[nasir88]

I think from all of discussion since the Variant/feature mix was announced, it is clear based on the pricing that Mahindra no longer wants to be perceived as a VFM brand. They are basking in the glory of the sucess of the Thar, and expect the demand for XUV700 to be similar.

Another reason for the lack of features in the lower variants could be that they want to set a strong demand base and avoid direct competition with the upcoming Scorpio which is due next year.

[APB98]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

So for someone with a 15L budget, the Tata Nexon continues to be the safest and most VFM product. Until XUV7OO's wild card entry a few weeks back with their killer base variant pricing, Nexon and Sonet were my only options. I guess with the underwhelming AX3 and AX5, I'll just revert to my old list.

And like me, I'm sure many customers who were eyeing the mid-variant (and likely the consumption group for Mahindra) will stay away because:

1) Too many compromises for the budget stretch
2) Concerns over initial batch niggles
3) Dealer games as we know the units are limited
4) And for diesel buyers, the fact that deliveries are going to be delayed (I was told that only ~20% of production is reserved for the Diesel variants)

On the other hand, the things that are going well for XUV7OO are still not enough:

1) The powerful "BMW" spec engines while awesome on paper, there is no practical use for regular drives and is going to be a fuel guzzler

2) The FSD suspension while an awesome kit, it ultimately comes down to whether the suspension tuning fits your drives. Events like nose-dive will be under control but if you're not too bothered about it (or a gentle driver) the FSD has very little to offer extra in the real world.

It's great to have the above, but for a practical driver these aren't enough to compromise the lack of basic features like reversing camera and an automatic climate control.

Very disappointed.

We can kind of cover up the AX5's bare bones by adding all the accessories. Whether its VFM depends on the price of all these accessories.

But yes, they could have really made AX5 much much more VFM. But it seems they don't want over the roof sales. Strange times we are living in !

This feature distribution is surely going to make many including me prefer to wait for a better VFM variant, with lesser niggles, and probably (hopefully) a lesser OTR price if and when the BH registration is implemented. Otherwise it's better to opt for AX7 MT sacrificing an AT. AX5 is good in comparison with the competition, but considering AX7, AX5 is like a base variant.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by Geta

The fake wood inserts are gone! Thank God!
Edit: fake wood inserts were present in another vehicle. Probably it is on its way out in the production version.

Thanks to Sebring for bringing this to our attention!

[Sabertooth32]

The fine print of the brochure shows that EPB will be available with the AWD version. I have unofficially booked the Ax7L model. However, if EPB is available with the AWD model, i am willing to book the awd version. Just hope Mahindra doesn't make any further last minute changes.

[84.monsoon]

Overall, I think XUV700 pricing is along expected lines. We did know the MX variants will be similar to the Thar AX standard variants at launch, only present on paper to create some news headlines and be quickly withdrawn soon after. The AX3 and AX5 were too good to be priced at the level they were in the early news releases, M&M has, as expected, marked them down on features to make sure most customers gravitate to the AX7 variants and even AX7 Luxury pack variants to get the features they want.

The fact that M&M did not launch the AWD with the luxury option pack is totally understandable. This is exactly what almost every manufacturer has done in recent times to make the right headlines about price range. The Autocar chart which shows the price range of competitors side by side is a key chart which gets used by the salespeople in the showroom to woo customers. To have a top-end price of over 23 lakhs would have affected the positioning of the XUV versus the Safari. M&M wants XUV to show up (at least initially), as being priced a good deal lower than the Safari at both the top end and bottom end, despite better features.

However, this is just the initial posturing for a few weeks IMO. Just like Skoda introduced the 6 airbags version two months after initial lunch and Kia did something similar with Seltos through a later launch of the GTX Diesel Auto variants, M&M will soon announce the AWD with luxury pack in the coming weeks or months.

For those disappointed by the lack of features on the AX3 and the AX5 variants, please do not lose heart. The Comfort package and the Technology package have not yet been announced or publicized. I am sure these packages will most probably be available soon to be added to the AX3 and the AX5 variants to provide many of the missing feature such as keyless entry, push button start, ACC, cruise control, electronic parking brake etc. However I feel Mahendra will not announce these packages until the introductory booking period is over and say the first 25000 bookings have gone into the books, likely dominated by bookings for the full fat and highly priced AX7 and AX7L variants. This is classic price skimming strategy at work, making sure those customers who are ready to pay a higher price for a slightly better feature set of thr product have first been milked, before the next set of customers who are more value-sensitive are offered a lower priced variant with the combination of features they want.

