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-   -   Next-generation Mahindra Bolero? NAMED: Mahindra TUV300! EDIT: Now launched at Rs. 6.90 lakhs (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/151317-next-generation-mahindra-bolero-named-mahindra-tuv300-edit-now-launched-rs-6-90-lakhs-73.html)

Congratulations CAPTAIN REX on your sixth purchase!

Thanks for that quick drive on last Sunday. Thought of giving my two cents on that. Overall the black shade is really stunning. The front and side stance is giving a real sporty look. Huge improvement in the interior quality. I felt Mahindra could have also induced few changes on the rear end as well.

Drive is nice and stable even through the rough surface. It is performing decently in the low rpm levels despite having a 3 cylinder engine!

Definitely this is going to keep every box design enthusiasts on toes. Looking forward to have more rides on this mini tank:)

Cheers,
Cruiser_D

Detailed Review from Motorbeam: Link

Overall would say an average rating.

Summary
Verdict

Re: Motor beam review quoted by Rajeevraj

I would beg to differ with Motorbeam on this. In my view, the hydro-formed ladder chassis is one of the strongest plus points of the TUV 300, notwithstanding whatever losses in FE & outright performance. And as far as undercutting Bolero sales and its notional, restricted appeal to rural or semi-urban markets - well, once again in my humble view, these semantics are are notions in the minds of journalists. Actual state of affairs will be revealed in a short while when the sales figures will tell their own story.

I am an urbanite born & bred (Mumbai-Lucknow-Kolkata) and I'm just waiting for the T-BHP review to come out before confirming my decision regarding the TUV 300.

When is the official team-bhp review coming out? It's been a while since this vehicle was launched.

I have been eagerly awaiting the review. Although i have book a black T8 but still the Team-BHP review holds its due regards. Mods please: give us the review at the earliest.

Am sure the official review is under construction. As mentioned in several other threads, lot of parameters needs to be taken care of to come up with a review that meets Team-Bhp Standards.

Consider this. The Kwid review is up today. It consists of ~8-9000 words, ~150 images and several compare charts. Most other reviews out there from the popular sites don't exceed ~1000-1500 words and 20-30 images. (Yes, I was jobless enough to figure that out:D ). Keeping everything else aside, this itself is an indication of the time needed to get the review ready.

Crtorquesaver,
You have a valid point regarding the higher engine capacoty, but The rule of money saver applies. Vehicle below 4 mtr with 1.2ltr or less PETROL engine gets the tax benifit. Same if you have a vehicle below 4mtr with diesel engine below 1.5ltr, the customer benefits..
Hence mahindra has maintained the bracket.

T8 AMT waiting is more than 2 months even for normal colors loke silver and white. Wanting to book but 2 Mumbai dealers saying unable to deliver even by end of December. Are these made to order? such a long waiting for a new product might not be good for Mahindra. as it is we are taking our chances of opting for a completely new vehicle, transmission etc and Mahindra should in fact make these available quickly enough so that the feedback from initial buyers can clear the decision making for prospective buyers.
Really very long delivery timelines....
has anyone booked an AMT yet? what is your experience in your cities.

I know this very well, friend.
But to create brand awareness, to make it standout in the segment, to fill the lacuna it was having & for all the reasons i've mentioned in my posts above, this engine change can be done or atleast can be provided as an option for target set of buyers, specially when the customers are willing to pay for the change.

Many car manufacturer do this for the same reasons, like Ford Ecosport/Aspire/Figo comes with 1.5 Ti-VCT petrol engine, VW Polo GT-TDi with 1.6 TDi engine, Fiat Punto/Avventura with 1.4 petrol engine, now Abarth Punto coming with Abarth tuned 1.4 T-jet engine, even Maruti Suzuki Swift came with G13B 1.3 litre Petrol engine in beginning.

So with keeping customer demand & priorities in mind, car manufacturer can provide these to them.

Brand awareness I'd say is the least of M&M's worries. Ditto for standing out in the segment. They don't need to work on either. What should give them food for thought is the fact that the 3-yr old Quanto has the same engine - more or less - putting out 98 bhp/250 nm. Thus, after two years of development, instead of progressing, the same engine has been "developed" for the "tough as nails" TUV 300 to produce almost 15 bhp & 20 nm less! And all on the alter of improved FE and low end driveability!. I fear that all their talk of 2-stage t/charging is hot air. As any engineer worth his salt knows, 2-stage t/charging is a high-tech., high-complexity enterprise restricted to high-end cars (BMW & Volvo to name just two). That is not to belittle M&M's in-house R&D in employing twin-scroll t/charging (in itself a serious exercise) for the Quanto. And this is what I suspect is being used in the TUV300 also. I could be wrong - I doubt it tho' - but if this is the case, then M&M should ensure that their marketing & sales team choose their jargon more carefully.
Equating twin-scroll with 2-stage t/charging is rather like equating the 0.22 Woodsman target rifle with the M-16.

Went about a brief test drive. Coming from 2010 Quadrajet Aura+ Tata Manza, came back with mixed feelings.

1. Looks great given the constraints of 4m. Imposing from the front.
2. Interiors really look nice - even with missing soft dash
3. Easy to drive around with nice excellent visibility
4. Space is constrained. Maybe could have given a slider as an option without 2 seats at the rear
5. Went on some fairly rough roads and it performed as expected
6. Biggest downer is the rather hard seats. Almost developed backache and stiff neck. Anyone thought seats were hard and uncomfortable?
7. Just found it a touch bouncy even on slightly uneven roads, though went through real rough roads with aplomb and decent speeds.
8. Struggles to get beyond 60-80 types. Definitely not easy to get it to 100.

