[RavenAvi]

Birdie chirps that Mahindra has silently removed the 7th (driver knee protection) airbag from the upcoming W8(O) variants of the 3OO.

It shall henceforth come with 6 airbags (front, side & curtain), instead of 7.

Also, the door ajar lamps on the front doors of the W8 & W8(O) have also been removed from earlier this month.

[dr_TJ]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Birdie chirps that Mahindra has silently removed the 7th (driver knee protection) airbag from the upcoming W8(O) variants of the 3OO.

It shall henceforth come with 6 airbags (front, side & curtain), instead of 7.

Also, the door ajar lamps on the front doors of the W8 & W8(O) have also been removed sometime back.

This is sad. Although mass market will not even care about the deletion.

The biggest problem for me with the XUV300 is its lack of proper automatic gearbox. I am fine with an AMT on a 8 lakh car. But on a Rs 15 lakh car, it is just not justified.
If I am in the market for a safe compact SUV with Torque Convertor AT (super old school 4 speed AT of Maruti Suzuki is also a no-no), we don't have any.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

It shall henceforth come with 6 airbags (front, side & curtain), instead of 7.

I understand times are tough for manufacturers with the semiconductor shortage, but if Mahindra continues feature deletions like this, the XUV300 will fast lose its big lead in safety over other five-star cars. Six airbags aren't bad either, and in fact the driver's knee airbag is probably the least useful among all airbags. I'm more irked by the removal of the 3-point safety belt from the middle rear seat. But the point is, if Mahindra continues deletion of safety features like this, they won't be much better than the other 5-star competition (read Tata) beyond the NCAP rating.

I really hope Global NCAP soon introduces a lateral pole test as a 5-star requirement or at least a Safer Choice Award requirement to prevent manufacturers from taking advantage of the age of the test protocol and doing the bare minimum for 5 stars. Personally, I don't think a car should win a Safer Choice Award when side head protection is not standard (at least a combination torso-head seat side airbag if not a curtain airbag), even if it passes UN95 regulation. While I must commend the XUV300 for passing GTR8 for ESC and GTR9 for pedestrian protection, I think they're doing the bare minimum required for the award. Still, better than those who aren't even doing the bare minimum for a single star.

[Duckdoc]

Originally Posted by ron178

I'm more irked by the removal of the 3-point safety belt from the middle rear seat. But the point is, if Mahindra continues deletion of safety features like this, they won't be much better than the other 5-star competition (read Tata) beyond the NCAP rating.
I really hope Global NCAP soon introduces a lateral pole test as a 5-star requirement or at least a Safer Choice Award requirement to prevent manufacturers from taking advantage of the age of the test protocol and doing the bare minimum for 5 stars.

Fully agree with you. All these silent deletions started happening after their safety rating. What I don't understand is why they can't leave the top variant with all features and introduce other variants with less features.
Also wonder whether this is timed with the apparent success of the Thar and 700, being blown way, with the sales, giving the 300 stepmotherly treatment.
Don't know what message this sends out to prospective 700 buyers that if they wait too long they would end up with less features.
The sad thing is the XUV 300 with all features, if it had better pricing had the potential to be the leader in this segment.

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Birdie chirps that Mahindra has silently removed the 7th (driver knee protection) airbag from the upcoming W8(O) variants of the 3OO.

It shall henceforth come with 6 airbags (front, side & curtain), instead of 7.

Also, the door ajar lamps on the front doors of the W8 & W8(O) have also been removed from earlier this month.

Mahindra has been silently removing features literally since 2020, and it's incredibly bad.

It started with heated ORVMs(segment first), 3pt seatbelt for rear center(I think a segment rarity to say the least, if not segment first). Boot lamp too! (Why remove a basic?)
Then I read about them probably removing front parking sensors (Again a segment first), and now 7th airbag(segment first++), and the door lamps?

