Mahindra has finally made its presence in the private market electric vehicle space with the XUV400. It’s the first in a line of electric vehicles from Mahindra over the course of the next three years and will be launched in India in January 2023.

We have had a chance to drive the XUV400 and found that it had all the requisites in terms of performance and ride quality but the interior felt a segment down while the feature list lacked some major feel-good elements.

The Mahindra XUV400 shares its exterior design with the XUV300 with elements like the profile, wheels, headlights and roofline all looking very similar. However, while the XUV300 is under four meters, the XUV400 is 4.2-meters long but has the same wheelbase of 2.6-meters as the former.

The XUV400 shares much of its interiors with the XUV300 but where the latter gets a beige and black colour scheme, the XUV400 has an all-black colour scheme. The added length has also increased the XUV400’s boot capacity over the XUV300 from 257 litres to 368 litres.

The Mahindra XUV400 offers a 39.4kW lithium-ion battery pack that gives it an ARAI-certified range of 456kms. The electric motor has an output of 150bhp/310Nm and has a 0-100kmph time of 8.3-seconds.

In terms of charging, this battery pack can be charged from 0-80 via a 50kW DC fast charger in just 50 minutes while a 7.2 kW/32A outlet, takes 6 hours 30 minutes for 0-100 per cent charge and the same is achieved in 13 hours while using a standard 3.3 kW/16A domestic socket.

On the features front, the car is offered with a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, analogue instrument cluster with black and white MID, leatherette seats, rake adjustment for the driver’s seat and split folding rear seats.

The car will arrive in showrooms in December of this year with bookings and test drives expected to start at the same time. The Mahindra XUV400 is a rival for the Tata Nexon EV Max and the entry-level MG ZS EV Excite variant. We expect a price of Rs 17 lakh to Rs 22 lakh.

Photography: Kapil Angane