Although a bit too big, for enthusiasts on a budget, the base MX Petrol is probably the car delivering the highest horsepower per rupee in the whole market today and for the times to come! Cars priced much higher than this, such as the top end Creta 1.5 NA variant or the Kushaq 1.0 Style offer just a little over half the horsepower and only 30-40% of the torque of the XUV700 MX Petrol Plus, the car gets independant rear suspension, and disc brakes at rear! What is more, both suspensions come with Frequency Selective Adaptive Damping, which BMW does not provide in the 5 series unless you go to top end MSport trim, which costs nearly 6 times ex-showroom as the XUV700 MX Petrol. I am actually surprised they did not detune the MX Petrol like the did the diesel, an 150 hp tune would have been appropriate to maintain the differentiation. These days when even a sub-4 metre compact SUV can cost 12 lakhs ex-showroom, imagine getting a car from a full 2 segments above, with all the engine power and mechanical sophistication intact for the same price, minus a few gizmos like push button start and a sunroof. If I was buying a car for sheer power and driving experience at this price point, I would seriously consider this variant and get ready to hit book button as soon as it opens up in October 7th, as the MX Petrol will be very short lived in the market. Of course fuel costs are another matter, as it is bound to be a gas guzzler.

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Thanks to Sebring for bringing this to our attention!

This is a welcome change. The fake wood trim on the doors was jarring. The new fabric trim looks much better coordinated. Asian manufacturers just do not get faux-wood trim right,the only exception was the Harrier which had a nice trim on front passenger side even from launch days.

Also the fact that MTs do not come with the Luxury pack is clear from brochures, but it is good to call this out to prospective customers taking test drives to make sure there are no unpleasant surprises.

[Pulse500]

Originally Posted by rpmmachine

Kindly have a test drive before you come to any conclusion, and let's wait for the aftermarket mods as Cruise control can be fitter aftermarket also in many other cars but I don't think this is possible in Xuv700 as its available in ADAS variant only.

Yes, will definitely have a test drive once the crowds reduce, and will also analyze feedback from buyers. Essentially, I will skip booking the initial batches now.

I am usually very reluctant to fit any aftermarket devices like cruise control, parking assist, drive modes, hill hold, especially in such a vehicle costing me close to 22 lakhs OTR (AX5 D-AT), not just due to concerns related to warranty, reliability and integration issues, but also they violate rules and once panels/steering/control boxes etc are opened, these dont give me the feel of a new vehicle. For the rest - Auto headlamps, rain sensing wipers, high-speed chargers, window automation etc, I have my own working solution. I hope I am wrong, but I do not see adreno mature enough for Indian roads, and may need many software upgrades and possibly hardware too. Why should I throw so much money after something I cannot trust and not for something I really need and works for me?

My XUV500 W6/2011 underwent so many 'surgeries', minor and major, with so many cuts, bruises and patches at Mahindra authorized workshops during first ~3 years, the old 'wounds' and patches have still not merged with the looks with regular wear and tear. Its not a taxi, its my personal vehicle and I like it clean, more so inside.

[techdarshan]

Originally Posted by The Alchemist

How does Everest White compare against other colours in the lineup?

Everest White looks sober and will be easier to maintain like the Dazzling Silver which is my preferred choice.

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

Just to put things in perspective, seems the dealer is trying to earn extra money by jacking-up the heading-wise figures:

Tax & Registration has been clubbed. As per Maharashtra Road Tax calculation of 12% tax to be levied for cars in the.10-20 lakh bracket, for an AX7 Petrol AT, considering the cost of 19,19,000/- the road tax should come to 2,30,280/- while the dealer has mentioned 2,37,836/-. Even for Registration, the charges should be around 5,806/-, breakup as follows:
Registration fees: 600/-
Number Plate + Smart Card: 600/-
Road Safety Cess (2% of Road Tax): 4606/-

With this calculation, the amount should be 2,36,086/-. What is the explanation for a difference of 1,750/-?

Does Insurance cover RTI, Consumables, Engine Protect, RSA etc? Also what is the insurance period offered?

What are these Incidental Charges of 4,720/-? Seems like a different way of saying "Handling Charges!"

Essentially Accessories kit of 35,000/- being mandated as a compulsory addition to the price list is atrocious!

Please take this up with the dealer. These shady practices really need to stop!

