What is it?

Mahindra has opened its innings in the world of electric vehicles with the XUV400. Based on the SsangYong e100 and showcased as the eXUV300 at the 2020 Auto Expo, this is Mahindra's first proper foray into the world of electric vehicles since the e20. This is the fourth vehicle under its XUV badging and the first one to be given an even-numbered alphanumeric name.

How is it on the outside?

Mahindra has stuck to the elements of the eXUV300 concept car for this vehicle. Up front, you get the familiar XUV300 face but without the grille, as this is an EV. You get the same sleek rectangular headlamps as the XUV300 but now with swatches of copper in the bumpers as well as below the headlamps. In fact, the copper colour that Mahindra has chosen as its shade to represent its EVs is dominant not just on the face but in large swatches all over the body.

This car is 4.2-meters in length as compared to the XUV300 which is 3.99-meters in length making this a slightly larger vehicle and this is visible just after the D-pillar where the tail lamps extended ever so slightly. You get black cladding on the sides and there’s a visible chunkiness in the haunches of the car. The design of the alloy wheels is similar to that of what is currently available on the XUV300. This design was introduced for the ICE-powered car earlier this year.

At the rear, you get the slightly modified tail lamps and the new copper twin peaks logo that has been chosen for all Mahindra electric vehicles. It will be offered in five colours: Arctic Blue, Everest White, Galaxy Grey, Napoli Black and Infinity Blue with a dual-tone roof option in Satin Copper finish.

What about the interior and features?

Mahindra has trimmed out the cabin of the XUV400 in a full-black scheme with a layout and elements quite similar to that of the XUV300, making this a familiar space which should help in acceptance and staying in line with the Mahindra design philosophy. The XUV300 and the XUV400 both have the same wheelbase of 2600mm but the latter by virtue of the added length gets a larger boot at 368 litres compared to the former’s 257 litres.

The XUV400 is fully loaded and gest features like a touchscreen infotainment system, instrument cluster with full-colour MID, Blue-sense mobile app, driver assessment and vehicle information in the infotainment system, steering mounted controls and electric sunroof. The car that has been unveiled is expected to be a top-spec version with six airbags, all-four disc brakes, ISOFIX child seat mounting points and ABS with EBD.

Powertrain and charging

The Mahindra XUV400 is being offered with a 39.4kW lithium-ion battery pack that gives it an ARAI-certified range of 456kms. This battery pack can be charged from 0-80 via 50kW DC fast charger in just 50 minutes while 7.2 kW/32A outlet, it takes 6 hours 30 minutes for 0-100% charge and the same is achieved in 13 hours while using a standard 3.3 kW/16A domestic socket. The electric motor powers the front wheels and produces 150bhp/310Nm and has a 0-100kmph time of 8.3-seconds with a top speed of 150kmph.

During the unveiling of the XUV400, Mahindra had said that it was currently working on plans with various charging partners for roadside charging, showroom charging facilities and home charging options. It would announce these plans closer to the launch of the car in early January 2023.

Expected price and competition

We expect that Mahindra will price this car in the range of Rs 17 lakh to Rs 22 lakh putting it in league with the Tata Nexon EV Max and the yet-to-be-launched MG ZS EV Excite variant. Mahindra has started production of the XUV400 and has confirmed that bookings and test drives will begin from mid-December while the car will be launched in India in January 2023. We are driving the car today (September 09) and our review for the same will go live on September 11 at 4.00 pm.