Mahindra's Bold Announcement: XUV 3XO Won't Have 5 Star A-NCAP Rating But Still Very Safe
Mahindra is known for making SUVs that are not only good to look at but are also feature-loaded and safe. Their latest products like the Roxx, XEV 9E, and BE6 are examples of the same. Apart from India, Mahindra is also selling some of its models in international markets. It looks like Mahindra is now planning to introduce its smallest SUV, the XUV 3XO, to the Australian market, and the manufacturer has now made a bold statement saying that the XUV 3XO won’t have a 5-star ANCAP rating but will still be very safe.
Mahindra is one of those car manufacturers that are now prioritising the safety of occupants and making sturdy vehicles. Their vehicles have performed well in Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP tests in the past. However, that has not been the case when it comes to ANCAP.
Mahindra has had conflicts with ANCAP’s safety assessment standards. One of the major issues that the Mahindra Scorpio faced during ANCAP tests was that it was found to be too safe for its own occupants while not prioritising the safety of other vehicles on the road.
Mahindra fears that the upcoming XUV 3XO might also produce similar results as the Mahindra Scorpio. In the Bharat NCAP crash test, the Mahindra XUV 3XO has already secured a 5-star safety rating, and because of the differences in regulations across countries, these cars often score differently in different tests.
But that doesn’t mean the vehicle is unsafe by any means and Mahindra knows it. It is because of this that the manufacturer has made a statement saying the XUV 3XO is going to be a very safe vehicle in the real world regardless of its performance in the ANCAP crash test.
Mahindra had invited a group of journalists from Australia to their crash test facility in Chennai to demonstrate the sturdiness and build quality. Mahindra told the journalists that the 3XO is composed of 30 per cent high-strength steel, 10 per cent ultra-high-strength steel, and five per cent advanced high-strength steel. The rest of the vehicle is made from mild steel.
Mahindra also told them that they are focused on developing cars that meet actual crash safety requirements rather than merely ticking boxes in a crash test.
Velusamy R said, “I’m not very sure we are struggling on safety, but I would say we may be struggling to meet one of the regulations of the safety [for ANCAP].”
The Mahindra XUV 3XO is currently on sale in India and is the only car in its segment to offer features like Level 2 ADAS. The SUV is available with both petrol and diesel engine options.
The lower variants of the 3XO get a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine that generates 110 Bhp and 200 Nm of peak torque. The higher variants get a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder mStallion turbo engine that produces 128 Bhp and 230 Nm of peak torque.
The diesel version of the SUV is powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged unit that generates 115 Bhp and 300 Nm of peak torque. The petrol variants get manual and automatic transmission options, while the diesel comes with a manual and AMT gearbox.
Via: carexpert.com