Why Is Mahindra XUV700 Far More Popular Than Tata Safari?
The Mahindra XUV700 is an extremely popular SUV. It has been consistently achieving podiums in sales charts, often surpassing its rivals by significant margins. Tata Safari could be cited as one of its strongest rivals. People love the Safari for its room, comfort and road presence. However, when pitted against the XUV 700, it loses badly. Tata Motors manages to sell significantly lower monthly volumes compared to the numbers posted by the XUV. In this article, we will look at what makes the XUV so popular…
Tata Safari vs Mahindra XUV700: Setting The Context
We’ll begin this analysis by walking you through the yearly sales numbers clocked by both SUVs during the calendar year 2024. According to data available online, Mahindra managed to sell around 90,745 units of the XUV700, while Tata could sell just 23,113 units of Safari. It could sell just 25.47 % of what the XUV did. In other words, the XUV had a 74.53% sales margin over the Safari last year.
October 2024 was the best month for the XUV. Mahindra sold 10,435 units of it then. During the same period, Tata Motors could only sell 2,086 Safaris. This essentially means 80% fewer sales for the Safari, compared to the XUV700, in a month when the automotive sales in general, were fairly high.
Why Is XUV700 Far More Popular Than Tata Safari?
There are some clear reasons why the XUV700 beats the Tata Safari hollow in sales. Here they are!
Sizes are close, but XUV700 has a longer wheelbase
In dimensions, the XUV700 is longer than the Safari. It is 4,695 mm long, 1,890 mm wide and 1,755 mm tall. At 2750 mm, the wheelbase is slightly longer than the Safari’s 2741 mm. Tata Safari measures 4,668 mm, 1,922 mm and 1,795 mm in length, width and height respectively. It is wider and taller than the XUV, generating more cabin room. The talking point, however, is the wheelbase which significantly elevates the experience inside the XUV 700. The second row offers good amounts of leg and head rooms. The XUV700 wins out due to this.
The Mahindra XUV700 Has More Features Than Safari
Tata hasn’t skimped in supplying features and technology on the Safari. The kit levels here are good, but not phenomenal. The XUV700 on the other hand, comes with plenty of desirable features and modern technology. This could be another reason why more people prefer the Mahindra over Safari.
It gets features like passive keyless entry, a 6-way power seat with memory and welcome retract, and a memory function for ORVM. The Safari misses out on most of these. The Mahindra also features a 12-speaker premium 3D audio system from Sony, while the Safari has a 10-speaker JBL audio setup.
Even though both the SUVs come with ADAS suites, the Level 2 ADAS on the XUV700 feels more suited and tuned for Indian road conditions.
The Mahindra XUV700 Has A Choice of Engines
While the Safari continues to be a Diesel-only model, the XUV700 offers the choice of a petrol engine as well. It comes with a 2.0L mStallion turbocharged petrol engine that produces 200 hp and 380 Nm. Petrol engines may not be too popular in this segment, but there is a group of buyers who still prefer them over diesel vehicles.
In the metros, especially Delhi NCR, buyers worry about having to sell or scrap their diesel vehicles when they hit the 10-year age mark. For these people, the availability of petrol option in the XUV700 is a clear temptation. Another factor is the waiting period – the petrol variants are less in demand, and they may be able to take delivery of a petrol Mahindra XUV700 much faster.
Which One Has The More Responsive Engine?
Well, it is the Mahindra XUV700. The 2.2L mHawk turbocharged diesel engine is capable of producing 183 hp and 450 Nm. It feels more responsive than the Safari. The Tata, on the other hand, draws its juice from the Stellantis-sourced 2.0L diesel engine that produces 168 hp and 350 Nm. The XUV thus has 10 hp and 100 Nm more than the Safari, which helps it accelerate faster and extra torque is always wonderful to have! It does the 0-100 kph sprint in just 10-11 seconds. The power-to-weight advantage possessed by the XUV 700 is also a reason for this improved performance. These SUVs weigh around in the range of 1800-1900 kilograms, depending on options and powertrains. So for the diesels, it is the XUV that has the edge, owing to its increased engine outputs. Both the SUVs offer the choice of manual and automatic transmissions.
More Variants- More Price Points
And finally, the XUV700 has more variants on offer, compared to the Safari. The Safari comes in 29 variants, while the XUV700 is available in a total of 45 variants- spread across petrol and diesel powertrains. The Safari starts at 15.50 lakh (ex-showroom) and goes up to 27 lakh for the top-spec ‘Accomplished Plus Dark automatic’ variant.
The XUV700 on the other hand, starts at a much lower price- Rs 13.99 lakh (ex-showroom), thanks to the petrol engine. The base diesel variant has an ex-showroom price of Rs 14.59 lakh while the top-spec diesel costs Rs 25.74 Lakh (ex-showroom). The range-topping petrol variant has an ex-showroom price of Rs 24.14 lakh. There is thus a variant of the XUV available at most price points.
The XUV700 Offers AWD!
Unlike the Safari which comes just with a front wheel drive layout, the XUV700 offers AWD on some of its higher variants. These are powered by the diesel engine and come with automatic transmissions alone. The AWD-equipped variants are priced from 23.33 lakh, ex-showroom. The range-topping AWD variant costs 25.73 lakh, ex-showroom. Thus, if you are in a state to spend 30 lakhs on an SUV, you can buy a range-topping XUV700 AWD or a front-wheel-driven Safari! The choice here is clear…
What About the Future?
Mahindra is keeping its foot in all the boats! The Mahindra XEV E9 is already here, as the next-generation, born electric luxury SUV. While the company already has the petrol and diesel XUV700s. Add to that, the facelift of the XUV700 is getting ready, as well as the electric version of the XUV700! Currently, a customer at a Mahindra showroom has a lot of options to look at and pick one – compared to Tata, which has just the diesel Safari (and Harrier). Add to that, no petrol as well as the yet-to-be launched Safari EV, and its no wonder that the buyer picks a Mahindra instead of a Tata. And this is on top of all the reasons mentioned above!