[Duckdoc]

I was wondering what car to buy, having had a Honda City for close to 11 years old and having to give it away to my daughter.

My colleague suggested the XUV 300 because of its impressive safety and knowing how much value I place on that.

I bought a 300 W8 opt Diesel MT. I was fortunate that the rest of the family also prefer the MT. I was concerned about what my family would think about the looks. Once I told them, it looks like our dog, a boxer, with a flat front and a chopped off tail, they absolutely were sold.

I have driven 3000 kms in the first month over roads which I would have struggled on
with a City.

I really love its ruggedness and
the powerful and fantastic engine, and not scraping any speed brakers till now. There is an exhilarating surge of power at 80 km/ hr in 5th gear, at 100 km/ hr in 6th and a milder one even at 120 km/ hr. Besides, my son who is 6'2" was able to sit behind me comfortably though I am a six footer. I found the much maligned music system better than I expected, while not fantastic, at least for the '70s and '80s rock I mostly listen to after turning down the bass a bit and playing around with the equalizer. I was also happy with a mileage of 15.9 km/ l on bad roads with innumerable speed brakers, barricades and animals crossing at regular intervals.

There were a few things which I had to get used to. Firstly, the seating position was an issue. I have to drive with the seat raised to get as much under thigh support as possible, while my wife has to drive with the seat lowered to reach the pedals, which seems counter intuitive. Then there was this blind spot of the A pillar and ORVM, and need a bit of awareness to see and avoid the 2 wheelers cutting in from the side roads on the right, without concern for life or limb. The boot space was adequate for my needs. I do miss the driving around curves with gay abandon which was a pleasure on the low slung City though, and the driving comfort. Another issue to get used to is the brake which is soft to begin with and then with a sudden bite which can be unnerving in city traffic. For someone used to controlling the speed using gears with a light touch of the brakes, here, I had to come down a bit more on the brakes.

I found there was no light for the boot, apparently for the new XUVs, which was a minor issue, though it seemed pretty cheap.

As someone who always made sure everyone buckled up even in the rear seats and in a profession dealing with accidents, I was excited that there was going to be 3 point seat belts for the middle rear seat. I did know by casual reading that this was not there. However, I assumed that this would not happen in the top variant. I was bitterly disappointed, especially as Indians, there was a certain amount of pride in an Indian car manufacturer having made the safest car in India and South Africa. This was especially galling since the TD vehicle had one.

The above is a reason why everyone looks with awe at manufacturers like Volvo, in contrast, who made it available to everyone a long while back without charging for a patent, as the article below shows:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/douglas...the-world/amp/

I guess altruism and good business ethics continues to be elusive for the Indian car manufacturer where form seems more important than substance.

It gets one's goat to see someone obsessed with the media profile and gifting Thars to those who don't need such largesse, with the cost cutting being borne by the unsuspecting customer.

In a civilized world, there would be a recall and fitted with the correct seat belt, especially as it was there earlier.

This one glaring defect leaves a bad taste in an otherwise great vehicle.

[ashishk29]

It's quite sad that they started cost cutting on this vehicle hardly 1 year after the initial release.
They got rid of the 3 point seat belt for the middle rear passenger. They got rid of the heated ORVMs. These were among the few distinguishing features this car possesses above the rest of its segment.

[Chitta Pradhan]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

I test drove both Altroz and the Nexon. While the Altroz was too low on power, I did not like the interiors of the Nexon that much. Also, the power of the XUV is addictive, so other cars feel a let down. With safety of paramount importance, I chose the XUV trim model with 7 airbags. Must say, there is simply no regret, it ticked all the boxes I had as requirements. Also, I think with so many segment first features, the pricing is not really inflated. Go for it.

You would have taken TD of diesel Altroz & diesel XUV 300. If price, usage, economics etc are not taken into consideration, which one would you buy, from driving pleasure, NVH & practicality point of view. I am not worried about boot space on XUV-300.

Diesel XUV-300
Petrol XUV-300
Diesel Altroz

Thanks

[jagzrk]

I received a call from Mahindra SA saying there has been a price increase approximately of 40,000 for the ex-showroom of Diesel W8(O) AMT variant. This is quite frustrating considering I've already waited almost 2 months and now having to pay a higher value. But it seems that's how it is in the automotive market. You pay whatever the value at the time of invoicing isn't it?

Considering my options here. But well, honestly there are none. Which car comes to being as close to XUV300 on the safety aspect?

I'm not liking Mahindra for cutting the features and increasing prices, again like all other manufacturers are doing. I hoped the increase would have been lesser to the tune of 10-15K, suddenly increasing prices by 40K seems too sharp and too much.

@Mods, please add news article of XUV300 prices being hiked (again) within a span of hardly 3-4 months. Prices have been updated on their website today itself.

[yesyeswe]

Originally Posted by jagzrk

Considering my options here. But well, honestly there are none. Which car comes to being as close to XUV300 on the safety aspect?

Shouldn't you be protected from the price increase as you had booked the vehicle 2 months ago? You should tweet to Mahindra and get that clear. Your other option is Tata Nexon, equally safe, kind of same features and AMT too. If you can wait for a while you'll have Skoda Kushaq too.

[Raghu M]

Originally Posted by Chitta Pradhan

You would have taken TD of diesel Altroz & diesel XUV 300. If price, usage, economics etc are not taken into consideration, which one would you buy, from driving pleasure, NVH & practicality point of view. I am not worried about boot space on XUV-300.

