Engine:
mHawk Engine turned out to be a pleasant "surprise". The popular perception is that Tata / Mahindra engines are not refined as compared to Japs or Korean cars. However, on the contrary to my expectations, mHawk has trumped / ticked all check-boxes.
It's powerful. One tap on the pedal and the Cheetah prowls with a surge. What's a low-end turbo lag? Even in higher gear, when speed reduces and you want to gain speed again, it doesn't give any kind of strain and surges ahead without needing downshift. In fact, initially I had to put in conscious efforts to control the speed (my previous car was a NA Petrol).
On the high-end too, the engine doesn't give any signs of running out of breath.
Brakes:
I found the performance of the brakes to be quite satisfactory though popular online feedback is that the bite needs improvement. Another popular online feedback is that Brake pads need to be replaced at shorter interval. However, even after the demanding road trips I've subjected my XUV to in difficult terrains, I've cahnged front brake pads not earlier than 38,000 kms on the ODO
NVH Levels:
Just superb. A couple of times initially, I felt that the horn is weak and I might need to upgrade it. But later when I was driving with the front window rolled down and when I honked, I could hear the loud sound. Huge difference between the instances when windows are rolled up & are rolled down.
Interior Space
Oodles of space. Front row is but obviously quite comfortable with oodles of leg room. If front row is quite comfortable with oodles of leg room, middle row trumps it too. Middle row is like a cricket pitch ! How I wish the middle row had adjustable channel to slide it forward / backward to increase room in the third row which is one sore point for it can accommodate kids only. Adults might not be comfortable seating in third row.
My another wishlist of the boot space. There is no space behind third row unlike Innova. I don't like fixing luggage carrier on top even in long road trips. Fortunately, smaller & nuclear family means we don't have to use third row seats for seating.
However, once you flatten third row, it can swallow luggage like anything. During our Ladakh road trip, we removed the third row seats altogether and it accommodated 4 adult's demanding luggage for Ladakh trip including three 20 ltrs Jerry cans.
Tyres:
I insisted on Bridgestone over JK tyres when I purchased the car. THe stock Bridgestone are still doing well after 50,000 kms and treacherous Ladakh terrains. May be it'll easily last another 10-20K kms
Features & Convenience:- Love the static bending lights
- The low beam has projectors though the stock lamps are 55W H7 halogens. I've recently fitted 55W H7 HID in low beam projectors.
- Auto Headlight - I don't use this as during day time one tends to forget to turn it off while turning the car off, and when you restart the car in the night, the headlights is Auto-ON while cranking. I hate keeping any electrical system ON while cranking (I even have a habit of not putting off or turning on any electrical / electronics appliance at home directly thro' AC mains keeping appliance switch ON, that's a strict no no for me though modern devices have safeguards now). May be this habit ensured that I didn't face frequent fusing of headlight lamps like many XUV owners earlier faced.
- Auto Start-stop of engine at traffic signals: I don't use this feature as well.
- Rain sensing wipers
- Love the Tyre-Tronics.
- Mahindra has a couple of Smartphone Apps one of which shows the pressure, temprature etc of each tyre
- XUV has sensors at various places to alert. e.g. when my front brake pads were worn out, it gave me an alert. I heard someone sharing that he got an alert for low level of brake / clutch fluid. So on and so forth.
- Hill Hold function is a boon
- Like Hill Hold, there is a Hill Descent control function too.
- Power adjustable ORVM's
- Follow-me-home & Lead-me-to vehicle headlamps are quite useful in day-to-day life.
Driving Position & Comfort:
Excellent. 5 Stars. The seat hugs you - the side cladding does it's job very well. Under thigh support is superb. There is lumber support too. I keep the seat at its topmost height/ position and quite far backward for a relaxed position. I keep the steering at it's lowermost position and pulled out towards me. This allows me to touch the side lower part of the steering with both palms with right elbow resting on the door side support and left elbow resting on middle armrest.
