Mahindra KUV100 NXT Review – It has CHANGED!

Many auto critics have been bashing Indian car makers. Its true. Indian car makers are their easiest and soft target. The claim! Sorry, the big claim! We have driven on a race track in XYZ in Europe or somewhere in North America and what not! The problem is not in the bashing! The problem is when their balls freeze to use the same terms when a foreign maker screws up a product. Why? Oh no! No foreign junkies. I personally do not believe in bragging. What it is leading to is pulling away buyers from a car that doesn’t deserve so much of a hard time. There are so many cars that have different awards, but in the real world, no one cares about them. If you have a product that isn’t value for money, that missing out on features, that missing out on space or something else, you do not have a chance to sustain numbers for too long. I have lived in this world, and was worried that I will too have to be a part of this scenario.

There has been one vehicle, which was good but had some issues. A vehicle for the youth. Called as Kool Utility Vehicle. Is this what it is? When it was launched, what it promised was trendy design — not for those who are looking at a subtle design. It also promised to be spacious, comfortable and powerful. But then it did lack the quality, it did miss out on the features and more importantly ease of driving. The KUV had a super hard clutch and this was  disappointing if you drive more often in the city. Mahindra seems to have heard the feedback and worked on it. Not once but twice. The first upgrade was good, but it lacked the major aspects about which I had complains. Read further as I will share many aspects that would have gone missing in the review of most of the journalists. You will have a lot more information and understanding about this vehicle then any other KUV100 NXT you would have read.

Mahindra KUV100 NXT Video Review

Design

There are many who like the design of the Mahindra KUV100 NXT and there are many who don’t. So, its an equal number. You either like it or hate it design. What has majorly changed are some add-ons that make the KUV NXT look a lot more stylish and premium. The colours are now more glossy than ever. There were certain elements that did seem a bit out of place, like the alloy wheels on the previous version.

Things have now seen a major improvement.

There has been an upgrade in the styling of the KUV. The front grille sees a minor change in its styling, the headlamps also are updated. It continues with the same daytime running LEDs. The front bumper gets revised and new fog lamps look cool too. The first time, they offered 15-inch wheels on the K8 variant and these are diamond-cut type. The wing mirrors are blacked-out and have electrical folding too. The tail lamps are now dual barrelled ones like the headlamps. Then there is also the contrast roof colour, which is majorly black only. 

Also Read: Maruti Ignis vs Hyundai Grand i10 Comparison

Interiors

Mahindra has touched on many aspects that have made the KUV100 NXT look more stylish. To begin with, the interiors are now all black. The look and feel of these plastics have seen a big improvement. The materials certain now look a lot better than before. There is a texture that does look better. Moving on to the steering wheel, it is the same but now it is black. Small and easy to grip. The instrument cluster is the same too. Made up of twin dials and it has only two tripmeters on it. There isn’t anything different on it.

The centre console is where the major change has been made. This now has a 7-inch touchscreen system. It is smooth and responsive. This thing gets driver information system like mileage, distance to empty and reverse parking sensors. New AC controls have been added too. This makes it look better and more aesthetic. The seat fabric has seen an upgrade too. the quality feels much better.

Moving on to the space, there is more than sufficient space for two in the front and three at the back. There is ample of knee room and head room for the rear passengers. The front seats can be used for 3 people, but the third passenger will find it tight. But the middle seat can be converted into an arm rest and what a lovely arm rest it is to have. In terms of storage, 1-litre bottles can fit easily in the front and rear rows, there is an under-tray storage in the co-driver’s seat. The rear seating central tunnel is flat. This even has storage underneath it. The boot isn’t very large, and even the access to it is poor.

Engine and Transmission

1.2-litre petrol and diesel engines power the KUV100 NXT. These new engines are three-cylinder ones and they are the same when they were launched on the micro SUV. The petrol engine has decent power and is good enough for daily usage. However, it has some amount of vibrations at low engine speeds, which means it will miss out on the refinement. These are felt the most when you are waiting on a red light. There has been some improvements in the NVH of the petrol engine and it seems a tad better than before.

The diesel engine was always good, but the biggest let down was its hard clutch. From all the product presentations we have gone through it doesn’t say a word about it. No other reviewer would have noticed this, but your clutch has now become a lot lighter. Before driving in traffic meant your clutch becoming hard and making it difficult to drive on a daily basis. This issue has been taken care of. The company claims to have reduced the diesel clatter too with better insulation. We aren’t certain of that. When you begin to drive this engine, you will not feel at any point that this is just a 1.2-litre engine. It is peppy and it has the punch even at low engine speeds. This makes it drivable too.

Mileage

Kitna deti hai? Our favourite question. The petrol engine returns about 11-12km/l in the city and out on the highway it goes up to 15km/l. On the other hand, the diesel engine will return close to 15km/l in the city and the number jumps up to 19km/l on the highway.

These are the real world figures.

Driving Dynamics

Now, the biggest perception – it has high ground clearance, it made by an Indian company. Body roll! The Mahindra KUV100 NXT has a short wheelbase vis-a-vis its height. Hence, the suspension will have to be a tad stiff. This is for better handling. There is some amount of body roll, but let us remember that this vehicle hasn’t been built for track, at the most to be driven on winding roads. This SUV has good enough stability and ideal for daily city use. It is meant to go smoothly on bad roads and have a pliant ride. Despite the stiff suspension it does a neat job. Most of the road jolts are ironed out, else you encounter broken roads. This is where it changes completely. The vehicle needs to have good enough ride and it does in most of the cases.

Now, the biggest asset of the Mahindra KUV100 NXT is its ground clearance. You don’t only have high clearance but you even sit high in a commanding position. This makes it a good view and comfortable to drive in the city. This is what other vehicles in this price miss out. The KUV has more than sufficient clearance to drive even on a bad road. The steering feedback is good enough but the vehicle doesn’t feel confident after 120km/hr.

Mahindra KUV100 NXT – Should you buy?

Moving on to the verdict. The KUV100 NXT comes at a price tag that is similar to the Maruti Suzuki Ignis and the Hyundai Grand i10. For the same price, the KUV misses out on features like push start and stop button, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and even reverse camera. But then what you get is a vehicle with the SUV-stance. This is a unique proposition and we can trade off these features for it. In short, the KUV100 NXT is a great product to consider for the Indian car market and we reckon it is a good choice to buy.

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