[sjain2054]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

I think this initiative from Mahindra in making KUV100 NXT a 6 seater by providing bench seat in the front row is actually a boon in the guise of an unorthodox dashboard.

It is actually not unorthodox. In Japan, most of the cars have this kind of a dashboard with the gear lever on the dash. I think if most of the general junta was made to sit in the KUV100 w/o telling them which car it is, they'd rate it as the best interior (among cars of that price range). Once the "tata hai", "oh mahindra hai" bug enters the mind then it tilts opinions. Therefore a blind test will help gauge the interiors better without any biases.

But interiors have never bothered me. Give me an Etios any day despite the boring interiors. What a car! I have owned a Nano for 10 years now..never given 'bland' interiors a second thought. I can park it anywhere..thats all that matters!

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by sjain2054

Give me an Etios any day despite the boring interiors. What a car! I have owned a Nano for 10 years now..never given 'bland' interiors a second thought. I can park it anywhere..thats all that matters!

I'd gladly live with bland interiors than 'in-your-face' cost cutting interiors or eye hurting colour pallettes. Current gen Etios is very much liveable, it is not rich for the price paid but will do the job.

2010 Etios was unbearable to look at, which 7 lakhs at that time (today borders 9-10L). You can't compare that to a car you paid 1.5-2 lakhs OTR on.

[Guite]

This thread should have a poll. There is many mention of Honda interior. For me too the Honda Brio interior design is my least favourite.

[Nostalgic3r]

This. The ambassador. By far the worst interior of any car I’ve sat in. I’m 6’3” and my head hits the ceiling with a terrifying jolt every time the car picks up speed.

[Gagzie]

I find it a bit surprising that no one has any problem with interiors of a cult classic - Mahindra Thar (2010 - 2015)! With an on-road price of Rs. 10L+, it had cheap grey plastic dashboard, weird steering / gear lever and pedal placement, those plasticy window rollers, flimsy door cladding etc. The list is quite long for Thar's interiors.

[haisaikat]

Originally Posted by Nostalgic3r

This. The ambassador. By far the worst interior of any car I’ve sat in. I’m 6’3” and my head hits the ceiling with a terrifying jolt every time the car picks up speed.

I live in Kolkata where until few years back 100% of the time if you meant a Taxi it was definitely assumed as a Ambassador car. Nowadays with advent of Uber and Ola based Swift Dzires there is a slightly reduced number of classic ambassador cars but if you ever happen to see some of the mods done in these cars, some used to date back 15-20 years at least it is difficult to guage who has done it worse, the manufacturer or the owner. And back in 90s I think majority cars used to be like this only until the likes of Matiz or Cielo introduced premium interior feel. Even HM Contessa has sub par interiors

Some examples from Taxi Ambassadors, "jugaad" mostly
1. Mercedes or BMW logo in the front, chrome ones, not stickers
2. A boxy radio or cassette music system, speakers are inbuilt into it so the sound comes from dash directly. Many a time it's the same music system found in saloons and pan shops.
3. The horn switch integrated into the steering or the additional chrome rim that acts as horn switch has stopped functioning. Instead of replacing that they are keeping a separate push button on dash for the horn.
4. For ignition they bend down and directly connect the wires as the pull start ignition lever or turnkey system is no longer working.
5. The wiper does not work, there is a knob inside that needs to be rotated to make the wiper move manually.
6. One exterior related observation, fuel lid lost or broken which originally was a chrome finished metal cap. Replaced by a 2 litres Coke or Pepsi bottle's lower half cut into the exact shape. Not sure how it is fixed.

I hope the fitness test catches all of these irregularities some of which impact safety too.

But the point is inspite of all these the cars seems to last forever. So what we should definitely consider is inspite of the neglected interiors, for the price the manufacturer offered a durable car 20 years back I think they do earn some credit.

[Nostalgic3r]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

I live in Kolkata where until few years back 100% of the time if you meant a Taxi it was definitely assumed as a Ambassador car. Nowadays with advent of Uber and Ola based Swift Dzires there is a slightly reduced number of classic ambassador cars but if you ever happen to see some of the mods done in these cars, some used to date back 15-20 years at least it is difficult to guage who has done it worse, the manufacturer or the owner. And back in 90s I think majority cars used to be like this only until the likes of Matiz or Cielo introduced premium interior feel. Even HM Contessa has sub par interiors

Some examples from Taxi Ambassadors, "jugaad" mostly
1. Mercedes or BMW logo in the front, chrome ones, not stickers
2. A boxy radio or cassette music system, speakers are inbuilt into it so the sound comes from dash directly. Many a time it's the same music system found in saloons and pan shops.
3. The horn switch integrated into the steering or the additional chrome rim that acts as horn switch has stopped functioning. Instead of replacing that they are keeping a separate push button on dash for the horn.
4. For ignition they bend down and directly connect the wires as the pull start ignition lever or turnkey system is no longer working.
5. The wiper does not work, there is a knob inside that needs to be rotated to make the wiper move manually.
6. One exterior related observation, fuel lid lost or broken which originally was a chrome finished metal cap. Replaced by a 2 litres Coke or Pepsi bottle's lower half cut into the exact shape. Not sure how it is fixed.

I hope the fitness test catches all of these irregularities some of which impact safety too.

But the point is inspite of all these the cars seems to last forever. So what we should definitely consider is inspite of the neglected interiors, for the price the manufacturer offered a durable car 20 years back I think they do earn some credit.

Haha, number 4 is really scary. I agree that ambies are built to last. While visiting Kolkata 2 weeks back, saw only one jugaad car that looked pretty horrible. The rest were pretty decent considering they’re 20(?) years old.

[SaiSW]

If anyone else hasn't mentioned it yet, for me, it has to be the KUV100's interiors. The part around the dashboard look decent but the centre console is the single worst design I've ever seen in my entire life.

After the release of the Etios, I was pretty sure Toyota had taken the crown of the worst interior design for the Indian market, once and for all, but Mahindra designers, like always, never seem to fail to disappoint us.

I'm happy they've either hired a new team or have schooled the old one well enough, since the interiors of the Marazzo and XUV300 are quite good. They don't look quirky, but classy. Good job.