On lighter notes, I usually refer the driving position as "like seating on a sofa-set". It's that comfortable. In on of my road trips, I drove 1100 kms in a day from Mumbai to Krishnagiri, TN (ahead of Bangalore) and still I was raring to go further.
Interior Storage:
Very well thought of. All 4 doors have bottle holders which can hold 1 Ltr bottle. The front 2 doors even have Umbrella holders from which water can sip out without interior getting wet.
Suspension and Ride Quality:
Excellent for a high GC SUV or soft roader or whatever you call it
Except at low speeds in city on potholes, it gets a bit bumpy.
Handling and Stability:
Superb again, for a car with 200 mm Ground clearance. The handling is almost like a European sedan !
After-sales Service:
Top-notch. Superb. Ensuring Customer Delight. Till now, for 50,000 kms run, for 22 months, my XUV has not spent overnight at MASS. In IT parlance, it's kind of ZERO downtime
Till Now, total 8 visits to MASS - 5 scheduled service (6th 50K kms service is pending now), 1 visit to replace brake pads, 1 visit to replace tail lamp. Not counting one specific special visit for a general precautionary check up before Ladakh trip.
First Service - 5K kms (in 2.5 months of buying):
Done at Infinity Autolinks, Chunabhatthi
General Check up
Engine oil & oil filter replaced
Total bill - Rs. 2,577/-
Average experience to start with. RM was not knowledgeable. I had to escalate to the Service Manager who did exceedingly good job covering for his RM and delivered the car back at 7.30 pm on the same day.
Second Service - 10K kms (in 4.5 months of buying): Major drive before the service: Road trip to
Rajasthan MASS: Global Gallerie, Thane. From here my love affair with Global Gallerie, Thane started. Went there on a reference from a forum friend.
5-stars to RM - Tanveer Shaikh at Global Gallerie, Thane
Engine oil & oil filter replaced
Replaced Ballancer Bush bars
Fixed rat-mesh in cowl area
Total Bill -
Rs. 3257/-
Engine oil change was not scheduled at 10k kms service. It's scheduled at 20k Kms service and then at every 20,000 kms interval (40K kms, 60k kms etc). But I thought 20k kms is too long a period in Indian conditions and in B2B traffic in Mumbai. So changed it.
I thought about changing engine oil at every 5,000 kms reverting to simple good old no-nonsense mineral oil. But then Mahindra Feo Maxi Mile engine oil is very cost effective at Rs. 290 per ltr. So, decided to stick with it with 10k kms period as replacement frequency.
Third Service - 20K kms (in 8.5 months of buying):
Major drive during this period: Road trip to Goa & another to Saurashtra, Gujarat
MASS: G3 Motors, Goregaon being nearer to home. Not as satisfied as Global Gallerie and hence reverted to Global Gallerie for all next services
Engine oil & oil filter replaced
Fuel Filter replaced
Air Filter replaced
One headlamp changed (it was fused)
Gear Oil topped up
Total Bill -
Rs. 7694/- Fourth Service - 30K kms (in 11.5 months of buying):
Major drives: Ladakh road trip
MASS: GLobal Galleri, Thane
Engine oil & oil filter replaced
Balancer Bush bars replaced
Rear Mud flaps fixed (thanks to Ladakh trip)
Sump Guard fixed (thanks to Ladakh trip)
Driver side Wiper blade replaced
Total Bill -
Rs. 6608/- Except for loose Sump guard and rear mud flaps, the demanding Ladakh drive didn't have any effect on robust Cheetah Fifth Service - 40K kms (in 17 months of buying)
Engine oil & oil filter replaced
Fuel Filter cartridge replaced
Element Air Filter Foam type
Air Filter assembly - Mesh
Balancer Bush bars replaced
AC disinfection
Total Bill -
Rs. 11,691/-
Just after this service, I did another long road trip - A road trip to Kerala
This shall be covered in the next service which is due now.