The alloy wheels have been fitted by Velocity Tyres whose showroom is located in Ludhiana. The images of the XUV700 with 22-inch alloy wheels have been shared on their Instagram page. The new alloy wheels give a premium look to the XUV700. Interestingly, they look very similar to the ones that Maybach offers on their luxury vehicles.

Because of the new alloy wheels, the tyres are also different. As we can see they have a significantly shorter sidewall which means the ride quality will be impacted. Also, bigger wheels will also decrease fuel efficiency. There can also be an error in the speedometer because the sensors are calibrated for the stock wheel size, not the upgraded wheel size.

The handling is also affected and if you hit a pothole at a high speed, there is a chance that the alloy wheel might break because there is not enough sidewall to protect the alloy wheel. The impact of the pothole comes directly onto the alloy wheel which can crack them.

Mahindra XUV700

The XUV700 is the latest offering from the homegrown manufacturer. Mahindra already has 7,000 bookings of the XUV700. The price of the XUV700 starts at Rs. 12.49 lakhs ex-showroom and goes up to Rs. 22.99 lakhs ex-showroom.

Variants

There are two trims of the XUV700. There is MX which is the base trim and AX. The MX Trim is offered only as a 5-seater and will not be offered with an automatic gearbox. The AX trim consists of three variants. There is AX3, AX5, and AX7. The AX3 and AX5 are offered as a 5-seater or a 7-seater whereas the AX7 is offered only as a 7-seater.

Rivals

Mahindra XUV700 competes against the Hyundai Alcazar, Tata Safari and MG Hector Plus.

Engine and gearbox

There are two engines on offer. A 2.0-litre mStallion petrol engine that is turbocharged and comes with direct injection, there is also a 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine that is offered in two states of tune. The engines are shared with the new-gen Thar and the upcoming 2022 Scorpio. Both the engines are the most powerful in the segment and have set the benchmark for performance and smoothness.

The petrol engine puts out 200 PS of max power and 380 Nm of peak torque. Even if you get the base MX variant you get all 200 PS, Mahindra has not detuned the engine for the base variant. It is offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.

The diesel engine produces 155 PS of max power and 360 Nm of peak torque. It is offered only with a 6-speed manual gearbox. The higher variants produce 185 PS of max power and 420 Nm of peak torque. It is offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. If you get the automatic gearbox then the torque output is increased to 450 Nm. The Diesel automatic gearbox is also offered with an all-wheel drivetrain. It is not a proper 4×4 drivetrain that is offered with the Thar.