Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has introduced a petrol-AMT option on its compact crossover – Mahindra XUV300. While the company has been offering the automated manual transmission on the diesel trims of the compact SUV, the 1.2-litre, turbocharged petrol motor will now get the same convenience in the W6, W8 and W8 (O) variants of the SUV.

The XUV300 petrol six-speed AMT has been introduced at prices starting from Rs 995,000 ex-showroom, Mumbai and will sit alongside the six-speed manual transmission option. M&M has also taken the opportunity to rejig the feature line-up of the crossover and offer the electric sunroof right from the mid variants of the car, citing growing consumer demand for this feature.

As a result, the XUV300 will now get an electric sunroof in both manual and AMT versions from the W6 variant onwards. Prices of the petrol-manual trims with sunroof are pegged at Rs 994,000 ex-showroom, Mumbai.

Moreover, the top W8 (O) AMT variants will also come equipped with its latest BlueSense Plus connected-car tech. Mahindra says it would allow customers to use remote functions such as lock / unlock, geofencing, driving statistics and control other in-vehicle functionalities such as air conditioning, e-manual and infotainment system.

The BlueSense Plus technology features an integrated e-SIM that allows owners to stay connected with their cars through a mobile-based application available for both Android and iOS.

According to Veejay Nakra, CEO, Automotive Division, M&M, “The young Indian consumerdoesn’t like to compromise and seeks technology-led convenience & experiences. Today, we launch ourinnovative auto transmission ‘AutoShift’ on petrol, which uses advanced technology to offer an effortlessdriving in the city drive as well as on highways. We also introduce today the BlueSense Plus, our connectedSUV technology with over 40 features, that will seamlessly integrate the XUV300 into the always-connectedworld of today’s consumer.”

“We are glad to introduce electric sunroof right from the mid-variants of theXUV300. As India’s safest and most feature-loaded SUV, the XUV300 has always strived to inspireconsumers to think big about their aspirations and will continue to do so with future introductions,” he added.

Along with these introductions, XUV300 range will also see introduction of new colours - Dual-tone Red andDual-tone Aquamarine on all W8(O) AutoShift variants and an all-new Galaxy Grey on its manual W6, W8 and W8(O) variants.

Minimum effort, maximum convenience
With the AMT technology aimed at relieving the driver of constantly shifting gears in stop-and-go traffic, Mahindra’s AMT unit offers a creep mode supporting crawl function in traffic, as well as offers kick-down shifts to offer punch during overtaking, as claimed by the company.

The AMT variants will also come equipped with ESC and hill-start assist for ease of tackling certain tricky situations in the automatic mode, while the AMT unit also gets adaptive pedal response and tap-to-switch function to conveniently switch between Reverse, Neutral and Drive with a single tap on the shift lever.

Launched in February 2019, the XUV300 clocked volumes over 40,000 units within 11 months until January 2020. The car has seen a strong demand come from its 1.5-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine option which commanded a robust 72 percent share of total volumes initially. The strong pull had pushed M&M to quickly introduce an AMT on the diesel trim in July 2019.

Subsequently, the company first upgraded the petrol to the latest BS-VI emission norms and the growing demand for petrol cars is the reason that the AMT has now been introduced into the 109bhp, 200Nm petrol motor.

Bookings for the all-new petrolAMT are now open and deliveries will begin from mid-February.