[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Thanks for this crisp review.

After reading all the posts about lack of power, no progress with rpm, overtaking is very difficult etc.. I was wondering how bad it is.
For reference I regularly drive a humble Hyundai Eon (800cc) - 2 adults, 2 kids and lot of luggage between Kerala and Bangalore. I never felt the car lacks power for my sedate driving style. Yes some overtaking maneuvers needs planning, but that's how we should drive right? Calculate the gap, speed of the vehicle and capability of our car.

I think it will be way better than the Eon (I have XL6/Ertiga in my mind as an option for upgrade).

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Totally Agree. I just mentioned it because the overall feedback in this thread was the engine being very disappointing in performance.

The performance depends on what you are referencing from as well. When doing a review our comparison is with similar cars like Carens 1.4L which is fun to drive and can keep up with much larger SUV's on road. The planning to overtake is just floor pedal and safely overtake.

If you want to compare you can look at similar 1.5L motor in the Honda City which is insane fun to drive. And you can see what Leoshashi just said that his direct comparison is with the older 1.5L in his XL6.

From an Eon it's obviously an upgrade and you will find it has more than enough power. However the jump to the Carens or a Kushaq/Taigun 1.0L will tell you how much power was possible at the expense of fuel efficiency.

In the end as Leoshashi said, do a test drive and for all you know you may not have a problem with the lack of power. But it does need to be highlighted in the review.

[dr.aviansh]

K15C+6AT XL6 vs K15B+4AT XL6.

What's good :

Improved NVH Levels : From poor to absolutely good. It can easily beat a Honda or a Toyota if not Hyundai or VAG. Traffic noise has drastically gone down and wind noise was very less till 90 kmph.
The beading inside the doors felt superior than the previous one's.

Lesser Panel Flex : I felt the doors didn't have the typical Maruti panel flex anymore! Something similar I observed with the new Baleno over the outgoing version. @LeoShashi, please confirm this unsure observation with the part numbers. However, the fenders and quarterpanels still flex on subjecting them to minor pressure.
Hoping the long term reviewers won't complain of those small ripples on body panels that Maruti's develop with age.

Ride Quality : The time when I TD'ed the K15B, I purposely made the sales executive guy and my buddy sit on the backseat to check its high speed bounciness. The poor guys kept on tossing around and despite being on the front seat, I found the Ride to become bouncy on big potholes.

This time, the same friend's first reaction was undoubtedly positive attributing to the stiffened shockers and the alloy upsize. Yes, there's now a mild stiffness at the rear at very low speeds, but one must keep in mind that this car is meant to carry 6 + luggage across the state, and a wallowing ride with 6 on board on highways can be risky.
Now, the ride is indeed MATURE and I intentionally did same risky manoeuvres but the car didn't lose grip despite the tall height, which is a big thumbs up.

UV Cut Glass : A big boon to keep you away from sunlight without having to consider aftermarket tints.

New Alloy Wheels : They look pretty decent when comparing with the previous Karol Bagh style black alloys.

The Bad :

Air Con : The AC does get noisy at high fan speeds and the cooling time was more than expected.
At no time I was feeling comfortable despite being inside the car for 20 mins. This is a surprise as our car aircon mechanic who is highly knowledgeable in his field firmly says that Maruti Ertiga has a very effective AC. So I'll have to recheck on that.

The Ugly :

Zero Brownie points for guessing.

When I drove the K15B+4AT, I was appreciative of the combo. I couldn't fathom why it was being hated so much.
The L gear was perfect for a fun little drag when the signal turns green and I vaguely remember it to be capable of touching 55 kmph.
The '2' was like a tall 3rd gear. You could practically drive it on that gear all day without ever having to wait for power. It could start galloping at 75 kmph from crawling speeds in pretty decent time, that's how widespread that single gear was. Surely, it wasn't the fastest MUV to do a 0-100 sprint in, but it was giving exactly what one would want from a 6/7 seater, i.e. DRIVABILITY.

Coming to the newer engine-gearbox combo, one thing is sadly crystal clear that MS have prioritised fuel economy in a car that won't find any Commercial Buyer (XL6, not Ertiga). A different gearbox tuning or maybe a Sport Mode should have been in the private buyer oriented XL6.

