[GTO]

A look at the more practical black seat upholstery of the lower variants:

[aniyo]

Black looks quite decent compared to almost whitish interior for the top end. I fail to understand why the arm rest is again in light colour. It is bound to soil as it is a frequent contact area. A darker shade would have been better for the arm rest

[RM Motorsports]

Originally Posted by turbospooler

Brilliant review as always.



Just a bit of trivia. These are Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) foam. These are generally placed inside the front bumper or behind it. These are required for pedestrian safety. Good to see Mahindra going the extra mile in all safety aspects.

Agreed EPP foam is for pedestrian safety, but there was thread where a Verna was set on fire, possibly buy lighting up the foam.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4535856 (Hyundai Verna goes up in flames. EDIT: It was an act of arson by kids (page 2))

Also there will be big chance of this foam catching fire if a lighted cigarette gets caught up in this EPP foam.

[spittie]

Thought I'd give my first hand opinion of the XUV 300, having got it just about 3 weeks ago. I've been using an Ecosport (1.0 L ecoboost) for the past 6 years and I did a LOT of research for the perfect next car (including the new ecosport). I got the petrol XUV W8 (O).

In a nutshell, this is a perfect replacement for an Ecosport or similar compact SUV. As mentioned in the review, it's loaded with features! What did it for me for the superb (and refined) engine. Even though this is a Ssanyong model, Mahindra has done a terriic job of localising and refining it.

Engine has a lot of pep, very much like a naturally aspirated one. I used to reach near suicidal levels with the turbo lag of the ecoboost, especially at crucial overtaking or sudden thrust necessities. Didn't expect such a refined engine from Mahindra. They've come a long way, every since I test drove the first gen Xuv 500 and wrote off the company for not being on par with its global peers. It has achieved this milestone now!


Comfort is really good, but as i'm driving the X300 more, I've realised a major lack of lower back support (i'm 5'10), which has made me get a thin 1" cushion for this area.

When pushed to the limit at high speeds, the engine emits a burning sort of smell. Will be having this checked at the service schedule (tomorrow) which I was promptly reminded of, by the MID.

This seemed to be a more "grounded" car than ecosport, but at high speeds on curves, I found it to be much lighter. Can't go overboard, and shouldn't anyways (in most cars), unless you're in a sports car!!

The size of the car is just perfect and styling is very fresh. Found too much chrome in the front and blackened out most of it as you can see in the image

Accessories added were the front skid plate extender and rear parcel tray (yeah, i expected this as standard). IMO the skid extender gives a much nicer (and aggressive look) to the car. Images below is of my car after the accessories fitting (and chrome blackouts) and before.

The only negative point of this car is the lack of a dead pedal. Other than this and lack of lower back support, i couldn't find any flaws. (smaller boot space, etc didn't matter that much).

Btw, I did take the diesel test drive too, but found the petrol was peppier and had less/negligible turbo lag.

Overall an excellent city car. Would recommend it hands down if your priorities are performance, power and features.

Originally Posted by sahilkhurana

Very detailed and thorough review as always.

How is this petrol engine (with lower BHP/ton and higher Nm/ton) compared to Ecoboost ? Better or in same league ?

Its way better! I just sold my Ecoboost and got the Petrol XUV 300. It's a lot more peppier and hardly any turbo lag.

[Turbokick]

5* review as always.

Now the most confusing part. Petrol or diesel? Which one makes more sense considering the gap in price between the models is not too high and again the petrol - diesel disparity being almost negligible now?

Few pointers :
1. Turbo petrol with lots of kerb weight = low fe (possibly)
2. Future of diesel cars post euro vi norms (price/resale value etc)

[spittie]

Originally Posted by Turbokick

5* review as always.

Now the most confusing part. Petrol or diesel? Which one makes more sense considering the gap in price between the models is not too high and again the petrol - diesel disparity being almost negligible now?

Few pointers :
1. Turbo petrol with lots of kerb weight = low fe (possibly)
2. Future of diesel cars post euro vi norms (price/resale value etc)

If you want a turbo kick (pun intended!!), definitely the petrol!

[joybhowmik]

Thanks for a very detailed review.
Hypothetically speaking, what might be the puts and takes on an EV version to be launched soon?

[Malabari]

Originally Posted by Almetal

As pointed out in the review, the long clutch travel and the long gear throws are a big nuisance while driving in stop and go traffic. This was immediately apparent to me when I took the test drive and for me (currently driving a Honda City) it came across as a deal breaker.

