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Business News/ Technology / News/  Mahindra XUV300 offers an overall decent experience and has a practical approach to tech
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Mahindra XUV300 offers an overall decent experience and has a practical approach to tech

Mahindra XUV300 starts at a price point of ₹7.90 lakh (ex-showroom) for the petrol W4 variant, while the diesel W4 variant is priced at ₹8.49 lakh (ex-showroom)
  • If you consider only the technology inside, the Mahindra XUV300 does seem to come in behind the Nissan Kicks or Hyundai Venue
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    News Delhi: If you ask anyone in India to name the most popular Mahindra car on the road, the XUV would be perhaps the first name that most would recall. The latest Mahindra XUV300, which the company wants you to pronounce as “three double oh", is the toned-down version of the XUV500 that operates in the full-fledged sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment.

    While the XUV300 isn’t the most technologically-advanced car on Indian roads anymore, if you consider its price, the tech isn’t shabby at all. It starts at a price point of 7.90 lakh (ex-showroom) for the petrol W4 variant, while the diesel W4 variant is priced at 8.49 lakh (ex-showroom).

    One of the first bits of technology that sellers will probably show you on a test drive is Mahindra’s Ecosense technology. You will find this in the XUV500, too, and it gives you a driving score based on how you drive. It’s placed as a separate option on the infotainment screen and rates the driver on acceleration, gear selection, speed, clutch override, idling and aggressive braking.

    The idea, of course, is to help you improve your driving skills and optimize fuel consumption in your car. The better you drive, more efficient will the fuel consumption be. You can even share this score on social media. But while this is a commendable step, it would perhaps have been better if Mahindra could also provide the driver pointers on what they’re doing wrong.

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    Then there’s the Mahindra Blue Sense app, which offers smartwatch control among other things. You can access data like tyre pressure, parking location and emergency assist to call Mahindra’s customer care. The smartwatch control works on Wear OS supported smartwatches, allowing you to control music and the other options mentioned above.

    The XUV300 also brought a segment first feature in allowing dual-zone climate control for the front passengers. This allows you to set different air conditioner temperatures for the driver and front seat passenger. There are also three memory slots to save your settings so you don’t have to tweak the temperature manually every time.

    But by now you’re probably wondering why we haven’t mentioned any of the usual infotainment features that many include. That’s because while Blue Sense and Ecosense do make for smart technology, Mahindra seems to depend on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for the other infotainment features.

    They work only when you connect your phone via USB, like in most vehicles, and basically put your phone on the infotainment screen. It makes sense too, considering the more affordable pricing of this vehicle. CarPlay and Android Auto are easy enough to control and easier to get used to than regular infotainment systems that automakers put by themselves.

    Further, touch latency on the 7-inch touchscreen is just low enough to make usage seamless. We only wish Mahindra had included some more controls on the steering wheel so drivers didn’t have to take their focus off the road in most scenarios. The steering does have phone and audio controls though, which is standard among most vehicles today.

    If you consider only the technology inside, the Mahindra XUV300 does seem to come in behind the Nissan Kicks or Hyundai Venue. However, all things considered, the technology inside this car is quite practical and given that there aren’t many cars in this segment that boast such technology, this is definitely one worth considering.

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Prasid Banerjee
    An engineering dropout, Prasid Banerjee has reported on technology in India for various publications. He reports on technology through text and audio, focusing on its core aspects, like consumer impact, policy and the future.
    Catch all the Technology News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
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    Published: 06 Sep 2019, 12:04 AM IST
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