[bigben]

Good engine and space is what this car offers. what will really be bothersome is if the taxi market buys this car.

[esteem_lover]

The rear is not bad at all comparing to the rears that we have been subjected to. Also, contrary to how the Dzire evolved from the swift, this one is a cut & polish job, not an ugly extension. But the interiors are terrible and the pricing needs some serious scaling down. Manufacturers just assume that plonk in a diesel and invoice it at 7L and people will queue to buy. Hope the narrowing down of the price difference between the 2 fuels would stop this attitude.

[IndianGuardian]

I think it's a pretty brilliant release from Mahindra. Our family is currently looking at purchasing a C1 segment vehicle. We already have the old Swift Dzire in this segment.

The car is to be used extensively by my brother for travel within the city and sometimes out of the city to a nearby district. Our budget is maximum INR 7,00,000 (ex-showroom).

A point to note is that the vehicle will most often be driven by a chauffeur and my brother will be in the backseat. Therefore, it needs to be a rough and tough vehicle that can withstand driver abuse and be low on maintenance with good suspension and rear seat comfort for the passenger. The car will also be used by our sales managers for neighbouring district visits. The car will primarily be maintained by the chauffeur.

I will post a more detailed experience later on after making the final purchase but for now the vehicles I have seen so far:

Honda Amaze 1.5 S MT (i-DTEC) Diesel: Without a doubt, the first choice and most preferred option. We had owned two Hondas in the past and the experience had been great. The only hitch was if it could withstand driver abuse and I figured it could. We were even willing to discount the higher NVH as compared to the Dzire. However, the wait for the car is 6 months! We need to procure the vehicle within a month. Also, when we went to the Sundaram Honda dealership, they did not have a vehicle for test drive at the showroom (it had gone to their 'other showroom') nor were they willing to send a test drive vehicle to our office which is 800m away from their showroom.

Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire VDI: We are extremely happy with the old Swift Dzire VDI. The mileage is excellent; we get 17-18 km/l within the city with air conditioner. Boot space is excellent. Suspension and rear seat comfort is very good and economical maintenance and good service. Had the old Swift Dzire been still available, we would have blindly gone for the same however the old Swift Dzire is now only available in the 'Tour' variant which is Ldi only and hence not preferable.

We loved the new Dzire as well and would have gone for it except for one caveat. The entire interior is beige which would get impossible to maintain. Even the new showroom car already showed black stains on the interior and it was evident that after a couple of years of ownership, we would not feel like sitting in the car. Also, the Vdi cariant has no ABS. Amaze has ABS on all it's diesel variants.

TATA Manza: Excellent rear seat comfort, good drivability. Dropped due to the horrendous after-sales service. One my friends has purchased the top-end Manza variant (it was then called Aura plus something). Recently his central locking got spoilt and the replacement part costs INR 19.70. It took TATA 8 months to send the replacement part and that after his continuous follow-ups at the national level.

And then comes the Mahindra Verito Vibe. Went to the showroom today. As I entered there was no sales man to greet. Had to go to the reception and ask someone. But post that the salesman was very prompt and courteous. Knowledgeable about the product and after we saw the display vehicle, he proactively offered a test drive. Did not skimp on the test drive length and it was I who said that I have had enough of the test drive and that we can head back. Car has a solid construction, roomy rear seats with three rear headrests, great ground clearance at 172mm, handled rough roads well. Air conditioner takes some time to chill. Top end comes with ABS and driver side airbag.

Showroom did not have the price list or brochures yet.

Overall I was very impressed and seriously considering the car.

[karpusv]

Originally Posted by Mpower

The pics fooled us. Its its not really a hatchback after all.

Its a sedan with the world's shortest trunk lid LOL !!!


Although this has some cost benefits, it completes eliminates the possibility of folding the rear seat and converting your hatch into a spacious cargo carrier for hauling stuff. Maruti 800 can beat the Vibe in this regard

Very true that. And I thought the Dzire had the weirdest boot of them all. Now one needs to search for the boot.

Practically, the boot design will be a failure even to taxi segment, unless ferrying commuters withing city. Atleast the Verito has a proper opening boot with a wide mouth when measured diagonally.
This one is just a "Hole in the wall".

[motorworks]

I'm glad this has been launched. You see, I'm bored that I see only Indica taxis all around Bangalore. The hatchback taxi segment needs a change and they now have it. Jokes apart, Mahindra has done what it can. Take the Logan platform and make a hatch. No R&D costs, no engine development costs. But this car is nothing but a Taxi.
To all those people who say that because it is spacious it should sell well, Please look at the sales of the Verito. Mahindra did a lot of cosmetic changes, revamped the interiors, is marketing it quite well and even then its just being bought by fleet operators. Private buyers are not the ones buying the Verito, yes there may be some sales happening but not substantial. This is in a segment where you dont have much competition. Forget the dzire and the Amaze, they are not in the Verito's league when it comes to space nor sales. Etios, Manza, Sail sedan are the real competition and verito doesnt seem to be favored by the private buyers here in spite of its cheaper pricing.
Now you have the Vibe, which is as expensive as say a Figo or Indica vista{which itself is fast finding its way to the fleet operators} and why would some one choose the vibe over the other two? There are other choices as well like the Liva and the Sail hatchback in this B+ entry level diesel territory.
And its not like the common man is unaware of the fact that this is based on the Logan. So why would one buy a vibe for private commuting? When cars like Figo, vista, liva & sail hatch offer more or less the same kind of space at may be the same cost.
Mahindra knows the reality, even though its doing this fancy launch, 6 months later you will see cheaper base variants as Taxis and that is not a bad thing for Mahindra. They are trying to squeeze every rupee out of this logan platform. In the next 2 years Renault Nissan may even bring the next gen Logan under the Datsun brand, so until then Mahindra is just got to do what it can.

