUV100, making it a better proposition in the market. That said, we have with ourselves both tunes of the KUV100 NXT with us for the day, so let&#39;s see how they fair against each other.Although the KUV100 featured a fresh take on the design of a mini SUV look, it had a few rough edges which Mahindra has notably taken care of with the facelift. Both versions look identical to each other with no badges to differentiate them. Starting from the front, the new KUV100 NXT now has a much more intimidating stance of an SUV thanks to the re-sculpted bumper, new front grille and the well-defined silver skid plate. The old headlamps have been replaced with twin-pod headlamps with the retained LED DRLs that give the young SUV a premium look. The same treatment continues towards the rear as it gets a matching rear bumper, twin-pod tail-lights and a silver skid plate. Subtle changes have also been made to the tailgate which is hard to notice but on the whole, does give the rear a clean and mature look.Get inside the KUV100 NXT and you are welcomed by a pleasant surprise. The beige fabric upholstery has now been replaced with all-black interiors for the top-spec K8 trim, which we like. And with that, Mahindra has also improved the feel and overall quality of the plastics with the use of a darker shade and textured surface. The biggest change, however, in the cabin is the addition of a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that has been plucked from the TUV300. Apart from the standard features, there is navigation and the Mahindra BlueSense App to make life behind the wheel easier. The unit also doubles as a display for the reverse parking sensors making it simpler to park with the visual reference. Lastly, the aircon control panel which previously consisted of three knobs has been replaced with just one knob to regulate the blower speed and buttons to control the different modes and temperature. All these changes have aided in making the cabin of the NXT more ergonomic and stylish.<img src="http://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/1132/256306/5a30cb4736a72/1513147176_loc.jpg"" owidth=1653 oheight=1065" style="height:322px; width:500px" />With that covered, we head under the hood, which differentiates the two. The KUV100 NXT gets the same 1.2-litre petrol and diesel mills as the previous KUV100. Both the engines have been slightly retuned but continue to deliver the same power and torque ratings. The petrol felt slightly underpowered in the bottom range of the power band but was definitely smoother. Being a three-cylinder mill, one needs to keep the revs on the higher side to make the most of the 82 bhp produced by the motor. The NVH levels have also been improved thanks to the use of new sound damping materials.Moving to the diesel, the oil burner is brisk at building speed thanks to the 19.37 kgm, which is available right from 1750 rpm. The diesel also gets the power/eco mode selector apart from the micro-hybrid (start-stop function) which is offered on the petrol version as well. In-gear acceleration is stronger with the diesel motor as compared to the petrol which requires dropping a gear to get in the power band.<img src="http://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/1132/256306/5a30cb4736a72/1513146987087.jpg"" owidth=469 oheight=315" style="height:336px; width:500px" />Also, for both the variants the ride quality was smooth and adequately damped at different speeds up to 100 kph. Mahindra has changed the engine mounts for better absorption of vibrations which we will be able to quantify only after driving the cars for more time later.To sum up things, after driving the petrol and diesel variants back-to-back, I feel both the engine variants faired quite equally. If your time behind the wheel mostly involves driving within the city, then the petrol makes more sense. However, if your journeys are more inclined towards highway travel, the diesel works out better in that favour. If you ask me, both being Mahindras of the same model with different engines, it solely depends upon which one works out the best for you.&nbsp;

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