When will the guys at MS ever learn that 6/7 seaters are themselves fuel savers when put against using 2 cars to carry 6/7 people?

Start off by putting into D and the initial torque is surprisingly decent due to its Mild Hybrid System and you'd feel that people are unnecessarily criticising this combo, it's not half bad. BUT, the story doesn't end here. While the mid range is just liveable, on reaching 4k rpms the engine becomes boomy. In an otherwise silent cabin, that low pitched boom makes it very disturbing. It's nowhere music to your ears as an i-VTEC. The progress on the speedometer >4,000 rpms doesn't feel synchronised with the tachometer. The most obvious thing to do : Upshift and regret not buying a Carens GDI.

On part throttle inputs, the gearbox acts a little confused before it downshifts and progress is made. Mash the pedal to the metal and the progress is a further better after the initial hesitation, BUT as soon as you back off the throttle by say 10%, at near redline, the gearbox upshifts by TWO GEARS! It simply doesn't understand that a minor letting go off the throttle doesn't mean that one's looking for a relaxed drive now. That's a very pathetic tuning of the gearbox.

Paddle Shifts : While the auto mode isn't meant for anyone, not even non enthusiasts, it's the shifters that come in handy. However like I said, revving beyond 4k makes no sense. The paddles themselves shift faster than the auto mode and the clicks are assuring too.

While the manual mode doesn't upshift automatically thankfully, it is not keen on downshifting either! There were instances where I was pottering around in 2nd and i had to make an almost complete stop, but the gearbox continued to make me pull without downshifting onto 1st.

What's worse than that engine-gearbox couple are those black taillights, which make the otherwise beautiful black appliqué on the dicky look unnecessarily prominent. I was happy with the departure of those Karol Bagh style alloys, but IMO these taillights look equally bad. I REALLY loved the Volvo-Ciaz like gleaming red taillights.
Sadly, the Indonesian XL6 retains the older style taillights and ours doesn't.

Cheers.

Aviansh.

[searacer932]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The performance depends on what you are referencing from as well. When doing a review our comparison is with similar cars like Carens 1.4L which is fun to drive and can keep up with much larger SUV's on road. The planning to overtake is just floor pedal and safely overtake.

If you want to compare you can look at similar 1.5L motor in the Honda City which is insane fun to drive. And you can see what Leoshashi just said that his direct comparison is with the older 1.5L in his XL6.

How does XL6 AT K15C compare to Kia Seltos 1.5 IVT? Which is the better engine from a highway performance point of view?

[abhishekjoshi84]

I cancelled my booking for Carens Lux + Diesel AT and booked XL6 Alpha + AT last week. While I was happy with my Carens booking and was eagerly doing countdown to delivery, the price hike in March and then the 3% Road Tax hike in Telangana this month was making me stretch my budget too far. On top of that I am pretty sure there would have been another hike from Kia (although next one should be a minor one as March hike was huge) by the time actual delivery happened.

So, took the test drive of XL6 AT twice. Once by myself and once with my wife and kid.
Here were some considerations:

• Automatic transmission was a must. CVT/IVT would have been perfect. Did not want to go for DCT ( especially dry DCT used by Kia) because of heating issues. I find using creep to move in bumper to bumper traffic of Hyderabad in my 2012 Dzire AT very comfortable. With DCT I would have needed to let go of some of this comfort to take care of transmission temperatures. So AT was the only choice left as IVT/CVT options on 6-7 seater cars are very limited in this budget range.
• I wanted to buy fully featured car. Planning to use the same car for atleast next 10 years, if not more. so it makes sense from my perspective to spend 2-3L more right now. Ventilated seats was top of the list item. Hence AT+ of XL6.
• Most of the driving will be within city, longer drives will be at most once or twice a year. XL6 engine even though underpowered, felt sufficient for city drives. Could not take the TD car to ORR to check highway performance. I will be more than satisfied if this K15C with 6AT performs as good as the 1.2L 4AT I have been using on 2012 Dzire AT. Really appreciate of anyone can share their feedback on this comparison based on their TD of new XL6.
• Although I wanted next car to have atleast 6 airbags, but given the steep price difference between XL6 Alpha + AT and Carens Lux+ Diesel AT (~4.5L OR price difference) this was another point to compromise (apart from engine performance).

