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-   -   Mahindra TUV300 : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/169658-mahindra-tuv300-official-review-5.html)

I think removing a jump seat in Bolero to make additional luggage space should not be in problem. In carwatcher's case, he had removed the middle passenger seat and the police might have thought that could have been done for carrying cargo and concluded that carrying cargo or making provision for that in a private vehicle is an offense, hence penalized him.

Excellent review...!!! Thanks.
Cant agree with you more on the engine performance, driveability, handling. I noticed the same during the TD. Its definitely not a rev happy engine. TUV3OO is a boon in the city conditions...no frequent gear shifts but the 3 potter seems to be strained as the revs go up.
I was a little put off by the fit and finish aspects, but I guess that's what we can expect from M&M although this seems to be a notch up from Scorpio

Superb attention to detail Tushar. Thank you for the review.
My view that this vehicle is the only proper SUV in the Rs 10 Lac bracket has got even firmer after going through this review. If someone wants a SUV but doesn't want to spend a boom, look no further.

Fantastic review!! Gets the well deserved 5 stars straightaway. Very well detailed, and the best part- the photos! The dirt trail which you took the car into, offers some breathtaking views. And the machine complements the nature wonderfully.

Anyway, the silver testing car also looks really good in the review. The colour shows the lines on the car clearly, and does not make the TUV look like a massive brick like how the white colour does. In fact, I would say silver looks the best on the TUV. Black looks beastly, but hides some of the lines on the car from the casual onlooker. Silver makes it look crisp and sharp.

Also, the TUV looks MASSIVE, feels way larger than you'd expect of a typical sub-4m SUV, or would believe after seeing it in pictures. Saw one in silver on the road last week. Yours truly was riding a rather humble Scooty, and this TUV came from the back. The driver didn't rush in, neither did he honk. Yet a couple of Rickshaws and an Indica moved aside straighaway. This car has some presence! An EcoSport in its place, and nobody would have cared. Even the Creta doesn't make people give way like the TUV does. I tried to go past it to have a better look, but the Scooty proved to be a bit too, er, 'humble' :D, so couldn't catch the TUV.



However, despite getting the basics perfectly right, to me the TUV still feels like it lacks that something which could've made it a far more appealing car. I like it a lot, don't be mistaken, yet I feel some piece is missing in the jigsaw. It's not the 84 BHP figure. The engine is good and delivers what one may expect of it. Same for the interiors.

I guess it's the lack of a 4x4 option. A 4x4 should have been introduced at launch itself. Earlier before launch, it was rumoured that it is in the works, and would be launched a few months down the line. Now the news floating around read something like "Mahindra will consider a 4x4 option if there is demand", or "Mahindra has no problems adding a 4x4 drivetrain to the TUV". This is not sounding very reassuring. Our review, for instance, says this:
Also, somewhere (don't remember exactly where) I read that Mahindra say they didn't launch the TUV with a 4x4 because 'they have other options with 4x4 available in their stable'. I should say that's a rather pathetic excuse to offer. Is this TUV a competing product in the market, or a 'redirection link' to their other cars? Similarly, the people also have entirely 'other options' for a small SUV. Why bother making the TUV at all then?
I do hope they correct their mistake and start working on a 4x4 option for the TUV. It really deserves one. I believe they would have tested it in the development phase itself, but are afraid of launching it as it would make the sticker price swell.



Also, I do believe there will be some cross-shopping between the TUV and the EcoSport. Perhaps not in metros, as the conditions don't really demand a proper SUV, and most buyers are looking for a crossover itself in the first place; but for people who are actually looking for a proper SUV, but can only afford an EcoSport due to budget, size or practicality constraints, the TUV makes for a formidable option. And I think there must be many such customers.

Even in small cities, where the roads aren't as congested as the metros, the houses are generally much larger, parking space isn't a problem and commute distances are much shorter, the TUV makes the better alternative. The ladder frame can tackle bad roads with aplomb and for those who own farms/weekend homes, the TUV will surely be the happier going there.
The 'badi gaadi' folks too will be delighted to get a much 'badi' gaadi at the same price, and offering 'mylej' comparable to a 'chhoti gaadi'. :D

The thing is there was no real SUV alternative to the EcoSport in the sub-10 lakh segment, and the Duster is really expensive. So it pretty much ran a one (okay two) horse race until now, and I feel it wouldn't be fair to say just yet that the EcoSport will have a different audience or that the TUV won't affect its sales.