I took a test drive last week. Noticed something odd, the turbo was completely reddish with rust!

The Sales guy swore that this was normal with all the TUV's he had ever seen. Another Sales guy backed him up and said the same.

Is it?

This is interesting - was it rust or was it some high temp. primer (looks like red oxide) or coating for anti-corrosion?

A very valid point. Granted that mfrs have their own compulsions for their decisions, but long waiting queues & time periods can boomerang - specially with so many new compact SUVs in the pipeline waiting to jump into the fray any time now.

Congratulations Captain Rex :thumbs up, TUV looks excellent in Black color. Happy driving.

I have read that even the jump seats are comfortable with good back support. Could you please share your personal experience in case you use it on a long drive?

Though a bit late, please accept my congratulations CAPTAIN REX. I have also bitten the bullet, booked a TUV3OO - TS (manual) today morning.

I guess all new cars will exhibit this behaviour. The manual I test drove today morning had a very soft clutch and the gears were slotting perfectly. I was immediately at home with the clutch and gear as I have been driving the Innova for the last one year. My Innova's clutch was rather hard (after 68K kms). Also the gear slotting of the TUV was far better than my now sold Innova.

Will keep this in mind and try it out the next time I test drive the TUV. I drive with legs fully stretched and seat pushed backward, so should not be a problem at least for me.

Point noted. Hope M&M comes up with some mechanism to attached the fuel cap with the body.

Power: 84 bhp @ 3750 rpm
Torque: 230 Nm @ 1500-2250
Note: A torque of 187 Nm comes at an rpm as low as 1100 rpm.

What does this mean? TUV has not so good top end, but has enough grunt at low end, hence good driveability.

Thanks for that info. Please let such tid-bits keep coming from you frequently

That is the need of the hour Sir. please: put up your ownership report asap and I would be the first one getting hooked to it as I have already committed myself to the TUV now.

I will be getting the delivery of my TUV by Diwali (or may be before that if I am lucky)

Price break-up is mentioned below:



I would like to share the experience of my 3 test drives of TUV yesterday and today, twice it was the AMT and once it was the manual.

AMT:
Slot the car is first gear (gear indicator visible on the instrument cluster). Lift your right leg off the brake pedal. People used to driving manual diesels would anticipate the car to move forward, but actually nothing happens, though the gear shift indicates "1" on the cluster. Press the throttle gently and the car begins to move. It moves with eagerness beyond 1500 rpm. Lift your leg off the throttle and give a gentle push to the AMT gear lever, the second gear engages, rpm drops and the car, which was pulling strongly seems to have lost the steam. Again it builds up momentum as the rpm crosses 1500-2000 range. This way you can keep upshifting till you are in 5th gear, 80 kmph comes @ 2000 rpm. It can potter @ 60 kmph in 5th gear (1500 rpm). The moment you hot the brake pedal it begins to downshift. It senses the brake pressure and modulation of brake pedal downshifts smoothly. If you notice a speed hump from 50 metres and you are in 5th gear, a gentle tap on brake would downshift it to 4th, again a second tap would downshift to 3 and again one more downshift to 2nd. Now you can easily cross the speed brake on 2nd gear and pull cleanly from thereon, by a gentle push on the A pedal.

Biggest negatives of AMT:
I was on an incline near the showroom gate. Car came to a standstill and the first gear was engaged. Now to prevent roll back I pressed the brake pedal. The moment I lifted my right leg off the pedal and tried to press the accelerator, the car began to roll back. If you press the A pedal aggressively, the car may move forward with a jerk. Very dangerous in choc-a-block traffic and at signals. Next time when I came to a standstill on an incline, I engaged the handbrake. This prevented the car from rolling back. Then I gently started pushing the accelerator, as the car was trying to move forward, I released the handbrake. This time it was a smooth maneuver. A hill hold assist function is a must for the AMT.

Also while putting the car in reverse in my apartment parking, I put the AMT lever to the "R" position. Lifting the foot from the brake did not make the car move backwards, I had to gently press the accelerator. While reversing any manual car, I always prefer keeping my right leg over the brake and left leg over the clutch. This way if I have to stop by pressing brake, I can do half clutch, so that the engine does not die off, but this is not a possibility in the AMT as there is no clutch pedal. May be one can try putting right foot on accelerator and the left one on the brake, this way there would be better control.

No such problems in the manual, getting off from standstill, just release the clutch, a gentle push on the "A" pedal and the car surges ahead. Getting the car in reverse, just release the clutch.

The steering is pretty good to hold and you get good control of direction. Pot holes and speed brakers are dismissed without any fuss. My wife knowingly sat on the jump seats to check them out if they were comfortable and she did not complain. Not sure if it is the high profile tyres or the suspension, but the car just glides over craters.

Noise insulation is remarkably good for this 3 potter. I was very apprehensive about the NVH levels, but the 3 test drives have just blown me away. On the outside the engine is barely audible and once the windows are rolled up, the cabin is super silent (by my standards as I am used to a noisy and seemingly crude sounding Innova diesel). The engine firewall insulation, then damping under the hood and the dual mass flywheel. Dual mass flywheel completely isolates Engine torsional vibrations. Results in elimination of drive-train rattles and low NVH. No vibrations on the clutch pedal or gear lever. Gears were also sure slotting.

Till the time I get my car delivered, I am going to get as many test drives as possible to get some more nuances of the car. Enjoy some pictures.

The test drive car in my apartment parking - Perfect fit


The test drive car in my apartment parking - As seen from front


The Molten Orange display car in the showroom