[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by gandalf

For no cosmetic value the following would be good

Rain Visors: With Bombay rains it would help keeping the rain out
Roof Carrier: if you have more than 5 ppl travelling regularly
Side body moulding: would help reduce scratches for light hits on the sides. you would need to take a call on how you like the looks of the car with these
Floor mats: are necessary. If you need 3D mats or 3M Mats then you could get it aftermarket. Otherwise the Rubber mats are pretty good quality wise
Reverse Camera: I suggest you drive for a month and then take a call. I brought one and dont use it at all
I dont remember if the W8 comes with a leather steering wrap. If not get one. My w6 does not have it and i am planning on getting one soon
I suggest you get the Illuminated Scruff plates. Even though they are purely cosmetic I really love them. they look super cool. I have it in my grey XUV and they are super duper cool.

Above are just my suggestions

Originally Posted by SDP

My recommendations:

A reverse-camera is a must. Let alone parked bikes, you can not even make out a Maruti 800 if it is right behind the vehicle.

If you have kids travelling a lot in the XUV, may be carpet matting.

If you have senior-citizens regularly onboard, then side-foot-setps. You also can get similar ones after-market, for practically half the price.

If planning for long trips with 6 adults and luggage, may be the roof carrier. Again, I would suggest, get it just before any such trip rather than right away. Pretty sure, you will get better after-market options.

Illuiminated scuff-plates. They look seriously cool at night. But I opted out of it because of the additional wiring and concerns about the plate fouling with the puddle light when the door is closed.

You might want to pick up a couple of retractable screens for the rear-windows. With all the confusion around sunfilms and SC order, that's the safest bet to protect from harsh sun.

And finally, one thing that is still on by shopping list - a GPS tracking security solution like iTrack. BTW, iTrack does have a tie-up with Mahindras for security solutions and you can get iTrack GPS tracking installed under the supervision of the Mahindra authorized service center.

Originally Posted by fundagenie

My recommendation would be
3d mats : really required to keep your car mats clean. Go for it

illuminated scuff plates : always good to get it from the dealer itself as they very well would know how to handle the wiring and also incase if something fails you can always go back to them. I have fitted them and using for the last 5 months. So far no issue. Also I never felt the issue with the plate fouling with the puddle light when the door is closed. And have to admit the interiors of the car really look damn cool and blingy in the night with the red lounge lighting and the illuminted blue scuff plates. Go for it

Reverse camera : Was planning to fit when I took delivery but the price quoted by the dealer was Rs10000+ . I see its Rs4000 in the quote provided to you. I thought it was a must, but now after driving 8000+kms, I never felt any issue without having it. The reverse sensor by itself is really helpful. Infact I still reverse with the help of the rear view mirrors and the beeping reverse sensor just gives me the required confidence in tight spots. Your call on how confident you are with reversing such a big car and in tight parking spots. But for the price offered, I would suggest you have it since the car has the option in the infotainment. Am also planning to fit one, just to show off...

Roof carrier : again required only if the 3rd row seats would be used for passengers. I keep my folded at all times and it fairly provides enough space to carry a good amount of luggage

Rain visors : Get it. I had it in my previous car and was a really useful when driving in the rains with the windows slightly rolled down. Also avoided water falling on the controls on the door handles in such situations. Need to get it fitted for my XUV also

Side beading : Good to have. Look vise you need to take a call especially in terms of the body color. I have a purple car and beading looks great.

W8 has a leather steering cover.

FundaG

Gandalf, SDP, Fundagenie, thanks so much for taking the time and providing such detailed input. I clearly have a lot to think about.
Being a Mumbaikar I found something really interesting. Both the Bangaloreans have recommended the rain visor, but my fellow Mumbaikar (SDP) has'nt and it rains so much more in Mumbai where the average annual rainfall is twice that of Bangalore city!!

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse

Gandalf, SDP, Fundagenie, thanks so much for taking the time and providing such detailed input. I clearly have a lot to think about.
Being a Mumbaikar I found something really interesting. Both the Bangaloreans have recommended the rain visor, but my fellow Mumbaikar (SDP) has'nt and it rains so much more in Mumbai where the average annual rainfall is twice that of Bangalore city!!

Thats cos am from Kerala .. A state where there are rains for a good amount of time. So hope that my opinion on the rain visor stands valid.

FundaG

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse

Gandalf, SDP, Fundagenie, thanks so much for taking the time and providing such detailed input. I clearly have a lot to think about.
Being a Mumbaikar I found something really interesting. Both the Bangaloreans have recommended the rain visor, but my fellow Mumbaikar (SDP) has'nt and it rains so much more in Mumbai where the average annual rainfall is twice that of Bangalore city!!

It depends on your driving habbits. I don't drive with window even partially rolled down - NEVER in rain. So a rain-visor is completely useless to me.

