[mandavamanojjr]

Hello everyone,

I would like to share my experience of the XUV 700, which I drove for 55,000 kms in 2.5 years.

We, as a family, had a Honda City Diesel, which ran about 1.25 Lakh Kms over 7 years, and felt its age, also with the fact that I got bored and hence thought to replace it. Ever since my childhood, we have had a love for SUVs, and the only body shape I considered to replace our Honda City is an SUV. The XUV 700 hugely impressed us with its styling, features, performance, and the money value quotient.

The other car considered is the Innova Crysta, but I rejected it as the roads are full of Innova's either in the form of private cars, cabs, or government cars. Also, the Innova feels too heavy to drive due to its hydraulic steering and body-on-frame chassis.

We booked the XUV 700, and the waiting period is almost 1.5 years, and in the meantime followed the updates of Scorpio N, which is ready to launch. As soon as Scorpio N was launched, I booked the same immediately as soon as the online booking was opened, and my booking was confirmed with the introductory pricing for the initial batch. A few weeks later, I received a phone call from the dealer informing me that my vehicle was allotted and it would be delivered on the first day itself.

Meanwhile, I test drove the Scorpio N, which I felt was good but not in the league of the XUV 700 in terms of performance, third row space, and driving dynamics due to it being a body-on-frame vehicle. Though the design is a personal choice, I liked the XUV 700 the most, both exterior and interior. The infotainment screens, the panoramic sunroof, and every other thing made the XUV look more suited as a family car than the Scorpio N.

So I was left with no option except to wait for the delivery. As the waiting period was too much, I sought help from one of my friends who works in the Mahindra dealership at an executive level and prioritized my delivery. Finally, I was allotted a vehicle, and the delivery was promised on the festival day, Dusserha.

What is the fun if everything goes smoothly without any hurdles? Just before the delivery day, I got a call from the sales advisor mentioning that the vehicle can't be delivered as some seat height adjustment part for the driver seat has to come, which needs to be fixed to the vehicle, only after that, the driver’s seat can be adjusted accordingly and the vehicle can be delivered. It is basically a control module switch to increase or decrease the height of the seat, as the driver seat is electronically adjustable.

I was super anxious about the car, but this news disappointed me as I had travelled about 400 kms along with my friend to take the delivery. The distance travelled is not an issue, but the distance to be travelled back without taking the vehicle is too long. It can’t be measured.

Again took the help of my dealer friend, who spoke with the higher management and arranged for the delivery, promising that the part would be installed in a week. Finally, the D-day. I went to take the delivery of the vehicle along with my friends, and as soon as I entered the garage of the dealership, there were 4 XUV 700s lined up for delivery.



As it is a proper muscle car with strong dimensions reflecting its size, the visual experience of looking at those 4 cars, which are factory fresh, is something stupendous.

Out of the four, unintentionally, my attention was drawn to one XUV, standing aside and alone, distinctively. I kept on looking at that particular car, which appears as if it is not a delivery vehicle, as there are no ribbons, etc, while the other 3 cars were decorated for the delivery.

My focus was still on that car itself.

What is called destiny?

To my surprise, this particular car was allotted to me.

I still remember the following actions on that particular day,
The first start of the car, the first gear engage, meanwhile looking at my friends in person and parents in video call, the first drive, those were like special moments that have to be treasured for life.

Everyone might ask what is so special as it is just a car. Yes, it is just a car, but coming from a middle-class family, purchasing an SUV was a dream for so many years, and finally purchasing one makes satisfying both myself and my family.

Now, coming to the experience of the car, I would like to initially feature the pros and cons of the car, followed by some other experiences.

THE PROS

1. THE DESIGN

It is an SUV, like any other car in the market; it could be boring, maybe all straight lines with a simple and basic design. But that’s not the case with the XUV 700, it is stylish, and the on-road presence of the car is just exciting.
The stance of the car is simply beautiful, with the face of the car imposing some serious SUV look, which is classy too. Mine is a white coloured XUV, and the white hood coupled with the black grill looks perfect.



The side profiles with broad shoulders give that heavy fat boy stance, yet being stylish.



The rear is simple and good. The lights, though, look beautiful with the sequential turn indicators.



What adds further to the look of the car are the tyres, both in terms of size and alloy wheel design.

2. THE ENGINE-(DIESEL-MANUAL)

It is a 2200 CC diesel engine named M Hawk, producing 182 bhp power at 3500 rpm and 420 nm torque at 1600-2800 rpm.

