2026 Mahindra XUV 3XO review: Long-term test

We’ve been living with the new Mahindra XUV 3XO for the past three months to see how Mahindra’s new entry-level model stacks up as a daily driver at the cut-price end of the small SUV market. 

For those that are unfamiliar with the brand, Mahindra has had a presence in the Australian market dating back to the ’90s – when it sold two versions of a slightly modernised version of the Willys CJ-3B civilian Jeep using parts manufactured in India.

Globally and locally, the brand has a massive footprint in tractors and built a great reputation on its Pik-Up ute with farmers, before moving into the SUV market with numerous models including the Scorpio off-road SUV, the XUV700 mid-size SUV, and the XUV 3XO compact SUV we are testing here.

For our market, the XUV 3XO model lineup is simple, comprising just two variants (AX5L and AX7L) that both use the same 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a six-speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels. The car is sold nationwide through the Indian brand’s network of over 70 dealers.

That puts it squarely in the same conversation as the Chery Tiggo 4, which is the closest match on price and positioning, and is offered in Urban and Ultimate grades. GWM also offers the Haval Jolion for a similar price.

Having now covered over 5000km in our Galaxy Grey AX7L over the past three months, we have come to appreciate the little Mahindra’s many charms and definitely feel it to be a worthy contender for those looking for a cheap and reliable car, but it’s by no means perfect.

How much does the Mahindra XUV 3XO cost?

Mahindra sells the XUV 3XO with national drive-away pricing, and it’s available in two grades: AX5L and AX7L. 

Everest White is the only no-cost paint finish. Every other colour attracts a $495 surcharge (metallic paint).

As a point of reference, the Chery Tiggo 4 is priced from $23,990 drive-away for the Urban and $26,990 drive-away for the Ultimate, which lines it up with the Mahindra’s pricing walk. 

To see how the Mahindra XUV 3XO lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the Mahindra XUV 3XO like on the inside?

Both variants share the same basic cabin layout, including dual 10.25-inch digital screens (a touchscreen for the infotainment and another for the instrument cluster), plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

Mahindra hasn’t complicated the range, but there are meaningful differences between the AX5L and AX7L inside, with the base model being specified with black cloth upholstery and a smaller, conventional sunroof that covers the front seats, while the higher grade switches to black leatherette and a larger panoramic ‘sky roof’, plus a much better Harman & Kardon audio system. 

The second row is a 60:40-split/folding bench, and there are three top-tether points and four ISOFIX anchors for child seats. There’s also a space-saver spare wheel under the boot floor. 

From a day-to-day usability perspective, it’s worth flagging two things that are easy to overlook at this price. Firstly, the Mahindra has physical buttons for the climate control (rather than forcing everything into the touchscreen), and it also comes with rear air vents, plus rear-seat charging points (12V and USB) which a lot of used cars at this price point don’t offer. 

The interior is surprisingly upmarket for a car at this price point. All the plastics on the door and dash are soft and feel great to touch. The fit and finish of the vehicle is pretty damn good for what you are paying. The Apple CarPlay wireless connection has not dropped out once, and the screen and infotainment system are very responsive and easy to see, even in direct sunlight.

The digital instrument cluster is likewise well laid out, with easy-to-navigate menus and a clear speedometer. Like other Mahindras, we would still like to see the company offer a standard indicator sound, but at least in the 3XO you can reduce the volume and pick a sound that is less annoying than the company’s other models.

The 65-Watt USB-C charger (only in the top spec) is one of the fastest we have tested in a car (the Hyundai Ioniq 9 offers a faster one but it costs more than $100k), which means your dead iPhone (17 Pro) will be back to a 50 per cent charge in a 20- to 25-minute commute to work at its maximum 45W charging rate. It also means you can charge a MacBook with it.

But perhaps the biggest surprise at this price point is the 340W seven-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, which comes with a dedicated amplifier and sub-woofer. This is a genuinely amazing sound system and, given the target audience of younger or first-time car buyers here, we think it’s a fantastic market fit and certainly helps elevate the XUV 3XO and its features above its Chery equivalent.

Overall, the interior of the 3XO feels very much fit for purpose given the price point. There is nothing cheap-feeling in the vehicle and the air-conditioning and media controls all work as expected and without any issues that we have so far encountered.

Perhaps our only annoyance with the interior is actually the boot, which measures a very reasonable 364 litres, but the button for its release from the outside is rather tiny and well buried. It would be great if Mahindra added a button on the remote key fob to allow the boot to be opened, or moved the boot opening mechanism to a more accessible location.

To see how the Mahindra XUV 3XO lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

There’s only one powertrain offered in Australia. It’s the lower-spec version of the company’s 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine (mStallion TCMPFi).

To see how the Mahindra XUV 3XO lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Mahindra XUV 3XO drive?

This little Mahindra is a city car made for ultra-urban use.

While it’s technically an SUV, it’s not the sort of thing you would ever take anywhere that requires off-roading capability. Mahindra does indeed have excellent off-road credentials with its other models, but that doesn’t extend to the 3XO.

This is the sort of vehicle you buy for your kids as their first car, or to have in the family as a second car to get to the shops or do a quick drive around town.

In our three months of driving it around Brisbane and surrounding suburbs, we have found the powertrain to be effective and easy to live with. The ride and handling is pretty good and well suited to handling bumps and poorly surfaced roads. It’s not too harsh and provides reasonably well-tuned dynamics.

