Geely Starray Em-I vs Mahindra Xuv 3Xo

What's the difference?

While it has a few quirks and flaws, there is a lot to like about the Starray. For starters, the value it offers at its price point is excellent and will really put pressure on its competition. The design may lack flair, but it does have a roomy cabin with a good multimedia system, so it’s family friendly and easy to live with.

Yes, it could do with some refinement of its on-road manners and driver assistance features, but for the value it offers and the frugal powertrain, it will no doubt find plenty of buyers who enjoy its substance and not just its memorable name.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals and accomodation provided.

The fact this is Australia’s cheapest SUV is a massive feat for the Indian brand. It also has so much standard kit so this is even more surprising.

In many ways the XUV 3XO is better to drive than its rivals. The three-cylinder turbo engine has plenty of charm and moves this car along with ease, the car feels confident and composed out on the open road, and there aren’t any bings and bongs from intrusive safety systems.

However, things aren’t perfect. I wish the steering column offered reach adjustment, the steering feel wasn’t so inconsistent and the lane-keep assist wasn’t so hands-on.

If you can overlook these quibbles, this tiny Mahindra is an outstanding value buy if you’re considering a first new car.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

Geely is very proud of the Starray, of course, and the company gave a very detailed presentation on the thought behind the design - involving aerodynamics, Chinese ceramics and a video that appeared to show a Geely spaceship releasing the Starray into a barren landscape.

But to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t know how to describe it to you. The Starrary is a very generic looking car to my eyes, at least. Of course it’s subjective, and there is a clear visual connection between the Starray and the EX5, which is nice. But it just doesn’t have any real visual impact that makes it stand out.

It’s the automotive equivalent of a blank expression. Maybe it’s because the brand is so new, but if you removed the badges, there’s nothing about the Starray that screams ‘I’m a Geely’, and it could be a car from any number of brands.

By comparison, there is a distinctive visual style to Geely’s rivals, namely BYD, both externally and internally, to give it character. Obviously the same is very much true for bigger brands like Hyundai, Kia and even Toyota.

Perhaps with more time Geely will make more of a design impact on our market, but for now it’s hard to say it really has any standout design elements.

From outside it’s surprising just how small this SUV is. At just under four metres long, the XUV 3XO is shorter than a Mazda2, for example.

The reason for this is because in India there are tax breaks for vehicles under four metres long. The Ford EcoSport, sans the tailgate-mounted spare wheel, was another SUV that met this requirement.

As a result of being so short, this has made the rear overhang virtually non-existent. It’s a strange look, especially because the bonnet is so much longer.

Even though the XUV 3XO is based on the KGM Tivoli (formerly SsangYong Tivoli), which was briefly sold in Australia, you’d be hard-pressed to find visual similarities. The former looks more modern from the outside and has more visual interest with the chunky wheel-arch cladding and diamond motifs.

At the front it’s hard to not see the face of a sad panda. The LED headlights are big and plunge down the front fascia, giving it a droopy and sleepy appearance. It’s not helped by the thick black bar connecting them.

Around the side the diamond-cut alloy wheels are a nice touch, along with the contrast black-painted roof on this AX7L tester.

The rear end is a little on the flat side, though the badging is tasteful. I’m not a fan of the full-width LED light bar, however, as it’s an overdone design cue now.

Inside I appreciate the mix of both old-school and new-school. There are dual 10.25-inch screens ahead of the driver for the digital instrument cluster and touchscreen multimedia system, as well as plenty of physical buttons and knobs for shortcuts and the climate controls.

For such an affordable car I’m surprised how many soft-touch finishes there are in this car. In the AX7L you get an extended use of synthetic leather on the door cards and dashboard, which helps make for a pseudo-premium look and feel.

However, one of my biggest gripes with the XUV 3XO interior is the amount of glossy piano black. It’s on the dashboard, centre console, door cards and even the steering wheel.

This may look cool and slick when you pick the car up from the dealer, but it shows up dust quickly and then gets scratched when you try to wipe it clean. Our tester had fewer than 1000km on the odometer and the centre console was already scratched to the wazoo.

The one area the designers do deserve a lot of credit for is the roomy cabin. Too often modern electric or hybrid SUVs compromise interior space in the name of aerodynamics, but the Starray has generous interior space.

