[Arjun Reddy]

Do you need a 7 seater? I wouldn’t buy the XUV 500 as it is already a decade old and you intend to keep it for another decade. The age of this will catch you on the wrong foot a couple of years down the line.

I would wait here until the Kushaq and Taigun are launched. I am anticipating their 1.0 litre torque converters to be very good.The torque converter should be very reliable as well.

I know the discounts on the XUV are very tempting but the XUV in manual transmission is a no go in my books. If still very keen on the XUV pick the automatic as its much smoother and pretty well tuned.

[androdev]

Mahindra + diesel + manual transmission + large body + older model: I can't imagine myself picking this up combination over what is available in market now. Very low on refinement levels, fit-and-finish and build quality.

"Outgoing" model is never an issue w.r.t parts availability and resale. However most buyers get tempted by the attractive price of an outgoing model that puts an higher segment car within their reach - and end up buying the wrong car.

I would look at some proven international models with AT from the likes of Honda, Ford, VW, Renault, Jeep before expanding my search. They have their disadvantages for sure but they do better on safety, refinement, comfort and driving dynamics.

[Steer-safe]

I am not sure if you have driven a disel manual before. My experience is with a much lighter car. Ciaz disel and I drove it from noida to Gurgaon 5 days a week. 2.5 years 65000 km. After two years I developed issue with my left knee and had to buy another automatic car for wife as she couldn't get comfortable with the clutch. I got the clutch assembly replaced by Marut in second year. I complained and they promptly replaced with a note that it will again become hard after 15k kms.
So I kept driver and imagine the expenses. 12 k emi, 10 k fuel and 18k driver. I was paying luxury car money for much smaller car. Please do not buy disel manual if you drive too many kilometres or you intend to give it to better half.
Xuv also floats a little more on road compared to seletos. XUV is a great car but not sure if matches your requirement.

[museycal]

@chaitanyapramod, Just yesterday Mahindra announced discounts upto Rs. 1.89 Lakhs on the XUV 5OO. I am not entirely sure about the extent of impact on the Ex-Showroom price of this discount, but I may not be wrong in deducing that the discounted price will land a nice W7 AT within the price band you are looking at (Rs. 10 to 15 Lakhs from the OP).

This may allay the issues of going for an MT with XUV 5OO, if you change the booking now. Needless to say, I'd recommend the XUV 5OO AT despite its age over the Creta and Seltos. Honestly, I am unable to comprehend any issues with the 'age' of a product if I am buying it anew and it is proven over time.

[One]

Originally Posted by museycal

Honestly, I am unable to comprehend any issues with the 'age' of a product if I am buying it anew and it is proven over time.

Completely agree with this. I had a Brio which is discontinued but I still stop and look at one on the road years after letting it go. I still love the Ritz design, the old CRV etc.

If I like a car from the outside, and how it drives/is comfortable from the inside, I will gladly live without a modern dashboard and features. The biggest feature for me as compared to any old car model is AT, worth going over my budget once in 10 years (considering you intend to keep a car for a long time).

All the best in whatever you decide

[chaitanyapramod]

Originally Posted by VKumar

If you like it, go for it with closed eyes, you will love the ownership experience. It's an extremely VFM offering that does very well what it's supposed to do.

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

On a completely unrelated note, letting go of the AT to go for an XUV manual is a big mistake in my opinion. If moving to XUV means you have to let go of AT, you should not go for it.

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Since you have already booked the XUV5OO, just go for it. As rightly mentioned by VKumar, the XUV5OO is competent. The MHAWK engine is a gem of an engine. There can be some small niggles here and there, but thats not going to affect the drivability and get you stranded. Plus the front seats and middle row sests is more spacious than some of the high end cars, mainly because of monocoque chassis. For highway runs it is a confortable cruiser and you will never get tired even after 2 days of driving. All this from personal experience of owning the first generation XUV500 for 5 years.



Niggles are there even in the most expensive Maruti, but it is still the highest selling car in the Indian market.
The XUV5OO is a gem of a vehicle and a much better and proven product than the Kia. The Kia cars are relatively new in India and long term reliability is still a question mark. The Kia cars may be doing well abroad, but what we get in India is not the same, so quality is still in question. Besides the Kia cannot match the space and comfort of a XUV5OO.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Still my favorite 3 row crossover, simply because it is still a driver's delight, the engine , the gearbox, the steering, seating position , all spot on for some fun when needed.

Originally Posted by TrackDay

If possible do go for the automatic gearbox as that will be useful for both of you. A manual XUV 500 may not be exactly comfortable for a beginner level driver in Bangalore.
[...]
Definitely a value for money proposition when compared to the seltos.

