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Well I have been researching on this from last couple of years. If budget is not a constraint then I would suggest below

• Harrier (If ok with Tata niggles)
• XUV 500 (M&M niggles you are already aware)
• Jeep Compass (If well build quality and great engine is your pick)
• Used Evoque (If looking for luxurious experience and ok with high maintenance. It is practically TUV's inspiration)

If budget is a constraint, then I would suggest below

• Used XUV 500 Top variant
• Used Octavia (Skoda ownership is it's own adventure)
  
• Ecosport (Space is a constraint and turbo lag in 2nd gear, but rest all is fantastic)
• XUV 300 (Again boot space is a constraint and does not offer high seating position)
• Seltos Diesel (Loaded with unnecessary features, but mid variant strikes the right chord)
• Honda WRV (Good space, great mileage but Honda diesel engines are loud)
• Duster/Kicks Petrol Turbo (If mileage and resale value is not a constraint)
• Creta Diesel (if for a change you need piece of mind experience, but it is based on i20 platform)

Big no to Venue/Sonet twins and Brezza/Urban Cruiser twins.

I have observed that , whenever I drive TUV, I am able to spot speedbrakers, pot holes and other road hazards more easily and quickly than when I drive regular sedans or low hung SUVs. Did anyone else observe that.
I think the high driving position of TUV is helping here. I think by the same logic, Bus/Truck drivers should be able to spot the road irregularities even more efficiently.

Not only that, you can see over the top of a convoy of hatchbacks and sedans ahead of you and spot cows on the highway or other assorted stoppages ahead well in advance. It's sadistic fun to be able to do this while the cars ahead of you engage in panic-braking and scatter helter skelter to avoid a crash.

:OT I observed the above on Sierra, Safari, Qualis and 1st generation Fortuner too.

Basically these cars have upright seating position and the bonnet on these box shaped UVs are seen from end to end, even in Scorpio, Bolero,Thar, Xylo you get a similar view of what is in front of you unlike sedans and hatchbacks. However in some UVs like CRV, Innova, Marazzo, Creta, Seltos, you don't have this immediate view, because the seating is more 'car like' in these UVs.

Took my car for the third service at 20000kms. I have the issue with all the wheel nuts being rusted and found the front brake discs rusted too. Realized my car cleaner liberally pours water onto the wheels probably leading to the rust. Our water is very hard and we have a softener at home which further makes the water saltier and probably corrosive. Got the nuts, brake disks replaced and also got a 3M under chassis spray done.

My TUV is manufactured sometime in Oct-Nov 2017 and I think by that time, M&M had sorted out wheelspin issue. After about 37k running, there were only 5 instances where I was stuck with my rear wheels spinning - all tricky situations that would need 4x4 or atleast MLD.
So, wheelspin not being an issue for regular driving, I was thinking of going for a voluntary MLD conversion from M&M (if they agree to do it). I hope that having a MLD setup will help me deal with those tricky situations (all which happened on outstation trips).
Would like the opinion of owners with MLD conversion already done -
1. Whether MLD causes any longterm (above 1lac km mileage) maintenance issues?
2. All day cruising at 100kph, is it doable with MLD ?
3. Is there any pickup lag etc with MLD?

MLD has got a flyweight mechanism which engages when the RPM difference between both the rear wheels goes beyond 100 RPM. A cranking sound comes when it engages and thereby it transfers power to the wheel which is spinning slowly. Once the car moves out of the surface and both the wheels find traction the flyweight gets disengaged.

Practically there are no downsides in having a MLD, so answer to all the 3 questions is No. It will only give advantage to the vehicle in loose traction situation.

Is tuv300 out of production? There seems to be no announcements about BS VI TUV300. Considering the vast portfolio of vehicles M&M is already selling, I will not be surprised if TUV300 is silently discontinued.

I visited the showroom in Ahmedabad few days back, the sales manager who handles the TUV product is a known fellow. He said that BS4 vehicles have been sold out and company has stopped manufacturing the same. There’s no update available with them on when the BS6 lot will be available. So probably M&M might be buying time in analyzing the market trend before jumping on the BS6 variant. Who knows If the AX variant of Thar 2020 starts selling like a hot cake which is also priced just a bit higher than the TUV, they might even discontinue the later.

Update and upbeat too!
Yesterday I took my car to the workshop as per appointment. Mahindra has launched a contactless vehicle acceptance system where the owner gets a live feed of the vehicle when it gets checked by the engineer. Every work to be done is sent through the ‘With you hamesha’ app for approval. They kept the car for a day and a half and handed it back today in the evening. The entire suspension system, coils and brake hose were replaced. The result was quite astonishing. The rear wheel spinning is gone! The front coil springs are bigger, and it looks like there is an increase in the gap between the tyre and the body. Photo enclosed. The service was pleasant and hassle free, the cost was zero. Happy!:D

My TUV 300 hit its first niggle at 50,000 km after changing the coolant entirely during the service at 49,500 km.

I started seeing loss of coolant on a slow basis: at the rate of 1 litre for every 1,000 km. I took it to the ASC where they topped it up once and asked me to observe for a few more days as no leaks were immediately visible. After topping up with 2 litres of coolant (and having consumed the same), I gave it to the ASC to check again today.

There was one visible leakage down below where the hose joins the engine block. However, upon checking, they also found a leakage in the intake manifold. The parts will only come next week, so will have to continue driving by topping up. Everything is under warranty (I have also taken the extended warranty so there is some peace of mind there). The defogger was also not working, but this was traced to a fuse so that is fixed, at least. Next week, hopefully, the intake manifold will also be done.

Besides these two issues and the vacuum modulator, it has been a reliable vehicle so far.

I faced coolant leakage issue number of times in 2016 - 2017. After replacement of hose thermostat inlet in August 2017, the issue was resolved. Mine was December 2015 purchase and I was told that in first few batches this particular hose was little shorter. Here is the picture of the offending part:

I faced rusting issues on both fenders near mud flaps, last time I got it re-painted at M.A.S.S, but the rust seems to have started forming again. This time the SA took pictures and sent to M&M to replace both fenders under warranty. He is waiting for approvals.

SA said they will replace fenders only if the rust is beyond repair after it is fully removed from body. He also said that they will check chassis and other parts for any rust indications.

Today I took my TUV300 for TPMS installation. Tyre technicians could open the wheels without any problem. I have checked the nuts and they appear to be fine. My vehicle 4 years 10 months old. Looks like hard/corrosive water is the cause of your rusting as you mentioned.

Where was your tpms installed? Am visiting the service center to get the body rust taken care of and if they provide the tpms, may go for it.