Mahindra XUV300 : Official Review

[5kmiles]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

A very valid question indeed.


Seriously, 20k km interval between oil changes? Wonder what oil they are using. I'd love to see an Used Oil Analysis report when the oil is drained after 20k km!

Same oil change interval for 500 as well. I get it changed at 10k even though SA says I don't need to.

Verna or similar sedan any day over the 300. XUV is a compromised product and needs to go down by at least 50k on the ex-showroom price. Mahindra's suppliers can't make electricals of any reasonable quality and reliability. This needs to be factored in the pricing.

[xsrahul]

A 5 star review addy.

Such comprehensive reviews is why us tbhp'ians don't consider a car as launched and reviewed unless we read it on this forum

I too agree that M&M have become a bit bolder in their pricing which may affect the take up especially given the current and upcoming competition in the segment.

Now await the monthly sales figures to see how is it moving as compared to the rest.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Scorpio, XUV5OO , Thar CRDe, Tata Hexa etc has 20K kms or 12 Months oil change intervals and also a notice to change it after 10K if the vehicle is driven in heavy traffic or other severe conditions.

Originally Posted by 5kmiles

Same oil change interval for 500 as well. I get it changed at 10k even though SA says I don't need to.

AFAIR, M&M did come out with a 20k km oil change schedule for its common rail diesel engines (Scorpio, XUV 500, Thar CRDe) but went back to a 15k km oil change schedule later on. Not up-to-date about their current oils or oil change interval recommendations. However, I did have my own Scorpio's oil tested (Inside the Raaj Unocal Lubricants factory (Faridabad), used oil analysis & an interview) multiple times (Mahindra FEO as well as non-Mahindra brands) and had found the usable life is over in approximately 10k km under normal usage - so 15k km is a bad idea, and 20k km is just .

[girish.purswani]

Hi Aditya!

Brilliant review. Certainly pacifies me since I had already taken the plunge and have been using the car since little over 3 weeks now.
I noticed in your review you mentioned about the blue sense app for xuv 300. I couldn't find this in the iOS AppStore. There's only one for xuv500. Or is it the same app that can be used interchangeably?

Also as far as the niggles go- Ive started to get some strange sound (very light though) from the rear left side when the car goes on bumps. Will be showing this on the 1000km service

[mtnrajdeep]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

AFAIR, M&M did come out with a 20k km oil change schedule for its common rail diesel engines (Scorpio, XUV 500, Thar CRDe) but went back to a 15k km oil change schedule later on. Not up-to-date about their current oils or oil change interval recommendations.

The devil is in the fine print. XUV 500 Owner’s Manual mentions 20k km change interval prominently but fineprint mentions that the oil change interval is 20k kms or 1 year, whichever is earlier! It should be the same for XUV 300 as well.

[@viral]

Drove to Mumbai and back to Pune through the expressway and completed 1k+ on odo. Here are some of my observations.

1) I am not too happy with the suspension (both front and rear). The car seems to be a bit bumpy while driving. Almost, as if the tyre pressure is not right. This is when tyres are filled with nitrogen and inflated to prescribed pressure of 34 PSI and same being confirmed on tyretronics. There were two adults in the front and two kids in the back seat without any significant luggage. The ride quality used to be much better in an S-Cross which I owned earlier.

2) The cruise control is quite effective and holds the speed fairly constant. Missed the dead footboard. The proximity of the clutch and accelerator as indicated in the mail review was a bit confusing as it is quite difficult to figure out if the foot is resting on the brake or accelerator.

3) The charging is quite effective through the charging port as well as the USB port.

4) Android Auto is not a very nice experience in terms of connectivity. It keeps disconnecting the Bluetooth for some reason which I still have to figure out. Steering controls to skip tracks does not work when playing music through Android Auto.

5) The mileage started showing 15.5 kmpl for the first time. Will know the actual figures when I get the tank filled next time. Using HSD from Shell this time. Keeping the drive light-footed is important in this car to get better FE. Also, the higher power from the engine allows me to keep RPMs between 1500 and 2k for a normal ride. To overtake while in this RPM band, makes power available instantly.

6) The front suspension makes an almost rattling noise at times when on uneven road. This could be due to low profile of 17" wheels to some extent but was expecting a better ride quality.

7) The 6th gear is fairly powerful and did not need to downshift much even while overtaking.

8) The car can stall suddenly without notice if it falls to a lower speed in a higher gear. I am still trying to figure out how to get a hold on it either through feel or through the dashboard display. If anybody has figured it out or has suggestions, please respond.