The front seats are comfortable and roomy, but more impressive are the rear seats. They not only offer good kneeroom and head clearance, but the seats themselves are comfortable and supportive. 

As for cargo space, the boot has 428 litre of space, which is on par with BYD Sealion 6, but smaller than the 507 litres offered by the MG HS. Space can expand to 2065 litres with the second row dropped to load larger items.

Despite the modest boot capacity, the Starray doesn’t come with a full-size spare wheel, or even a spacesaver, and instead you have to make do with a tyre repair kit.

In terms of the multimedia system, there’s a huge 15.4-inch display that takes up a lot of space, and does look like someone just glued a big iPad to the dashboard. Then there’s the increasingly common 10.2-inch rectangular digital instrument display ahead of the steering wheel.

While this setup is highly functional, it does add to the generic design mentioned earlier. It also lacks any meaningful physical buttons, with the key audio and air-con functions all housed in the giant centre screen.

Standard on both Starray grades is Geely’s Connected Services, which includes a voice assistant, 4G connectivity, live traffic updates for the in-built sat-nav, over-the-air updates, as well as online streaming, remote vehicle functions and access to Geely’s own app store.

The over-the-air updates are important, because it will allow the company to change the car over time. For example, at launch it includes wireless Apple CarPlay, but Android Auto won’t be wireless until an over-the-air update early in 2026.

The Inspire features a premium sound system from Geely’s own Flyme brand, and it’s impressive. The 16-speaker, 1000W system is powerful and offers good clarity, so it’s worth the extra spend on the higher grade on its own.

Given this SUV is tiny, I’m blown away at how much interior space it has.

Up front both the seats are manually adjustable, which is to be expected at this price point. Despite this, they’re still comfortable and offer an elevated driving position which is something SUV buyers seek.

In front of the driver is a leather-wrapped steering wheel which feels nice in the hand. While it offers tilt adjustment, it disappointingly doesn’t have reach adjustment. This is frustrating if you’ve got long legs and short arms, like myself.

The 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster has an overall dark and minimal look, but you can cycle through a range of informative views. There’s even one that allows you to display a full-width map.

Moving across, the 10.25-inch touchscreen multimedia system appears to be snappy enough. I’ve experienced fewer glitches in this car than in previous Mahindras I’ve driven.

I like the physical shortcut buttons underneath the touchscreen because it allows you to jump around to key sub-menus a lot easier.

As standard there’s both wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. With my iPhone 15 Pro Max the connection was flawless and only dropped out during known interference points.

This AX7L spec comes with a seven-speaker Harman Kardon sound system which gets this tiny car booming. The subwoofer in the boot is so powerful it almost feels like overkill.

In terms of storage up front there are two cupholders, big door pockets with two bottle holders, a centre armrest and a cooled glovebox. There’s also a USB-A port, 65W USB-C port and a wireless charger.

Moving to the second row there’s a decent amount of space for adults to sit behind adults. You could easily fit two adults along the rear bench, though pushing it to three would get a little too squishy.

Second-row amenities include rear air vents, a USB-C port with a phone slot, as well as a fold-down armrest with cupholders.

At the back there’s a manual tailgate, which is to be expected at this price point, but finding the trigger to open it is a little tricky. It’s a small button that’s hidden away.

Once the tailgate is open, the amount of boot space on offer is generous. Mahindra claims there’s 364 litres with the rear seats upright.

While the loading lip is high, the boot area is deep and wide. Unfortunately there’s no cargo cover available as standard, which means you’ll need to be careful what you boot back there.

Under the boot floor there’s a space-saver spare wheel, which is fantastic peace of mind if you travel long distances away from tyre repair shops.

The Mahindra XUV 3XO is currently Australia’s cheapest SUV.

There’s a caveat, however, because this is thanks to an introductory pricing offer that ends on August 31.

Currently though, the XUV 3XO line-up starts at $23,490 drive-away for the AX5L and extends to $26,490 drive-away for the AX7L, as tested here.

After August 31 the drive-away asking price of both of these XUV 3XO variants is set to go up by $500. This will see it share the title of Australia’s cheapest SUV with the Chery Tiggo 4.