Diesel XUV-300
Petrol XUV-300
Diesel Altroz

Thanks

I would choose the XUV petrol any day. I am not a diesel guy. While my usage would not support buying a diesel, I am always a petrol head. The power specs on the XUV are the best in segment and can match a segment above too. The petrol is low on maintenance, easy to drive around. I did not look at Altroz later as I was upgrading a segment above. Go for the petrol XUV, there are no niggles at all too.

[Duckdoc]

Originally Posted by jagzrk

I received a call from Mahindra SA saying there has been a price increase approximately of 40,000 for the ex-showroom of Diesel W8(O) AMT variant. This is quite frustrating considering I've already waited almost 2 months and now having to pay a higher value. But it seems that's how it is in the automotive market. You pay whatever the value at the time of invoicing isn't it?

Considering my options here. But well, honestly there are none. Which car comes to being as close to XUV300 on the safety aspect?

I'm not liking Mahindra for cutting the features and increasing prices, again like all other manufacturers are doing. I hoped the increase would have been lesser to the tune of 10-15K, suddenly increasing prices by 40K seems too sharp and too much.

@Mods, please add news article of XUV300 prices being hiked (again) within a span of hardly 3-4 months. Prices have been updated on their website today itself.

The price rise must have been very disappointing as well as the loss of the features, as I have been, especially with the issue of the rear 3 point seat belt.
However, do consider the build quality as well. I have a W8 opt diesel MT, just over a month old and was waiting at a red light at night last week when swiped by a fast moving cab, on my right side, which then proceeded to jump the traffic light. There was not even a scratch which I'm sure would have left a dent in another car. Besides, consider the engine which is pretty good and if your mechanic is reliable, you can make a reasonable choice.

[anthusiast]

This is how the recent April '21 price affects the OTR prices in Bengaluru.


W6 Petrol AMT - Ex.sh. increased from 9.95 to 10.25 L. This translates to increase in OTR from 12.1 to 12.7 L. A big 60 K increase.

W8 Petrol Manual - Ex.sh. increased from 9.95 to 10.31 L. This translates to increase in OTR from 12.1 to 12.8 L. A big 70 K increase.

The Road tax in KA needs a big revision since the last one happened probably in 2014. The 10 L slab to levy 17% tax has to be adjusted taking into account inflation and also additional costs added by OEMs for BS4, BS6, safety regulation compliances.

[vivee90]

The latest price hike makes the w6 diesel a whopping 90k more expensive. And the pricelist shows only sunroof models above w4. So, now Sunroof comes part of the package. :/

[abhikb]

Posting this on behalf of a friend.

Vehicle in subject is XUV300, D, MT, W8(O). March-2019 and 39k on the ODO.

The car died today while In operation, all the indications came up in the instrument cluster and the push button refused to crank. Power windows and other functions also died down. Car had to towed to service station,
What could be the reason?

My analysis says any of the below 3 issues:

1) Wiring or Sensor gone kaput
2) Battery dead or alternator not charring the battery
3) Fuse related issues

Pls guide.

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by abhikb

Posting this on behalf of a friend.

Vehicle in subject is XUV300, D, MT, W8(O). March-2019 and 39k on the ODO.

The car died today while In operation, all the indications came up in the instrument cluster and the push button refused to crank. Power windows and other functions also died down. Car had to towed to service station,
What could be the reason?

My analysis says any of the below 3 issues:

1) Wiring or Sensor gone kaput
2) Battery dead or alternator not charring the battery
3) Fuse related issues

Pls guide.

I suspect wiring or sensor dead, because for either of the other 2 causes, the tell-tale lights would have lit up showing the respective cause. Dead battery or alternator would've put up the low battery warning most likely. Fuses would have led to engine malfunction light.

[Acid Burn]

I think I am one of the last few people who bought the XUV 300 W8 petrol model at ex-showroom price of 9.89 lacs which I had booked in Dec 2020 and received the car on 13th of this month.

I had an uphill battle to get my car delivered in April with lots of help from Team-bhp members to escalate things and finally get the car.

Will request all buyers to do a PDI with the checklist provided by team bhp, get insurance company name in writing and tentative date of delivery before paying the full amount as my dealer pulled off some shady stuff like changing the insurance company in order to set off some of the cost increases and stuff.

[ashishk29]

I got allotted a white W8(O), and am more than happy to take it home.
All formalities are done, now the only hurdle remains is that of the looming lockdown, and how the rules under it are going to play out.

[ashishk29]

So all is set and done.

The only thing that is pending is weirdly that the head unit has been sent for an update, and I wonder why it has to be physically extracted from the vehicle to be updated.

This is the first I've heard of such an update process. They are hoping to get back the head unit by tomorrow, so they'll install it, and then delivering the day after hopefully.

[jagzrk]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

So all is set and done.

The only thing that is pending is weirdly that the head unit has been sent for an update, and I wonder why it has to be physically extracted from the vehicle to be updated.

This is the first I've heard of such an update process. They are hoping to get back the head unit by tomorrow, so they'll install it, and then delivering the day after hopefully.

When did you book your vehicle? Is it from Sahyadri Motors? I've been awaiting any news of allocation since 27th Feb when I booked the same variant as yours.

I've been told Pune RTO is closed and any chance of getting the vehicle will be after lockdown only when RTO opens which makes sense.