Originally Posted by GTO

Secondly, for your kind of usage and your wife's preferences, you are buying the wrong transmission. I'd go for an AT. The XUV500 has a smooth well-tuned AT and a clunky MT.

Originally Posted by viXit

The later you buy a mahindra car, the better.

This is the last VFM crossover car you can get.
[...]
I will not even say anything about the engine. I will let the XUV owners talk about that. It's a gem and more than that. You will have lots of fun with it.

Wait till this is discontinued and you'll never find such value for money in any other segment ever. Inflation is real.
[...]
But please get the AT. Even if the wife won't drive it, she won't blame you for picking the wrong transmission.

Originally Posted by VKumar

Just look at that 2.2l motor, it defies all the logic of power to weight, torque to weight, gear ratios etc - it simply knows one thing, when the foot goes down, the SUV needs to go, and it goes.
[...]

What the XUV5OO offers as a package is unbeatable by any of these pseudo SUVs, hence they play their 'features' and 'contemporary' card.
[...]
And we are damn happy with both the purchases, happy to have the last ones of a breed that will hardly be seen again, proper VFM cars built to deliver smiles for miles on the roads. Same applies to the outgoing 5OO, once it's gone out of dealership floors, we will be left only with the 20 lac cars with 1.5l diesel motors!

Thank you all for your opinion and wisdom. This has been immensely helpful in coming to a decision.

Like some said, I don't really need this large a car right now. However, because I plan to keep the car for long, I want to be comfortable in both the driver's seat and rear seat. Additionally, XUV500 was the only car (within budget) where three adults (mostly soon to retire parents, in-laws) can be comfortably seated in the rear (the lack of hump in the middle of floor is amazing). it always looked good to me and I kept eyeing it on the road for a long time.

As many of you echoed here, I find XUV500 very much VFM car. It's the most "car" I can get for the budget I had in mind.

I'm okay with driving a dated and out-of-production car, as long the ownership experience isn't marred with parts unavailability issues. Compared to the other cars I otherwise drive (Father-in-law's Nexon XM Diesel or Dad's Brezza Diesel which I understand are not cutting edge), I find XUV500 fairly well equipped even by today's standards. All the mechanicals (engine, transmission) work fairly well even today.

I'm purchasing the car through my employer, so pre-worshipped vehicles weren't considered.

I hear you all with regards to preferring AT. As I considered the shared opinion, I realize I'm getting too old for working the gears in city traffic or even highway traffic. I expect the AT experience will also keep the car fresh for me for the upcoming years, in addition to getting wife very very comfortable with driving this beast of a vehicle. This factor also avoids the expense of second car just so she could drive comfortably. Taking all this into consideration, I've changed the booking to XUV W7 AT.

Making the decision would have been nerve-wracking, if not for all the perspectives I got in this forum. Thank you all!

[viXit]

Congratulations.

Great decision on changing the booking to an AT.
That gearbox is no slouch like most other gearboxes South of 20L

You'll have loads of fun with this car. Guaranteed.
Use all that space to the fullest! And even if you don't want to, you'll end up holding on to this car for really long. Because you've got yourself a car that's extremely hard to upgrade from. Everything else is a compromise.

Happy ownership

[Supercool]

I am going through the same dilemma. Should I buy XUV 500? I am already using XUV 500 W6 , 2015 model. After clocking 92k KMs , I have decided to change the car. I tried Hector, Safari and Alcazar but none can beat XUV 500 in cabin space. I am relatively satisfied with XUV 500 performance. While I agree it’s outdated design and service cost is higher. I will opt for 5 years warranty that should take care of most of issues. Safari has got so many niggles. MG Hector is Chinese plus no 6 airbag variant available in diesel 7 seat variant. Most likely I will also book a XUV 500 W 11 variant today. Any suggestions from fellow BHPians will help me in deciding my next car.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Supercool

I am going through the same dilemma. Should I buy XUV 500? I am already using XUV 500 W6 , 2015 model. After clocking 92k KMs , I have decided to change the car. I tried Hector, Safari and Alcazar but none can beat XUV 500 in cabin space. I am relatively satisfied with XUV 500 performance. While I agree it’s outdated design and service cost is higher. I will opt for 5 years warranty that should take care of most of issues. Safari has got so many niggles. MG Hector is Chinese plus no 6 airbag variant available in diesel 7 seat variant. Most likely I will also book a XUV 500 W 11 variant today. Any suggestions from fellow BHPians will help me in deciding my next car.

Wait for the 7OO unless you are getting some sort of a deal you cannot refuse, at least near 2L discount.