9) Was able to do sharp turns at high speed without much body-roll and could not hear any screeching noise from the tyres either.

10) Auto-headlamps responded quite promptly when entering or exiting the tunnels. They would usually come on within 3 seconds of being in shade.

Please feel free to ask question on anything that I might have missed.

[spittie]

Originally Posted by ac 427

So i just took a TD of the Petrol Xuv 300. W8 variant.
Loaded to the brim, typical of Mahindra.
But what was reassuring was how unMahindra like the Xuv300 is. Just as a reference point the cabin is far more quieter than the next segment Tata Harrier (took a TD if that too). The car feels extremely refined with very few rough edges.
The difference between the varients forces/pushes us to buy the top varient. E.g.the w6 does not get 7 air bags, no sun roof and different alloy wheels.
But the biggest point I would like to discuss here is the 1.2 in the XUV. The top varient on road is 13.8 lac. That's almost 14 lacs. And paying that kind of money for a 1.2 doesn't feel right.
The driving characteristics are similar to a sedan. Nice acceleration, tight cornering,.

That leads me to ask the question, why not go for a sedan?

Cheers
Ac

Suv/Compact SUV buffs would rarely go for a sedan over an SUV. Personally, I would anyday choose an SUV. Guess it's just a personal preference.

[girish.purswani]

Originally Posted by @viral

6) The front suspension makes an almost rattling noise at times when on uneven road. This could be due to low profile of 17" wheels to some extent but was expecting a better ride quality.

This! I am experiencing the same rattling sound but I thought it's coming from the back and not from the front. However it's not persistent on all uneven road but occurs randomly on some

Also viral did you try the blue sense app?

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by spittie

Suv/Compact SUV buffs would rarely go for a sedan over an SUV. Personally, I would anyday choose an SUV. Guess it's just a personal preference.

Well said.
SUV owners (of the genuine article as well as the hatch-on-stilts-&-steroids brigade!) would have great difficulty adjusting to sedans/saloons. It is very easy to get used to the high seating (for shorties like me), but their most addictive feature is the casual disdain/dismissal of bad roads & potholes.

I would hesitate being as dismissive of M&M (or TML, as a corollary!) as other members posting here. Despite the huge strides made by both domestic majors – M&M and TML - in the past few years (albeit after their various acquisitions & pending joint ventures) I still see a section of our domestic customers hankering after imports - despite several of them having been caught with their hands in the cookie and others leading us by our noses up the garden path!

No doubt they are still climbing the learning curve in certain areas - but in others they are as competent as other mass producers.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

AFAIR, M&M did come out with a 20k km oil change schedule for its common rail diesel engines (Scorpio, XUV 500, Thar CRDe) but went back to a 15k km oil change schedule later on. Not up-to-date about their current oils or oil change interval recommendations. However, I did have my own Scorpio's oil tested (Inside the Raaj Unocal Lubricants factory (Faridabad), used oil analysis & an interview) multiple times (Mahindra FEO as well as non-Mahindra brands) and had found the usable life is over in approximately 10k km under normal usage - so 15k km is a bad idea, and 20k km is just .

Was the analysis for a mineral oil or synthetic? Asking this because my Infiniti Q50 with Merc's 2.2 diesel has an official oil change interval of 25k's! It does take it 6 litres of synthetic oil though.

[shashanka]

^^^A perfectly valid observation. A synthetic oil with a reasonably high TBN value would retain acid-neutralizing & detergent properties well beyond stipulated limits. This was satisfactory news for much of the sea-faring fraternity (& not just for car owners) where lub. consumption is a major component of operating costs. And even though the use of suspended PTFE (or Teflon) in synthetic oils came as a revelation due to its extreme friction eliminating properties, the downside is the cost, which proves to be prohibitive in many cases

[@viral]

Originally Posted by girish.purswani

This! I am experiencing the same rattling sound but I thought it's coming from the back and not from the front. However it's not persistent on all uneven road but occurs randomly on some

Also viral did you try the blue sense app?

I will try to record and share the sound but I feel the sound is from the front. I got the vehicle serviced today (1k service) and brought this up. I was told that it is a known issue and is being actively investigated right now. They however do not have any resolution from the company yet.

I have tried the blue sense app on phone and using it only to store the fueling details. The app works only when the car is on and phone is connected through Bluetooth. I usually drive the car so unable to use it much except for when I am waiting in the car which doesn't happen too often.

