Mahindra Xylo

The cabin of the Mahindra Xylo wasn’t updated much in this facelifted version that arrived in the Philippines market. While the new dual-tone black and beige theme for the cabin looked comparatively more premium than the older all-black theme of the pre-facelifted model, the cabin of the Xylo had a slightly dated appeal with limited comfort and convenience features on offer.

The Mahinda Xylo came with a four-spoke multi-functional steering wheel with audio and Bluetooth controls, while also having a three-pod instrument console with thoughtfully designed dials. The almost-vertical centre console had curved AC vents at the top, a 2-DIN audio system in the middle and knobs for the manual AC at the bottom. While the Xylo had limited features on offer, it impressed with the small storage spaces in all three rows of its layout, besides the space levels and flexibility of seating arrangement on offer. 

The Mahindra Xylo that came to the Philippines market was the facelifted version of the MPV that was launched in India in 2012. In this facelifted version, the Xylo has a sleeker and relatively fresher fascia and tweaked tail lamps, which uplifted its appeal a bit. 

At the front, the Mahindra Xylo had large halogen headlamps with curved outer edges and a horizontal grille in between them, that had a seven-slat design with all-black mesh inserts. The body-coloured front bumper of the Xylo came with small halogen fog lamps placed within the outer edges of the faux air dams on the sides. 

The side profile of the Mahindra Xylo appeared large, thanks to the wide doors and window panels. The MPV came with 15-inch wheels – steel wheels in the E2 and alloys in the E8 variants. With body-coloured door handles and rearview mirrors, the Xylo also had blacked-out pillars, which added a sense of length to the side profile of the MPV.

At the back, the Mahindra Xylo had vertically aligned tail lamps on the sides of the huge tailgate, which got an offset door handle and a centrally-placed license plate housing. The E8 variant of the MPV also has a rear wiper and defogger. 

The 2.2-litre mHawk engine claimed to return the fuel economy of 14.09 kmpl in city and 10.8 kmpl on the highway which is better than its rival Innova in the same segment.

To match its MPV-ish persona, the Mahindra Xylo came with a relatively modern suspension setup compared to the other Mahindra vehicles on sale in the Philippines – Scorpio and Enforcer. The ladder-on-frame platform of the Xylo was complemented by a suspension combination of Macpherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear, with both featuring independent coil springs. The overall ride quality was plush and composed, though the high-speed handling around corners could have been better. 

Mahindra offered the Xylo with a 2.2-litre four-cylinder mHawk diesel engine, which was the same engine that was offered in the Scorpio SUV. With a similar state of tune, this engine pumped out 120 PS of maximum power and 280 Nm of maximum torque. This engine was well-known for its tractability and refinement levels and was paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox as the standard transmission. 

The Mahindra Xylo had decent safety equipment on offer in its higher-spec E8 variant, with the MPV getting dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, reverse parking sensors and remote central locking. However, we do wish it came with a bit more equipment. 

The Mahindra Xylo was a decently packaged MPV with good looks on the outside, a spacious cabin with comfortable seats, plush ride quality, and an engine that scored well on reliability and refinement. However, it could have been more appealing to prospective buyers if it had a fresher appeal with more modern design elements and features.