Mahindra XUV300 AMT Automatic To Launch In 2019

Both the XUV300’s 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines are currently available with a 6-speed manual transmission only

• Both, petrol and diesel engines to get AMT.

• Prices of the XUV300 start from Rs 7.9 lakh and go up to Rs 11.99 lakh (ex-showroom).

• Tata Nexon is the only other sub-compact SUV to get AMT with both petrol and diesel engines.

Mahindra has launched the XUV300 in India at prices starting from Rs 7.9 lakh (ex-showroom India). While the XUV300 is available with a host of features that even some of the bigger and more premium SUVs don’t get (like steering modes, heated ORVMs), it’s only available with two powertrains: petrol-manual and diesel-manual.

However, that will change soon as Mahindra says it’s working on offering an automatic transmission option with the XUV300 and has confirmed that it will come out in 2019. In fact, both of the XUV300’s petrol and diesel engine options will get an AMT.

The Mahindra Marazzo, which shares its diesel engine with the XUV300, is also due to get an automatic transmission, but that won’t happen until April 2020, which is when BSVI emission norms get implemented. The Marazzo and XUV300 are expected to share the automatic transmission.

In the sub-compact SUV space, only the Tata Nexon is available with an AMT with both petrol and diesel engines until now. While the Maruti Vitara Brezza doesn’t get a petrol engine, its diesel engine is available with an AMT. The Ford EcoSport is available with a torque converter, but only with a petrol engine. There’s also the Honda WR-V, the Jazz-based crossover that competes in this space, but it is available only with a manual transmission for both its engines.

Prices of the XUV300 start from Rs 7.9 lakh and go all the way up to Rs 11.99 lakh (both prices ex-showroom India) for the top W8(O) variant with the diesel engine. If Mahindra plans to offer the AMT with the XUV300 from the W6 variant onwards, expect the prices of the AMT-equipped models to start from around Rs 9.5 lakh for petrol and Rs 10 lakh for the diesel XUV300.

*tentative prices of W6 AMT and W8 AMT variants. We expect Mahindra to offer AMT with top three variants, but there’s no official confirmation on this yet.

If Mahindra prices the AMT variants as per our expectation, the XUV300 petrol-AMT will be the most expensive sub-4m SUV with an automatic transmission. Here’s how its automatic transmission-equipped rivals are priced currently:

Petrol-automatic drivetrain

Diesel-automatic drivetrain

Hyundai will also enter the sub-4m SUV race shortly with the Qxi (codename). It remains to be seen where the Qxi fits the scheme of things in terms of price, features and powertrain. We expect the Qxi to get a dual-clutch automatic transmission, and if that happens, it might be the only SUV to offer that in this segment. The Ford EcoSport used to get a DCT in its pre-facelift version, but it now gets a torque-converter paired with its Dragon series 1.5-litre petrol engine. DCT is widely considered to be more refined and sophisticated than an AMT. Stay tuned to CarDekho for the latest news from the Indian automotive industry.

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