The car has three driving modes: Zip, Zap, Zoom, out of which, I drove 99% of the time only in ZOOM mode, which has the most power output.

The first and second gears are short, and the car starts to pull from the third gear very strongly, and that pull, though linear, is very strong. Especially on the highways, overtakes are very easy with not much effort being put into the gears.

It is not only the sudden pull that can be appreciated, but also the way the torque is delivered as the car pulls silently from lower rpms to higher speeds on the highways, which is very satisfying.

Generally, big SUVs show their power and dominance through their bigger capacity engines only on highways. In city limits, those bigger capacity engines take time to get into progress, and in the meantime, small hatchbacks and sedans outrun them.

Whereas, XUV 700 does not allow the smaller cars to dominate even on city roads, as the pull from this 2200 cc engine is in such a way that it competes and outruns every other smaller capacity car, even in city speed limits. It feels spirited and always feels enthusiastic without any feeling of driving a heavy engine.

This is the perfect engine, which performs effortlessly both on highways and on city roads.

I have an opinion on how an engine and gearbox should perform, which is as follows,

Enthusiastic people generally buy an automatic for the sake of convenience, but in contradiction, they expect physical control of gears when needed. If such an automatic box coupled with an engine allows you to have complete physical control, then it is said to deliver you the ultimate driving pleasure without compromise on not having a manual gearbox.

In the same way, in a manual car, most drivers expect that the pull from the engine should be in such a way that fewer gear changes are required, and the engine should pull strongly even from lower rpm.

It is a rare expectation from the people that if he wants to have complete physical control, he could have brought a manual transmission, and if he wants to have fewer gear changes, he could have opted for an automatic transmission. But, the driving feel comes only if an automatic car gives you physical controls, thus not making you miss the manual driving pleasure, and in the same way, a manual car, though having complete control, should make the driver feel comfortable and relaxed without being tired so much in changing gears.

The XUV exactly offers this driving pleasure, requiring fewer gear changes on highways by delivering ample power even at lower rpm, and once it reaches the peak power band, it starts to pull in such a way that all the other cars can be seen only in the rear view mirror.

3. THE SUSPENSION

The suspension is simply brilliant. It is the only word that describes it. It comes with frequency adaptive dampers, which are truly impressive on the road, coupled with the massive tyres. Whoever sat in the car, in no time, had simply appreciated the suspension.

This suspension setup can beat even some of the cars belonging to a higher segment.

I felt the importance of a suspension only after driving the XUV 700, I feel it is magical.

4. THE INTERIOR SPACE

As soon as you step into the car, the huge screen, wide dashboard, white coloured interiors welcome you with a fresh feel every time. Even today, I feel excited every time I get into the car.

The middle row seats offer you a comfortable space for three passengers to fit in, and even the last row can be seated by decent-sized adults, and they are provided with individual AC controls.

Both the front seats are also very comfortable, and since it is a wide car, there is no scope for compactness inside the cabin, which gives you a luxury feel.

5. THE FEATURES

It has all the features starting from panaromic sunroof, apple carplay, android auto, boss mode, height adjustable seat belts, sony audio system, connected car features, remote engine on and off from the key itself, welcoming lights, 360 degree camera with parking sensors, led lights front and back, sequential turning indicators, flush door handles, electronic parking brake with auto hill hold, lap timer, inclined rear seats and full fold of second and third row seats etc.,. It is equipped with ADAS.

There is an additional boost in light after crossing 70 kmph, which is very helpful and appreciated at night.

Also, the alert sounds of the turn indicator, hazard lights, and speed warnings are quite different from other cars, and they feel sweet to listen to.

As soon as you unlock the car, the car flashes lights three times, which feels good as it is welcoming us, followed by the follow-me home lights.

6. RIDE & HANDLING

One of the main highlights of the XUV is its ride and handling. It handles very precisely, and it can be thrown into any corner effortlessly. The car never loses its composure. It is in the league of BMWs when it comes to driving dynamics.

I drive it mostly on a two-lane road with both oncoming traffic and rough patches in between, and the XUV changes direction very quickly, even if I drive it in a zig-zag way to escape such uneven patches present on both sides of the road. If there is a bump on the left side, I approach towards the right lane instantly as if it were a small hatchback, and immediately to escape another pothole present in the right lane, I switch back to the left lane, and the chassis handles all these quick directional changes with immense stability. These directional changes are very quick and agile, with tremendous confidence being given to the driver without any fear, considering the weight and body of the car.

