[Rehaan]

Mahindra XUV500




The XUV500 sure has made an impression this year. Look at the huge lead it has on the “Team-BHP’s Car of the Year” poll to understand the impact the launch created.

Mahindra made full use of this popularity at their Auto Expo stall, with the following items dedicated to the XUV :

• 3 XUVs on display. 2 in unique matte grey and matte yellow colours!
• Interactive display featuring a cheetah (more on this later)
• Launch of the XUV500 coffee table book
• A small design model of the car and its interior
• A nicely done cut-away showing the innards that we usually don’t get to see
• XUV’s drive-train cutaway

Overheard at the stall :
“Sir, is this colour available?”
“Yes, the colour is available…. But the finish is not”


It was a nice touch to have these funky matte paintjobs as something new on a product that most people are already familiar with




Notice the Cheetah on the hood? This was an augmented reality display on the big screen above the stage. The cheetah would hang out on the roof of the XUV, and it would jump onto the hood if someone was standing there. Really cool, and extremely realistic with respect to 3D space and the shape of the car it was perched upon.


The XUV500 Coffee Table book was also launched. Mahindra fans can have this sitting alongside their Scorpio coffee table books


A small model of the XUV's styling


Neatly done interior model

[Rehaan]

XUV500 Cut-away



A very well done display item, giving us small insights into whats beneath the skin


Front and curtain airbags deployed (probably the best way to see leg-room too!)


Metal bumper a few inches behind the plastic (PU?) one. Very low-speed impacts should only affect the plastic, which is typically designed to bounce back into shape.


The Scorpio's 2.2-liter mHawk motor does duty on the XUV, albeit in a different state of tune


Underside of the hood. Hexagonal pattern is rigid, and the cut-outs save weight. What also adds to rigidity is the space between the white and yellow panels of the hood.


Side impact bars


For ICE fans. "Hey guys, how is this Nippon brand?"


Front wheel cut-away


Airbags deployed (not sure why the drivers seat was displayed in this position)


Curtain airbags for the middle row. Look on the floor, thats the fuel tank, with connectors for the fuel level sensor and return flow


Q: Whats that orange thing you see back there? (Answer below)

Answer: Its the blower for the last-row AC. Theres one on the left side too.

Rear wheel cut-away. Disc brakes present!


Tailgate and rear bumper, following the same principles of the hood and front bumper

[Rehaan]

XUV500 Drivetrain

Techies rejoice! (I can imagine our 4x4 guys really loving a display like this of, say, the Thar or a similar vehicle)


2.2 liter mHawk again. Thats the turbo housing at the top-center of the image


You can see the gearbox and drivetrain of the transverse mounted engine clearly. The two green cables are connected to the gear lever


The green cables can be pushed or pulled. One cable corresponds to the front/back movement of the gear-lever and the other to the left/right position. This is how your gear selection is taken from this "cable operated gearshift" to the actual gearbox up front.




The plastic fuel tank slumps over the prop-shaft


View from the rear


The rear differential (left of pic), as well as the mechanicals (almost like a clutch) to enable a dynamic front/rear power split. I'm guessing its purely mechanical?


Front right driveshaft. Very close to the brake only because the wheel isn't propping it up


There's the little fellow! Say hi to turbo...


Another look at the gearbox and front differential


Fuel pump (one of two??)


The brake pedal assembly


"Front" view of the engine


Here's where the exhaust pipe splits into two


Front disc, and the belt snaking its way around the pulleys. Timing chain also visible

[Rehaan]

Mahindra Thar

A kitted up Thar Expedition was on display. Tastefully done, considering the number of accessories bolted on


Front-facing rear seat, and carrier overhang for max storage


X-stand allows jerry cans to be mounted on either side of the rear spare tire


Snorkel for the air intake


A Mahindra Adventure Essentials stall selling all kinds of adventure-related auto stuff, branded "Thar", "XUV500" etc


For example :


There was a Mahindra Adventure off-roading video game too

[Rehaan]

Design Studio

A time-line of the last 62 years of Mahindra design


Some concept models

[Rehaan]

Other Mahindra Vehicles

The "past, present and future" of Mahindra... See it?


