The XUV300’s 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine is one of our favourite aspects of Mahindra’s compact-SUV, thanks to its healthy 108bhp and 200Nm of torque. But while the diesel variant had the option of an AMT, the petrol engine didn’t, until now. The Mahindra XUV300 Petrol AutoShift will be available as an option from the W6 variant onwards with a starting price of Rs 9.95 lakh.
The AMT offered on the petrol appears to be identical to the one on the diesel with it’s unique, almost plus-patterned gate to alternate between automatic and manual mode, or slot it in reverse or neutral. It also has a creep function, hill start assist and adds electronic stability control to its turbo-petrol engine for the first time. There are also some nifty features like a drive/reverse lock out to prevent you from slotting from one to the other at speeds above 5kmph and the ability to disable the creep function when the doors are open. Mahindra is also offering the electric sunroof to more variants now, available as an option from the mid-spec W6 variant onwards, something Tata Motors also did by offering a sunroof in the lower variants of the Nexon.
Mahindra has also added connected car features to the XUV300 — available on the top-spec W8(O) variants equipped with the AMT — via the new BlueSense Plus app. The connected car features include location-based features like live tracking, the ability to remotely lock/unlock the doors, safety features like geofencing and you can get vehicle diagnostics straight to your smartphone as well. The BlueSense app will also allow customers to control features while in the car, like the cabin temperature and media controls. Aside from this, Mahindra has also added a new dual-tone Red and a dual-tone Aquamarine colour scheme exclusively for the W8(O) Autoshift variant (petrol and diesel), as well as a new Galaxy Grey colour to the manual W6, W8 and W8(O) variants.
The addition of another AMT to the XUV300 lineup does make it accessible to more buyers, but AMTs have the ability to dull down even the most exciting of engines so it may not be the enthusiast’s choice. However, it should allow for a more carefree driving experience in traffic. This means that at a premium of Rs 82,000 over the manual variant, the petrol AMT variant should be the default choice for a lot of prospective customers who would be using the XUV300 primarily for commutes. The only other car to offer the turbo-petrol AMT combination in the segment is the Tata Nexon which starts at Rs 8.59 lakh for the XMA variant, making it considerable more affordable than the XUV300’s Rs 9.95 lakh sticker price. Bookings for the XUV300 petrol Autoshift are open now via Mahindra’s website and across its dealership network.