Both Mahindra and Hyundai finally joined the sub-4m SUV segment this year. Mahindra entered first with the XUV300 and the Hyundai Venue was launched much more recently. We had the opportunity to test the diesel variant of the Venue and all its rivals and see how they fared in real-world conditions:

Here are the engine specs of the sub-4m SUV options:

The Brezza has the smallest engine here, followed by the Venue while the rest of them have 1.5-litre engines. Only three of them offer an automatic transmission option - the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Mahindra XUV300 and Tata Nexon. The Hyundai and Maruti are tied for least power while the latter also has the least torque of 200Nm. Ford’s 1.5-litre engine is low on torque too, with just 205Nm. But the top-spot goes to the XUV300 for the most power and torque - 115PS and 300Nm - with the second-spot secured by the Nexon.

Here are the real-world performance figures of these SUVs:

The XUV300 was the quickest in all acceleration tests except for the quarter mile time, which was a surprising win for the Brezza. With its extra power and torque, the Mahindra reached a 100kmph in 12.21 seconds, 0.15s quicker than the next best times of the EcoSport and Brezza. It was also the faster sub-4m SUV for in-gear acceleration, 2.28s quicker to accelerate from 40-100kmph in fourth and third gear and 0.85s quicker than the Nexon, which took second-spot in both cases.

Surprisingly, the Nexon was the slowest in the 0-100kmph and quarter-mile tests. The Hyundai Venue meanwhile, was never the slowest or the fastest, and always somewhat in the middle with its 1.4-litre diesel engine.

The diesel sub-4m SUVs with the 5-speed manual transmission were the slowest performers for the in-gear acceleration tests. The Brezza was the slowest in 4th gear and second-slowest in 3rd gear while it was vice versa for the EcoSport.

Braking Test:

The Hyundai Venue’s brakes were tested in slightly wet conditions, which meant the braking distance increased, scoring the worst in this list. But if we take of the petrol-turbo Venue’s braking distance as a reference, it’s the Maruti Brezza that takes the longest to stop.

Since the Mahindra XUV300 is the only one here to offer disc brakes on all four wheels, it was able to win the brake tests - stopping 1.12m sooner from 80kmph and 1.86m earlier from a 100kmph. The Ford’s EcoSport was the second best at coming to a halt followed by the Tata Nexon.