Despite the affordable asking price, Mahindra has packed a lot of standard kit. This includes 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch touchscreen multimedia system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, six-speaker sound system, dual-zone climate control, electric park brake with auto-hold, keyless entry and push-button start, leather steering wheel and gear selector and black cloth upholstery.

For an extra $3000 in the AX7L you get a black-painted contrast roof, 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, LED front fog lights, panoramic glass sunroof, seven-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, 65W USB-C charger, cooled glovebox, black synthetic leather upholstery, and synthetic leather on dashboard and door trims.

There is no mechanical difference between the Starray Complete and Inspire. Geely has developed a new naturally aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that pairs with an electric motor for a combined output of 193kW.

Power is sent to the front wheels only, with no all-wheel drive option. 

There are three driving modes - Pure, Hybrid and Power - with the former able to lock the car into EV-only driving, while the latter is able to combine the electric and petrol engine for maximum performance.

Even so, Geely’s 0-100km/h claim is only a modest 8.0 seconds and has a limited top speed of 170km/h, which is fine for Australian conditions.

All variants are powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine that produces 82kW of power and 200Nm of torque.

This is mated to an Aisin-sourced six-speed torque-converter automatic transmission with drive sent to the front wheels only.

The electric motor is powered by an 18.4kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery, which provides a claimed EV-only range of 83km, which is good for a PHEV but no longer class-leading, with some now pushing into triple digits.

Thanks to the hybrid assistance, fuel consumption is rated at just 2.4L/100km, on the combined cycle. It’s worth noting that both of those figures are to the WLTP test cycle, not the more generous Chinese testing protocol.

With a 51-litre fuel tank and the 83km EV mileage, Geely claims a total combined driving range of 943km. However, as always, we must point out that it is not really possible to achieve that 2.4L claim once the battery is depleted.

One handy feature of these plug-in hybrids with the bigger batteries is the vehicle-to-load or V2L functionality, which allows you to draw power from the battery to power small electrical devices, such as laptops or camping equipment.

Mahindra claims the XUV 3XO has a combined urban/extra-urban fuel consumption of 6.5L/100km.

During my testing, however, I achieved a real-world fuel consumption figure closer to 6.2L/100km, which is better than the claim.

All XUV 3XOs have a 42L fuel tank that Mahindra claims can take 91 RON regular unleaded petrol, but 95 RON premium unleaded petrol is recommended.

With my as-tested fuel consumption this means the theoretical driving range from a full tank of petrol is around 675km.

The good news is Geely gave the Starray a different ride and handling tune to what it offers in the Chinese market. The bad news is it’s the European tune.

Australian and European roads couldn’t be more different, with ours offering more potholes, bumps, dips, cracks and other imperfections that require more compliance than what’s needed for Europe’s typically smoother, less wrinkled roadways.

It means the Starray feels too firm for our back roads, but equally lacks body control at times too, so it’s not the most enjoyable SUV to drive on a winding country road. Around town the ride can get busy at times, but overall it feels better at lower speeds.

Just as importantly, the powertrain does a nice job in both conditions. It offers reasonable performance for this type of SUV, feeling slightly off the mark and effortlessly swapping between the electric motor and petrol engine.

We drove in EV mode initially and noticed the battery drained significantly in a short period, raising doubts about its ability to go 83km. However, as we switched to hybrid mode, we’ll have to reserve judgement and give Geely the benefit of the doubt when it comes to EV range.

Long story short, if Geely is serious about winning over Australian buyers, investing in local ride and handling tuning would help elevate the Starrary from just another imported SUV to something more memorable.

Behind the wheel, the Mahindra XUV 3XO feels refreshingly old-school.

The 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine does seem like it would be underpowered, but in practice it’s completely adequate. Peak torque comes on tap from 1500rpm so it doesn’t have to work too hard at all.

It’s fun hearing the noise the three-banger makes when under the boil. You don’t hear it much though because the revs are typically kept down low to minimise fuel consumption.

The key reason why this car feels old-school is the six-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. It’s nice to not drive an affordable everyday car that doesn’t have a continuously variable transmission (CVT) or dual-clutch automatic transmission as these can suck the life out of a car or be jerky.

