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-   -   Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/109469-mahindra-xuv500-test-drive-review-97.html)

Hi Guys,
I finally got my beast W6 Silver on 29th Dec 2011. took the delivery and drove down to maddur. has driven around 340Kms till now, and by the time I come back to bangalore on 2nd Jan 2010 the beast should have completed 500Kms mark.

Wish every body on T-BHP have a "Happy and Prosperous new Year" and "Safe Motoring" for 2012.

Cheers,

I had a chance to go to Pune on the XUV500. I must say its a very nice SUV with loads of space inside.Very very impressed with the vehicle. I also love the front cluster of instruments and the music panel. Thoughtfully placed and the colors look very very rich.
For me, the most surprising thing was the NVH levels inside the cabin, which was really low. Mahindra has put in a lot of work to keep this down.

IMO, it has little to do with dollar rates. Mahindra from day 1 of launch, said that the price is "introductory". Moreover the xuv has lot less imported components than many other non-Indian manufacturer - and yes I understand that prices of many commodities like steel are fixed on dollar, but that is same for all manufacturers. I doubt any other manufacturer will do a 55k hike very soon.

I know the price declared at the time of launch was 'Introductory' and there was clear indication of price revision at the end of 3 months.
However my statement was more about the logic in the difference in hike of W6 vs W8 with respect to the following post earlier -

During a second test drive of the XUV today (to satisfy the urge of driving it while waiting for the opportunity to book & purchase it :)), I noticed again this time a very peculiar bubbling sound that is a constant companion when the engine is revved, and the noise faded only when I stepped off the throttle.

I had noticed the same peculiar sound during my first test drive couple of months ago.

Has any owner experienced this sound in their XUV?

Yes, I am noticing it since day 1. I visited service center yesterday but RM said it is normal. It is due to engine coughing up to draw more power when you are pressing accelerator. He even showed me 3 other XUVs standing there which were having same issue. I think this is something we will have to live with for now :Frustrati

Folks:

In India many average vehicles become a hit and many good vehicles fail. It has all to do with market perception.

It is very important for the manufacturer to make the vehicle a success at launch and build on that success. Mahindra has done the right product positioning with the XUV. They have realized that if they priced it above the Innova, people would think twice before taking a chance on a Mahindra product priced over 16 Lakhs on the road, despite the bells and whistles. The success of the Innova/Bolero shows that people care more about brand, reliability, low cost of ownership, rather than bells and whistles.

Given that the XUV has got an overwhelming response from the market, it is only sensible from Mahindra's point to move up the pricing chain to the point, where it feels resistance. If sales continue at the same clip after this price increase, we can expect to see more price increases down the road. This is something all potential XUV owners will have to live with. It is market economics and Mahindra & Mahindra is not a charity.

Second the thought as M&M has played their cards well with launching a vehicle which is not just aggressive in terms of looks and features but also an excellent pricing. M&M has been trying to foray into being a truly global company and one of their attempt was to launch Scorpio in US market by making more than 140 changes in the existing vehicle but then too they were not successful as the pricing was not aggressive as compared to the other same segment vehicles. Also US citizens didn't perceive well an Indian manufacturer of an excellent quality product. Though XUV500 is for Indian market they have put a strong step towards making a global vehicle which will be based on the XUV500 ideology. Since there is already an overall acceptance to XUV500, we will see price increase making only little difference to the choice of Indian Customer provided there is better quality on offer with great after sales service.

couldn't agree more. The last line is where I think MnM has to go a long way..

I visited their workshop yesterday and no one there was knowing enough about this beast including the RM. Regarding TPMS error I had got while I was going to Lonawala last week, he was not bothered at all. All he could say was that you can ignore the ERROR and move on. This is not acceptable to any level of after sales service. When enquired about kirrrrr kirrrrr that I hear while accelerating while at slow speed, he just asked me check the same in other 3 XUVs that had come there for servicing. His attitude was like if these owners can live with it then why you can't? :FRUSTATI

Guys - wish you all a very Happy New Year 2012.

