News
In the next few weeks, Mahindra will launch a cut-price version of its flagship XUV500 crossover, a variant that was announced many months ago. The XUV500's cut-price variant will be called the W4 and will come with a lower level of equipment than the W6 and W8 variants. The lower level of equipment is likely to result in a competitive price tag, one that gives stiff competition to not just the Renault Duster and the upcoming Nissan Terrano, but also to SUVs such as the Mahindra Scorpio and the Tata Safari.
The cut-price version of the XUV500 will spearhead Mahindra's move to revive sales of this crossover, which from a high of 4,000 units/month has fallen to an average of just about 2,000 units/month. The slower selling XUV500 seems to have given the Mahindra Scorpio another wind in its sails as the latter's monthly sales figures for the past 3 months have bettered that of the XUV500 and the Renault Duster. The launch of the cut-price XUV500 variant could reverse this trend by making more Scorpio buyers shift to the XUV.
The Mahindra XUV500, in W4 guise, will retain the 2.2 liter-4 cylinder turbo diesel engine that outputs 140 Bhp of peak power and 330 Nm of peak torque. The engine drives the front wheels of the crossover, and is mated to a 6 speed manual gearbox. The crossover is a 7 seater. Twin airbags and ABS+EBD are the safety features that have been retained on the W4 variant. Projector headlamps with parking LEDs, and a factory fitted stereo are also retained on the base W4 variant.
While prices of the XUV500's W6 variant start at 11.86 lakh rupees, ex-showroom Delhi, the W4 variant could be priced about a lakh lower, considering the significantly lower level of equipment. If priced at under 11 lakh rupees, the XUV500's W4 variant is likely to make a compelling case to top-end variant buyers of SUVs such as the Nissan Terrano, the Renault Duster, the Tata Safari and the Mahindra Scorpio.
Meanwhile, here is the list of omissions on the XUV500's W4 variant:
Spec-sheet courtesy IndianAutosBlog