You might want to choose them if you intend to lower the glass a bit even during rain.

PS: A rain-visor - if it is really dark - can provide partial relief from the sun because it is perfectly positioned at your eye-level. That could be a decent compromise solution in the absence of proper sun-films.

[tictactoe]

Taking my beast for its first long drive this weekend. Plan to drive Mumbai - Goa via Kolhapur. Will halt at Kolhapur for a night - mainly to check out the Panhala fort and the Mahalaxmi temple. Super excited about it.

The only thing that bothers me a little is that there is a faint knocking sound when I engage / disengage the gear at unmatched speed (basically when the car jerks a bit). Not sure if I need to get it checked. Also a problem is that it is very difficult to reproduce the sound knowlingly during a check-up.

Also, I guess, I will have to ensure the rattle of the dashboard through the journey. Anyone knows if this can be fixed in DIY manner?

[mannubhai]

Originally Posted by SDP

PS: A rain-visor - if it is really dark - can provide partial relief from the sun because it is perfectly positioned at your eye-level. That could be a decent compromise solution in the absence of proper sun-films.

A rain visor is a NO from me also. To me it takes away the curvature carving of the beast

[SDP]

Originally Posted by tictactoe

Taking my beast for its first long drive this weekend. Plan to drive Mumbai - Goa via Kolhapur. Will halt at Kolhapur for a night - mainly to check out the Panhala fort and the Mahalaxmi temple. Super excited about it.

The only thing that bothers me a little is that there is a faint knocking sound when I engage / disengage the gear at unmatched speed (basically when the car jerks a bit). Not sure if I need to get it checked. Also a problem is that it is very difficult to reproduce the sound knowlingly during a check-up.

Also, I guess, I will have to ensure the rattle of the dashboard through the journey. Anyone knows if this can be fixed in DIY manner?

You need to press-down and hold different sections of the dashboard to isolate the rattle. The shiny lid for the center compartment and the meter-console housing are the most probable culprits. I had a issue with a rattle from the meter-housing during my Gujarat trip recently and it was temporarily solved by shoving a piece of cloth between the meters and the cowl above it.

All the best for the Goa trip! Enjoy!

[SmartCat]

Confirmed by Pawan Goenka, President Automotive Division in an interview to CNBC TV18 - M&M is working on petrol XUV500 for export markets. Could be launched in India if there is a shift in demand to petrol cars.

[AutoIndian]

Today Silver Jubilee Motors, Pune had their TD vehicles in our office campus. There was an XUV5OO (W8), Ssangyong Rexton, Verito & the Quanto (C8). I managed to take the back to back test drives of the Quanto & the XUV (Unfortunately since it was within the campus, could not take either of the vehicles beyond 4th gear). I noticed one weird behavior of the XUV gear lever. Whenever I wanted to engage the first gear, the reverse gear would engage, rolling the car backwards. This happened not once or twice, but three times. One has to lift the collar on the gear lever & then engage the reverse gear, only then it should engage. However on the TD vehicle the reverse would engage even without lifting the collar. The sales exec had to pull the collar down & then engage the first gear. I believe the spring inside the collar (if there is one) to keep it pressed below was malfunctioning. There were just 1.4K clicks on the odo, so the vehicle was quite new. Strange that such a thing should happen on a new TD vehicle. Anyone of you experienced such an issue?

I noticed the often complained dashboard reflection the first time. Actually the golden crease on either sides of the screen, which runs till the windshield is quite prominent & really a distraction when the sun is shining. Anyone has found a solution to eliminate/reduce this reflection?

[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by fundagenie

Thats cos am from Kerala .. A state where there are rains for a good amount of time. So hope that my opinion on the rain visor stands valid.

FundaG

Originally Posted by SDP

It depends on your driving habbits. I don't drive with window even partially rolled down - NEVER in rain. So a rain-visor is completely useless to me.

You might want to choose them if you intend to lower the glass a bit even during rain.

PS: A rain-visor - if it is really dark - can provide partial relief from the sun because it is perfectly positioned at your eye-level. That could be a decent compromise solution in the absence of proper sun-films.

Originally Posted by mannubhai

A rain visor is a NO from me also. To me it takes away the curvature carving of the beast

I too like SDP NEVER drive with the windows down, rain or no rain. If the car has been parked in the sun for long and the interiors are hot, I roll down the windows to let out the hot air for a minute or so. Then windows up and Ac on. The other interesting observation is that in Mumbai for the last 4.5 years that I've been back, neither with the Honda City nor with the humble Maruti 800, have I ever had a rain leakage problem. That too with open parking in our building societies, the cars get such a thorough drenching during the monsoon, but not a drop inside. Quite remarkable. So I'm thinking I'll just check out the XUV and in case there is a leak then I'll probably have to get a visor, otherwise it's metal to the floor

[tictactoe]

XUV 500 Wish List

After driving my XUV for over a month, here is my wishlist for Mahindra (not in any particular order):

1. Place to keep my cell phone where I can see the screen
2. Place to keep my wallet
3. At minimum last call history and dialing features from the steering (full telephone book scrolling will be welcome though)
4. Leather wrap for the steering
5. Larger dead pedal
6. Built-in rev cam integrated with rear view mirror
7. Adjustable middle row for flexibility in last row seat leg space
8. Better plastics (which dont ratttle) on the dash
9. longer center arm rest
10.

