Mahindra & Mahindra has taken the covers off of its latest compact SUV – the XUV300. Due to be launched in the first half of February 2019, the SUV’s design was unveiled for the first time today at a media meet in Mumbai.

The XUV300 shares its x100 platform with the SsangYong Tivoli which is sold internationally. The SUV’s design is said to be inspired by a cheetah, much like its older sibling, the XUV500. This is apparent from multiple aspects – Mahindra claims the flared wheel arches at the rear imitates a Cheetah’s muscular haunches while with the headlamps that integrate with the fog lamps forming a Cheetah-like tear duct.

The Mahindra XUV300 will come with segment-leading features such as dual-zone climate control, seven airbags, four disc brakes, a sunroof and a large touchscreen infotainment system. Range-topping variants of the new sub-four-metre SUV will sport HID headlamps with LED DRLs, LED tail-lamps and 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels. Mahindra claims that the model will far exceed Indian safety standards and be counted amongst the best. A point to note here is that the Tata Nexon and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza are two of the five safest cars under Rs 10 lakh currently on sale in India. It remains to be seen if the XUV300 will join them.

While Mahindra is yet to reveal the exact specifications of the engines on offer with the XUV300, they have mentioned that a petrol and diesel motor will be available at launch and have best-in-class torque. However, there will be a sole 6-speed manual transmission at launch, with the automatic option coming in at a later date. For now, the engines are not yet BS-VI complaint and will be updated before the new emission norms begin in April 2020.

Autocar India had reported before that Mahindra will also bring an all-electric version of the S201. Now, the company has confirmed that the XUV300 EV (which may be named differently) is expected to arrive in mid-2020.

M&M has also announced that its new compact SUV will be built at the Nashik plant and will be retail from the company’s regular showrooms and not the new World of SUVs outlets.

Pricing for the Mahindra XUV300 will be revealed on its launch date, but expect it to be competitive to take on the higher variants of the Tata Nexon and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and even the likes of the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross, Nissan Kicks and Hyundai Creta.

With the new XUV300 sub-four-metre SUV, M&M has revived its alpha-numeric naming system. The name of the new model, earlier known by its S201 codename, is meant to provide an aspirational link to the larger and popular XUV500, according to a source. The recent introduction of the Marazzo MPV and M&M’s new flagship, the Alturas G4, saw the company drop the ‘double O’ nomenclature.

Also read: Top 5 UVs – November 2018