Went to Sterling Motors Gurgaon yesterday for a thorough Test Drive & my set of questions.

Test drive a W8 & was always interested in W8 since day 1. But, changed my decision & thought, it would probably be a W6 for me now. Will tell you guys how.

Earlier, my reasons for W8 were:
1. Presence of White Color; as I was most interested in Beige Color interiors. I had a strong belief that you see mostly interiors while exterior colors is seen by outsiders; not driver & passengers. No availability of White in W6.
2. Presence of all those additional features (such as colored infotainment screen, Alloys, etc) while I was not much interested in ESPs, Hill Descents, etc.

But, when I sit inside a W8, I found it that it was not that "Beige" as expected. Was slightly dull to my taste. Then, had a 5-6 kms test ride which resulted in mostly positives about almost everything.

Mechanically - I found most of the issues at per mark. Though, was slightly disappointed by too many bells & whistles inside the car.

PLUS- when I had a look at M&M accessory shop, I had to change my decision from W8 to W6. Shortlisted a few accessories (that will probably cost me around 70K). After those accessories, a W6 (with choice of my alloys & other accessorie) will still be 50K less than a stock W8 (obviously with not so great Alloys).

Regarding Beige interiors - I think we can change the Seat Covers that M&M provides. They costs 10K & I think are much better colored & good in quality.

So, I thought why not to go for a W6 & then, make some investment in some GOOD accessories. Though, only thing that I would miss there is 6 Air Bags. Apart from those, I dont think I really need any other gadget that are in W8.

One another small issue as well - they may still not start producing White W6s, but no one is sure of that either !!
I hope they will :)

Please don't get me wrong but are you really sure you want to put SHOW-OFF ahead of SAFETY?

Infiniti.Rahul also underwent the same dilemma

Compilation of Responses by Fellow BHPians on this thread -

Suggestion by tachobells -

Nice Demo/Video of ESP
You may go through the first three posts on Pg 51 to read more by clicking here

Remember, accessories can always be added later, if required. Some features missing in W6 cant be added that way once you bring it home.

After all it is your hard-earned money so please consider all angles before making suitable decision.

Looks like it is HERTZ-ALL Upgrade. :cool:
Can you please post more details in terms of details of the parts used along with the size of hole to the wallet?

Thanks for your valuable suggestion.
However, I thought on all those aspects that you mentioned above safety. Though, I mentioned in my post that I will miss 6 Air Bags. But, I may give it a chance as most of the times -there will be 2 members or mostly me in my car. PLUS - I don't think Indian road accidents are held perpendicularly to a car (well- just an observation in most of the cases you see on road).

ESP: I think that all these jazzy features are added by companies just to attract customers & to show what they are providing extra with a different name. Imagine - most of the SUVs present in our current Indian scenario are not equipped with this feature. So, can we say that they are less safe ?
Today, it is ESP. Tomorrow, it can be something else with a flashy name when everyone starts giving ESPs in their vehicles.

Isn't it ?

Even I agree that safety should not be compromised. But, we don't have a choice here. As I dont want other features such as GPS, Tyretronics, Colored Screen, etc. They are just a waste of money for me. I wish automobile companies allow us to chose the features of our car; just the "SUBWAY" style :)

Note: A few people may disagree here with my comments & I fully respect their verdict. Those are just my observations & I may turn wrong. So, no offenses to anyone :)

Hi DigitalSoul, Thanks for bringing this discussion into focus again. In my case, I went with the W8 finally, I realised that unless we upgrade our thinking to make certain things like EBD, Airbags for all passengers etc. essential, we will continue to be flogged by manufacturers offering what they would essentially term as a third world product with all the necessities for safety being billed as bells and whistles. I guess it made a lot of sense hen I made the booking and I am convinced that its much better to have safety as standard feature in my car than add on various things later (and air bags etc cannot be added later, cant they?)