It did manage to move out ~4000 units last month, and though that was the first month and doesn't necessarily reflect upon the actual market response, the indications aren't bad to begin with.

PS: The review mentioned a somewhat bumpy and unstable ride. Could this be due to the tyres your specific car was running? Or maybe it was a media test prototype and retail units may get slightly better tuned suspension setups on them?

Fantastic review as usual!!
TUV is the perfect vehicle for the game between mind and heart, as the heart says EcoSport but the mind says TUV.

EcoSport is the gem on an engine while TUV is a 3 pot engine.
EcoSport is less in space TUV is acres of space.
Think that TUV is best option for those who are 6 in family 4 adults and two kids, can EcoSport accommodate these 6 people?

I also agree that wait for the first generation Mahindra vehicles and hate the 3 pot diesel engine after having the test drive of first gen Polo. But in case of TUV I might be wrong after a test drive.

The GC is 191mm unladen and 184mm laden. So both are correct. :thumbs up

Nice review. I agree to the fact that TUV300 has good road presence and has good driveability characteristics. I think the vehicle lacks side cladding. Addition of cladding can make it appear a whole lot better. However, whenever I look at TUV300 it reminds me of Ashok Leyland's Dost. No offense, its just my opinion.

Good Review,

From the experience of owning an Invader, loosing the fuel tank cap is a high possibility. It happens at the fuel stations. I had a horrible experience of the fuel station boy not putting the cap back and me spilling diesel all the way. It was in the night and I noticed it very late. Even after noticing it, there was nothing I could do. Omitting such essential things is a horrible overlook from Mahindra. An advice to the owners is to keep an additional fuel cap with you as you don't have an option when you notice that it is lost, like it happened to me.

A second issue will be the rattling of the HEAVY rear door due to the spare wheel. I faced this issue in the Invader as well as in the Safari. Another issue is lifting the spare wheel to mount it back. You can easily break your back in the process. The spare wheel is mounted to the rear door only for looks in TUV300. Otherwise it has only disadvantages.

While this is a great looking car, one has to wonder why Mahindra didn't make a miniature Scorpio out of this one though.

I hate to admit, but I definitely like the looks of the TUV300 and even the new Scorpio. Might not seem like much, but for someone who sneers at SUVs in general, it is a big deal!

Great review from the good folk at TBHP, as usual.

Are you referring to the green TUV with dirt splashed all over it? No, don't think it was our team which did it. It was a special display car (with all accessories added) during the launch.

Pardon my ignorance, but should a vehicle without four-wheel drive be referred to as an SUV, in general?

In this case, in particular, the query has taken even greater hold in my mind because of the fact that the TUV 300 has been compared in this review against the Duster and the EcoSport, which are both crossovers.

Some people might call me a fool, but I think I know what an updated Scorpio should lool like: stretch the length of 3oh oh, put in proper 3 rd row seats, 2.2 crde engine with AMT option, nice ICE and iron out all the niggles that this 'EXCEPTIONAL' review has noted out and VOILA: I give the nextgen SCORPIO my dear friendsclap:. Mr Anand Mahindra listening?

I'll just leave this here...

This is more of a photoshop exercise than a realistic mod (for one thing the wheel wells are too small), but still...

Top class review.:thumbs up

Liked the way the variants have been compared.

Even if the reader, doesn't have TUV300 on his shortlist, will have it by the time he reads this.

First like everyone else been waiting for this review for a while. Glad to finally see it. Wish it had come out earlier since there was already an ownership thread that covered a lot of the details.

Did a bit of poor photo editing(done using Pixlr) but from the time the TUV300 came out I felt it would have looked much better with a little more contrast on the front for the lighter colors. Some wider tires would make a huge visual impact but would frustrate you on the fuel efficiency front.

Now this really reminds me of the older Jeep Grand Cherokee:

Mahindra may never do this but should be an easy paint job for owners to get done.

Side view not really much change other than the front grille and rear door blackened out.
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