Test driving the Mahindra KUV 100 D75 K8

Itrsquos not often that you draw all the looks and curiosityinduced enquiries when driving around the city at the crack of dawn Even less so when doing it in a car that carries a Mahindra badge whose products are more workhorse than show pony and a pricetag hovering around the Rs 75 lakh mark Donrsquot let the price fool you though because Mahindrarsquos new KUV100 mdash pronounced lsquoonedoubleorsquo mdash is no ordinary car Now that wersquove got the convoluted nomenclature out of the way we can dig a little deeper into what the KUV brings to the foreThe Mahindra KUV 100 will compete with the likes of the Grand i10 PICSSanjay RaikarThe reason the KUV drew so many glances wasnrsquot just because itrsquos a brandnew car and is generating much advertising buzz around the country but because of its distinctive looks mdash Range Rover Evoquelike face those daytime running lights DRL that underline sharp sweptback headlamps the sculpted hood and the distinctive belly pan that gives visual testimony to the carrsquos SUV credentials Swipe rightBest interiors we have seen in a Mahindra so farWe also admire the rear end and those sweeping lines snazzy taillamps that chunky bumper with inset rear foglamps and what is steadily turning into a musthave inclusion for purely aesthetic reasons a rear spoiler Swipe right When looked at broadside though the proportions seem a little off with the substantial body and datedlooking little 14inch wheels really standing out This coupled with the disproportionately flowing lines the sudden and sharp downward swoop on the roof and that skirt cladding all taken in as a package give the impression of a little too much going on A little bit of simplicity would have helped here Swipe left The Chevy Beatstyle vertically mounted doorhandle is still pretty cool and does brighten things up hereBoot space isnrsquot something to write home aboutThe interior of this car is fairly representative of its exterior The first thing you notice is the bench seat in the front row the next thing that will stand out is the gearlever which is mounted on the centre console but more on that anon The car also comes with the traditional front seat configuration although the position of the gearlever remains the same The lack of bucketseats in this variant results in a bit of toandfro sway when taking corners even when you are strapped inThigh support is wanting in both rows as is kneeroom in the second row In contrast headroom is more than sufficient thanks to the KUV100rsquos tall stance Moving past the seats and on to the dashboard which looks good with its inverted crescent shape and the dualtone quality of the dash is offset by a glossyblack finish However the plastic quality towards the bottom half of the whole unit could do with some improvementThe Mahindra BlueSense compatible infotainment is rustic easytouse and comes with bluetooth and USB connectivity The ergonomics are of a decent quality and all the buttons and knobs work well The twinpod information cluster glows a devious red is pretty straightforward and even gives you a distancetoempty readout Boot space is underwhelming at 243 litresThere are a couple of secret storage bins in the rear floorboard and under the front passenger seat for that stash Now for the fun part I put the key into the illuminated key hole and gave it a twist and that mFALCON D75 diesel engine came to life It isnrsquot obnoxiously loud as some dieselengine cars tend to be and Mahindrarsquos effort at insulating the cabin can be commended This allnew inlinethree turbodiesel powerplant from Mahindra is a proper step forward overall The refinement levels are pretty respectable and it produces a decent 77 PS at 3750 RPM and a cool 190 Nm of twist from 17502250 RPM The quickness of the KUV100 is exemplified by our test results it did 0 to 100 kmh in 1533 secondsAnd because the torque comes in so low down the rev range you can comfortably pull away from as low as 1200 revs which means frequent gearshifts are not needed when driving in chockablock traffic The ride on the KUV is on the softer side which is great when yoursquore taking in the bumps at low speeds but bothersome when approaching a speedbreaker carrying any vestigial momentum Handling too is slightly hampered by the soft suspension setup and while the steering is well weighted for lowspeed darting highspeed cornering isnrsquot all that comfortable with significant bodyroll a sideeffect of the carrsquos height factoring in too Braking is easily achieved and without too much squiggling about mdash we came to a complete standstill from 100 kmh in 33 secondsWhile the KUV does have some drawbacks as a budget car it is an option that is definitely worth consideration especially when you consider how frugal it can be You can put the car in the eco mode to save fuel and it comes equipped with Mahindrarsquos microhybrid startstop technology inbuilt All this translates into 16 kilometres to a litre in the city and an extraordinary 23 on the highway