Mahindra XUV700 Black Edition 2024 review

Black Edition. It’s motoring’s well-flogged stylistic trope intent on added darkened sparkle to boost a model range’s appeal. You know the drill: a lick or three of black paint, some decals, and (maybe) that odd trim flourish here and there, and call it a (profitable) day.

Now its Indian commercial-giant-cum-rebooted-Aussie-import upstart Mahindra’s swing at the blackened pitch, as applied to its XUV700 midsize SUV. And it appears to be a deeper black than most.

Just look at it. The XUV700 Black Edition (of course) isn’t so much darkened around the edges but looks as if it was dunked in a pit of tar while dangled by its tailgate. The exterior colour is called Napoli Black, though inside and out it’s simply black, black and more black.

Only the grille badge, rear bar garnish, select interior doodads and the (cream) cabin headlining seem to have been spared the inky blackout.

This Black Edition seems more than just a quick whip-around to Bunnings and Officeworks to account for Mahindra’s special augmentation. Or is it?

Its importer quotes 22 key features (more below) that transform last year’s local release – of a model originally launched in 2021 in its Indian homeland – into a bank robber’s newest favourite getaway vehicle. There’s more to it, there seems, than a simple fashion readjustment, but more on that below.

Mahindra Automotive Australia is hoping its Black Edition fires. Its XUV700 is a turbo-front-driven and price-busting successor to the critically lambasted XUV500 of a decade ago, and was intended to be the brand’s new mainstream local success story.

It was, and still is, positioned to rival the giant-selling Toyota RAV4 and Mazda’s CX-5, a solid if largely unremarkable proposition we reviewed at the XUV700 range launch last year (spoiler alert: 7/10 overall). But, boy, was that sub-$40K enticing.

Now, with Black Edition, Mahindra is really peddling the value-for-money card harder than a yellow-jersey recipient at the Tour de France…

What are the XUV700 Black Edition’s features and options for the price?

At $43,990 driveaway, the XUV700 Black Edition is the most expensive Mahindra on sale in Australia. It sits above the mid-grade AX7L ($39,990 driveaway) and the entry AX7 ($36,990) variants.

For a full rundown of the features in the carryover variants, check out our launch review here.

On outlay, the XUV700 breed’s truer competitors are the likes of MG HS (from $33,990 driveaway), Haval H6 (from $30,990 driveaway) and Chery Tiggo 7 (from $31,990 driveaway on runout).

It’s worth mentioning, too, that while many rivals do or will offer some sort of electrification, the Mahindra competitor is turbo-petrol only.

While the Black Edition marketing does highlight 22 key features, a good many of them are shared with the existing, now-mid-grade AX7L.

Black Edition exclusive features include:

• Black 18-inch alloys
• Black grille
• Memory side mirrors
• Black interior theme
• Front seat cooling/ventilation
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

Given that even the $37K base AX7 gets a host of premium-vibe goodies, from the dual digital 12.3-inch screens and leatherette trim to the so-called ‘Skyroof’ full-length panoramic glass ceiling, the Black Edition suddenly doesn’t look quite the bargain at its $44K driveaway ask.

How does the XUV700 Black Edition drive?

While it might appear ‘all terrain’ from 15 paces, the XUV700 is a monocoque-constructed front-driver, ala Toyota RAV4, rather than a ladder-frame-based 4×4, ala Toyota Fortuner. We covered off the model’s basics during our launch review, but in short there’s no diesel (which is offered in India) or all-wheel drive (ditto).

A RAV4-rivalling hybrid on the horizon, be it near or far? There’s no sign. But one presumes the giant that is Mahindra & Mahindra – 14 million vehicles produced in 2022 alone – might muster up electrification when it suits.

The XUV700 is longer (4695mm), wider (1890mm) and taller than (1755mm) its logical Big-T nemesis, and all variants get the same 149.2kW – yes, “point two” – and 380Nm turbocharged direct-injected 2.0-litre petrol engine backed by an Aisin-sourced six-speed automatic.

Bang for buck, Mahindra’s seven-seater makes a solid case against any bum-dragging warm or hot hatch you can mention, at least in terms yielding metal for the money. And so it proves on the move.

That 380Nm clocks on at just 1750rpm, rocketing the unladen SUV along, imparting genuine muscle with loved ones aboard, and generating a decent amount of wheelspin during the rainy stints we encountered during our week-long test.

The granular and unpolished nature we found at the XUV700’s launch is now gone, the Mahindra’s powertrain is respectfully smooth and polished most of the time, bar a bit of transmission ‘gulp’ during the odd downshift when you sink the boot in on a roll. Still, it is better – signs that Mahindra’s not averse to updating throughout a model’s life cycle.

