[amtak]

Can anyone post more pictures of the TUV300 plus. Love the plain jane boxy looks!

[PraNeel]

Autocar India has come out with the first drive review of TUV300+.
Mahindra has tried to slot it between Scorpio and TUV300 with a mix of two elements. IMO it is again a strategy goof up as the product is not exactly cheap, loses out on features and doesn't feel upmarket either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeBG7w5L9Ng

[extreme_torque]

Is it legal to sell a car with seats that have no seat belts? The rear seats are not only uncomfortable but extremely unsafe as they do not even have seat belts!

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by PraNeel

Autocar India has come out with the first drive review of TUV300+.
Mahindra has tried to slot it between Scorpio and TUV300 with a mix of two elements. IMO it is again a strategy goof up as the product is not exactly cheap, loses out on features and doesn't feel upmarket either.....

This is more or less standard Autocar India double-speak – neither one thing nor the other, as Winston Churchill once famously said about Sir Alfred “Bossom”!

What comes across from it (both if you sift through the supercilious sound-track as well as the visuals) is that this is value for money.

The current Scorpio range starts at 10 L (S3, with the elderly 2.5 L engine at 75 ps, 200 Nm) & goes up to 16 L for the S11 AWD., both ex-showroom.

The TUV300 Plus starts at Rs. 9.59 lakhs while the top-end diesel is priced at Rs. 10.99 lakhs, all with the 2.2 litre mHawk engine @120 bhp, & 280 Nm.

For my money this translates to great VFM – good, strong state-of-the-art body-on-chassis structure which should last forever plus that bullet proof mHawk engine, and most of the mod-cons that rivals are offering. And the cab fleet owners are more than welcome - it has not affected the sales of the Innova/Crysta to private owners nor the sales of the myriad little hatchbacks which has flooded the Ola & Uber fleets.

And if the nit-pickers want to quibble about interior plastics & connectivity and other candy-floss frills, well one can do nit-picking with a Bimmer or the 3-pointed star – or even the Bentayga.

[Rshrey22]

Originally Posted by PraNeel

IMO it is again a strategy goof up as the product is not exactly cheap, loses out on features

Don't you fee that the cab operators are going to love this car, considering that fact that Innvova is so expensive and much less fuel efficient?

The fact that Innova has become a sports car in MUV segment is no good to the cab operators. They don't want their cars to be fast or superbly loaded with features. All they want is to move people from A to B and earn some money.

TUV300 plus can seat more, consumes less and will be more reliable in the long run due to the tried and tested 2.2 mHawk engine that Mahindra has plonked under the bonnet.

It just needs some recognition, and soon it will become a hit with private owners as well. It's the utility and ruggedness that this baby offers and not the looks that are going to make it sell.

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by shashanka

What comes across from it (both if you sift through the supercilious sound-track as well as the visuals) is that this is value for money.

The current Scorpio range starts at 10 L (S3, with the elderly 2.5 L engine at 75 ps, 200 Nm) & goes up to 16 L for the S11 AWD., both ex-showroom.

The TUV300 Plus starts at Rs. 9.59 lakhs while the top-end diesel is priced at Rs. 10.99 lakhs, all with the 2.2 litre mHawk engine @120 bhp, & 280 Nm.

For my money this translates to great VFM – good, strong state-of-the-art body-on-chassis structure which should last forever plus that bullet proof mHawk engine, and most of the mod-cons that rivals are offering. And the cab fleet owners are more than welcome - it has not affected the sales of the Innova/Crysta to private owners nor the sales of the myriad little hatchbacks which has flooded the Ola & Uber fleets.

And if the nit-pickers want to quibble about interior plastics & connectivity and other candy-floss frills, well one can do nit-picking with a Bimmer or the 3-pointed star – or even the Bentayga.

I will agree that in comparison to Scorpio base variants it makes more sense, however Mahindra shouldn't have gone the Honda way. They should have given proper third row seats and feature sets from Scorpio and XUV. By not doing so Mahindra has restricted the appeal.
Also Scorpio is running offers up to 50,000 as per this link.

