Mahindra XUV300 teams up for Safe Drive initiative across India

Road safety is dependent on several factors. First and foremost, you need to encourage disciplined driving. It also involves strictly following the traffic norms in the country. And equally important is that the vehicle you are driving meets the highest safety standards. The perfect combination is the one that helps you to be safe on the roads while driving, helping you to avoid accidents and also if an accident were to happen for no fault of yours, it helps you to stay alive without any major bodily harm. 

It is here that the Mahindra XUV 300 scores big time in terms of safety in the sub 4 metre compact SUV segment.

Mahindra XUV300 teamed up with the SaveLIFE Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation committed to encouraging road safety, to launch a unique initiative towards this cause. The two organised ‘Safer Drives Safer Lives’ drive to create awareness on road safety in various cities including New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. 

The Mahindra XUV 300 compact SUV had topped Global NCAP’s six-year safety rankings, results of which were announced a few months back. This makes the XUV300 the safest among all the vehicles tested by Global NCAP between 2014 and 2020.

Global NCAP (GNCAP), the umbrella body of consumer car safety testing bodies, completed safety assessments on more than 38 vehicles during this period and the XUV300 scored the highest safety rating among all the models tested. The XUV300 achieved the highest combined occupant safety rating, with a 5-Star Global NCAP rating for adult occupant protection and a 4-Star rating for child occupant protection, the latter being a first in India.

So what makes the XUV300 so safe?

Just look at the features it comes with and you will be convinced that it is definitely a safe vehicle to be in while driving. It has several firsts to its credit. It has first-in-segment 7 airbags including knee airbag, dual-front, side and curtain airbags, first-in-segment disc brakes on all 4 wheels (Amongst Sub 4-metre Compact SUVs),  first-in-segment front and rear parking sensors and first-in-segment heated ORVMs. Then it has critical features like Auto-dimming IRVM. Rear camera with adaptive guidelines, Seat Belts with Pre-tensioner & Load-limiter, Front & rear fog lamps, ISOFIX child seat anchors, Tyre-tronics (Tyre pressure & temperature monitoring system),  Seat belt reminder for all 5 seats, 3-point seat belt on all seats and Tyre-position display. This display makes a lot of sense when you begin to drive your car. You get to know how your front tyres are positioned and you can change them accordingly.

Other features include Auto Headlamps, Auto Wipers, Speed Sensing Door Locks, and Impact Sensing Door Unlock.

The advantages of ESP

This vehicle comes with ABS & EBD which is standard across all variants. The XUV 300 also comes with Electronic Stability Program with Dynamic Steering Torque, Hydraulic Brake Assist, Roll-over Mitigation and Traction Control, together with Hill Start Assist.

ESP assists the driver in critical driving situations. It comprises of the functions of ABS and traction control system and counter acts skidding movement by a vehicle. We all know that during emergency braking, without an ABS, the wheels lock up and the vehicle skids. But ABS  reduces braking pressure on individual wheels, thus avoiding wheel locks and allows the driver to continue steering.

The traction control is very essential while starting off on slippery surfaces. It helps prevent the wheels from spinning and steering away to the side. On slippery roads, curves or emergency maneuvers, the front end may tend to move straight ahead while the rear end may spin out, resulting in a crash.   But with ESP, your car gets its perfect balance.

ESP system offer value added functions like Hill Hold Control. Hill Hold Control or Hill Start Assist makes sense when you start off on an incline. The system independently holds the brakes for a couple of seconds after the driver has released the brake pedal, thus preventing roll back.

As for Roll Over mitigation which the XUV300 has, it can protect vehicles with high centre of gravity (these are usually SUVs) from the risk of rolling over. Roll over mitigation stabilises the vehicle in critical situations by intervening in the ECU by applying pressure to individual brakes.

The XUV300 also boasts of a Collapsible Steering & Side Intrusion Beam. We all know that the steering column consists of a long shaft. In such a safety feature, the ‘collapsible’ design introduced an ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ sleeve to the shaft comes handy as it collapses when  high level of pressure is exerted as is the case of an accident, allowing the sleeves to compress telescopically. As for Side impact bars, they  increase the rigidity of the doors and distribute the energy in the event of a side-on crash.