While India is not seen as an automotive powerhouse, the reality is Indian manufacturers are on track to take a major stake in the global market.
Mahindra is one of these brands, not well known outside of the home market, but quietly accumulating a band of loyal customers.
Best known here for their agricultural machinery, with a reputation for solidity and reliability, the next goal is to capture a slice of the passenger sector.
Part of this plan is the XUV 3XO, a small SUV available in two trim levels, the AX5 and our test car, the range-topping AX7L, getting a swag of interior upgrades over the base car.
An advantage to not being a ‘legacy’ brand, Mahindra’s designers are still setting the design language, rather than building on previous versions.
The result is a remarkable design, not to everyone’s taste, but visually unique when compared to a number of ‘me too’ models.
The 3XO is an upright design, using vertical planes to create a boxy, yet aero-friendly, body, avoiding a slab-sided look.
There are body lines aplenty, including the bonnet getting a ‘power bulge’ over the engine, with flared guards on all corners pushing the track wide of the cabin.
The designers went big on the hard angles for the grille and headlights, with prominent air intakes and minimising overhangs, especially at the rear.
An upside to this approach is a genuine flat roof and vertical tailgate, maximising cargo volume in what is a limited space.
The 17” diamond cut alloy wheels give the feel of movement while standing still, doing a good job of filling the wheel arches.
While we didn’t go offroad with this one, Mahindra has added a skid plate to protect the lower section of the front bar, good against traffic bollards and car park stoppers.
Inside, the 3XO is more mainstream, at 185cm I found it a bit of a squeeze, it is a small car, so I wasn’t expecting a miracle. That said, racking some long drives of 100+ kilometres, I wasn’t uncomfortable, although I’m not sure how much legroom was left with my seat pushed back.
The cabin layout is conventional, with a centre stack console and a ’T-Bar’ gear shifter, ahead of twin cupholders and the electronic park brake, with a storage binnacle for keys, wallet and glasses, topped by a padded armrest.
There is an interesting textured flat panel topping the glovebox, too narrow for storage, essentially a divider for the padded dash.
Everything is finished in a padded ‘leatherette’ material, soft to the touch and adding sound absorbency to the cabin.
The centre stack is topped with a 10.25” touchscreen for the infotainment system and car control menus, sitting above the dual zone climate control system.
The dials and buttons are large enough to operate by feel, without being huge, and keeping the driver’s eyes on the road while making changes.
The leather steering wheel is a little thin for me, I prefer thick, chunky rims, but it is functional and easy to use.
The crossbar has the usual assortment of controls, audio, cruise, telephone and instrument cluster, with a big central horn pad.
While the steering column is height and reach adjustable, I found it was both too short and too low, with my seat back to accommodate my legs, my arms were stretched to reach the wheel.
The rim snagged on my legs on entry and exit, I know it is a small car, but a little extra adjustment would solve that problem.
With the seats in place, there was just enough room for a storage crate behind the seats, there was plenty of height, but not a lot of depth.
With 80 years of manufacturing, Mahindra’s build quality is as good as anyone, panel gaps are tight and everything has a ‘complete’ feel to it.
Not unexpectedly, with 82 kW and 200Nm from the 1.2-litre four cylinder petrol turbo, the 3XO isn’t exactly street racer material.
While it has three ‘drive’ modes, ‘Zip’, ‘Zap’ and ‘Zoom’, they don’t improve the output, it is not a snail, but don’t look for tyre-shredding performance, it is a ‘steady as she goes’ driving experience.
After you accept it is not a racer, the 3XO becomes a relaxing drive, despite the short wheelbase the ride is composed, big potholes will shock the car, but otherwise it is a settled ride.
The raised ride height allows a decent amount of wheel travel in a small car, which also contributes to the settled feel about the suspension, yes, racing over speed bumps will make the back end leap around, but most unladen front drivers will do the same thing.
Steering is accurate and reasonably weighted, the wheel is not free spinning but it doesn’t need Arnie-level muscles to change direction.
Like most electric power steering systems, there is minimal free play at straight ahead, which also reduces driver fatigue, you aren’t fighting the wheel constantly.
Mahindra use a Japanese Aisin 6-speed auto, it is a smooth-shifting unit, blurring its way through changes with no crashing or thumping of gears.
With no hybrid drive or regenerative braking, the 3XO relies on traditional four-wheel-disc brakes, they do a great job of pulling it up smoothly and efficiently, they are a solid and reliable package.
This sums up its overall performance, it is solid, effective and reliable, without being a standout performer.
The 3XO is a small car, so don’t try to overload it, this is more the car for singles and couples with sometimes an extra passenger or two, but not what you would call a family car.
Gary is an experienced motoring journalist, and a graduate of Griffith University.