It’s been a little over six months since Mahindra launched its TUV300 compact SUV, and now, it has received one major update. While it looks exactly like the standard TUV300, there’s more pulling power under the hood. That’s because Mahindra has given the TUV300 its mHawk100 engine that made its debut in the recently launched NuvoSport. This engine is the same 1.5-litre, three-cylinder engine that was introduced in the TUV300 as the mHawk80. It is now tuned to develop 100hp and 240Nm, which is 16hp and 10Nm of torque up on the mHawk80 motor.
Mahindra says that the more powerful variant of the TUV300 was developed due to the feedback received from customers regarding the car’s underpowered nature. This was mainly due to a poor power-to- weight ratio. Though it pulled well in lower revs, and was easy to drive in traffic, the car delivered a lacklustre performance when pushed harder.
The 100hp TUV300 has been launched with both manual and AMT options and the car tested here is the manual version. So, how does the extra power affect the TUV300’s performance?
When starting off from standstill, the car feels just like its lower-powered sibling, which isn’t a bad thing. As the revs climb into the mid-range, the extra power and torque become evident. The 240Nm of torque is available from as low as 1,500rpm. What helps is that it is delivered in a linear manner all the way up to 2,800rpm, as compared to 2,250rpm in the mHawk80 motor, which makes it more driveable.
When put head-to-head, the 100hp TUV300 effortlessly outruns the 84hp car, to the effect that the more powerful car is 3-4 car-lengths ahead by the time both cars reach 100kph. The extra power comes in handy when overtaking, or simply cruising at higher speeds. However, it’s worth noting that though the TUV300’s power matches that of the diesel Ford EcoSport and is more than that of the Maruti Vitara Brezza, its chief rivals, it is over 300kg heavier than both of them. Hence, it isn’t as quick as the other two. As for the engine, it is mostly refined, at least until about 3,500rpm, beyond which it gets noisy.
The added power does come with a mild drop in the TUV300’s claimed fuel efficiency figures. Where the mHawk80 powered car delivers 18.49kpl, the more powerful mHawk100 returns 18.05kpl.
Besides the engine, the other major change is on the inside, which will be offered on all TUV300s henceforth. Customers wanted more thigh support in the rear seats, and so, Mahindra has increased the length of the rear seat base and raised the height of the seat-base’s padding to improve thigh support. As always, there’s plenty of head-room, knee-room and shoulder room, and with the improved seats, the middle-row is even more comfortable now.
The TUV300 mHawk100 is offered only on the top-end T8 variant for both manual and automatic AMT variants. It’s priced at Rs 8.98 lakh for the T8 manual variant while the AMT-equipped model costs Rs 9.72 lakh. The more powerful variants are priced at a premium of just Rs 8,000 over the T8 variants of the TUV300 mHawk80, which in turn make them more value for money. Both versions of the TUV300 will be sold alongside each other.
(All prices ex-showroom, Delhi)
