Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by tj123

So potential buyers be ready for some glitches till the design of the car components stabiles and proves itself , especially the electronics.

Originally Posted by mannubhai

i dont face issues on Hill ascent/descent, ESP,Touch screen,Tyretronics etc etc, cos the W6 has none of them .. And what ever is there is functioning smooth

The less electronics, the better, especially in untested vehicles. Evenif you got all these, after a while some of these will become non-functional.

Originally Posted by SDP

I genuinely hope Mahindras have spent significantly more effort in the QC of the safety features as compared to the "comfort" features.

Agree, but then Mahindra wont be able to sell as much XUVs as it does now. Indian consumers are looking for extra features. If one has to choose between air bags and air horn, majority will choose the latter. T-BHPiens are exceptions, but unfortunately they are minority among the buying public.

[nitinralli]

First XUV to be ICEd.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...ml#post2608430

[SDP]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

The less electronics, the better, especially in untested vehicles. Evenif you got all these, after a while some of these will become non-functional.
Agree, but then Mahindra wont be able to sell as much XUVs as it does now. Indian consumers are looking for extra features. If one has to choose between air bags and air horn, majority will choose the latter. T-BHPiens are exceptions, but unfortunately they are minority among the buying public.

I did not meant that the customers would have to chose one or the other. Both comfort and safety features can coexist. I just hope that the manufacturers have their priorities right when they design and test a comfort-feature as against a safety feature. I would really not mind if my touchscreen display or bluetooth pairing does not work consistently. But ABS, ESP, Airbags HAVE to work in all situations. I would rather be "irritated" than "dead".

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by mannubhai

im happy that I went with a W6 .. Luckily i dont face issues on Hill ascent/descent, ESP,Touch screen,Tyretronics etc etc, cos the W6 has none of them .. And what ever is there is functioning smooth

Good for you .

But the gizmos in my Scorpio (most of which are a carry forward to the W8) work well including the Cruise Control, Reverse sensors, Rain & Light sensors etc. the only thing I have never been able to figure out is the tyretronics, and still depend on the manual pressure meters to be sure of the pressure, despite the manual meter showing same pressure on all 4 tyres the Tyretronic shows different pressures in all 4 tyres. The only good thing is that you immediately get to know about pressure loss in case of a puncture.

[dockap]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Power

News (to be confirmed) –

*XUV 500 AWD participated in Desert Dash (27th Nov.) and outperformed many high end SUV’s in Rajasthan deserts, it secured 2nd place, 1st was Q7.
*BS motoring has driven the AWD version and review is expected soon.

Looks like this news is not true.

Found this video on youtube showing coverage of the Desert Dash 2011 by newsx.

Living Cars: Desert dash rally - YouTube

The result for 4wd category shows-
1st place audi q7
2nd place toyota fortuner
3rd place mitsubishi montero.

[mannubhai]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

Good for you .

But the gizmos in my Scorpio (most of which are a carry forward to the W8) work well including the Cruise Control, Reverse sensors, Rain & Light sensors etc. the only thing I have never been able to figure out is the tyretronics, and still depend on the manual pressure meters to be sure of the pressure, despite the manual meter showing same pressure on all 4 tyres the Tyretronic shows different pressures in all 4 tyres. The only good thing is that you immediately get to know about pressure loss in case of a puncture.

Cruise control, Reverse sensors and Rain & Light sensors are part of a W6.

I havent tested the cruise control yet, but the other 2 work just perfect.

[Fortuner71]

Just came across this XUV complaint page on facebook :
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Ma...03495506436537

Not sure if this some mischief or genuine .

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by dockap

Looks like this news is not true.

Found this video on youtube showing coverage of the Desert Dash 2011 by newsx.

The result for 4wd category shows-
1st place audi q7
2nd place toyota fortuner
3rd place mitsubishi montero.

True. Final results available here: http://www.cougarmotorsport.in/Motor...lts_dd2011.pdf

The XUV 5OO came 4th, and was driven by Anil Wadia, a professional rallyist.

I wonder how the the stock Fortuner, Montero and XUV managed to beat the Vogue and Cayenne. Their owners were too gentle with the vehicles perhaps? Or was it driver skill....? At least 2 of the podium finish vehicles were driven by experienced rallyists...

[bikefreak]

Thanks
Answers in front of each point . . .

Originally Posted by pamishra

Congrats on your excellent purchase!

