Mahindra, after months of speculations, has finally launched the automatic variant of their popular SUV, the XUV500 at prices starting from Rs 15.53 lakhs ex-showroom, Delhi. Set to be available in three trims, which includes W8 FWD, W10 FWD and W10 AWD, the automatic XUV500 will be available for purchase from December 5, 2015 across all Mahindra dealerships.
The SUV gets an all-new second generation 6-speed gearbox with a torque convertor and a planetary grain train which Mahindra says, assists in precise and smooth gear shifts. It also boasts of intuitive gear shifts which mates the comfort of an automatic without losing out on the responsiveness of a manual unit. They further say that the optimised gear ratios with two overdrive gears also help in delivering better fuel efficiency as compared to conventional 5 speed automatics.
And let us clarify that this is a different gearbox than what the new Scorpio AT sports. XUV500 gets a more modern AISIN sourced transmission which is made for its transverse engine layout. The 2.2 liter mHawk diesel engine continues to churn out 140 hp of peak power and 330 Nm of maximum torque (against the earlier notion that it will churn out higher power/torque). ARAI certified fuel efficiency of XUV500 Automatic is 13.85 kmpl, down from the 16 kmpl of the manual variant.
The company claims that the new transmission can adapt to its changing surroundings and offer best driveability be it mid or high altitudes. It also gets two uphill climbing modes which allow the SUV to gobble up slopes with ease. The gearbox also gets a ‘creep function’ for assisting in slow moving traffic.
XUV500 Automatic Price
Prices of the three variants of XUV500 Automatic are
- Mahindra XUV 500 W8 FWD AT: Rs 15,52,781
- Mahindra XUV 500 W10 FWD AT: Rs 16,36,280
- Mahindra XUV 500 W10 AWD AT: Rs 17,36,730
*all prices ex-showroom Delhi
Mahindra is charging approximately Rs 1 Lakh over the price of the corresponding regular manual variant.
Also Read: Count the Days – Mahindra S101 (XUV100) Launch Within 60 Days
On the looks front there are no differences at all apart from the ‘Automatic’ badge at the boot. So, Mahindra is trying to fight out the competition and this is a nice little effort they have put in. We are sure, XUV, with the introduction of an automatic gearbox, will have a wider appeal…