The Black Edition steers better, too. It seems lass vapid and aloof than I remember, though the direction finder could benefit from front-end geometry tweaks. Symptoms? The front-end point is quite alert off centre with little ‘sneeze factor’, particularly at speed, while it gets lazier with more steering lock. We’re nitpicking – there’s certainly nothing broken here.

Add the narrow-ish tyres and an underpinning sense of top-heaviness of the XUV700 format and it doesn’t feel the most planted midsize SUV on road, though not to any major fault. It just doesn’t quite instill utmost confidence at highway speeds, or feel all that tied down in the corners.

Your wits tend to be a little more heightened in the Indian rig across most driving disciplines than some of its stalwart competitors.

Ride quality is pretty decent. At launch, its importer spruiked 540 revisions to tuning, and the passive frequency selective damping paired with tall 60-series rubber cushions blows both small and large quite well indeed. It’s a touch terse at times, especially across square-edged speed bumps, but ride compliance is a real XUV700 strong suit.

The Black Edition is quick, quiet and … thirsty. Mahindra makes few apologies about its 8.3L/100km claim – we regularly saw double figures in the real world – stating that the powertrain is tuned for performance rather than frugality. It’s a refreshing, if not entirely PC, stance from a contemporary carmaker, and one that surely lures output-hungry buyers.

Towing? It’s 1500kg braked, which is about par for the midsize-SUV course. For ardent towers who are taking score, the 1835kg (kerb) XUV700 Black Edition has a GVM of 2357kg, while a 1.5-tonne trailer brings the GCM up to 3857kg. It fits four-wheel disc brakes.

What is the XUV700 Black Edition’s interior and tech like?

Enter, via ‘electric’ levers that pop proud from the flush door skins, and climb into the sport-look bucket seats and the XUV700 reveals its format very quickly: splashes of Euro-like pizzazz here and there to cheer up an otherwise workmanlike fitout.

It’s a crafty if well-worn ploy when curating an upmarket vibe to a budget, and one that’s successful in some areas of the Black Edition if less so in others. But to be fair, general presentation is pleasing and well executed.

However, the seats themselves let down good initial impressions. High set with a too-short base while offering meagre mechanical adjustment to the very convex seatbacks, the front pews offer less natural form-hugging and support than what sporty appearances otherwise suggest.

Using the Benz-like electric adjuster array in the door card – driver’s side only – it’s tough to dial in much driver comfort for short trips, which doesn’t bode well as a long-haul proposition for grand touring this big nation.

But seating in all three rows are neatly trimmed with hardly faux leather and help lift presentation for the blacker-than-black theme to a degree. The front seat cooling is appreciated and it works well enough, though the lack of heating is a fair omission for a flagship.

Row two is actually comfier than up front, with a high-set stadium like perspective allowing taller occupants to see clear over the driver. It splits 60:40, with adjustable seat back rake but with no sliding to liberate extra legroom. The accommodation is cosy given the XUV700’s overall size.

The full-length glass roof and cream headlining, though, adds some airiness to the cabin with generous glass area and outward visibility, but is a bit narrow door to door and is really a three-row seven-seat proposition at a pinch. Spaciousness is not great by any measure.

Cue row three, splittable 50:50, unsurprisingly fit for small kids or taller masochists. At least there’s air-con coverage throughout, with a fan speed dial out back. Row three stowed, it’s a much more natural five-seater, with a tremendous Ikea-friendly load-through when converted to a two-seater.

But all aboard, there’s literally no boot space – Mahindra doesn’t advertise its litreage – so it’s really a case of luggage or occupants behind the second row seating, but not both. Rearmost occupants may find that their heads might rest literally against the rear window.

Tech? That depends on your definition. The neatly integrated dual high-definition 12.3-inch digital display bring requisite European stylisms, but there’s very little functionality outside the sphere of whatever Apple CarPlay or Android Auto brings to the party.

Both are wireless, which is an upgrade over the tethered format of lower-grade variants. However, on evidence of the Apple integration using two different devices, the connection on our tester proved extremely unstable and prone to glitches and drop-outs. Thankfully, there’s a selection of USB-A and -C ports for plugging into a secure connection.

The media home screen also promises two menus labelled ‘Fun in XUV700’. One features a digital compass. Okay. The other a stopwatch lap-timer. In a seven-seat SUV. Yes, really.

There’s no proprietary sat-nav, though you do get a small reversing camera with faux overhead 3D effect that is bright and cheery but, at about four frames per second, extremely challenged for processing power. Ditto the Hyundai-style Blind View Monitor that peeks through the two roundels of the driver’s display that, practically, are near useless.