We got a W9 in 2020 with discounts for a friend that were too hard to refuse, it was an excellent deal.

Yes, XUV is still better in most critical aspects of what makes a good 3 row crossover - even today. Hope you have test driven the current model, pick up is amazing and it does it all quietly.

[Supercool]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Wait for the 7OO unless you are getting some sort of a deal you cannot refuse, at least near 2L discount.

We got a W9 in 2020 with discounts for a friend that were too hard to refuse, it was an excellent deal.

Yes, XUV is still better in most critical aspects of what makes a good 3 row crossover - even today. Hope you have test driven the current model, pick up is amazing and it does it all quietly.

I am getting over 2 Lacs of discount. In addition to that 5 years warranty. I am also getting good deal on my XUV 500 W6 variant which has done 92k KMs. Any new car comes with niggles and with Mahindra I am confident that there will be challenges in the initial year or so. Anyhow, if I like XUV 700, I can upgrade after 3 years. I am not getting confidence to book a 24 Lacs Tata or MG Hector.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Supercool

I am getting over 2 Lacs of discount.

You must be looking at the W11 variant then? Looks like W11 has 2 lakhs in discounts, whereas lower variants get 1.25 lakhs cash discount + 25k accessories discount.

Still you would be spending close to 10 lakhs on this upgrade? Does the new XUV justify the additional 10 lakhs spent over the existing 5OO? Mahindra makes reliable engines (usually) - so if I were in your place, i would have continued to use the current car for another lakh km.

[Supercool]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

You must be looking at the W11 variant then? Looks like W11 has 2 lakhs in discounts, whereas lower variants get 1.25 lakhs cash discount + 25k accessories discount.

Still you would be spending close to 10 lakhs on this upgrade? Does the new XUV justify the additional 10 lakhs spent over the existing 5OO? Mahindra makes reliable engines (usually) - so if I were in your place, i would have continued to use the current car for another lakh km.

Thank you so much. In fact I was also thinking on the same lines but now car is out of warranty and it will keep on giving issues. I always change a car 5 years once the warranty is over. I get better resale value plus low maintenance cost. Once the warranty is over, cost of maintaining XUV 500 is high.

[Supercool]

Originally Posted by chaitanyapramod

Some backstory:
I had driven Hyundai Grand i10 Asta for about a year at ~1.5k km/month usage, had to get rid of it in 2016 due to concern about structural integrity after an incident (perhaps another post).

Better half is in the picture since 2019 and we have been making do with cabs and two wheeler since pushing the expense of a car due to housing purchase, but want to purchase a car again now given the greater need for social distancing and creature comforts and an ability for easy weekend touring that a car offers.

After lot of thinking I finally booked XUV 500 W11 (O) today. Will be getting the car on Friday. Following points helped me in deciding:
- I keep car for 5 years and during this period I keep my car under warranty by purchasing extended warranty from dealer. So with 5 years warranty, I am sure I will be able to manage well with the car.
- Tata Safari and Hector plus may be good but there is a long way to go for both to provide good product. Endless niggles reported in both Cars.
- XUV 500 is still feature rich. I don’t think there is an end to features that we want in our cars.
- Cabin space is best in class in XUV 500
- I don’t want to cross 20 Lac budget for buying a car. XUV 700 will be over 20 Lacs for top end variant.
- I owned XUV 500 W6 for over six years and enjoyed the car

In case I felt need to upgrade the car, I may do that after 2 to 3 years. In my view I will still be able to get reasonable resale value for top end variant of XUV 500.

[sahil624]

Originally Posted by Supercool

After lot of thinking I finally booked XUV 500 W11 (O) today. Will be getting the car on Friday.

Congratulations on your booking. I believe that XUV500 is still a very capable vehicle and with those discounts going on, it provides an excellent value for money option. Do you mind mentioning the discount you got and the final OTR price you’re getting. Thanks.

[Supercool]

Originally Posted by sahil624

Congratulations on your booking. I believe that XUV500 is still a very capable vehicle and with those discounts going on, it provides an excellent value for money option. Do you mind mentioning the discount you got and the final OTR price you’re getting. Thanks.

I really negotiated very hard with the dealer. In Noida on road price will be around 19.40. I will get details tomorrow. Plus I am getting 20 K worth accessories free. However, I don’t know what I will need in accessories except mats. I am buying 2 years extended warranty which should cost around 23 K. Overall a good deal I guess.

In fact I wanted to go for Hector plus but unfortunately there are only 4 airbags in 7 seater top diesel MT variant. I drive more on highway so going with manual transmission.