The gear shifts in the Mahindra are sometimes docile, but are smooth and measured. It just operates like a regular car that doesn’t require you to rewire your brain to drive.

There are three drive modes to choose from. They’re hilariously called ‘Zip’, ‘Zap’ and ‘Zoom’. These correspond to Eco, Normal and Sport, respectively.

While I did eventually get used to driving in the ‘Zap’ mode, it felt a little snoozy at points, taking a beat or two to get the car accelerating with traffic. You can sidestep this with ‘Zoom’ which feels much more lively. If you activate cruise control or restart the car, though, it defaults back to ‘Zap’.

The XUV 3XO makes the most sense in the city where you’re able to use its tiny exterior dimensions to navigate tight urban carparks and narrow laneways with ease.

It almost became a challenge for myself to find the smallest parking spot I could slot this car into. As standard on this AX7L there are front and rear parking sensors, as well as a surround-view camera system.

Where this car is let down, however, is the steering feel. It’s incredibly light at low speeds and then as the speed builds it gets very heavy. So much so it feels like I’m getting an arm workout.

Unlike some of its rivals, there is still a semblance of feel through the steering wheel, but this drastic change from light to heavy steering weight is too stark. Somewhere in the middle would be nice please.

Something Mahindra is very good at is developing a comfortable suspension tune and this car is no different. It can tackle pimply urban road imperfections and speed bumps with no problems whatsoever.

Out on the open road this car surprised me. It feels like a much larger car than it actually is and doesn’t get blown around in the lane like small cars can.

The three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine remains confident at higher speeds, though if you frequently travel up hills the fuel consumption will skyrocket. There’s also a bit of road noise, which is to be expected when a car is this small.

For the most part the suspension does a fantastic job at rounding out road imperfections, but bigger bumps or potholes can unsettle the car. It’s not helped by the larger 17-inch alloy wheels.

Out in the twisties this tiny SUV is fairly agile. It’s not the sportiest thing out there by a vast degree, but it remains planted and solid even when pushed into harder corners.

Lastly, another point that makes this car feel old-school is the lack of obtrusive bings and bongs from the safety systems.

Sure the parking sensors can be a little over-the-top and the traffic sign recognition takes over the entire digital instrument cluster when it picks up a new speed limit, but having no driver attention monitor and intelligent speed limit assist is refreshing.

It’s not all perfect however as the lane-keep assist is too hands on for my liking. It activates from 60km/h and is quite overt in how it directs the car through bends.

The Mahindra XUV 3XO hasn’t been crash-tested by ANCAP just yet.

It was, however, tested by India’s less stringent Bharat NCAP testing authority in 2024 and received a five-star rating.

Standard safety equipment includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, lane-keep assist, lane centring, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

Stepping up to the AX7L gets you a surround-view camera, blind-spot view camera, and front parking sensors.

Notably absent from the entire range is rear cross-traffic alert, as well as a traditional blind-spot monitor that alerts you when a car is in your blind-spot.

There are two ISOFIX points on the two outboard rear seats, as well as three top-tether child seat anchorages across the rear bench.

As Geely and many other new brands are learning, it’s easy to launch a new model into Australia, but it’s a whole different story to deal with the aftersales care - servicing, warranty, etc.

“We want to ensure every day with Geely is a good day,” said Li Lei, CEO of Geely Australia.

To that end, Geely has partnered with some of Australia’s biggest dealer groups to quickly expand to 47 dealers in less than 12 months. At the same time it has built two Parts Distribution Centres in Australia and has 135 service venues, to ensure if anything does go wrong with an owner’s car it can be fixed and returned as soon as possible.

Geely is offering a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for the Starray EM-i, along with an eight-year warranty of the battery pack. 

Servicing is annually or every 15,000km, whichever comes first, and with Geely’s Hybrid Assured Service Pricing you will pay $1932 over the first five years.

If you take up that offer and service with Geely, the company will also include seven years of roadside assistance too.

Like other current Mahindra models, the XUV 3XO is covered by a seven-year, 150,000km warranty with seven years of roadside assistance.

Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, though the first service is required after 12 months or 10,000km.

The first seven services are capped-price and total $1994. This averages out to $284.85 per service.