2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Top 8: Mahindra XUV3XO AX7L

David Morley got the Mahindra in one.

“If you’re not looking for much, it’s got plenty,” he said after his first drive.

His one-liner on the Mahindra XUV3XO was a spot-on bullseye, priceless, and reflected the feelings of the whole judging panel. Everyone was surprised – in a good way – by the sweet little Mahindra. At considerably less than $30,000 on the road, it set the benchmark for affordable value in 2025.

It also became the first Indian car to make it into a COTY contest. In the past there was no indication
a Mahindra would ever bother the scorers, despite the good intentions and plans to eventually become much more than just the homegrown Holden-style hero of India. And it was not disgraced.

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The Mahindra survived the early culling and was even chosen ahead of the Alfa Romeo Junior for its driving enjoyment on the ride-and-handling course at Lang Lang. That was a surprise. It might not have 5-Star ANCAP safety, or the brand power of Toyota, but it’s a family contender which deserves to get more attention in Australia. Compared with something like the Suzuki Fronx, which also arrived in 2025, the Mahindra is a winner.

“It’s relatively easy to build an expensive luxury car, but much harder to make something to a price,” said Morley, talking generally, but highlighting the package from Mahindra.

The 3XO comes as Mahindra makes a much bigger push with its SUV line-up, lifting the bar at its development base near Chennai on everything from design and engineering to quality. After all, the company cannot trade forever on its place as the world’s largest tractor maker…

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It has invested more than $90 million in its giant technical centre, which includes everything from engine and crash-test laboratories to a smooth new test track. There is no plan to push for 5-Star ANCAP, not because Mahindra is anti-safety but because the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems needed for compliance are totally unworkable in the chaos of Indian traffic. Then there is the extra $5000-ish it would add to showroom stickers in Australia.

Which triggered another non-specific COTY discussion about the requirement for a 5-Star rating to become a COTY winner. Would buyers be happy with a 4-Star or even a 3-Star rating if they knew a vehicle would give proper protection to its occupants?

But that’s off-topic, because the 3XO is not good enough for a COTY crown and it’s unlikely it will become a benchmark brand in Australia any time soon despite the company’s export ambitions.

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Australia is an obvious target, since Mahindra has been operating Down Under for more than 20 years, and its cumulative sales – although it does not report through the official VFacts channel – are ripe for improvement over the current figure of less than 5000 a year.

The new 3XO is the second of its XUV line-up, following the larger 700 which showed some promise but was never going to be a star. The 3XO, in contrast, is a road-up development job intended to flatter owners and get shoppers in Australia to add it to their list.

The starting price of $26,990, including on-road costs, is enough to get people thinking during their new-car research. It also has a seven-year warranty good for 150,000 kilometres. But it’s the car itself which pushes the point.

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It’s in the right range for size and price to tempt young families. It’s also well equipped and – no surprise considering the weather in India – has excellent air-conditioning. Mahindra claims a cabin for five, although it’s really only good for four Aussie adults, and the luggage space is also nothing special in the class.

The dashboard and cabin has a clean-and-clear layout, and the materials and finishing are fine for the price. The instruments are big and clear, the infotainment screen is nicely sized, and it’s good to have old-school buttons and knobs in a world turning to touch screens.

The front seats need more shaping and support, and it’s the same in the back. But the AX7L version at COTY (perhaps Mahindra needs some help with naming its cars and grades) has a punchy seven-speaker sound system from Harman Kardon. The smartphone mirroring is good, although some shoppers will miss factory Satnav even though most are now easily trumped by App-based alternatives.

Also on the downside, the 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine is hardly a fireball. It only makes 82kW on regular unleaded, and needs more than 200Nm of torque despite a six-speed automatic connected to the front wheels.

The economy claim is 6.5 litres/100km, but that could probably be bettered with a light foot on a country run. As for a 0-100km/h claim, Mahindra makes none (Karl Reindler’s test put it at 12 seconds).
Rolling into action at Lang Lang, the Mahindra is dozy. You need to work the shift lever to get more than middling response from the engine room.

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But the suspension is a surprise and delight. It copes easily with lumps and bumps, turns enthusiastically into corners, and never feels nervous or unsettled in braking. It’s proof that Indian roads are much like Australia.

The 3XO sits lightly on the road, is nicely quiet up to highway speeds, and makes no excessive demands of the driver. It goes where it is pointed and, without any excessive power or torque, is not troubled for grip.

The Mahindra emerges as a hidden gem in the COTY field, still obviously needing much more polish, but
honest and sensible.

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Specs