Design Issues:
1. do away with the cetre console reflection on windshield
2. Redesign front pillars to eliminate the large blind spot

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse

Can anybody help me with the accessories? My SE gave me the list with prices (attached). I told her that I don't want any accessories for cosmetic value on the W8. She suggested that I get the carpet laminated since that will provide a plastic coat that can be easily cleaned in case of spillage etc. Does anybody have any view on that? Anything utilitarian that anyone can suggest. I will be really grateful.

I got the mats, reverse camera, side step and scuff plates (non-illuminated).

All of the above are required and are non-cosmetic. I would suggest going for it.

I paid 3.5K for the camera and 8K for the step

[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by ash_blore

I got the mats, reverse camera, side step and scuff plates (non-illuminated).

All of the above are required and are non-cosmetic. I would suggest going for it.

I paid 3.5K for the camera and 8K for the step

Thanks Ash for your inputs. Lots to think about. Just correct me if I am wrong with regard to the Rear Parking Assist System (RPAS). While reversing you do get to see the sketch of the car,the distance you have to manouvere (as illustrated in the manual), and the audio alerts. With the reverse cam, you would actually see what's behind.

[nitinralli]

Originally Posted by tictactoe

XUV 500 Wish List

After driving my XUV for over a month, here is my wishlist for Mahindra (not in any particular order):


7. Adjustable middle row for flexibility in last row seat leg space

I agree with all you points. For me, if they can only work on adjustable middle row, it can do more wonders for XUV. Look at all that middle row space going waste. If you can pull it forward, you can get good amount of legroom in the third row, which means XUV can be a people mover as well (like Innova). SUV ki SUV and MUV ki MUV

[nitinralli]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Strange that such a thing should happen on a new TD vehicle. Anyone of you experienced such an issue?

I noticed the often complained dashboard reflection the first time. Actually the golden crease on either sides of the screen, which runs till the windshield is quite prominent & really a distraction when the sun is shining. Anyone has found a solution to eliminate/reduce this reflection?

I guess these things do happen with test drive cars. Remember its not just kms run that needs to be considered but the amount of people who would have played around with the gearbox even when car was not moving. It could have been a displayed car in showroom where people come and try all sorts of things, so i guess its just one of those cases.

As for the reflection, you can use those fiber glass stickers that you get nowadays which people put on bonnet and all sorts of things. For xuv owners, this can actually be used for a purpose. You can get them from our classified section as well if you want.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by tictactoe

XUV 500 Wish List
...
1. Place to keep my cell phone where I can see the screen
2. Place to keep my wallet
...

Windshield mounts are available after-market. When not using for GPS, cellphones could be highly distracting when visible. Just imagine you navigating a tricky turn and the photo of your boss's boss appears on your mobile's screen as he is trying to reach you.

As for wallet, I use the cup-holder ahead of the arm-rest or the small box under the arm-rest itself.

Originally Posted by tictactoe

XUV 500 Wish List
...
3. At minimum last call history and dialing features from the steering (full telephone book scrolling will be welcome though)
...

As you are aware, operating cell-phone - even using a bluetooth - is illegal, when seated in the driver's seat. Manufacturers provide bluetooth integration, but its border-line illegal. At max, you can answer a call quickly without risking getting distracted from the main driving task. Placing a call is a much more involved task and IMHO should not be done while driving. Pull over if it is that urgent. Having full phone functionality on steering is a recipe for disaster.

Originally Posted by ash_blore

I got the mats, reverse camera, side step and scuff plates (non-illuminated).
...

The XUV comes with scuff-plates, so I did not understand why you opted for the non-illuminated scuff-plates. Are they of a different size or material? Can you share a snap please?

Originally Posted by nitinralli

I agree with all you points. For me, if they can only work on adjustable middle row, it can do more wonders for XUV. Look at all that middle row space going waste. If you can pull it forward, you can get good amount of legroom in the third row, which means XUV can be a people mover as well (like Innova). SUV ki SUV and MUV ki MUV

A good opportunity lost by Mahindra.

Originally Posted by nitinralli

...As for the reflection, you can use those fiber glass stickers that you get nowadays which people put on bonnet and all sorts of things. For xuv owners, this can actually be used for a purpose. You can get them from our classified section as well if you want.

I guess, you mean the carbon fiber stickers. Yes, that would be a good idea.