Saar: Mahindra’s flagship offering will boast a comprehensive overhaul inside-out.

Have you been saving up to find yourself a new SUV between the Rs 15-20 lakh mark? Well hold-on a bit more because Mahindra will soon launch another facelift of its flagship offering, the XUV500. The internet is washed with several reports claiming that it will be launching on April 18, 2018. That’s less than a week away! Another facelift? Why not the new generation? Well, it is certainly a case of ‘why fix something when it isn’t broken’! Here’s all you should expect from the refreshed XUV500.

First up – the looks. The basic silhouette of the SUV remains intact. But to give it a refreshing look, expect a lot of ‘chrome-ness’ in its recipe. If we look at the spy pics, which come courtesy of Team-BHP, the front grille has got itself some chrome studded teeth, with a black lip colour at the bottom. The bumper has been to restyled too because, of course, it was feeling left out of the whole revamping game. The reprofiled headlamps still carry dual-barrel head lights and LED DRLs.

Move on to the side and all we can notice is a set of newly designed, dual-colour, alloy wheels. At the rear, the new triangular taillamp enclosures wraparound beneath the rear windscreen. The tailgate has also been to the drawing board and that weird bulge underneath the rear windscreen is now gone. The number plate area has a new shape too and it accompanied by an upper lip draped in chrome.

Inside the cabin, expect Mahindra to offer tan-leather seats, more panels covered with soft-touch materials and an upgraded infotainment system. The newness continues in its variant nomenclature as well. Like the Scorpio, the XUV500 will also get odd-numbered variants – starting with W5, with W7 and W9 in the middle, and ending with the range-topper W11. Another aspect that Mahindra is likely to take from the Scorpio’s lineup is to equip the top-two variants of the XUV500 with the most powerful engine. That engine will be an upgraded 2.2-litre mHAWK diesel unit, producing 155PS/360Nm. The lesser diesel variants are likely to continue with the old 140PS/330Nm state of tune. There’s also a petrol engine, which made its debut in the XUV500 last year. The petrol-powered engine displaces 2.2-litres of fuel to generate 140Nm/320Nm.

As far as transmission units are concerned, the petrol engine will likely continue with the 6-speed automatic. The diesel engines, on the other hand, will be offered with a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic gearbox. For the variant list, Mahindra is likely to keep the count at around 5 – four diesel and one petrol.

Once launched, it will surely renew its rivalry with the Jeep Compass and the Tata Hexa. Expect Mahindra to ask for a premium of around Rs 30,000 – 40,000 over the outgoing model.