Anything specific that you observed about the blue sense app?

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Was the analysis for a mineral oil or synthetic? Asking this because my Infiniti Q50 with Merc's 2.2 diesel has an official oil change interval of 25k's! It does take it 6 litres of synthetic oil though.

The analysis was for semi-synthetic oils which are recommended for these vehicles - Mahindra's usual recommended oil is the Mahindra FEO for all their CRDe engines.

The Infinity engine uses premium full synthetic oils such as Mobil 1 or equivalent. Your 2018 Q50 2.2d has an oil change indicator, so the change interval will depend on usage - however, the recommendation otherwise seems to be for 16k km (10k miles) for both the turbo petrol as well as the VR30DDTT diesel. I'm sure 25k km would be stretching the interval too far.

[blueeyed]

Hi all,

Did a short test-drive of xuv300 petrol variant. Being a recent EcoSport (ecoboost) owner, I wanted to know what i was missing/gaining from my vehicle when compared to Xuv300. Below are my observations.

Looks: At the front, there is hardly anything that you would feel awkward of. Usage of chrome is minimum and it actually looks good up front. Side is plain and rear is where you may get the hates. From the rear it looked a bit awkward to me. Overall the design felt good. But in traffic, it would be easily mistaken for a Brezza and hence you won't be getting any special attention, rather you would just be getting lost in a sea of Brezza's. But up close, xuv looks bigger and wider.

Interiors: Its inside the vehicle, where I was really surprised. It just don't feel like a Mahindra. Fit and finish levels are beyond expectations. Even the plastics feel good to touch. Build quality is nice. EcoSport has some rough edges, but xuv's interior doesn't feel so.
Dashboard layout is plain and simple. Nothing there is in your face. The only sore point in an otherwise nicely laid out dashboard is the jukebox inspired centre console and the silver coloured control switches. These felt dated to me.
White interior is another negative point. Now being raining in this part of Kerala, interiors, especially the white seats of the test-drive vehicle was dirty and mud stained. Hope Mahindra will offer an all black interior soon.
Space: Cabin feels spacious compared to an Ecosport. Can accommodate a third person more comfortably in the rear than in anecosport. But comparatively the rear bench seemed a bit shorter and hence lacking in under thigh support.
Legroom and headroom were all adequate.

Drive: The engine comes to life without much drama. Vibes are negligible, another surprise from Mahindra. The engine felt refined at most times of my testdrive. When you rev up in a lower gear, it becomes audible. But at any time, there is hardly any vibes that crept into the cabin.
Engine felt sprightly at most times. No lag is felt, but there is a sudden surge of power past 2000rpm. That class leading torque figure is rightly felt. Right from stand still, xuv's engine felt a bit more responsive than ecoboost. Didn't get the chance to take it to high speeds though. Clutch pedal has long play and even the gear throws are long, which will require some getting used to. Low rpms are handled well and you don't need to downshift very often. Engine is ready to pull even from 1000rpm, even though it may take its own sweet time. Power and torque are adequate if not more.

But it was the handling part that made me happy for my decision. EcoSport felt a level up compared to the Xuv.
Xuv felt bouncy at even small undulations. SA said it may be due to tyre pressure differences, but it was not, atleast according to the TPMS. Body roll is also comparatively higher. Rear passengers felt it more. At speeds EcoSport feels much stable.
Steering also feels better on the EcoSport. Although you can choose from different steering modes on the Xuv, apart from some heaviness in the sport mode, you don't get anything else. Feel and feedback felt dull at all modes. So, for a better driving experience it is still Ecosport for me.

Overall, if it isn't for the ride and handling package, Xuv appears to be a better buy. But a newly launched Mahindra isn't something that I would plunge myself into. I am not ready for that yet!

[girish.purswani]

Originally Posted by @viral

I will try to record and share the sound but I feel the sound is from the front. I got the vehicle serviced today (1k service) and brought this up. I was told that it is a known issue and is being actively investigated right now. They however do not have any resolution from the company yet.



I have tried the blue sense app on phone and using it only to store the fueling details. The app works only when the car is on and phone is connected through Bluetooth. I usually drive the car so unable to use it much except for when I am waiting in the car which doesn't happen too often.



Anything specific that you observed about the blue sense app?

My car will be going to the SC in the coming week. Will update what their response to the sound is

On the bluesense app , I actually couldn't find it in the iOS store. Spoke to the dealer and they told me it's still under development for Apple.