Mahindra TUV300 review, road test

The old-school ladder-frame chassis, 1,626kg kerb weight (1,654kg for the AMT version) and tall 1,839mm height don’t point to a great dynamic package, especially compared to its monocoque-built competition. It certainly does not impress with its ride quality. The TUV gets tossed about at slow and medium speeds and passengers sitting at the rear will be uncomfortable after a prolonged run on bad roads. The only solace is that the long-travel suspension sitting on tall, 75-profile tyres can go through even crater-sized potholes with barely any noise. As the speeds rise, the TUV is constantly moving around, and it gets bouncy when it runs over expansion joints – definitely not a good thing.

Handling is another sore area and although the steering is an improvement by Mahindra standards, there’s still lots of slack around the straight ahead position. It is best to bleed all the speed before approaching a corner and turn in gently. There’s that inevitable top-heavy feeling, which can be a bit hair-raising at speed through a sharp corner, but it doesn’t roll as much as you might expect it to.