[MHG]

Originally Posted by IndianGuardian

I think it's a pretty brilliant release from Mahindra.

........

Overall I was very impressed and seriously considering the car.

OT but You haven't considered the Toyota Etios/Liva ? With a 7 lac budget you can buy the GD-SP Liva and still have money left-over.

[IndianGuardian]

Originally Posted by MHG

OT but You haven't considered the Toyota Etios/Liva ? With a 7 lac budget you can buy the GD-SP Liva and still have money left-over.

I did consider the Toyota Etios D-4D GD (ex-showroom price of INR 707,129). But ABS with EBD is not standard and is an extra chargeable optional item. Had that been inclusive in the INR 707,129 price tag, I would have definitely preferred it given the reliability of a Toyota over Mahindra.

I saw the Liva but didn't like that overall so that's out.

Amaze is definitely the 1st choice but with 6 months waiting, can't pick it up which makes Vibe the second contender.

Once Amaze increases it's production capacity, Mahindra would have to definitely overhaul the Vibe or slash the price as I wouldn't pick up the Vibe had the Amaze been in stock. But Vibe does score over the *new* Dzire in my option. Construction is also more solid as compared to the *new* Dzire.

[para_7k]

We had a demo of this car in our office campus. The car is really spacious and the ride quality is as good as the good old Logan. The interior quality has improved as well.

We were really surprised with the back seat comfort. This car will not appeal to an aficionado but is a very good passenger car (Read Taxi)

Priced below the verito, I will not be surprised if it replaces quite a few Livas and Indicas.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by IndianGuardian

I did consider the Toyota Etios D-4D GD (ex-showroom price of INR 707,129). But ABS with EBD is not standard and is an extra chargeable optional item. Had that been inclusive in the INR 707,129 price tag, I would have definitely preferred it given the reliability of a Toyota over Mahindra.

I feel you should check out GDSP. Its around 7.5+ but then if i am not wrong, this is an off season(this whole year has been off) so You might be able to pull some bargain. Already they seem to be having offers worth 17-20K. So if you can manage a 20-30K discount, Etios GDSP will be within your reach.

It has good space, good handling, good boot and meant to take the abuse by drivers.

[IndianGuardian]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

I feel you should check out GDSP. Its around 7.5+ but then if i am not wrong, this is an off season(this whole year has been off) so You might be able to pull some bargain. Already they seem to be having offers worth 17-20K. So if you can manage a 20-30K discount, Etios GDSP will be within your reach.

It has good space, good handling, good boot and meant to take the abuse by drivers.

That's a brilliant suggestion. Thank you. The Toyota Etios D-4D GD SP (with ABS/Airbag) is currently priced at INR 761,172 ex-showroom. Let me see if I can get a good deal. If I can get it under 7L, then definitely worth it.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by IndianGuardian

That's a brilliant suggestion. Thank you. The Toyota Etios D-4D GD SP (with ABS/Airbag) is currently priced at INR 761,172 ex-showroom. Let me see if I can get a good deal. If I can get it under 7L, then definitely worth it.

You will definitely get better resale with Etios ( but i understand that you will have to stretch your budget by at least 50-60K over Vibe topend.

[apachelongbow]

I caught a close up view of this car when it was demoed in a mall. Side wise it looks like a reincarnation of the Fiat Uno, as slab sided and as ugly as it was. The rear spoiler/boot/hatchback whatever one chooses to call it is quite funny looking and it is quite slab sided. The wheels (I think are 13 inchers), look quite puny for the big body.
Overall Mahindra managed to completely ruin the decent looking Logan with their own interpretation of a hatchback design. And dont get me started on the famous Mahindra toothed grill, I believe they have a serious Walrus fixation.

[WindRide]

video review of vibe -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVdkei1JeAQ

excellent family commuter car, with surprisingly good handling!!

and contrary to what many say here, i feel taxi guys won't warm up to vibe since its they who need convenient access to the boot the most.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

And dont get me started on the famous Mahindra toothed grill, I believe they have a serious Walrus fixation.

Have you checked the front grills of new Kia cars ? this closely resembles it(like a cheap imitation only) Kia front grill is sporty and this one looks like M&M designers were totally blank as to what else to put

[harishpr]

Contrary to what's written in this forum and other sites: this hatch is getting lot of attention at showrooms by aam jantha. I took leave today to test drive xuv and Rexton. I spent good 3 hours at mahindra showroom, ananth motors on bannerghatta Rd. I'm a witness of 3 bookings and more than 2 dozen enquiries in those 3 hours;that's quite good for a weekday, that too pre noon. Personally, I didn't like the interiors a bit, but common man seems not bothered much. Folks were going gaga over spacious seats and respectable boot space. I'm sure mahindra will snatch some hatch customers from other companies, though it may not be segment leader.