Charm at half price

For just over half a million rand, the Mahindra XUV700 AX7L offers a lot more car than you'd expect. Let's see how it performs when towing a caravan.

- Leon Botha

We got behind the wheel of a Mahindra for a towing test six years ago – and the two models are light years apart.

Back then, the fish-eye interior mirror in the XUV500 was a nifty antidote to blind spots; now you see a camera image right in front of you on the dashboard. Moreover, the 360º all-around view is a substantial upgrade on the one-eyed rearview camera whose lens wasn’t even centred on the body.

The dashboard with its concentric speedometer and tachometer has been replaced with a touchscreen that spans more than half the interior. It’s simply a different world.

The old 2,2 ℓ diesel engine also had six gears, but its 330 Nm couldn’t come close to the 2 ℓ turbo petrol engine’s 380 Nm. Mahindra reckons it’s the best turbocharged engine in its class. The fifth and sixth gears in the XUV500 weren’t really made for towing – it was particularly noticeable with the manual version. With this smooth automatic gearbox, the specific gear is irrelevant, and the XUV700 tows as if it were assembled in a caravan production line.

The XUV700 are miles apart from the XUV500 that we tested back then. But stick around, that’s just the start.

Hitting pay dirt

We’re tempted to describe the XUV700 as a bargain, but that gives off“cheap”vibes and that’s far from the truth. But at R570 000, you’ll have to search far and wide for what this vehicle has to offer.

Three models are available: the five-seater XUV700 AX5 that costs R479 999, and two seven-seater models, the XUV700 AX7 and AX7L costing R534 999 and R569 999 respectively. We drove the latter.