I just returned from a 1000 km+ long trip with my XUV 300 diesel. I completely agree that the long clutch travel and gear throws could come across as some inconvenience, esp in stop 'n go traffic.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I had an 8 hrs drive back to Bangalore, which allowed me only a 20 min break (not recommended) and I didn't find it exhausting at all. The car gives you a lot of punch and confidence to manoeuvre overtakes rather easily.

Surprisingly, we found the A/C quite good even without those much talked about rear vents. Note, my assessment also inclides our 2 days' trip across unbearably humid Kerala, where the summer is at its peak. This may be subjective and may be it's just us, the tropical people

[knightrider_7]

Excellent review as always. Thanks a lot.

Any idea when the rear parking sensors will be provided from the base variant? Are the new rules not applicable to XUV 300??

As per the brochure, all rear seat headrests are standard. But YouTube reviews of W4 variant doesn't have the centre headrest.


I took a test drive of diesel today. Impressed with the quality, refinement and performance on offer. Yes its hard to believe it is a Mahindra, as per our official review.

Some points from the test drive:
1. I don't think boot space is 257L. Ford freestyle has a boot space of 257L, as per its brochure. Freestyle's boot space is noticeably smaller than XUV's when seen in person (checked it today). If you are in doubt, I suggest you to please check both the cars in person back to back.

2. Service cost as told by SA is 0.21 ps/km. I forgot to ask whether it was for petrol or diesel. And they didn't know for how much kms this rate is pre-calculated.

So I checked the owners manual from official website and found that after 10k km oil change, other oil changes are in 20k kms intervals. This would mean XUV is cheaper to maintain than its Ford counterpart!!! Attaching the service schedule from manual for reference.

[Illuminati]

Originally Posted by knightrider_7

Excellent review as always. Thanks a lot.

Any idea when the rear parking sensors will be provided from the base variant? Are the new rules not applicable to XUV 300??


The AIS 145 for XUV300 will be implemented from 1st July 2019.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Aditya

• Mahindra plans to export the XUV300 to Europe, South America, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Australia and New Zealand. Left-hand drive versions will be ready soon.

Export versions - same length as the Indian version? And any mention of when. Because we are likely to get a proper AT only then.

Regards
Sutripta

[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

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Export versions - same length as the Indian version? And any mention of when. Because we are likely to get a proper AT only then.

Mahindra's India-specific take on the Ssangyong Tivoli doesn't make one say 'Tivoli' in reverse, i.e. 'I LOV IT'. In trying to meet the ridiculous sub-4m sub-1.2L rule (10 years of the Small Car rule (<4-metre, <1.2L petrol, <1.5L diesel) : Has India benefitted?), Mahindra has delivered a very unlovable car despite excellent equipment levels otherwise.

So we have a heavy car with a small 1.2L petrol engine which is neither fuel efficient nor seriously peppy, is majorly compromised in the boot space area, and still costs ~11.5L INR ex-showroom for the top variant.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Powerful turbo-petrols in heavy bodies (e.g. EcoSport EcoBoost) don't usually deliver class-leading FE figures & we expect the same from the XUV300. GTO saw 9 - 10 km/l in the city, while I saw 11 km/l with a light foot.

OTOH, the Tivoli available in Australia has a 1.6L petrol engine (and a 1.6L diesel too), is 4202 mm long with 423 litres of boot space, and returns a fuel efficiency of 11.62 kmpl (8.6L/100km) for the urban cycle and 18.18 kmpl (5.5L/100km) for the extra-urban cycle (i.e. highways) for the petrol engine (combined cycle = 6.6L/100 km). Moot question is, how much cheaper is the car in India with its smaller engine and shorter chassis?

The on-demand AWD version of the Tivoli has a multilink rear suspension instead of the twist beam suspension of the FWD cars. Given the shortened tail, I suspect that the multilink suspension cannot be installed, so the XUV300 will never get AWD so long as it is a sub-4m crossover/SUV-pretender.

Originally Posted by ac 427

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

A very valid question indeed.

Originally Posted by knightrider_7

...after 10k km oil change, other oil changes are in 20k kms intervals. This would mean XUV is cheaper to maintain than its Ford counterpart!!!

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!

[Sutripta]

And an (ab)used engine analysis report!

Regards
Sutripta

[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.

Looks like we will be advised to change it at 10K if we are living in the city.