Thanks IamNikhil, yes the essential accessories kit of 35,000/- is brutal! I visited the showroom this morning for the test drive and got more clarity that this kit includes side foot step (23,500/-), 7D floor mats (10,000/-), mud flaps and in-car air freshener! No options to switch 7D floor mats to 3D floor mats or opting out of side foot steps, but I am hoping that they will be a bit flexible at the time of final payment.

I with my family reached the dealership (Unnati Motors, Pune) sharp at 09:30am today. With no other customers around that early, we got to spend a lot of time exploring various features and the test drive was arranged promptly. Went for a quick 15 minutes drive with AX7 L Diesel AT and I am blown away. The performance is much better in comparison with Tata Harrier/Safari twins (I took test drives of Harrier and Safari just past week).

I highly recommend anyone considering Harrier/Safari vs. XUV700 to take the test drive on the same day and you'll know.

Dealer suggested to make online booking on 7th October and that the allotment will be centrally managed by Mahindra.

AX7 L Diesel AT Test Drive vehicle in Dazzling Silver:

[nasir88]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I am actually surprised they did not detune the MX Petrol like the did the diesel, an 150 hp tune would have been appropriate to maintain the differentiation.

I think it might have been an additional cost for them to detune, and fine tune the engine for a variant which will probably be discontinued anyway.

You made some interesting points regarding the power differential in the petrol 5 seat variants comapred to smaller cars like Creta/Seltos. One interesting thing to note is that Mahindra also has a 1.5 mStallion engine which is still to debut on any Car. I wonder if a smaller engined 5 Seater XUV700 could be in the offing soon? They could even call it the XUV500, which would be a win win

[charade]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

For those disappointed by the lack of features on the AX3 and the AX5 variants, please do not lose heart. The Comfort package and the Technology package have not yet been announced or publicized. I am sure these packages will most probably be available soon to be added to the AX3 and the AX5 variants to provide many of the missing feature such as keyless entry, push button start, ACC, cruise control, electronic parking brake etc. However I feel Mahendra will not announce these packages until the introductory booking period is over and say the first 25000 bookings have gone into the books, likely dominated by bookings for the full fat and highly priced AX7 and AX7L variants. This is classic price skimming strategy at work, making sure those customers who are ready to pay a higher price for a slightly better feature set of thr product have first been milked, before the next set of customers who are more value-sensitive are offered a lower priced variant with the combination of features they want.

Although a bit too big, for enthusiasts on a budget, the base MX Petrol is probably the car delivering the highest horsepower per rupee in the whole market today and for the times to come! Cars priced much higher than this, such as the top end Creta 1.5 NA variant or the Kushaq 1.0 Style offer just a little over half the horsepower and only 30-40% of the torque of the XUV700 MX Petrol Plus, the car gets independant rear suspension, and disc brakes at rear! What is more, both suspensions come with Frequency Selective Adaptive Damping, which BMW does not provide in the 5 series unless you go to top end MSport trim, which costs nearly 6 times ex-showroom as the XUV700 MX Petrol. I am actually surprised they did not detune the MX Petrol like the did the diesel, an 150 hp tune would have been appropriate to maintain the differentiation. These days when even a sub-4 metre compact SUV can cost 12 lakhs ex-showroom, imagine getting a car from a full 2 segments above, with all the engine power and mechanical sophistication intact for the same price, minus a few gizmos like push button start and a sunroof. If I was buying a car for sheer power and driving experience at this price point, I would seriously consider this variant and get ready to hit book button as soon as it opens up in October 7th, as the MX Petrol will be very short lived in the market. Of course fuel costs are another matter, as it is bound to be a gas guzzler.

Allow me to provide a counter view to some of the points mentioned in this post:

1. Better variant options after launch: yes, very likely. But be prepared to shell out significantly more than these prices. As someone pointed out earlier the Thar's prices have gone up by a couple of lacs for the base variant.

2. On MX Petrol having significantly better tech specs: yes it does. But the average Joe wants a well rounded package for the family to travel. Most people will rarely find use for the segment leading torque and horsepower, but will be staring at mid single digit fuel economy numbers everyday along with a relatively bare car.

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

What is more, both suspensions come with Frequency Selective Adaptive Damping, which BMW does not provide in the 5 series unless you go to top end MSport trim, which costs nearly 6 times ex-showroom as the XUV700 MX Petrol

Small correction - the 5 series (all trims) gets adaptive suspension, which is electronically controlled to change the damping multiple times per second. You can also tweak the damping via comfort / sport modes. The 5 is likely the cheapest car with such configurability.

The FSD is purely mechanical and is not configurable.

