Lexus NX vs Mahindra XUV700

What's the difference?

The Lexus NX450h+ F Sport is a gorgeous mid-size SUV that combines great specs and a fairly efficient plug-in hybrid powertrain. It’s a comfortable and easy ride which should appeal to a wide range of driving styles. It also looks good parked at the kerbside of a city street and with it ticking most of the boxes, it may become your new best friend.

This is credible seven-seat motoring from Mahindra. The XUV700 has a couple of engineering quirks I'd like to see ironed out, but this SUV feels as though it deserves a place among Australia's affordable SUV offerings.

The NX simple looks like a scaled-down version of its larger RX cousin, so if you like that you’ll like what the NX.

It looks sweeter, though, with its smaller proportions being only 4660mm long and 1670mm high but there’s enough sharp pleating in the panelling and rear LED lights to give it a sporty edge. It’s a design that should appeal to a wide range of people.

The interior helps the NX compete against some of its flashier rivals, but the BMW X3's interior beats it hands down with the wow factor. Still, the dual-toned leather upholstery and fabrics of our test model scream understated luxury.

The perforated leather of the seats is supple underhand, but even the robust synthetic leather on the backs of the seats and some door panelling feels like the real stuff most of the time.

The dashboard components – like the air vents, displays and accents – are well integrated and seem well-built. The cockpit is intimate and plush overall, and it always reminds you that you're in the cabin of a luxury vehicle.

This Mahindra is kind of dark and mysterious. Which is another way of saying it's literally painted black and almost nobody I asked had any idea what the hell it was.

That's the curse of a brand that’s still trying to make a mainstream name for itself, I guess, with Mahindra having a long road ahead of it before its gets to a level where its vehicles are instantly recognisable.

Anyway, the blacked-out grille treatment works, as does the very modern LED light array, and while not what you might describe as a boundary-pushing design, it's all inoffensive.

But it’s inside where things get interesting. Honestly, the way technology has exploded into cheaper offerings never ceases to amaze me. It wasn’t that long ago that, to be greeted by a big twin-screen set-up like the one in this Mahindra, you’d need to spring for a Mercedes-Benz.

Which is interesting, because if you've ever sat in a vehicle from the German giant, you'll recognise the XUV700's electric seat controller, with the seat-shaped design seemingly lifted straight from Benz.

I'd describe the cabin feel as semi-premium. The screens are lovely, the seats are comfortable, and the sunroof is massive, but some of the trim elements feel a little cheap and flimsy under the touch, and the use of those materials only increases as you move back through the seating rows.

The cabin of the NX is spacious where it needs to be for four adults to be comfortable on a longer journey, and features enough equipment to satisfy most.

Access is best at the front because of the wider door apertures and while still easy enough to get in and out of from the back, the rear wheel arch cuts into the aperture a bit.

The front seats are very comfortable with thick padding, tall side bolsters that lock you into place in a turn as well as heating and cooling functions.

The back seats are almost as comfortable as the front! However, the outboard seats offer the best under-thigh support. It is a shame that they miss out on heat functions for its grade level, though.

Storage is fairly good for the class, with lots of small item cubbies up front like a sunglasses holder, a mini drawer next to the drivers' knee and a dedicated phone holder and two cupholders. The large glove box (that can hold more than just a manual) and mid-size middle console shoulder most of the storage burden, though.

In the back you get a couple of map pockets, small storage bins and two cupholders. which is most than enough for this size of SUV.

The boot offers an impressive 520L of capacity and a level loading space makes it an easy car to slide larger gear in and out of. The little storage compartment under the floor is handy for charging cables and the hands-free powered tailgate is always handy to have.

The technology is a nice mix of easy-to-use and high-end with a responsive touchscreen on the 14-inch multimedia display. The system has built-in sat nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The CarPlay was simple to set up and has maintained a steady connection with my iPhone this week.

Charging options are decent with two USB-C ports and a 12-volt socket per row, as well as a wireless charging pad up front.

There are seven seaters, and there are real seven seaters, with the latter offering a true third row in terms of space and comfort. So where does the Mahindra fit?

At 4695mm in length, 1890mm in width and 1755mm in height, this Black Edition is a decent size for a mid-size SUV, and so you’d describe the space in the third row as big enough, but not for full-grown adults marooned back there for longer spells.

To enter, it's a lever system that makes climbing in easy, with the second row folding up and then right out of the way so you can just walk in.

Space is tight for adults, though. I'm 175cm and my head was touching the roof, though I did have enough leg and toe room, and I was impressed by the fan controls and power sources (though I was less impressed by the sea of hard and scratchy plastics back there).

Step forward a row and the space is ample for just about anyone, and there are more vents, bottle holders and charging ports, too.

Boot space swells or shrinks depending on how many people are on board, of course. Mahindra doesn't have an offical boot-space figure for the XUV700, but says you will get "in excess of 700 litres" with the second row folded flat. With all three rows in place, things are tight, and you're looking at a couple of backpack-sized bags only.

First up, the price. The XUV700 Black Edition arrives at $43,990, drive-away, which puts it on a collision course with the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max Elite. It also puts it in the same realm as an entry-level Nissan X-Trail.

It’s also a fair chunk more than the cheapest XUV700, the AX7, which is currently $36,990, drive away.

But Mahindra is promising kit, and lots of it. Outside, the Black Edition scores black paint, a black grille and black 18-inch alloy wheels. Inside, there are black synthetic leather seats and a generally blacked-out design theme.

On the tech front, there are dual 10.25-inch screens, one for the driver and one to handle multimedia, and there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A 12-speaker stereo provides the soundtrack, and there’s a wireless charge pad, too. 