Where it needs a bit of improvement is the idle stop-start system, which turns off the engine to save fuel when it shouldn’t, resulting in a jerky take-off when it turns back on, and our particular vehicle seemed to have a faulty front parking sensor, which would occasionally activate when there was no obstacle ahead.

With just 82kW of power and 200Nm of torque, it doesn’t offer a sporty drive and it falls a little short of what Chery offers from its larger 1.5-litre unit in the Tiggo 4. Nonetheless, during our three months of testing it never felt inadequate or lacking punch.

This is definitely a powertrain suited to city and urban driving, and the six-speed automatic does a great job of extracting the best out of the powertrain with a 0-60km/h time of 4.6 seconds. Nonetheless, while it can definitely spend plenty of time on a city-bound highway, if you frequent roads that require you to overtake large trucks or road trains, a more powerful option would be a better bet.

What we would like to see improved in the drivetrain is the idle-stop system, which seems to have no care for how hot it is outside. The 3XO turns itself off to save fuel each time you stop even if the cabin has not cooled down sufficiently.

Thankfully there is a button to the right of the steering wheel which turns the system off very easily, but it would be great if Mahindra could improve the process so it only turns off when the cabin is already at the desired temperature.

Mahindra provides three driving modes named ‘Zip’, ‘Zap’, and ‘Zoom’. We have tried to zip, zap and zoom and cannot tell any real useful difference between them.

Another thing worth noting is that during our testing the fuel economy readout showed around 10L/100km, not the 6.5L/100km quoted by the manufacturer. Admittedly, this car has lived in a very hilly area and spent a fair bit of its time going up and down hills in traffic, which would severely affect its fuel economy.

For context, this is actually on par with our test figures for the Chery Tiggo 4, so don’t be surprised if you refuel your 3XO more frequently than you expect to.

To see how the Mahindra XUV 3XO lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

Both variants are well specified for the money, but AX7L is the one that brings the ‘nice-to-haves’, including the panoramic roof, upgraded audio, and extra parking hardware. 

2026 Mahindra XUV 3XO AX5L equipment highlights:

• 16-inch alloy wheels
• Space-saver spare
• Automatic LED headlights with LED daytime running lights
• Automatic high-beam
• Rear LED light bar
• Fixed roof rails
• Sunroof
• Keyless entry and push-button engine start
• Black cloth upholstery
• Power windows with one-touch auto up/down for driver
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter
• Height and reach adjustable steering wheel
• Electric parking brake with auto hold
• Cooled glovebox
• Rain-sensing wipers
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless and wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• DAB+ digital radio
• 2 x front USB outlets
• 1 x rear USB outlet
• 1 x rear 12V outlet
• 6-speaker sound system

The AX7L adds:

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Contrasting black exterior roof
• Front LED fog lights
• Black leatherette upholstery
• Leatherette dash and door trim
• Larger ‘Sky roof’ sunroof
• Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
• 1 x front 65W USB-C outlet
• 1 x front USB outlet
• Harman Kardon premium audio with amplifier and sub-woofer
• Cooled glovebox with illumination

To see how the Mahindra XUV 3XO lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Colours

Everest White exterior paint is standard, with metallic and premium finishes costing an extra $495.

Colours available on AX5L:

• Everest White (no extra cost)
• Tango Red
• Galaxy Grey
• Stealth Black

The AX5L has black cloth upholstery.

Colours available on AX7L:

• Everest White with Stealth Black roof (no extra cost)
• Tango Red with Stealth Black roof
• Galaxy Grey with Stealth Black roof
• Citrine Yellow with Stealth Black roof

The AX7L has black leatherette upholstery.

To see how the Mahindra XUV 3XO lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the Mahindra XUV 3XO safe?

The Mahindra XUV 3XO has not been rated by ANCAP and does not have an official independent safety rating in Australia. 

Standard safety features include:

• 6 airbags incl. side curtains
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Lane-keep assist
• Lane departure warning
• Rear parking sensors
• Surround-view cameras
• Traffic sign recognition
• Tyre pressure monitoring

Mahindra Australia has also flagged equipment updates in 2026, tied to new ANCAP test protocols.

To see how the Mahindra XUV 3XO lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the Mahindra XUV 3XO cost to run?

Mahindra covers the XUV 3XO with a seven-year, 150,000km warranty and seven years of roadside assistance.

For context against its key rival, the Chery Tiggo 4 comes with a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, service-activated roadside assistance (up to seven years), and capped-price servicing totalling $2071.18 over seven years/105,000km. 

To see how the Mahindra XUV 3XO lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the Mahindra XUV 3XO

The Mahindra XUV 3XO is a great first car or an ideal second family car for shorter trips.

If you are looking for a great value proposition at this price point, then having the 3XO on your shopping list is a must.

The reason the little SUV is not as popular as it should be is primarily due to the Chery Tiggo 4, which is the same price and appeals to the same buyer types mentioned above.

It comes with a slightly longer warranty and an arguably better powertrain, but lacks some of the creature comforts of the Mahindra, like the sound system.

We would recommend driving them back to back, alongside the Haval Jolion and the MG 3 hatch, to make up your own mind.

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MORE: Explore the Mahindra XUV 3XO showroom