[shankar.balan]

It is a great idea as suggested by others, to keep the Captiva in your consideration set. It is a highly refined, very comfortable vehicle, with a lovely, creamy engine.
Enjoy!

[MileCruncher]

Bade Bhaiya, Namaskar!

These days you are shopping for car in the same frequency as people do for clothes! Whichever you buy, all the best!

Personally I would ask you to look at the Pajero also.

Cheers

[himanshugoswami]

some update,

called up a couple of Chevy dealers.

Am getting a discount of 170,000 on the captiva LT- am haggling for more- have asked for 2 L.

The only worry is that the present look is being phased out and replaced by the look of the 2.2. Also the 2L engine is being discontinued in about 6 months, so am worried about spares. i know resale will be crap, but am not worried on that account since either the captiva or the endy are both long term bets.

[raj_5004]

Did you test drive the Endeavour Himanshu? If yes, did you like it?

[himanshugoswami]

Raj I am planning to drive the endeavour on friday.

the way things stand at the moment, the Cpativa is working out cheaper by about 30K, but i think that the endeavour is a better bet in the long term. Am not too comfortable with Chevy's commitment to the captiva a few years down the line.

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by aniket.tiwari27

I have no information about the Endy but below para on XUV would help you.

3-4 months back when I was looking for a new ride for myself, I did consider XUV. A senior official from Mahindra stays in my society and when asked about XUV he said - "Mujhe hansi aayi jab aapne XUV lene ki baat ki. I know how these vehicles are made in the factory and to be true - there is no waiting. Plant mei khade khade dhool kha rahi hai gadiyaan. Aap bolo toh I can arrange an immediate delivery. I had an option of getting one but I refused and bought Vento instead". .
So then and there the idea to buy XUV was dropped. A Mahindra employee himself does not want to buy the product and buys another car.

For the given segment, I would like to suggest Skoda Yeti 4x4 Elegance model.

It is an excellent machine. Gives you the best of both worlds - Capabilities of a SUV coupled with handling of a sedan. It is small, hence easy to drive in the city. Has higher seating position with bigger windscreen leading to good visibility. 180mm of ground clearance with the gadgets and safety options (ASR, Traction Control, Hill Assist, Hill Descent, Parking Sensors -F&R, Haldex Clutch system, 4x4) available in Elegance model, it proves to be a best buy. Only issue could be the look, which is not to everyone's taste.

Yeti is indeed a good vehicle. But definitely small(Road presence & space) compared to Endeavour / XUV 500.

I'm really astonished by the comment made by the Mahindra official. If it is so why the waiting period, just to show it is in demand?.

IMHO, would beg to differ, all the posts made in review & Ownership posts, shows people love this XUV. Yeah it may have truckload of electronic problems, but somewhere down the line, Mahindra has ticked right points to make this vehicle a winner. You must also remember it is in a lesser price bracket with safety features like ESP, which even TFort doesn't have.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Raj I am planning to drive the endeavour on friday.

the way things stand at the moment, the Cpativa is working out cheaper by about 30K, but i think that the endeavour is a better bet in the long term. Am not too comfortable with Chevy's commitment to the captiva a few years down the line.

Great. That will give you a better idea. Frankly, when I sat in the Endy, I was not all that comfortable. The middle row is a pain for tall people and the ride in the rear is bumpy. Not apt for a 18 Lac SUV. Infact the XUV is much much better.

Captiva is leagues ahead of the Endy as far as handling, ride and comfort is concerned.

So, moral of the story -

1) After you take a TD of the Endy, if you are okay with the vehicle, nothing like it. It is your "first love". Go for it...

2) If you also feel that the Endy is not worth the price, then - Recent posts in the XUV thread shows that all the niggles in the XUV has been sorted. M&M A.S.S. has been pretty good too, as far as the XUV is concerned. The pricing is icing on the cake. Have a look. Infact, ignore the looks!

3) Captiva, though really good, is the last car you should think about. Primarily because it is being phased out with a new model. Stretch for the new variant if you can. I guess it is also available with 2.0 engine, though I am not sure.

[Cesc]

Have driven all 3 (XUV, Endy and Captiva) for around 10 days each. I would put my money on the Captiva.

The Endy in my opinion has 2 serious shortcomings - suspension and seating. While I really liked the way it drove and its sheer road presence, the suspension and seating were big turnoffs. The middle seat is just horrendous. While taking a TD I suggest you try out some potholed roads.

XUV does not feel as if it is built to last. It comes with a significant cost advantage though. And the looks are always subjective - and you do not seem to like them .

I was pleasently surprised by Captiva. It has good suspension, a responsive engine and reasonable creature comforts. It is also much more easier to manouver than the Endy. OTOH a new model is already out. If not for that then the Captiva at least in my eyes is the strongest contender.

I suggest you take good test drives for both the Captiva and the Endy. Then you will be in a very good position to decide.

[himanshugoswami]

as things stand, i am verring towards teh Captiva. Drove it and loved the drive. its hard to tell this is a diesel, and i can only wonder what this engine does to the cruze which is lighter and more aerodynamic. Am getting a brilliant deal- 1.7L off the exshowroom price, which translates to almost 2l off the OTR price. The catch is that these are end 2011 models at the Gujrat factory. Sicne Captiva is a CBU, inida gets two shipments every year- June and Dec from Korea. I am fine with it since these cars are in the factory and not in some dealer godown. the dealer has ageed to show me the despatch reciept from the plant.

now, unless my drive of the endeavour totally blows me away tomorrw, I may book the captiva over the weekend.

