Mahindra NuvoSport review, test drive

What’s it like on the inside?

Disappointingly, the inside is pretty much the same as the Quanto, which in turn was the same as the Xylo, and that means, in modern company, it looks positively ancient. There are the awkwardly shaped AC vents that sit atop a tall and upright centre console, and the really wide transmission tunnel with two cupholders embedded next to the gearlever. There are, of course, some changes. A makeshift ‘pod’ has been shoehorned into the dash to house the new touchscreen, the AC controls have been borrowed from the TUV300 and so have a few other bits of switchgear. The touchscreen in question is not a fancy custom unit like in the Scorpio and XUV500, but instead an aftermarket unit from Kenwood, and it doesn’t feature navigation.

Quality levels appear to have improved since the Quanto, but they’re still nowhere near class standards, and even feel a notch down on the freshly designed TUV300. There are also some odd design decisions in the cabin – there’s an electronic release button for the fuel tank, for instance, but no button to unlock the doors from the inside; you have to lift the knob on the door. And while there is a screen between the dials, it only shows the odometer. All the other pertinent information like outside temperature, selected and optimal gear (handy in the manual, essential in the AMT), fuel computer and trip meters are in the tiny monochrome display above the AC vents in the centre.

Where you certainly won’t feel the pinch is on space. Mahindra says there’s even more of it in here than in the TUV300, which was already impressive for its size. Thanks to the longer 2,760mm wheelbase, you get more legroom, but Mahindra also says it’s wider, and that there’s more space in the pair of jump seats that reside in the boot. Yes, this too is a seven-seater, and we still don’t recommend using the side-facing rearmost seats, especially as they don’t have seatbelts. Space in the second row is truly impressive though, and the seat too is large and supportive, if a little flat. You do have to make quite a hike up into this high-set cabin, thanks to the rugged body-on-frame construction, but once you do, it’s easy to get comfy. M&M is happy to point out that the seatback of the second row can now be reclined for added comfort, but then you realise you have to first fold down the jump seats to make this possible. Incidentally, those seats are standard on all variants, and you can’t have this as a five-seater, even if you wanted to. What is good, though, is that the NuvoSport will be available with optional ABS and dual airbags on even the base model.