Being a prospective XUV-500 buyer, I am quite concerned with the issues people have faced with their new XUVs. Great to know that GPS and Bluetooth is working well. Could you please let us know if the following are also working well on your XUV:
1. Cruise Control - Tried once at 45 kmph - worked well. Also increased speed using '+'
2. TPMS - shows all OK. Will have to deflate a tyre to confirm. Dunno how else to check
3. Hill hold/assist - hold works fine. have not checked assist
4. Start-Stop button - works well. But AC being on when engine has 'stopped' is a concern
5. Headlight darkness sensors - works well . . . irritating at times Static bending lights are really bright and very helpful - great feature
6. Wiper sensors - not checked
7. Reverse sensors - works perfect to the centimeter !
8. Door locks - Locks are OK. Handles not ergonomically placed. needs force to close properly

Thanks

[dockap]

Just read some posts on Facebook page of mahindra xuv500 that price is increased by 2 to 3 lakhs. If this is true than its goodbye to my plan of buying the xuv. I will have to cancel my booking of my xuv awd

[SDP]

Originally Posted by dockap

Just read some posts on Facebook page of mahindra xuv500 that price is increased by 2 to 3 lakhs. If this is true than its goodbye to my plan of buying the xuv. I will have to cancel my booking of my xuv awd

Pure speculation if you ask me. On a base of 10.x and 11.x Lakhs, if the Manufacturer has the courage to increase by 2-3 lakhs, that would be ~25% increase. In one single go, I doubt it. Gradually, may be.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by bikefreak

Thanks
Answers in front of each point . . .
TPMS - shows all OK. Will have to deflate a tyre to confirm. Dunno how else to check

There is a simpler way. Buy yourself a typre pressure checking scale that costs 100/- in accessories shop OR drive to the nearest air pump and request them to fill air. The meter reading on the air pump must be same as the one on your display.

[rohitbagai]

Just back from a long trip to Nagpur. Went via Agra Gwalior Bhopal Pachmarhi came back via Kota Jaipur. A mixed route where I cruise at 150+ and also drove less than 10 km/h for a stretch full of potholes for 50-60 kms. Drove to the hills and found the drive to be better than the sedan that I earlier had (Verna). atleast two instances where the eps got activated real-time. It was life savor. Did a bit of offroading too and I was impressed. The product is good except some minor designing flaws. For example while driving in night when there is no external light the instument consol light reflect on the windscreen just in the middle of line of sight of driver. The bottle holder is a nice fit but it has a deliberate hump at the bottom that keeps the bottle about 1-2 inch above the base so the other loose things that we keep in the same place sneak through it and the only way to get hands on them is to remove the bottle. The storage space provided under the 12v and usb outlet is not easily accessible when driving in 3rd or 5th gear.
The total trip was around 3000 KM and the car showed average was 16.1 but the actual (tankful/tankful) came around 13.1
The headlights were good when they were new. Now they seem to have lost all its power and is yellowish.

[nipun dhingra]

My xuv's delivery date is around end of december. But i want to take delivery of 2012 model. Now does the dealer has allow to adjust my booking?
He is threatening to cancel my booking if i dont take the delivery as per schedule.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by rohitbagai

Just back from a long trip to Nagpur. Went via Agra Gwalior Bhopal Pachmarhi came back via Kota Jaipur. A mixed route where I cruise at 150+ and also drove less than 10 km/h for a stretch full of potholes for 50-60 kms. Drove to the hills and found the drive to be better than the sedan that I earlier had (Verna). atleast two instances where the eps got activated real-time. It was life savor. Did a bit of offroading too and I was impressed. The product is good except some minor designing flaws. For example while driving in night when there is no external light the instument consol light reflect on the windscreen just in the middle of line of sight of driver. The bottle holder is a nice fit but it has a deliberate hump at the bottom that keeps the bottle about 1-2 inch above the base so the other loose things that we keep in the same place sneak through it and the only way to get hands on them is to remove the bottle. The storage space provided under the 12v and usb outlet is not easily accessible when driving in 3rd or 5th gear.
The total trip was around 3000 KM and the car showed average was 16.1 but the actual (tankful/tankful) came around 13.1
The headlights were good when they were new. Now they seem to have lost all its power and is yellowish.

Thanks for sharing the long-drive experience. Can you share a pic of the headlights?

Originally Posted by nipun dhingra

My xuv's delivery date is around end of december. But i want to take delivery of 2012 model. Now does the dealer has allow to adjust my booking?
He is threatening to cancel my booking if i dont take the delivery as per schedule.

I doubt, anything can be done in this case. Has the dealer/Mahindras communicated the VIN no. of the vehicle allotted to you already? If not, just wait it out. You might get lucky and end up with a 2012 vehicle.