Mahindra has launched its smallest SUV ever, the KUV100 yesterday in Pune at a starting price of Rs.
Mahindra has launched its smallest SUV ever, the KUV100 yesterday in Pune at a starting price of Rs. 4.42 lakhs Ex-showroom. The mini SUV has created a new segment and its closest rivals in terms of pricing and positioning are the Maruti Swift and the Hyundai Grand i10. We pit the latter two against Mahindra’s latest in a detailed spec-to-spec comparo.
Exteriors:
The letter ‘K’ in KUV100 stands for ‘Kool’, and has been targeted towards the younger audience. The design looks fresh and makes its stand out in a crowd. The slim headlights with peeled back inserts and the body cladding all around give the car the crossover look it intends to pull. The Maruti Swift on the other hand has a timeless design and still looks very sporty even after 5 years of launch of this 2nd generation model. The Hyundai Grand i10’s styling feels the most laid back in this comparo, although distinctive with special touches like the huge front grille and the well executed cab-forward design.
Interiors:
The interiors of the Mahindra KUV100 benefits from its tall boy design with great amounts of headroom. The car is being offered with the option of a 6-seat layout, together with the wide cabin makes seating three abreast a comfortable affair. The gear lever is mounted on the dashboard itself which makes space for the sixth passenger. The Hyundai Grand i10 feels spacious too due to the use of light colours in the cabin, although seating three in the back seat would be difficult as the cabin is narrow. The Maruti Swift feels the least spacious of all three here due to the all black interiors. Although space upfront is good, the rear does not offer as much legroom.
The Mahindra KUV100 comes loaded with features to its gills like ISOFIX seats, puddle lamps, multi info display, a Bluetooth audio system with a monochrome display screen. The Swift too comes with goodies like push button start, a Bluetooth audio system and a automatic climate control. Even the Hyundai offers a audio system with Bluetooth support but gets an added feature of 1GB on board storage option. It is the only one to offer a rear AC vent that helps during hot sunny days.
Engine & Gearbox:
The Mahindra KUV100 is offered with Mahindra’s smallest diesel engine and also for the first time debuts a petrol motor under the hood of Mahindra. The 1.2-litre petrol and diesel are from the new mFalcon range of engines and develops 82BHP and 77BHP respectively. The Maruti Swift is offered with a 1.2-litre K-series petrol that develops 84BHP and a 1.3-litre diesel motor that develops 75BHP. The Hyundai Grand i10 is powered by a 1.2-litre petrol developing 82BHP and a 1.1-litre diesel engine developing 70BHP. All cars here get a 5-speed manual gearbox respectively on their petrol and diesel counterparts, while only the petrol Grand i10 can be had with a 4-speed automatic gearbox.
On the safety front, the Mahindra and the Maruti offer Airbags even on the base variants as options while the Hyundai receives them only on the top variants. Mahindra claims a mileage figure of 18.15Km/L and 25.32Km/L for the petrol and diesel engines, while the Swift delivers 20.4Km/L and 25.2 Km/L respectively. The Hyundai Grand i10 gives 16.54Kms to a litre of petrol and 24Kms to a litre of diesel.
Verdict:
The Mahindra KUV100 is definitely a hugely impressive product and will offer its customers something unique in this price bracket. At a starting price of Rs. 4.42 lakhs the mini SUV is definitely going to steal some sales from the other two hatchbacks mentioned here but do not expect it to make a big dent in their sales. The KUV100 is a product that has been designed to take advantage of the current SUV craze in the country with stylish looks but would that translate into real sales? Only time has the best answer to it. Until then, its a job well done, Mahindra!
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