When you start driving, what surprises you immediately is the refinement of this motor.

Mahindra has been leading the full size SUV charge in the market in the recent times. The new Thar, XUV 700 and the Scorpio N have been blockbusters since launch and the waiting lists say it all. Coming to the compact SUV segment, the XUV300 has been around for 5 years now and seems to have caught up on age when compared to the competition. To freshen things up and in what Mahindra says ‘disrupt the market’, this compact SUV not only gets a refresh but a new name as well. Say hello to the Mahindra XUV 3XO. I had a chance to spend a few hours with it immediately after launch in a hot Nashik city. Here are my initial impressions.

Mahindra XUV 3XO Exterior

Mahindra has retained the overall silhouette of the XUV 300 but that’s where the similarities end. It gets an all new front end with prominent C shaped LED DRLs with projector headlamps and fog lamps in the lower half . There is a gloss black finish front grille with chrome inserts and the twin peaks logo in the centre. There is a large air dam at the bottom with unique styling elements. It houses the front camera and radar sensor for the ADAS. There is a silver faux skid plate underneath the front bumper. The side pretty much remains unchanged. What you get is extra body cladding and new design 17 inch alloy wheels. Lower trims get 16 inch alloys and steel rims. A TGDI automatic badge is mounted on the front left fender. The rear features a connected LED light strip with C shaped tail lamps. The tailgate gets the twin peaks logo and the XUV 3XO lettering finished in chrome. There are silver inserts in the rear bumper as well as a skid plate. The black ORVMS house the 360 degree view cameras while the ADAS cam sits behind the IRVM. The roof is finished in black and gets roof rails as well. Dimensions wise the XUV 3XO measures 3990mm in length (-5mm), 1821mm in width and 1,647mm in height (+20mm). It gets a wheelbase of 2,600mm and has 201mm of ground clearance. It has a water wading depth of 350mm. The 3XO comes in 8 exterior colour options with the AX7 and AX7L getting contrast roofs.