The Mahindra XUV700 is believed to be the spiritual successor of the XUV500. Mahindra offers a paw-styled door handle for the XUV500, which the company claims was inspired by the Cheetah’s paw. However, certain buyers have found this design to be a little awkward for regular use. To address this issue and provide a more functional and modern set of door handles, Mahindra will introduce flush door handles in the upcoming XUV700.

The patent for these new form of door handles have been leaked, wherein the company has referred to this invention as ‘A mechanically operated concealed door handle mechanism’, popularly known as flush door handles. Unlike the completely popping-out flush door handle in the Range Rover Velar, the XUV700 will get a flush door handle that is hinged at the front, and only the rear pops out. The Tesla Model 3 has a similar set-up wherein the flush door handle is hinged at the rear and only the front pops out. Read below to learn more about it.

What is it?

Unlike a conventional door handle that protrudes outside the body of the vehicle, the flush door handle gets a different kind of mechanism that ensures that the handle does not protrude outside during normal conditions. When the key fob is operated, the partial section of the handle comes out of the door, so that the user can pull it to open the door.

The patent further reveals that a simple and secured concealed door handle mechanism alleviates the problem associated with conventional door handles that have complex mechanisms and are not easily operable under various different circumstances. The company highlights four key benefits associated with flush door handles –

- Simple in construction

- Easily operable under different circumstances

- Safe for the user

- Equipped with a handle with a profile which avoids hooking of the finger rings

Door handle mechanism

The door handle mechanism of the present disclosure has been described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which -

Figure 1a illustrates the door handle mechanism of the present disclosure with the door handle in a home position, and Figure 1b illustrates the door handle mechanism of the present disclosure with the door handle in a deployed position. Apart from the mechanical functioning of the handle, it will also offer a push-lock and push-unlock mechanism.

Figure 2 illustrates the rear view of the door handle mechanism of the present disclosure.

Figure 3 illustrates an isometric view of the door handle of the present disclosure. The gripper in the handle will be enabled with finger grooves or contours for comfortable and smooth access. Additionally, the gripper will be provided with texture or grain for anti-slip.

Figure 4 illustrates the side view of the door handle of Figure 3. The company further claims that the design restricts the complete grabbing of the handle lever to protect the user’s fingers with a ring from getting caught between the handle lever.

Figure 5 illustrates the rear view of the door handle mechanism within a housing in the door panel of the vehicle. The door handle will be equipped with a minimum of one sensor which will provide signals corresponding to the rest position and the deployed position.

Figure 6 illustrates the front view of the door handle mechanism within a housing in a door panel of the vehicle. The signals from the sensor will further be configured to be transmitted in the form of audio or visual means in the vehicle’s infotainment system.

What we know about the Mahindra XUV700?

The upcoming Mahindra XUV700 will be offered with petrol and diesel engine options, with both manual and automatic transmission options. Interestingly, the vehicle will be offered with an AWD option in select variants. The vehicle has been spied testing in India, to learn more about it click here.

The upcoming three-row SUV, the Mahindra XUV700 will be positioned above the XUV500. The vehicle is expected to be introduced in the second quarter of the current financial year. At the time of name reveal, Veejay Nakra, CEO – Automotive Division, M&M, said, “The XUV700, one of the most awaited offerings from Mahindra is sure to hit the sweet spot with customers. Built on the new W601 platform, XUV700 marks the beginning of the next generation of sophisticated and authentic Mahindra SUVs which will offer an adrenaline rush like never before.”