A closer-to-production next-gen Mahindra XUV500 has been spied testing for the first time, revealing many new design details including the look of the new LED headlamps and tail lamps and also the alloy wheels.
It’s already common knowledge that Mahindra has been working on the next-gen XUV500 for quite some time now. We have also reported to you with several spy images of the next-gen XUV500 on test. Now, a closer-to-production test mule of the new XUV500 has been spotted in Kodaikanal for the first time and it reveals many new design details of the upcoming SUV. Let’s look at it in a little more detail to find out what’s the new Mahindra XUV500 all about.
This is the first time a test mule of the next-gen Mahindra XUV500 has been seen wearing production-spec headlamps and its a lot sleeker than before. Although the camouflage is hiding most of the design details, the new XUV500 will perhaps not feature the connected headlamp and fog lamp housing setup like the current-gen car. We expect a new set of snazzy LED DRLs with the new headlamp setup. We also get a proper look at the grille of the new XUV500 for the first time and just by one glance, you can tell that it’s a lot more upright than before.
The grille is now a single piece unit instead of the split setup seen on the current-gen car and it makes a return to the proper six-slat design, much like the Alturas G4. The single-piece grille also seems larger and sleeker than before. In profile, the XUV500 now has a much cleaner, mature and clutter-free design. The bulging wheel arches are gone and the body panels are now much flatter and at least from over the camouflage, it looks pretty good. The tiger-claw grab handles are gone as well and in place comes flush fitting door handles, a segment-first feature on the XUV500.
The new XUV500 will also come with a new set of 10-spoke alloy wheels and they seem to be fitting the large wheel arches pretty well. Are these 19-inch wheels? Well, we will find out in time. The current-gen car came with 18-inch wheels. The rear profile of the new XUV500 has been completely redone as well. The tail gate is well contoured and the SUV will feature new split wrap around tail lamps. Previous spy shots have also given us a look inside the cabin of the new XUV500 and that too has been completely redone.
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There’s a new flat bottomed steering wheel, something never seen on a Mahindra before. The center portion of the dashboard is dominated by a large touchscreen infotainment system (probably a 10-inch unit) that comes integrated with the instrument cluster like we see in the Kia Seltos. Further down the dashboard, there are rather simple looking AC vents and a stack of controls for the HVAC and other features below it. The XUV500 will come with a seven-seat cabin and there are talks of a key focus being on more cabin room, especially in the second and third row.
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Under the hood, the next-gen XUV500 will come powered by a 2.0L turbo-petrol engine from the mStallion family and the 2.2L mHawk diesel engine, both of which debuted on the recently launched Mahindra Thar. However, both these engines are expected to be mcuh more powerful on the XUV500, producing near about 200PS of power. Transmission options will include both manual and automatic gearboxes. Likely to be launched in the first half of 2021, the new XUV500 is expected to be priced from Rs 13-19 lakh. It will rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Tata Harrier and MG Hector.
