Rumour: Cut-price Mahindra XUV500 W4 trim to cost 10.99 lakhs

Mahindra has developed a cut-price variant of its flagship XUV500 crossover. Dubbed the W4 model, the new variant of the XUV500 was anticipated to be a price warrior that could spell trouble for the likes of the Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano, Tata Safari and even stable mate, the Mahindra Scorpio. That's exactly what it seems to be if a report on AutocarIndia is to be believed. The report asserts that the XUV500 in W4 trim would be priced at 10.99 lakh rupees, ex-showroom Delhi. At this purported price, the XUV500 in W4 trim is a full 87,000 rupees cheaper than the W6 trim. 

The lower price of the XUV500's W4 variant has to do with the various features and creature comforts that Mahindra has deleted on the crossover. Click here to know more about what the XUV500 W4 variant will miss when it comes to features. However, the engine and gearbox of the XUV500's W4 variant remain untouched. The 2.2 liter mHawk turbo diesel engine that outputs 140 Bhp-330 Nm continues to do duty on this crossover and so does the 6 speed manual gearbox that drives the front wheels of the lower variants. 

Twin airbags and ABS+EBD are the crucial safety features that Mahindra has not omitted on the W4 variant of the XUV500. Other featues such as projector headlamps, parking LEDs and a factory fitted stereo are also retained on the cut-price variant. With the XUV500's W4 variant, Mahindra will be seeking to shore up monthly volumes of the crossover, which has dipped from a high of 4,000 units to an average figure of about 2,000 units. 

The crossover is likely to be launched just before Diwali and bookings for the same are likely to be opened at Mahindra dealerships in the days preceding the launch. Mahindra will continue to build three other variants of the XUV500 in the form of the W6, W8 and W8 AWD variants. It will be interesting to see the cannibalizing effect of the XUV500's W4 variant, which undercuts the top-end variants of the Scorpio SUV.