There is very minimal body roll.

Even on the highways, at multiple-digit speeds, it can change lanes with utmost ease and composure.

It never breaks the confidence that the driver keeps in the car.

7. FUEL EFFICIENCY

In city speed limits, it gives you mileage of around 12-13 kmpl, whereas on highways, if driven slowly 16-18 kmpl can also be achieved. Whereas on multiple digit speeds, it gives you mileage of around 14-15 kmpl.

No other car with this performance and size gives you this efficiency.



THE CONS

1. The steering could be slightly heavy as it is too light. It is a con, but a slight weight could be appreciated in the city speed limits. On the highways, it is apt.

2. The brakes stop decently, but a slightly better stopping power, coupled with pedal response, is appreciated. On highway speeds, sometimes with just a touch of the pedal, the brakes cut the speed very strongly, and at other times, though the car provides you with confident braking, it lacks the same feel that it had given earlier. There is no consistency in the braking feel.

3. The infotainment screen turns off all of a sudden, I faced it 3-4 times over the past 2.5 years.

4. The audio system is good, but it is not the best in terms of sound output.

5. The middle row bench does not slide, which gives you a fixed third row space.

6. The car can’t clear off the second gear speed breaker pull, as most of the time it requires a downshift to first gear.

7. Though all the features are present in the car, the auto-dimming rear-view mirror is not present, which is considered to be an essential feature. Also, ventilated seats along with factory-fit sun blinds in the rear are appreciated.

My Other Experiences with the car:

When it comes to the overall experience of the car, keeping aside the driver's perspective, the passengers who may not know anything about a car, appreciate the XUV very much in the way it handles, rides, and soaks up the bumps on the road. The passengers feel comfortable and do not even feel tired; that’s the level of sophistication it offers in terms of ride quality.

Some other cars may have more power, more features, but this is the car that offers the right balance between all. The Polo is considered to be a great driver's car due to its chassis setup and agility, and right after it, people directly take reference of BMW’s eliminating all other cars in between. The XUV matches in terms of driving comfort and dynamics to the league of BMW’s and it is no less than them.

Given a speed rumblers or an expansion joint or an unexpected water splash, the XUV rightly handles them, and it inspires confidence in the driver without any fear of loss of control. The car can be driven whole day long and it performs effortlessly without giving any problems to the driver. I have done multiple 12-hour trips, and it performed absolutely phenomenal.

I recommend it who is looking for a car at this price point, as it offers great value, and this is the most popular car in the country right from its launch to date. It has become a dream car to many, as it was once for me.

[gopa99]

Nice and passionate post; welcome to Team BHP.
Since you covered 50K + on a diesel engine, how did the DPF perform? Did you get any hassles from DPF dashboard warnings ?

[Meloth1991]

It’s been two weeks since I got my XUV 700 AX 7 Ebony edition diesel automatic home, and I can totally relate to everything you mentioned. I have already covered close to 2000km, including a road trip to Ooty from Bangalore.

My previous two cars were a Polo 1.2 petrol and a Hyundai Verna 1.5 IVT petrol. The diesel torque is just so addictive. Also, the ride comfort and handling are quite good for a sedan.

[Doccapricorn]

I can relate to the sentiment expressed, having owned 2 XUV 700s , I had earlier owned ax7 manual diesel which I had booked on the launch day itself, it was a steal deal, on road 20.44 lakhs, driven it for 45000 kms over 2.5 years sold it for around 18 lakhs and gotten myself a new ax7 awd version at a great deal.
My earlier car was niggle free whatsoever, all that I faced in 45000 kms was screen blank issue only once and vibrations coming into the cabin at high speed due to misalignment.
Will post a detailed review shortly

[oxyzen]

Excellent post and I completely agree with your opinion on the performance, ride & handling. Have you been able to estimate the top speed in the 1st 3 gears?

Originally Posted by mandavamanojjr

In the same way, in a manual car, most drivers expect that the pull from the engine should be in such a way that fewer gear changes are required, and the engine should pull strongly even from lower rpm.

This is where I disagree. My petrol manual has a tall 3rd gear. What that means is you can keep it in 3rd and drive like an automatic. I don't like it at all. If I wanted less gear changes, I would have bought an Automatic. You can take a look at my detailed reasoning in my ownership posts.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...-review-2.html (Mahindra XUV700 MX Petrol Review)