[Gill22g]

Hello all, i was going through this thread and realized that a lot of people think that the endy is heavy on maintenance. Well i drive a 2.5ltr 2010 model endy and it has clocked 68000 km till now, all the services have been done at the *** and believe me you, its service costs are among the cheapest in the country because it does not use the expensive synthetic oil. a normal service which includes the oil change and filter change costs around Rs 2700 - Rs3000. compared to a say captiva which used to cost me around 6000-7000 for a normal service.

[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by Gill22g

its service costs are among the cheapest in the country because it does not use the expensive synthetic oil. a normal service which includes the oil change and filter change costs around Rs 2700 - Rs3000. compared to a say captiva which used to cost me around 6000-7000 for a normal service.

So are you saying that Ford recommends mineral oil for Endeavour wehereas Chevy insists on Synthetic?

In case Chevy simply "recommends" synthetic, then this should not be an issue AFAIK, you can always opt for mineral. For instance it's the same story with Honda, and a good number of people(me included) have not opted to switch to synthetic.

Other Captiva owners can shed more light on this aspects though.

[himanshugoswami]

Drove the endeavour today - the 2.5L manual

My reaction in one word- Disappointed :(

I had high expectations from this beast and was secretly hoping that it is a brilliant drive. One look at the test drive car (black) and i was sallivating- it has awesome road presence.

Got into the car and things started to go downhill from there.

I am a tad over 5 ft 11 inches and have been driving SUVs for the last 5 years (first the Safari and now the Scorpio). the moment i sat in the endy's driver seat, i was confused- i was neither sitting crouched low like a sporty sedan, nor was i sitting on a chair with my legs flat on the floow like an SUV- the driving position was somewhere in the middle. Fiddled with the seat for 10 mins but could not get really comfortable.

anyways, started the engine and liked the sound- not fully muted but had a nice growl to it- the way i like my SUVs to be. there was minimal vibration from the gear lever, unlike the fortuner or the Scorpio.

Released the clutch and moved forward, and there was a distinct lack of eagerness. The scorpio is a jack rabbit in comparison.

Took the NH 8 and gunned the beast. It runs well, but just does not seem powerful enough!! revving it beyond 3000 rpm is pointless, it has fairly decent torque low down, but its gearing is a bit flawed. Third gear is too tall and if you engage third at 30-40 kph (the usual range for a diesel SUV is 30-40 kph), it just goes out of its torque band. The engine runs out of breath pretty quickly and i couldnt help but notice the need of a sixth gear on a couple of occassions.

Then there was the ride and handling- the handling was surprisingly good, but the ride was decidedly less so!! i took the beast to a few broken patches of tarmac (not off road, mind you) and the ride was bone jarring. I swapped places with my wife and sat in the back seat and was really thrown about for the 1 km stretch she drove it on- since my kid will be in the back seat most times, and she has most of her meals on the move over the weekends, not sure i wanna subject the dear child to this!!

also, given its humungous size, the interiors are not exactly generous! My wife summed it up pretty well- 80% more price than the Safari, but only 50% of the comfort of the Safari! (Damn you TATA- launch that Storme NOW!!!!).what the hell are Ford thinking.

A word about the interiors. They are put together pretty solidly and ergonomics are decent in most parts. My main gripes are that the look and feel of the dash is tacky, esp the silver painted center console, the parking brake is very incovenient to operate, and yes, even after a two hour drive, i still could not find a comfy driving position. the interiors look pretty spartan and a generation old, and not befitting a 20L vehicle. even the leather on the seats is decidedly economy grade- maybe they used anemic or geriatric cows for this one!

To top it all, there are absolutely no discounts on the endy- after much haggling, and using my contact in Ford india, i could manage 25K. So the OTR is working out to 19.2L- just not worth it IMHO.

If this endy was priced around 15L OTR, it would be enticing, but when you are spending close to 20 big ones, you expect more, and the endy, at least the 2.5L version, doesnt deliver it.

All in all, I had great expectaions from the endy, since i loved this beast and considered it to be a logical upgrade from the Safari-but my test drive left me decidedly underwhelmed! Maybe the 3L thunder is a better option, but that is way beyond my budget, alas!

[roy_libran]

^^^ Now, rush to the Skoda showroom, and just do a TD of the Yeti. Just keep your image expectations aside and go and TD it for once. And, let us know what you felt.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Drove the endeavour today - the 2.5L manual

I told you so, like many others. In the new 3.0L version, you will like the power, but nothing else.

Originally Posted by roy_libran

^^^ Now, rush to the Skoda showroom, and just do a TD of the Yeti. Just keep your image expectations aside and go and TD it for once. And, let us know what you felt.

Precisely, don't buy the Yeti but TD it once, and let us know what you think.

[himanshugoswami]

actually was planning to test the Yeti just for a laugh- My only worry is that I may end up liking it so much that i may actually buy one!!!!! But Skoda's reputation precedes it, so i am wary like hell!