The Mahindra XUV300 has finally gained a two-pedal setup. That setup, however, is available only with the diesel-fed W8 and W8 (O) variants. Over their manual counterparts, the newly introduced variants demand a premium of Rs 70,000. In other words, AMT-equipped variants in W8 and W8 (O) forms are priced at Rs 11.50 lakh and Rs 12.69 lakh (ex-showroom India), respectively.

Weirdly, Mahindra is offering the AMT variants in just three colours – Pearl White, Aquamarine and Red Rage. What that also means is that the combination of a dual-tone finish and the two-pedal setup is not available as standard. For the record, Mahindra offers a dual-tone finish only on the W8 (O) trim, at a premium of Rs 15,000.

The new gearbox is a 6-speed unit and comes with auto and manual drive modes, as well as a creep function. Mahindra has also included features like down-hill, kick-down and anti-engine stall, reverse lockout if speed is more than 5kmph and creep disable on door opening. Sourced from Marelli, the unit comes mated to the same 1.5-litre diesel mill which is good for 117PS of power and 300Nm of torque. The other engine option is a 1.2-litre, turbo-petrol unit which produces 110PS/200Nm. Till date, the Mahindra XUV300 has the torquiest engine line-up in the segment.

As far as features are concerned, the newly introduced variants come with 17-inch alloy wheels, hill-start assist, roll-over mitigation, front and rear fog lamps, rear defogger with wiper and washer, dual-zone climate control, push-button start/stop, a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, auto headlamps and wipers, and two USB charging ports. Features like front parking sensors, heated ORVMs, an electric sunroof, tyre pressure monitoring system and seven airbags are reserved for the W8 (O) trim level only.

In India, the Mahindra XUV300 competes with the likes of the Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Honda WR-V and the Tata Nexon. Out of the lot, only the Maruti and Tata SUVs offer AMT-equipped diesel variants. The Venue and the EcoSport, on the other hand, are available with DCT and AT (torque converter) units, respectively.