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Don't you fee that the cab operators are going to love this car, considering that fact that Innvova is so expensive and much less fuel efficient?
It just needs some recognition, and soon it will become a hit with private owners as well. It's the utility and ruggedness that this baby offers and not the looks that are going to make it sell.

Right since the images surfaced all member have felt that this product is a replacement of Xylo i.e. targeted at cab operators.
Private users I am not too sure as 11 lakhs is a sweet spot where there are much more premium options available ranging from sedans to SUVs. XUV500 w5 and Hexa XE are not to far away. Ecosport has varaints falling in this range.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by PraNeel

Right since the images surfaced all member have felt that this product is a replacement of Xylo i.e. targeted at cab operators.
Private users I am not too sure as 11 lakhs is a sweet spot where there are much more premium options available ranging from sedans to SUVs. XUV500 w5 and Hexa XE are not to far away. Ecosport has varaints falling in this range.

In the week gone by I spotted two TUV 3OO Plus and you would be surprised (as was I ) to know that both had white number plates, meaning these were owned privately and not by cab operators. I must admit the TUV 3OO Plus rear end and side profile does look good and more proportionate that its 4m sibling.

[shashanka]

One niggle which could be a deal breaker for many people (me certainly) is whether M&M have sorted out the rear wheel-spin issue that was a major problem with the TUV300. Of course the company tackled this by retro-fitting an MLD for owners facing the problem. But the issue itself had raised a lot of questions at the time, regarding rear suspension fine-tuning & wheel articulation.

This is one factor M&M definitely needs to have resolved - if they don't want egg on their faces all over again.
Aside from this, their seems to be no real reason for this vehicle not to succeed, given our market's highly active VFM antennae!

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by PraNeel

..Private users I am not too sure as 11 lakhs is a sweet spot where there are much more premium options available ranging from sedans to SUVs. XUV500 w5 and Hexa XE are not to far away. Ecosport has varaints falling in this range.

I don't agree. I think this vehicle has lot of private appeal as well. Hexa is too big and unwieldy for city use. XUV is FWD monocoque, not SUV enough for many people. Ecosport is for a very different type of customer. TUV300plus is perfect length ( 4.4m), suits people who use 7 seats occasionally but need lot of luggage space, here jump seats are better. It looks like a proper SUV and is well priced for what it offers. Scorpio S5 gets a 5 speed gearbox and less space and is full 2 lakh costlier on road Bangalore. In fact HEXA XE and XUVW5 are also around 2 lakh costlier on road Bangalore compared to P8.

Originally Posted by shashanka

One niggle which could be a deal breaker for many people (me certainly) is whether M&M have sorted out the rear wheel-spin issue that was a major problem with the TUV300. Of course the company tackled this by retro-fitting an MLD for owners facing the problem. But the issue itself had raised a lot of questions at the time, regarding rear suspension fine-tuning & wheel articulation.

This is one factor M&M definitely needs to have resolved - if they don't want egg on their faces all over again.
Aside from this, their seems to be no real reason for this vehicle not to succeed, given our market's highly active VFM antennae!

Completely agree. Hope Mahindra has fixed the rear axle articulation issue. The Mhawk 120 is proven so i think it won't suffer the issues we saw in Mhawk 80/100. I hope the six speed gearbox does not throw up nasty surprises like clutch failures. I hope they had a rear central neck restraint to prevent wiplash to rear central passenger. Considering the width of the car three passengers in the middle seat is a real possibility. And may be a P10 variant with 4WD.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

....Completely agree. Hope Mahindra has fixed the rear axle articulation issue. The Mhawk 120 is proven so i think it won't suffer the issues we saw in Mhawk 80/100. I hope the six speed gearbox does not throw up nasty surprises like clutch failures. I hope they had a rear central neck restraint to prevent wiplash to rear central passenger. Considering the width of the car three passengers in the middle seat is a real possibility. And may be a P10 variant with 4WD.