[bill1182]

Had been for a TD at HareKrishna Classic Mahindra - Mulund - Mumbai. They had 4 cars (2 on Display and 2 for TD) all Petrol AX7 L variants.

The car has got amazing road presence fun to drive. Could not take a long TD as there was a huge queue waiting for the TD.

The salesperson was very happy to demonstrate the ADAS feature (Adaptive Cruise control and Automatic Brakes) which feels a bit scary to operate in Mumbai traffic. You never know if it fails and the car would crash into the vehicle ahead. Maybe we will have to get used to this.

Managed to get the Price list for Mumbai. Dealers are trying to make a lot of money by adding in unnecessary costs.

[charade]

Originally Posted by bill1182

Managed to get the Price list for Mumbai. Dealers are trying to make a lot of money by adding in unnecessary costs.

Attachment 2214155

1.3L for insurance (including zero dep) for the top end - sounds like a rip off!

[CapKoura]

Visited the NBS dealership in Andheri today. Got to experience their launch and also got a test drive. They have 7 cars in total, 4 for TD and 3 on display. Test drove the Diesel MT, as Diesel AT wasn't available yet (They had Petrol AT). It was a short one though, since there was quite a queue for the same, and afternoon traffic.
Following are the observations made (I compared it with my 2012 XUV5OO):

Driving experience:
- The gearbox, while naturally an improvement over my XUV, still has a somewhat notchy feel to it. In Mumbai, AT is no doubt the better pick.
- The engine is a charm, with ample low end grunt. You build up speed in no time. Didn't test the flat out acceleration.
- The NVH levels are a BIG improvement over the outgoing car.
- The brakes are quite good.
- Clutch travel is pretty okay.
- The car I drove always started in Zap mode.

Interiors:
- The cabin is really upmarket, with good materials used on the frequently touched surfaces.
- The twin screens are really high resolution displays, and they're set well into the frame, i.e you can't make out the border of the screens against the black background, which is a good thing. The touch feedback is decent.
- The rotary dial is pretty slick, and has directional navigation as well. Feels great to use.
- The windscreen felt a bit more upright compared to the '12 XUV.
- The seats are really comfortable, with the right amount of side bolstering and under thigh support. The "seat welcome" feature where the seat pulls back when you open the door is a neat gimmick. It's quite easy to find a comfortable driving position (the clutch pedal felt a bit close to the brake pedal, but then again I don't drive manuals a lot, so might not be an issue for most).
- Somehow the cabin felt a bit less spacious compared to the '12 XUV. Not the legroom, but in terms of overall space. Possibly due to the reduced height.
- I sat in the third row along with my father. For reference, I'm 5' 10" and my father is 5' 7". We were pretty comfortable, with enough room for 2-3 hour trips.
- The boot space is slightly more than my current XUV, though still not in the same league as the Innova.

Moving onto the features:
- The fancy 12 speaker system sounds really good, albeit I tested it using radio.
- The 360° camera, while pretty cool, isn't really usable in heavy traffic. Best to rely on the rear view cam and good ol' mirrors.
- The Blind Spot monitor, on the other hand, is an extremely useful feature, and will be greatly appreciated.
- The sunroof covers a huge area. The controls could've been separated; one button for the sunshade, another for the glass. The sunshade is pretty opaque, so it doesn't filter in the hot sun when closed, unlike some panoramic sunroofs. (The sunroof on the test drive car was faulty, as the sunshade didn't open all the way back, and also opened and closed randomly. First batch buyers, prepare yourself for such electrical niggles.)
- The auto start-stop function is switched on by default when you start the car, and is quite annoying.

Overall, I was very impressed with the car in the short time I spent with it. Planning on test driving the Diesel AT when it becomes available, as that's our pick.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Small correction - the 5 series (all trims) gets adaptive suspension..

Not true - My G30 530i sportline (base variant at launch in 2017) did have Adaptive damper control but this was deleted in the base trim subsequently. The base tim now called "Sport" no longer offers adaptive damper control. Please see latest spec sheet below.

https://www.bmw.in/content/dam/bmw/m...5244097870.pdf

Agree the damper control in BMW is more sophisticated- it better be for the price they charge!

[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by bill1182

The salesperson was very happy to demonstrate the ADAS feature (Adaptive Cruise control and Automatic Brakes) which feels a bit scary to operate in Mumbai traffic. You never know if it fails and the car would crash into the vehicle ahead. Maybe we will have to get used to this.

Few pointers on ADAS. Hope they are fully aware of the exception scenarios too while demonstrating it's capabilities.