Wife did not like looks of XL6 much, I like it more than Carens with the new 16 inch Alloys definitely improving the stance over outgoing model. Interiors are definitely world apart with XL6 definitely inferior. However the seats are very comfortable. Ventilated seats in XL6 were amazing, Carens were strictly OK. Driving comfort in city was good, NVH levels are much better than my old Dzire, probably almost as good as Carens in my two TDs. However roads were not very bad during my TDs so cannot compare for different driving and road conditions.

Overall, even though I had to make a few compromises, I am happy with the switch. Should get the car next month, planning to post a review soon.

One question for the knowledgeable members, I might get the car 4-5 days before my planned trip from Hyderabad-Nagpur-Ujjain and back. The dilemma is whether to take the new XL6 for the trip or stick to Dzire for now? I am not sure about the run in requirements for new gen engines. I can try to do 500-600 kms in 4-5 days within city and ORR and get first service done before I leave. However on the highway will need to drive at 90-100 kmph on the 4-laned portions to do the Hyderabad-Ujjain distance (1050 KMs) on same day. Kind of worried about this right now.

[achintatri]

My impression and experience till now:

Ride Quality: You will love the ride quality especially on highways. Have done three highway trips till now and the car just cruises effortlessly. A word of caution though, do not ride with high speeds on bumpy/undulated/full of bumps roads otherwise you will feel that the car is never going to settle. I had a chance to visit the Bhigwan wildlife sanctuary yesterday (Attaching my best shot for the reference here)
and drove in the grasslands for a safari experience. The car with full load and speed less than 10 kmph performed very well. I did not drive above that speed during the safari to enjoy the sightings.


Engine Gear Combo: Gets the work done, Much better than any CVT or AMT combination available in the market as of now. No jerks, no confusion. Slot into 'D' mode and ride all day along. However, in case you feel like you can drive the car as an enthusiast with sudden change of lanes and speeds, then this car is not for you. It is intended for 'sedate' driving only. This does not in any way means that you can't overtake but overtaking the vehicles with speeds up to 60 kms would be done with ease. For anything above that, you will have to plan in advance and the engine-gearbox will help accordingly.


NVH Levels: No Complaints in this department.

Space: No complaints in this department as well, oodles of space even for ALL adult occupants.

Air Conditioning: Cools faster if the car is parked in shade. Minimum setting used till now in the Pune hot (but pleasant) weather has been between 24-27. However, if the car is parked in scorching sun even for 15 mins, it will take 5 mins to cool even at the lowest temperature setting so be cautioned.

Android Auto: No issues so far except the Suzuki lady who gets offended sometimes and suddenly and at random times reminds us that she also exist and we need to give her attention as well :-).

Fuel Efficiency: It should increase with the first service now as suggested by my SA. In my first 1000 kms, I would say I have got anything between 8 and 20 kmpl depending upon city and highway driving conditions.

Cruise Control: Works effortlessly and is pure bliss on highways.

Horn: I hardly use the horn but I feel that it takes quite some effort to press it to speak.

Compared with other automatics: If you are an enthusiast driver and drive your MPV (even with full load) with high speed and high number of frequent maneuvers and don't mind taking those overtaking risks then better go for 1.5 DCT Carens instead of XL6 AT because XL6 AT is made for Sedate driving style. Although, I would say that driving style and the corresponding performance is the ONLY differentiator between XL6 AT and Carens DCT, even if we take the DCT issues on the face value, with 5 years of warranty package, that chance can be taken for those who are risk takers and have alternative vehicle ready in case of emergencies.

Happy Cruising!

Best Regards,
Achint

[shankhajit.das]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

For reference I regularly drive a humble Hyundai Eon (800cc) - 2 adults, 2 kids and lot of luggage between Kerala and Bangalore. I never felt the car lacks power for my sedate driving style. Yes some overtaking maneuvers needs planning, but that's how we should drive right? Calculate the gap, speed of the vehicle and capability of our car.

I think it will be way better than the Eon (I have XL6/Ertiga in my mind as an option for upgrade).

I upgraded from Alto K10 2015 to XL6 Zeta MT, so my upgrade was from the same segment. I'll tell you my observations, might make it easier for you.

