Mahindra XUV700 becomes latest made-in-India vehicle to secure five stars in Global NCAP crash tests

The Mahindra XUV700 has become the latest made-in-India vehicle – and the first model in its segment – to secure a five-star crash test rating from safety watchdog Global NCAP. The XUV700 scored 16.03 points out of a potential 17 on adult protection. This is less than the 16.45 points scored by the Tata Punch, but the Mahindra has become the highest-scoring car from India on the back of its child protection score.The 41.66 points out of 49 that the XUV700 registered for child occupant protection is higher than the 40.891 points the Punch racked up (despite both achieving a four-star rating on child occupant protection), giving the Mahindra XUV700 a marginally higher overall score of 57.69 points against the Tata Punch's 57.34 points.The version tested by Global NCAP was a lower-spec, five-seat model equipped with just two airbags. The test showed that most body parts of the driver and front passenger were well protected. The bodyshell and footwell area was reported to be stable and capable of absorbing further impact. The child seats in the second row were secured using ISOFIX mounts, and the child dummies had sufficient head protection.Standard safety features available on the Mahindra XUV700 include dual airbags, ABS, seatbelt warning, rear parking sensors, speed-sensitive door locks, adjustable headrests on four seats and ISOFIX child seat mounts. Optionally available safety features include seven airbags, ESC, front collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, lane departure warning, pilot assist, auto high-beam, driver fatigue detection, 360-degree cameras, blind-spot monitoring, electronic parking brake and TPMS.The Mahindra XUV700 is being offered with a five-seater layout on the MX, AX3 and AX5 variants while the top-spec AX7 is exclusively a seven-seater. The three-row seating option is also available at an additional Rs 60,00 on the AX diesel MT, the AX5 petrol MT and the AX5 diesel versions. The optional luxury pack can only be specified on the top AX7 and can be paired with AWD now. The luxury pack costs an additional Rs 1.8 lakh and can be added to all the automatic versions and the seven-seater manual. AWD is only available for an additional Rs 1.3 lakh on the AX7 diesel automatic.