SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.
Editor's note: SA Roadtests accepts multi-day vehicle loans from manufacturers in order to provide editorial reviews. All vehicle reviews are conducted on our turf and on our terms.
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This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a preselected course. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get a test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.
Posted: May 25 2019
Having declared South Africa its ‘second home’ after opening a pickup assembly plant at Dube TradePort near Durban in KZN, Mahindra felt it fitting to release its new XUV300 (pronounced ex yew vee, three double oh) mini-SUV in Durban recently.
Based on the SsangYong Tivoli but using different engines for this application, it is the Korean company’s first new venture since Mahindra bought a 70 per cent stake, to rescue it from bankruptcy protection, in 2010. Said stake was increased to 74.6 per cent this past January.
The local line-up consists of four models. That’s two engines; 1.2 petrol and 1.5 diesel, two trim levels; H6 and H8, one six-speed manual gearbox and, at present, available in 4x2 only. Spoiler: For future reference Mahindra trim levels run from H2 to H10, lowest to highest, but not all are offered in any single product range.
The walk-through: H6 gives you air conditioning and electric windows; fabric seats; LED tail lamps; follow-me and escort headlights; 16” steel wheels; electric tailgate release and a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment centre with satnav, Smartwatch connectivity, Bluetooth, USB and auxiliary, four speakers and remotes on the steering wheel. Safety equipment includes two airbags; disc brakes front and rear with ABS, EBD and cornering brake control; automatic door locks that self-release in case of impact; a full set of three-point seatbelts, high level brake light and ISOFix child seat anchors.
H8 ups the game with seven airbags, ESP with rollover mitigation, front and rear foglamps, reversing camera, parking sensors at both ends, hill holder, tyre pressure monitoring and auto-dimming interior mirror. Outside “flash” consists of 17-inch diamond cut alloy wheels, chromed grille, two-tone roof rails, silver coloured skid plates and folding wing mirrors with indicator repeaters. Luxury touches: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual zone climate control, cruise control, one-touch up and down for the driver’s window, keyless entry and start, electric sunroof, automatic headlamps and wipers, leatherette upholstery and two dash-mounted tweeters.
Engines: First is a 1200 cc, three-cylinder turbopetrol unit developing 81 kW at 5000 rpm with 200 Nm between 2000- and 3500 rpm. Then there’s a four-cylinder, 1.5-litre turbodiesel producing 85 kW at 3750 rpm and 300 Nm between 1500- and 2500 revs.
No performance figures have been made available although an Indian report cited the diesel version as doing 0-to-100 km/h in 15 seconds and topping out at 150 km/h. As for fuel consumption, sources in India estimate 5.0 l/100 km for the diesel engine and 5.88 l/100 km for petrol. Officially, we will have to wait and see but both engines are new and should prove competitive.
A brief test drive, in an H8 diesel, into North Coast cane fields proved performance to be perfectly acceptable, build quality solid and comfort on par with other Made-in-India vehicles – in other words pretty good.
Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press event
The numbers
Prices range from R249 999 to R324 999. Fuel economy: See text Luggage: 275 - 650 litres Warranty: 5 years / 150 000 km with roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years / 90 000 km
Read our review here
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.
If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles. And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8