The art of taming a cheetah

The art of taming a cheetah

Aggressive pricing, a refined diesel engine and a long equipment list will help XUV 500 chase audacious customers

 

Jojo Puthuparampil

 

It was my first encounter with a cheetah. Till then, sitting astride a galloping spotted big cat, keeping my chin close to its furred nape and holding it tight around its upper torso, was my wildest dream. That way, I dreamt, I could sense the muscle movement of the fastest animal on planet. Sorry, we ain't talking about the king cheetah usually found in an African savanna. I found his distant cousin, though with metallic muscles, at Mahindra & Mahindra’s stable in Bangalore. XUV 500 (read as five double O), M&M’s first global SUV, is already on the prowl for daredevil customers.

 

XUV 500 reflects the ‘cheetah theme’ in every inch of its appearance—an imposing nose with jaw-like honeycomb grille, whisker-like bumper, eyeball-like headlamp cluster with LED day time lights that resemble claw marks, muscular wheel arches (the big bulge above the rear wheel makes it look like a cheetah ready to pounce on its prey), paw-likevertical door handles, rear lamps with tribal motifs etched on them, black D-pillar with vertical wound-like slashes and a central wooden console that reminds you a cascade against a savanna. The M&M research team, which spent four long years to develop and refine this theme-based SUV, has understandably done a good job. This beast is equally mighty as the spotted big cat—the 2.2 litre mHawk 140 direct injection diesel engine generates 33.33 kgm of torque and 140 bhp of power. This means it accelerates to a higher speed before you flap your eye lid and gallops effortlessly above 140 km per hour.

 

Once you are past the rather intimidating grille and inside the SUV, you feel at home because this one is more like a car than its heavier peers such as the Toyota Fortuner—on the driving seat, you feel inside the car and not on top of it. And the litany of features will just drive you dizzy—6-inch colour touch screen infotainment display; GPS navigation; integrated music system with CD/MP3, iPod as well as USB and Bluetooth connectivity; DVD player; gear indicators; six airbags (front, side and curtain); hill hold control (if you are on a hill slope, you can relieve the brake; the vehicle will not roll down); eight-way adjustable seats; steering-mounted cruise, audio, phone controls and voice command switches; glove box with laptop pocket; sunglass holder; conversation mirror; air-con controls and vents for even for the third row; and cup holders, charging points and reading lamps in all three rows.

 

The compact-looking SUV will impress you with its spaciousness—cabin space is phenomenal and head-leg-knee-shoulder room is just too much for even the six-foot-plus guys. In the second row, the third passenger will have enough leg room as the first and second ones do. The flat floorboard enhances the sense of spaciousness. In terms of space, the third row is as good as the likes of Innova, though even with additional touches like the AC vent, being a back-seat passenger can be challenging for a long haul. You can store stuff almost everywhere inside the vehicle—two glove boxes in the front; door pockets with umbrella holders and storing space even in the third row. There is hardly any boot space at the rear but if you push down the foldable seats, you will get a spacious boot area. For more space, you can fold the middle row of seats as well.

 

Once you start cruising, the powerful and refined engine makes the drive effortless—you only hear a subdued murmur—and the steering gives you ample feedback though the six-speed manual gear box (M&M is developing an auto variant) can be a tad notchy at times. Unlike its poor cousins from the Mahindra stable that are built on body-over-ladder-frame chassis, XUV 500 uses a car-like monocoque (where the vehicle’s body and chassis form a single unit)—the first home-made SUV to do so—offering better body control, handling and high speed stability.

 

The XUV's lower centre of gravity and longer wheelbase help you feel secure. Under the heavy wheel archers, the 17-inch tyres, with disk brakes on all four corners, emulate the cheetah's semi-retractable claws to offer extra grip while the car runs at reckless speed. They also nicely maneuver bumps and potholes. A well-insulated body ensures you are cut off from outside noise. The same engine powers Scorpio but XUV 500’s lighter weight results in brisk acceleration. Besides, the six-speed manual gear box with overdrive in the top two gears leads to 15.1 km per litre mileage, the second-best in any SUV.

 

There are negatives—the engine lags below 1500 rpm; the steering is clumsy at times and inconsistent around the corners; two-tone interiors look dull; detailing is fussy; plastic quality is not impressive and the nose has too many cuts. But at aggressive pricing—three variants in the Rs 11.2-12.5 lakh range (ex-showroom Bangalore), almost half the price of its bulky peers—it can give the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, Mitsubishi Outlander, Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevrolet Captiva a run and easily cannibalise the aging Scorpio.

 

A flurry of adaptations—large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake; enlarged heart and lungs that work together to circulate oxygen efficiently; a respiratory rate that increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute during chases; a tail that functions more like a rudder-like means of steering—help the cheetah accelerate from zero to over 100 km in three seconds and run at 120 km per hour (the fastest among living animals). A long equipment list along with a strong diesel engine and unbelievable pricing will help XUV 500 chase audacious customers with equal élan. After all, nothing can match the feel of sitting astride a galloping big cat!