Yes JediKnight, I too hope that M&M have the good sense to include a 4WD option. The structure of the vehicle (body-on-chassis structure) plus its visual appeal all beg for the 4WD option. It will also widen the appeal of the car to a larger section of the buying public.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by shashanka

One niggle which could be a deal breaker for many people (me certainly) is whether M&M have sorted out the rear wheel-spin issue that was a major problem with the TUV300.

I've known for some time that you're eyeing the TUV 300 Plus to replace your Bucephalus (that's what I recall your Scorpio is called)...

Anyway, speaking of rear wheel articulation - I happened to get cocky and take my TUV 300 down a steep bank and onto a muddy lake bed. I very nearly became the topic of a Cartoq article ("Stupid TUV 300 owner suffers with a bogged down vehicle..."). But the Tank pulled out of the bog and up and over the steep bank. Despite the open differential, I made it back with some wheelspin. My dad had a few anxious moments while I kept my cool. I will probably write a small article on my misadventure sometime.

My opinion is that other positive aspects of the vehicle, such as the approach/departure angles, the high GC etc. can lull owners of the TUV into a false sense of smugness on bad roads. I'll keep this in mind from now on.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by locusjag

I've known for some time that you're eyeing the TUV 300 Plus to replace your Bucephalus (that's what I recall your Scorpio is called)...

Anyway, speaking of rear wheel articulation - I happened to get cocky and take my TUV 300 down a steep bank and onto a muddy lake bed. I very nearly became the topic of a Cartoq article ("Stupid TUV 300 owner suffers with a bogged down vehicle..."). But the Tank pulled out of the bog and up and over the steep bank. Despite the open differential, I made it back with some wheelspin. My dad had a few anxious moments while I kept my cool. I will probably write a small article on my misadventure sometime.

My opinion is that other positive aspects of the vehicle, such as the approach/departure angles, the high GC etc. can lull owners of the TUV into a false sense of smugness on bad roads. I'll keep this in mind from now on.

Right on, locusjag - the 300+ is right up there as a preferred choice (along with the new Gurkha Extreme if it gets 5 doors or the Jimny if it is launched & gets 5 doors!)
But of course the de rigueur bit is that it must be body-on-chassis & must have RWD at least (if AWD or 4WD, even better)!

Your experience with the TUV 300 is deeply satisfying for me too (as no doubt it was for you). This is because the car has attracted a disproportionately - & I believe mindlessly - large quota of carping/criticism. Now if only the Marazzo were to get a respectable global NCAP rating like the Nexon.....

[GTO]

Took the tank out for dinner last night. Boy, what a difference an engine makes. It has completely overhauled the TUV300's character. Like jumping from an Alto 800 to a Swift 1.2.

The package now makes the outdated Scorpio as well as antique Bolero seem overpriced and the TUV300 very good value for money.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Took the tank out for dinner last night. Boy, what a difference an engine makes. It has completely overhauled the TUV300's character. Like jumping from an Alto 800 to a Swift 1.2.

1.5l was indeed too small a block for a 1.7 tonne car that TUV 300 is (Recently while driving to Nelong, I noticed that if it once loses momentum while doing steep uphill ascends, it kind of loses all the steam and only first gear and some clutch play can save the game, no such issues with 2.2 mHawk)
That said, can you please test the rear wheel articulation of this car? The older TUV had very poor articulation and if you took inclines at say 45 degree or lower anglle, it was nearly impossible for the car to do that; it even used to fail on ramp entries too at times in shopping malls with steep ramps and a turn at the entry.

[AdityaDeane]

As per MyCarHelpLine.com, Mahindra is already offering a discount of 20K Cash and 25K Exchange Bonus on TUV300 Plus P4 variant for August 2018.

Link - https://www.mycarhelpline.com/index....=list&Itemid=9