Definitely a huge improvement over what you're used to. The higher seating and the wider car needs some getting used to, in terms of U turns and pickup. XL6 / Ertiga and Eon / Alto are very different cars, you'll drive differently after a couple of days. I'd heavily recommend XL6 as a nice relaxed highway cruiser. The cabin remains very silent, the seats are nice and supportive, you'll drive in peace. As far as speeds are concerned, you won't even know when you've reached 80, it feels like you're floating.
That being said, this is a significantly bigger car, so it takes a week or so getting used to the lesser pickup and the slight body roll, and that is because of the form factor. I had a requirement that I need a higher seating, if that's not a requirement for you, feel free to TD a Baleno or i20, they feel more planted because of the form factor, and will likely have better pickup and FE. That being said, the XL6 is truly a premium experience. Go and TD all the cars to your heart's content, and then decide. Good luck!

[MAKMADDY17]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Drove the 2022 XL6 for a good 25km: Being a lazy sunday, requested my RM for a TD if possible and he obliged. Took the car to Ring road via the busy city roads, and thus got to experience it in every driving condition.

This is one of the most detailed review coming from the older generation XL6 owner. Adding few pointers which i feel needs to highlighted more :

• The 360 camera quality is pathetic wrt the outgoing smartplay rear camera quality. I don't know how feasible it is to swap with the better ones. (And remember Baleno too has the same quality. is it VGA ?)
  
  
• K15C is totally focused on FE , FE and FE. The response wrt K15B on mid end is very pathetic. 3rd and 4th gears don't respond the very same way how older MSIL engines used too. It will take out chunks and chunks of fuel efficiency but it is not for enthusiasts. (Mileage focused customers are higher than enthusiasts TBH)
  
  
• Ventilated Seats are the best ones i have experienced in non luxury segment. Hat's off to R&D team that they implemented in India spec car first
• UV CUT GLASSES & IR CUT Windshield should become standard in all cars in India, considering some parts are experiencing more than 45 degrees this summer. I loved them in Baleno and this is a very good option to upgrade for first generation car owners. (don't spend 30k on 3M CR70)
  
  
• TPMS is a very good safety addition and i hope they bring soon the tyre temperature readings too. It is very necessary for cemented highways.

My k15C feedback is totally based on the experience with k15b. Enthusiasts like me are waiting to see some turbo petrols rolling out of Maruti's basket.

[venkyhere]

Almost all comments I see w.r.t the tune of K15C in the XL6 is that it's not meant for "enthusiasts". I would disagree. It's an engine with a tune that is not meant for "regular people". It's meant only for FE addicts who take pics of their MID and post in social media.

Recently drove a mint fresh week old example, and I have to say :

- an engine deliberately tuned to be anaemic, to deliver stellar fuel efficiency and no driveability at all.
- abjectly poor torque spread, but it is expected to carry 6 people. I am sure even a mild ghat section with 6 people will be a struggle.
- after reading reviews, I was the guy saying "but I am sure they must have taken care of it with the gearing, it can't be that bad etc etc". No. I was wrong, they haven't taken care of driveability at all. 6 gears are meant to keep the engine within a really narrow torque band. And believe me, that torque band doesn't have much torque either.
- the car simply doesn't want to take up any engine load, and is most comfortable crawling in city traffic.
- on top of all this, they have provided paddle shifters, like a sports car. Why-o-why ?

[TorqMaster]

Guys, could a remap possibly add more torque in this engine?
I dont losing a bit of efficiency for drivability.

[sumobom4]

Originally Posted by TorqMaster

Guys, could a remap possibly add more torque in this engine?
I dont losing a bit of efficiency for drivability.

I’m sure, given time, we will have remap chips available. The question is, are you willing to forego the warranty for the most expensive component of your car?

[fj_victor]

Originally Posted by achintatri

My impression and experience till now:

Ride Quality: You will love the ride quality, especially on highways.

I logged in on Team-bhp to post about my first 1000KMs with my 2022 XL6 Alpha AT. I completely agree with you on all the pointers, and I can't emphasize enough the ride quality and the term you used 'sedate driving' which is the perfect word for it.
On one hand, I do agree that this car is not for enthusiastic driving but on the other I feel it can take on highway driving on 140+ cruising with relative ease. It does not jerk or vibrate, be it 10, 100, or even 150, the XL6 did not once feel uncomfortable on the drive. The acceleration timings are slow, but overtaking on highways was still manageable for me.