Why is Mahindra hell bent on making it a less desirable option against the competition? It's not like the 3OO is selling like hot cakes to begin with!
7 > 6 airbags is relatively OK, since not everyone is offering 6 airbags in the C-SUV segment anyway. But all those other smaller things really made it a very good package.

These segment leading features were the biggest USP, and now Mahindra is chipping away at them one by one.

[Aditya]

Scoop: Mahindra silently removes driver knee airbag from XUV300 W8(O) - Posts moved to a new thread.

[Iyencar]

Just what this car needed-less features *facepalm*. Does this affect the crash test rating though?

[ron178]

Originally Posted by Iyencar

Just what this car needed-less features *facepalm*. Does this affect the crash test rating though?

It does not. The crash-tested car had only a steering wheel airbag and a passenger frontal airbag, and it did not have three-point safety belts in all seating positions either (even if the belt is not used for the test, it carries +1.00 point for child occupant protection since it enables proper installation of a child restraint in all seating positions).

[matizcrazy]

The XUV 300 is indeed a good selling car and by no means a flop. If the manufacturer finds it necessary to remove any feature, safety or otherwise, I think it is perfectly alright. Besides, it isn't as though the Brezza, the segment leader, has airbags everywhere. I may rue a missing feature in a vehicle if I was a potential buyer, when the competition has it. Mahindra needs to keep the 300's price down and there isn't any other way.

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by matizcrazy

The XUV 300 is indeed a good selling car and by no means a flop. If the manufacturer finds it necessary to remove any feature, safety or otherwise, I think it is perfectly alright. Besides, it isn't as though the Brezza, the segment leader, has airbags everywhere. I may rue a missing feature in a vehicle if I was a potential buyer, when the competition has it. Mahindra needs to keep the 300's price down and there isn't any other way.

I agree. The XUV3OO is still an incredible package even with these cost-cuttings. It's just that now we know of the true potential, and seeing it lose some of it feels bad.

But yes, they do need to cost cut. Plus I'm guessing the Silicon shortage isn't making things easier either.

[Aksthedreamer]

I had my heart set on the xuv 300, since the day I drove its powerful petrol motor.

Great interiors, handsome looks, powerful engines, 5 star safety rating. There is nothing to dislike. If only it was priced a bit lower.

After looking at the price sheet of the top model, my father said, why should not someone buy a creta, which is a bigger car, at this price.

and then all my arguments about 7 airbags, safety ratings etc fell to deaf ears.

We ended up buying the wrv instead

[rpmmachine]

I have booked today and will i get it with 7 Airbags or 6 airbags as today I got a call from the Mahindra and they told me that still, it shows 7 airbags on the website so you will get 7 airbags. Any suggestions or comments on this please?

[anthusiast]

Not sure if shared earlier. Cross-posting it from a FB owner's group.

W4 and W6 tail lamps are now only partially illuminated.

[MaheshY1]

I see plenty of deal breakers with the XUV300:

1. overstressed engines may cause long-term reliability problems. Some of those gains are anyways wiped out by the higher rotating mass from the "best-in-class" 17-inch alloys.
2. least-in-segment ground clearance of 180mm is less than the Kwid and on par with my Nano.
3. pair that with a longest-in-segment wheelbase of 2600mm = poor breakover angles
4. smallest-in-segment boot space

The saving grace was the list of segment-first safety features like:
- front parking sensors
- rear discs
- knee airbag (removed)
- 3-point seatbelts for all occupants (removed)

First, they removed the seatbelt and now the knee airbag. I'm guessing the rear discs are next before they remove the front parking sensors.

[fhdowntheline]

Bad call from Mahindra. Once they have set the bar on Safety, they should never ever lower it. This is what gives other lesser compliant manufacturers a chance to justify their actions or lack thereof. This also creates a negative mindset in the buyer's eyes at a time when there is some commentary happening on automotive safety in India after a long time. One extra driver knee bag wasn't going to cost them an arm and a leg . But it would have definitely saved the driver's leg and earned themselves extra kudos. I hope they reinstate this soon enough.