With competition from Tata Harrier, Hyundai Creta and Jeep Compass pushing sales of Mahindra XUV500 to all time low, the company has now announced launch of a new cheaper variant, which comes with bare minimum features. Meet 2019 Mahindra XUV500 W3 trim, which is priced from Rs 12.28 lakhs, ex-sh. This when compared to price of the W5 trim, which was the entry level variant till now, is Rs 57k cheaper. Price of Mahindra XUV500 W5 trim starts from Rs 12.85 lakhs, ex-sh.
This makes the Mahindra XUV500 aggressively priced, and even lower than the newly launched Tata Harrier, which is priced from Rs 12.71 lakh, ex-sh. It is also very closely priced to the top variant of XUV300, which costs Rs 12 lakhs. The new W3 trim also competes will with the Hyundai Creta, which is priced in the range of Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 15.7 lakhs, ex-sh.
This is not the first time Mahindra has launched a bare minimum entry level variant of XUV500. There was a W4 trim on offer with the pre-facelifted XUV500, but the same was discontinued in 2018 when the XUV500 facelift was launched. Watch the detailed first look video by AutoTrend TV channel on Youtube below.
In its new avatar XUV500 W3 features, or the lack of it are multiple. Exteriors have been laid barren with all of its black body cladding, and chrome inserts having been done away with. While front design essentially remains the same, XUV500 W3 variant has a noticeable change of parts in the headlight cluster. LED DRLs, and fog lights do not feature in the base variant. Further chrome stripping results in a grey front grille.
The side view misses some of the the more resplendent variants’ look. The 17-inch steel wheels in use miss out on hubcaps. Black accents on the pillars give way to body coloured ones. The rear door window is not fitted with a wiper and washer. XUV500 W3 features all-black interiors, black fabric seats, and doesn’t include soft-touch materials. An audio system doesn’t exist.
Features include engine start-stop (mild-hybrid system), front and rear seat power windows, electrically adjustable ORVMs with power folding, central locking, and front and rear air conditioning. XUV500 W3 comes features the in use 2.2-litre, four-cylinder m-Hawk diesel engine to return 155hp of max power and and 360Nm of torque, paired to a 6-speed manual gearbox.