Just wanted to share an experience which I had recently. There was heavy rain in Bangalore last week, which did see some flooding, and my XL6 like any other Maruti, cruised passed deeper waters as well. The max water level my car has seen is about 1-1.5 feet, which is the 3/4th of the wheels. The higher ground clearance does help. But this is not the part I wanted to talk about, it happened on the trip from Bangalore to Mysore.

I, like an idiot, drove off a muddy farm, thinking it must be a shortcut (thanks to Google Maps), and got my XL6 (which was barely 800Km on the odometer) stuck. Prior to getting stuck, it did manage at least 1km in the muddy patch. I could feel the car losing its grip, and tried my best to stick to the existing tire prints on the road, but nevertheless, this ain't an offroader. Got my alloys scratched by sharp stones too.


Anyway, the locals helped. It took 6 men and 15 seconds of lifting/pushing, the car was on the road again. Got the car washed thoroughly after. I think idiocracies like these are what get you connected to the car. This wasn't my first time getting a car stuck in the mud. But each time is a different experience. It goes without saying that do not attempt to drive XL6 in the mud.

On a lighter note, the XL6 can pull off Brown Allows too.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by sumobom4

I’m sure, given time, we will have remap chips available. The question is, are you willing to forego the warranty for the most expensive component of your car?

ECM is fairly cheap for these cars, 7k for XL6.

Issue is, even the best of remaps can't do much in NA engines as per the guys who have done it.

[Asish_VK]

Originally Posted by fj_victor

On a lighter note, the XL6 can pull off Brown Allows too.

That actually looks quiet nice especially for the silver car.

Have you got any chance to drive the XL6 on any Ghats or steeply inclined roads with full load ? If so how is the engine performance ?

[fj_victor]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Have you got any chance to drive the XL6 on any Ghats or steeply inclined roads with full load ? If so how is the engine performance ?

Not yet, but there were minor uphill climbs required on some of the narrow roads I have taken. It was not a problem whatsoever.

Also. I do have a drive to Chennai with the full load being planned for next month. I'll definitely post about it if I encounter anything interesting.

[carreragt6]

Here are my thoughts after driving XL6 AT Alpha after driving it for 1000kms

1. NVH is a lot improved and suspension even though on the stiffer side is silent and comfortable.

2. AC takes a couple of minutes to come on fully it seems (like the time delay in split acs). But after that it is quite chilly. This is the same in the AT and MT test drive cars. AC chills very well and this was with an outside temp of 36c

3. Coming to the obvious one. Engine and transmission. First of all as noted in the review the motor assist doesn't come on in manual mode under any circumstance. I varied my driving style to check if any particular situation will trigger the assist. But no.

More than lack of outright power from the engine it's the gear ratios and shift points which ruin that drive in my opinion. The AT box shifts too early and many a times it's in 6th even at 55kmph. The 6th gear is a pure overdrive gear. I do feel the box shifts multiple gears too fast losing the necessary pull.

The manual mode does improve things a lot. You can have a semblence of a normal drive with manual mode. Then again I think it defeats the purpose of an AT box.

Maybe it's the reason why the MID doesn't show the gear values in D mode. It's too embarrassed by the box's
shift manners.

More than an engine remap which is not rewarding with NA engines, I think you need better gear ratios and shift management.

4. A bigger issue I feels is the new smart play pro HU. It offers nothing over the usual smart play studio. At least I cannot find anything significant. I could never get the phone app to work in ios or android. Worst of all the sound quality out of the box is very bad. Totally unbalanced. It's got too much bass with subdued mids and non existent high frequencies. You can tune it and get is as good as older stereo. But it takes a lot of trial and error and it shouldn't be like that. My Harman OE HU in my swift is miles ahead. In short the smart play set in Zeta is better. Other users can correct me if I missed any significant feature in the HU.

5. Suzuki connect apps works well and is actually pretty useful.

6. Haven't got a mileage below 12.5 kmpl till now.

Disclaimer: the car is for my mom and dad. Other cars we own are city 4th gen vtec Mt, swift dual jet Mt and ignis amt. Those are my reference points.