By: Denis Droppa
Johannesburg - Where South African hatchback sales have dropped in recent years, the compact crossover market is becoming very populated as buyers prefer the slightly higher driving positions and implied extra utility of these vehicles.
Into this competitive sector comes the new front-wheel-drive Mahindra KUV100 (pronounced one double-oh), available in 1.2 petrol and 1.2 turbodiesel guises. As per usual from this Indian brand, the pricetags are appealing with the entry-level KUV100 1.2 K4+ model selling for R149 995.
For that you get standard items like electric windows, air conditioning, manual central locking, ABS brakes, a pair of front airbags, and three-year/100 000km warranty.
Add to that a ‘command’ driving position (thanks to the raised 170mm ground clearance) and a cabin that can comfortably hold four adults, and it seems like a value-for-money buy against compact crossover rivals like the Toyota Etios Cross 1.5 Xs (R186 100) and Renault Sandero Stepway 66kW turbo (R187 900).
You get what you pay for
The old adage that you get what you pay for applies here, however, as Mahindra still has some catching up to do in terms of refinement. The normally-aspirated 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine is quite vocal, getting ever more buzzy as the driver revs it harder in search of some performance. There’s also a fair amount of wind noise and the gearbox makes a noticeable whine.
The petrol car’s capable of freeway cruising at the 120km/h limit (and slightly more) on the flat and downhill sections, but its modest 61kW and 115Nm feel more at home in city driving. Its quoted fuel consumption is 5.9 litres per 100km.
The KUV100 1.2 turbodiesel, with 57kW and a gutsier 190Nm, is the far better vehicle in terms of both performance and refinement if you can afford the R187 995 starting pricetag. That generous torque figure makes for much more relaxed forward progress and some useful overtaking acceleration, and the engine’s a lot quieter than the petrol too.
In theory the diesel’s the economy choice with its factory-quoted 4.4 litres per 100km consumption, but in reality any open-road driving is likely to raise that figure considerably because at 120km/h the engine’s revving at a very high (for a diesel) 3300rpm. It’s clear the car was geared for Indian driving conditions where speeds tend to be much slower. For South Africa it’s under-geared and could do with a longer fifth or even a sixth gear to improve fuel consumption.
The diesel’s gearshifter felt very notchy and imprecise in the car I drove at the media launch, in contrast to the petrol version where the transmission snicked smoothly.
These various mechanical quirks reveal a third-worldness still permeates the budget-focused Indian brand, which needs to be addressed if Mahindra wishes to be taken more seriously in a market such as ours where consumers have become spoilt with first-world products.
Attractive, spacious cabin
Mahindra got the memo when it comes to modernised cabins, however, and the KUV100’s passenger quarters are attractively styled and seem to be of a reasonable quality. The dash is made of hard plastic but it’s nicely textured, while the more expensive variants get decorative piano-black and silver surfaces to smarten-up the fascia.
The boot, which carries a full-sized spare wheel, is a modest 243 litres in size but expands to 473 litres with the back seats folded. There’s lots of practical clutter space in the cabin including a large bin between the front seats, as well as a rear underfloor storage nook.
The pricier K6+ and K8 versions of the KUV100 lay on extra features like a a two-year/50 000km service plan (optional on the baseline K4+), cooled glovebox, rear defogger, remote central locking, follow-me-home headlamps and an audio system among others. The sound deck has a small screen but it’s easy to use, and it has Bluetooth, aux and USB connectivity and steering wheel controls for the audio and telephone. Daytime running lights and a fuel saving stop-start system are found in the top-of-the range K8-badged models.
In all derivatives the steering column has height-adjustment only, not reach, and also no seat-height adjustment so I battled to find a comfortable driving position. There’s also no fuel consumption indicator, just a distance-to-empty display for the 35-litre fuel tank.
In its exterior styling this mini Mahindra follows the Nissan Juke school of thinking with its striking out-of-the-box design, and employs contrasting bumpers and protective body cladding to give it an SUV look.
The front-wheel-drive KUV100 makes a good account of itself on dirt roads, where the high-profile 14-inch tyres nicely smooth out the bumps. It has a good ride quality overall and feels reasonably nimble in normal driving, though the elevated ride height does somewhat muzzle driver confidence in fast corners.
MAHINDRA KUV 100 PRICES:
K4+ 1.2 petrol - R149 995
K6 + 1.2 petrol - R169 995
K6+ 1.2 diesel - R187 995
K8 1.2 petrol - R179 995
K8 1.2 diesel - R197 995