Mahindra & Mahindra designed and engineered the XUV500 to invade not only India but mature international markets. While it has successfully managed to rule the Indian streets, one-by-one, M&M is rolling out the XUV500 on the international markets.
We already know that the XUV500 will enter Europe in 2013, but our friends at CarAdvice report that M&M will launch the XUV500 in Australia in a week or so.
The Mahindra XUV500 will enter the Australian market in two avatars – W6 and W8.
The top on the line W8 variant is flooded with goodies such as all-wheel drive, satellite navigation, full-leather trim, Bluetooth and tyre-pressure monitoring system as standard. On the safety front, the W8 is equipped with six airbags, electronic stability control, anti-lock braking with electronic brake-force distribution, rollover mitigation, hill-hold and hill decent control.
The cheaper W6 variant will form the entry point and skimp out on features such as leather trim, satellite navigation, alloy wheels and a few safety gadgets to meet the entry-level price.
Both variants will be powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine churning out 140 bhp and 330 Nm of torque.
Because Mahindra does not have a brand presence in Australia, CarAdvice predicts a razor sharp pricing for the XUV500. The SUV will take on the established boys such as Hyundai Santa Fe, Holden Captiva and Honda CR-V.
M&M is awaiting for the ANCAP – (Australian New Car Assessment Program) crash testing result and is confident of at least a 4 star rating for safety. The XUV500 will be sold through 26 dealers in Australia. However the number of dealers will be doubled in the coming year.
[Source: caradvice.com.au]