Well, the past is not quite the past yet. 9,000+ units sold last month for the Bolero. Scoprio (the "current") does about half of that per month. The future, is still at about 2,200 per month, but only due to production restraints.


The ol' girl gets a new face


Ever seen the interior of the Bolero? Well this is what it looks like now


Mod .anshuman pointed out the completely digital instrument cluster


The Xylo pick-up, aka the Mahindra Genio


Twin-cab


Interiors


The bed at the rear


Grab handles for the rural commuter? They prevent something big from smashing the rear windshield too


Massive overhang!


Under the scenes


The Verito Electric on display


AT style transmission selection


Plug and play. I wonder if an electric Logan/Verito would last for as many KMs as some of the diesel ones i've seen on the road today...




From the Mahindra Monastery Escape, that took place early August 2011

[Rehaan]

Heavy & Commercial Vehicles

Size reference for the Mahindra Navistar trucks


There are two engine options offered : 210 BHP and 260 BHP


Leaf-springs for some serious haulage




Personally, i don't think the Navistars look bad at all. I hear a lot of people complain about the "big toothed" front, but it doesn't seem to bother me. The interiors on the other hand are very crude


Big tipper




This is the face-lifted tourister. They added a Navistar front grille, and made the corners a little more rounded.


Interesting wheel-caps eh?


29 seats


Once again, very basic interiors with even more basic plastic quality

[justwheels]

Thanks Rehaan for the wonderful coverage of the MnM stall.

MnM is one auto company that I follow very keenly. They have gone slow and steady and achieved a huge market share in the last few years. I would say their strategy has been much better than TML, they have concentrated well on their strengths and grown with the confidence of the customer. Today a Scorpio/Bolero carries much more respect than Safari/Sumo. Because the former has been cared well by MnM and the latter has been left unmanned by TML.

Still a long way to go, but XUV500 will surely be a reckoning force in the segment. I am Safari lover, but ask me to buy one today (Merlin), and I am sure to take a test ride of the XUV first. Thats what is called good brand building. Hats off to the MnM team.

[DevilsCry]

Just wow! No other company's auto expo thread kept me as spellbound as Mahindra's. The show is a complete package which includes the following-
1. Showcasing main vehicle in unique colors.
2. Showcasing cutouts and mechanism of the main vehicle, generating curiousness and awareness.
3. Entertainment like augmented reality, games, scaled models and merchandise.
4. More than just one model of the main vehicle to allow more people to check out at once.

The stall seems to be well managed, making every vehicle (car to trucks) and ambience look great. True that other stalls were also quite exhaustive but even Mercedes stall somehow doesn't seem as complete as Mahindra.

Kudos to Mahindra for not only giving us great vehicles but also putting on a great show

[raghav.carfreak]

AWESOME PICTURES!
But i have two questions here
1) Will the verito electric be seen on indian roads anytime soon? and can we expect realistic/affordable pricing or are they using the expo to display a one off concept?
2) No coverage of the new reva?

[rajess_in]

Thanks Rehaan, for the wonderful coverage..

Mahindra has come a long way from their jeep days, and the growth of the company is truly phenomenal!

Eagerly awaiting the launch of the electric vehicles Reva & Verito....

[kippu]

beautiful stall , lovely pictures . Good call on them not launching the mini-xylo , it would have been just buried in all the others , Hoping it launches soon so that i can pick it up!

[rajeev k]

Any display or news on the Navistar Bus which was touted to debut soon?

[ampere]

Rehaan, Nice one there.
But where is the Ssangyong ? Was it not covered as a part of MnM?

How about Rexton, Korando, and the concept which they displayed some time back?

[novice29]

I was waiting for this thread. Thanks Rehaan.
One question about the Thar. I am seeing a front facing seat at rear. Any idea whether this will be offered in the production version? At least as an option.