Elsewhere there are pleasant surprises. The Adrenox 12-speaker ‘3D’ audio is impressively rich and deep where it needs to be, there’s a clever ‘stacked’ cubby for two phones ahead of the transmission control, and there are a lot of handy buttons around for single function adjustment, no submenu digging required. The conventional HVAC system interface is most welcome.

Sure, material choice is definitely built to cost with far too much budget piano black in high-smudge-and-scratch areas, but presentation is neat to the point of being quite classy, and it’s an easy format to navigate.

Unfortunately, like so many cheap and aspiringly cheerful offerings lobbing onto the market of late, it lacks in the last 10 per cent, namely calibration and usability. Why does one have to prod the ‘Music’ shortcut button four times to access on-screen functionality? Why does the wheel toggle switch vertically to adjust in-screen menu-ing horizontally? And on and on…

While the XUV700 Black Edition offers plenty of feel-good bait off the showroom floor, its cabin doesn’t head any further uphill in the live-in experience. A pity, too, that precious little of the interior features or execution is any better than base AX7 variant.

Is the XUV700 Black Edition a safe car?

Right here the elephant comes stampeding into the room. Sorry Mahindra fans, this is unavoidable…

Infamously, the technically unrelated, ladder-framed, 4×4-fitted Scorpio stablemate scored zero out of five stars in ANCAP testing in 2023. That bombshell is covered extensively elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Pik-Up, erm, pickup model, is currently unrated (meaning unscored).

As it stands, a year on from debut and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the XUV700 range also remains unrated/unscored.

Still, the list of safety features and driver assistance is a decent one that includes:

• Seven airbags
• Adaptive cruise control
• Smart Pilot Assist (acceleration, braking and steering assist)
• Forward autonomous emergency braking
• Forward collision warning
• Lane departure warning
• Active lane keeping
• High beam assist
• Traffic sign recognition

Further, features bundled into its Electronic Stability Control Suite include:

• Vehicle dynamic control
• Traction control
• Torque vectoring by braking
• Brake refill
• Hydraulic brake assist
• Auto brake disc swiping
• Hill hold functionality
• Roll over mitigation
• ABS with electronic brake force distribution
• Hill descent control

All things considered, the effectiveness of the XUV700’s systems are, put nicely, a little grey.

However, here is one very key point. In day-to-day practice, the XUV700 demonstrates none of tiresome and incessant driver ‘assistance’ annoyances of the generally somewhat competent Korean-sourced vehicle systems, or the frankly incompetent Chinese-sourced vehicle systems.

Whether this Indian machine’s safety system calibrations work extremely well or not at all is, by Chasing Cars assessment, undetermined. Still, and unlike many price-busting competitors offered today, the XUV700 does not nanny the driver or present any deal-breaking traits via safety overreaching or poor calibration.

What are the XUV700 Black Edition’s ownership costs?

All XUV700 variants are covered by Mahindra’s seven-year warranty, albeit one capped at 150,000kms. Seven years of complimentary roadside assistance is also offered.

Servicing is required after the first month (complimentary) and the first 12 months and 10,000km ($357), afterwhich the intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km ($357 at 24 months, $563 at 36 months, $504 at 48 months) for a capped total of $1781 across the first four years and 55,000kms.

RAV4 hybrid, by comparison, costs $260 per 12-month/15,000km visit, or $1040 for 48 months/60,000kms, which is much lighter on the hip pocket than the Mahindra.

The XUV700’s turbo engine will happily run on 91-octane fuel in its 60-litre tank, but with circa-10L/100km thirst – over twice that of a hybrid RAV4 – you pay for it at the bowser.

The honest verdict on the XUV700 Black Edition

To recap, our midsize tester brings seven seats, lusty turbo petrol power, a long list of nice features as a flagship to its importer’s local lineup, seven years of warranty, and no deal-breaking driver annoyances for a tenner under $44K parked up in your driveway.

That’s pretty compelling. Especially when an entry RAV4 GX hybrid 2WD costs around $15K more. But it’s fair to say that the XUV700 hasn’t (yet) become quite the commercial hit its importer might’ve hoped it would be.

What’s so likable is that Black Edition, and the XUV700 range in general, has the right appeal for certain buyers, particularly those keen to forego frugality for good old-fashioned grunt and who, like so many of us, are quickly tiring of this era of chronic driver annoyance systems.

Yes, it’s underbaked in some areas and conspicuously cost conscious in others. But much like a large supreme pizza from the frozen food section of Woolies, it’s unfair to critique the stringiness of the cheese or the spice of the pepperoni when you’re catering for a family on a budget. And the Black Edition is its maker’s most gourmet slice.

In what it offers for the money, particularly for certain buyer tastes and budgets, the Black Edition is quite enticing indeed. If one that’s hard to recommend against segment sales leaders, budget permitting.