[giri1.8]

Mahindra XUV 5OO was caught testing near chennai airport.

Changes noticed :

• New alloy wheel design
• possibly new face design
• dashboard was completely covered hence changes are expected here too
• Car accelerated quickly hence engine might be tuned better.
• One more important point noted was absence of any smoke during hard acceleration. Could this be a petrol version?

Mule was spotted yesterday(11/12/14)

[DieselFan]

Interesting find. Quick acceleration and absence of smoke during hard acceleration means this can be a hybrid XUV that Mahindra have been talking about which they want to launch in 2015. This will be the true hybrid and not Microhybrid :-).

[humyum]

According to my sources, its a 150 bhp version of the XUV 5oo and an automatic version is coming out too.

[Reinhard]

Is W-256 the development name of this refresh? Or thats just the yard sticker?

As for the acceleration - any existing XUV can also show a rocket like acceleration if we put a brick on the accelerator. Its just that we as owners don't treat our cars like that & don't see such performance in day to day life. So I don't think the high acceleration can be attributed directly to some big change in the engine dept.

Is the face design change just a speculation? Or any photos support that?

Good catch nonetheless.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Is the face design change just a speculation? Or any photos support that?

Good catch nonetheless.

Details are just speculation from what I observed, car is surely a facelift or some new version as it had all the important aspects of design covered.

Are there any other pics online or did I just become the first guy to capture the facelift version but is it possible for diesel to not emit smoke under very hard acceleration ?

[Latheesh]

Yes, as per the source refreshed version is coming out in few months.

[mpksuhas]

Nice catch.
From an earlier discussion with sales head of M&M dealer, they are expecting two models my mid of next year -
- Hybrid
- Automatic (comes with sunroof)

From the image, the rear looks exactly like the current model. Hence I guess it should be any of the above variant and not a face-lift as such.

[prabhu789]

I sincerely hope its a facelift. Its been more than 3 years and considering XUV sales were down this month, Mahindra would bring the facelift to market soon.
Hope they fix all the known niggles.

[dhruv45in]

I am planning to buy the XUV in March 2015. I hope it's clear by then if a refresh and/or automatic is in the pipeline. Don't mind waiting a couple of months. I also think an automatic is what a car in this price range needs.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Details are just speculation from what I observed, car is surely a facelift or some new version as it had all the important aspects of design covered.

Are there any other pics online or did I just become the first guy to capture the facelift version but is it possible for diesel to not emit smoke under very hard acceleration ?

Modern diesels don't smoke under hard acceleration. It only happens when you've been driving sedately for sometime and then floor the pedal- so all the accumulated soot gets cleared by the sudden rush of exhaust gases. And it's rare that test mules are driven sedately!

[GTO]

This one has been a long time coming! The XUV500 hasn't changed since its launch 3 years back. Not cool as customers paying big money want something 'fresh'. Good news on the Automatic too. Diesel ATs are huge in the 15+ lakh segment, with most premium AT cars outselling their MT siblings.

The XUV500's sales are still good (average of 3,000 / month in 2014), and the cheaper W4 variant helped take the sales up from the 2013 sales average of 2500 / month. A refresh is mandatory to maintain this volume, while the AT might help increase the share of higher-priced variants (assuming AT won't be offered on the W4).

Would it be too much to ask if we want that hideously overstyled face toned down? Check out what BHPian Tassem came up with here.

[octane_100]

This is good news. This has been on my consideration list for quite some time but just haven't been able to make up my mind. I hope Mahindra gives it a cleaner face and changes the colour of interiors (An all black interior instead of the current gaudy schemes would be most welcome).

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by GTO

Would it be too much to ask if we want that hideously overstyled face toned down? Check out what BHPian Tassem came up with here.

@Rush

With all due respect to Tassem, from this rendition, still love the old fascia.

[niv26]

I hope they change door handles this time at least. IMHO, they need redesign.

[karzzexped]

Originally Posted by GTO

Would it be too much to ask if we want that hideously overstyled face toned down?

Not at all! But would the macho-fetish-explicitly-over-zealous lovers of the hideously over-styled car accept it . The sketch looks fine though. The grille reminds me of those good and clean designs once Ford had.