The XUV400 is very quick and that 310 Nm of torque comes in right from the word go.

Mahindra is not new to the EV space. The first foray was with the Reva which did not see success, one reason being the Indian market wasn’t really ready for the electric revolution. But things have moved on since then. The car maker recently showcased their EV SUV plan for the near future in the UK and there is no doubt there are some big things coming up. Cut to the present day, Mahindra has taken the wraps off the XUV400, their first all electric SUV. It has come more than a couple of years after the eXUV300 concept was shown at the Auto Expo 2020. And it does have a lot of catching up to do with the Tata Nexon EV which is a runaway hit in the mass market EV space. So what does the Mahindra XUV400 bring to the table? I spent half a day with it at the MSPT Chennai to get some first impressions.

Mahindra XUV400 Exterior

It’s a given fact that the XUV400 is based on the XUV300 and not a ground up new SUV. But there is a difference. Unlike the XUV300 that is a sub 4 metre compact SUV, the XUV400 sticks to the original 4.2 metre size of the Ssang Yong Tivoli. This makes the car look very proportionate and also gets a bigger 378 litre boot, which has been a big weakness of the 300 (257 litres). The design is largely similar to its IC engine counterpart. Differentiating factors are a blanked out front grille and slight tweaks to the front bumper. The copper coloured elements are unique to the XUV400. The twin peaks logo, badges, accents on the bumper and grille are all finished in copper. Ditto for the dual tone roof and the Mahindra logo on the 16 inch alloy wheels.  The XUV400 will be offered in 5 exterior colours with the copper roof. While the copper elements look cool on the white and black, Mahindra could have used another colour for the others. At the rear, there is a new tail gate and the tail lights get new design elements.