India’s Mahindra, best known here for its agricultural Pik-Up work ute, is poised for a major model expansion with two new SUV models over the course of 2023.
One of these is the new Pininfarina-designed Scorpio-N, made in India but developed for export to other markets. This body-on-frame, Subaru Forester-sized diesel SUV is detailed in full here.
The other is the arguably sleeker-looking XUV700 seven-seater, which supplants the XUV500 that was sold in Australia between 2012 and last year.
While it was revealed in August 2021, global supply chain woes have pushed the XUV700’s Australian launch to 2023.
“In India alone, this world class authentic SUV has drawn unprecedented orders, upwards of 100,000 orders,” a Mahindra Australia spokesperson told us.
“The extraordinary demand in the domestic market, coupled with supply chain bottlenecks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, has put severe constraints on the supply side… This has impacted our product introduction plans.”
Mahindra Scorpio-N 
Mahindra Thar
The imminent arrival of the rugged Scorpio-N and sleeker XUV700 SUV will give Mahindra’s 49 dealers – many of them regional – a serious boost in 2023.
The brand has also previously expressed its intent to sell the rugged Thar off-roader in Australia. It was on track to make the trip Down Under before legal action from Jeep, which argues the Thar is a Wrangler clone, scuppered those plans.
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The Mahindra XUV700 in brief
At a smidgen below 4.7-metres long, the XUV700 is about the same length as a Mitsubishi Outlander. Its design, while an evolution of the XUV500, sports a new grille, C-shaped running light, a rising beltline, and flush door handles.
It uses McPherson strut front suspension and a multi-link setup at the rear, and frequency-selective damping.
Engines per the brochure include a 147kW and 380Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four, or a 136kW and (up to) 450Nm 2.2-litre diesel, with either six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. All-wheel drive is listed as an option.
While the Indian-market spec grades are obviously quite different to what the Australia-market cars will have, headline available features in the home market include:
Dual 10-inch screens for the cluster and infotainment, USB-C points, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, inbuilt Amazon Alexa, a connected smartphone app, three-rows of air-conditioning, one-touch tilt-and-tumble seats, sat-nav, 18-inch wheels, a sunroof, and a surround-view camera.
Advertised safety features include front, front-side and three-row curtain airbags; plus driver-assist features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane assist, traffic sign recognition, and adaptive cruise control.
As we learn more about Mahindra Australia’s plans, we’ll keep you posted.
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