Dual-zone climate and LED lighting also appear on the standard features list, while the huge glass roof has an electric sun shade, which makes it very liveable in an Aussie summer.

Interestingly, it comes with front-seat cooling, but not heating, with the latter unlikely to ever be necessary in Mahindra's home market of India.

The NX450h+ F Sport is the first attempt at a plug-in hybrid powertrain for Lexus. It pairs a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors, one located at each end of the car for all-wheel drive. Together they produce up to 227kW of power, but Lexus doesn’t quote the combined torque figure (cheeky).

The flagship model can do a 0-100km/h sprint in 6.3 seconds and features a smooth continuously variable transmission.

Overall, it moves quickly and the shift between the electric and engine components is barely noticeable.

The Mahindra is powered by the almost comically named 'mStallion' engine, which is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol producing 149KW and 380Nm and paired with a six-speed auto and front-wheel drive.

I don’t have an offical 0-100km/h time, but safe to say you won’t be turning up to a Fast and Furious illegal race meet in the Black Edition.

It's a very capable engine and transmission combination, but it loses points here due to the surging nature of the power delivery, which very frequently causes the front tyres to break traction.

The flagship NX has a smallish 18.1kWh lithium-ion battery and a Type 2 charging port but no CCS enhancement, which means you can’t hook it up to a fast DC charger.

On a standard AC 240-volt domestic plug port, you can charge this from 0-100% in around 7hrs 30mins. You get a great electric-only NEDC-rated driving range of up to 87km and that means you really only have to charge it every other day, which I appreciated. 

The official combined fuel cycle usage is 1.3L/100km, but you won’t really see that in the real world. After doing some longer trips mixed in with city slicking, my average real-world usage popped out at 6.5L/100km, and I averaged 20.2kWh/100km when in pure EV mode. They’re not the best hybrid figures I’ve seen for the class, but they're not too bad either.

Mahindra says the XUV700 sips 8.3L/100km on the combined (urnan/extra-urban) cycle, which – when paired with the 60-litre tank – should see you able to travel in excess of 700km on a single tank.

And happily, when it does come time to top up, you can reach for the cheaper 91RON petrol pump.

We covered in excess of 300km, and the Mahindra's in-car readout registered an average of 10.2L/100km.

This NX feels like it has lots of power in reserve when you put your foot down and never struggles going up big hills. When it’s in pure EV mode, it’s very quiet but there’s no big fanfare when this kicks over to the traditional engine. You barely notice it until you’re on the open road travelling at higher speeds, and that’s when the engine starts to sound more growly like its non-hybrid siblings.

The steering is forgiving without feeling too light and around town, the NX is nimble and sure of itself. The suspension is on the firmer side, so you’ll hear and feel the bigger bumps, but it never feels rough.

Visibility is decent with the largish windows, and the pillars that aren’t too wide from my driving position. I do like having the digital rearview mirror, though, because when you have a big car seat or tall adult in the back seat, the vision back there is hindered.

It’s pretty hard to find a modern car that’s terrible to park, especially in the mid-size SUV segment, and the NX is no different. Even in a small car space, you still have good clearance around you, which hopefully translates to less dings from neighbouring cars!

The 360-degree view camera system is top notch with its quality, and I like that the car disappears and you can see the ground underneath.

There are two sides to the Mahindra XUV70O. The first is its comfortable, compliant, easy-breezy side, one with which, should you be gentle with the Black Edition, you'll find it's happy to be gentle back.

We covered some 300km in the Mahindra, from the city to the freeway to country roads, and the Black Edition proved a solid performer in facing everything we threw it at.

The cabin is quiet enough, blocking out the worst of the road and tyre noise, and the steering, while very light and flimsy feeling, proved responsive and confidence-inspiring enough, too.

The engine and transmission gel nicely at speed, and while the XUV700 won't be winning too many street races, the power on offer matches the vehicle nicely, and it doesn't feel underdone.

Even the safety systems are unobtrusive enough, with only the lane keep system proving annoying on the freeway, as it occasionally lightly fought back against steering inputs.

So, a six out of 10? I've marked the Mahindra down because, for mine, the power delivery and traction do not play well together, with the Black Edition only too happy to break front traction, and break it often, should you feed on too much throttle when turning from a standing start, or even in a straight line if you're pointed uphill.

Not helping the traction is the lumpy power delivery, where you get little when you first plant your foot, then a whole lot all at once.

That part of the otherwise positive drive experience made me mark it down here.

The Mahindra doesn’t yet carry an ANCAP safety rating, but it comes with all the stuff needed to perform strongly, on paper at least, in crash testing.

That includes seven airbags, adaptive cruise control, 'Forward Collision Warning' (with AEB), lane departure warning and lane keep assist.

Keep an eye on that reversing camera, though. For mine it’s a little laggy, which means things can sneak up on you when reversing.

The XUV700 does wear a five-star Global NCAP safety rating but hasn't been assessed by ANCAP.

The NX is offered with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is on par with its European rivals.

It comes with a five-year capped price servicing program, where services are competitively priced at $595 each.

Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

Mahindra offers a seven-year, 150,000km warranty, with seven years of roadside assistance. We like the years, but we’d like to see the kays become unlimited to match brands like Kia.

You’ll need a free service at 1500km, then your first real check up at 10,000km, then its 12 months or 15,000km after that.

Capped-price servicing means you’ll pay $1781 for the first five services, but that includes the free one, so it's more like four trips to the dealerships for an average cost of $445 per workshop visit.