I did a TD of Xylo D2 & E4 variants and including here my observations.
"Gurus"/Experts out here : I'm totally new with respect to MUV/SUV so some of my observations may sound stupid to you folks . Please excuse
Xylo D2
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I first took a TD of the D2 variant. My observations :
Interiors:
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1. It is very roomy. There is great leg room in all rows
2. The dash is pretty ordinary - just a speedometer, fuelmeter and engine heat/cold indicator. No RPM meter (which is there in E series)
3. the plastics look quite flimsy and not up to the mark (though the salesperson was telling it is quite rugged and strong)
4. The seat material, again is quite average - there are no side arm support in D2
5. the glove box seems a little too small ? my alto seems to have a bigger one..
6. AC ducts are there in all rows and it cools pretty fast. Really great. One problem neverthless - there is no provision to turn off AC to a particular vent and only option is shut the vent by the sliding channel - but even if fully close, you still get a cold waft of air. You can of course turn the ac completely off for the second/third rows, but selective turning off/on for each seat is not there.
7. The seats can be folded /removed in all rows and some interesting combinations can be achieved
Exteriors
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1. D2 variant looks smaller than its E4 counterpart. The tyres are also smaller
2. for that size of vehicle, the tyres are too small , i think ?
3. There is no side cladding or any fancy stuff -
4. the door handle/outside seem to be a little flimsy
5. Since there are no side steps, ingress/egress is not easy
6. Looks more like a Taxi :-(
Drive experience
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1. The D2 starts with a roar and there is some kind of "whining" sound
2. Very responsive and moves quite smoothly
3. Even though the D2 is having lower bhp, i found that the vehicle moves more easily and requires less gear shifts
4. There is significant amount of vibration on the gear stick. (Can't even compare with my alto, where there is almost no vibration!)
5. There was heavy traffic (near silkboard) and driving a big MUV was making me initially nevrous but I found that XYLO is quite manageable - though it may take some time for getting used to this
6. The gears seem to be more difficult to engage - esp. the reverse gear
7. I went on the elevated highway (silk board to ecity) and felt that the vehicle is quite responsive & powerful. There was considerable sound in the cabin and the vibrations on the gear stick was very high.
8. Braking - the vehicle slews to one side. Quite scary. Even at slower speeds. The sales person told that is because it is TD vehicle, but am not fully convinced.
I'd seen the D2 (2010) model and there are some subtle things which are dropped in the 2011 (mahindra doing a cost cutting ?)
1. Reading lamps in the last row is now not there
2. Side step is not there
3. theatre style lamp in the front is removed - replaced with plain lamps
E4 Variant
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I'm not putting down the detailed differences b/w d2 & e4 as these are already avlbl in this site. Neverthless, some of my observations.
1. The interiors look slightly better, though the plastic quality is not upto the mark.
2. There is a side step (as a default accessory), which makes ingress/egress more easier
3. The dash contains a RPM meter - in addition to the stuff which D2 has. Not sure what is the advantage of having this meter.
4. The dash also looks more neater
5. There are reading lamps in all rows
Exteriors:
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Did a side by side comparison of d2 & e4 (sorry! did not take my camera along :-(, mobile cam was quite pathetic and gave up after taking couple of snaps). E4 looks more elegant. It also seems to be more bigger ? (not sure whether it is my perception or actuals - the mahindra website is not mentioning any differences). Side beading is also there by default which makes it more better to look.
There is also a rear wiper in this model, which is not there in D2
Drive experience
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Had some difficulty in starting the car and needed to switch on/off couple of times
The engine seems to be more refined and there is less sound. but the vibrations in the gear stick is still there.
The vehicle also seems to be more stable than the d2 counterpart at high speeds - probably because of the bigger tyres
Braking - vehicle still slews - but lesser compared with D2
Strange part is even though D2 is supposed to be a lower powered vehicle, i found it more easy to drive in traffic when compared to E4. It also requires lesser gear changes. Not sure whether this is genuinely true or is just my perception
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Conclusion
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Still confused :-(, though some of my fears/misconception has been eliminated. Cost wise - E4 seems to be a good 60k more than the D2.
D2 works out to 8.07L and the e4 works out to around 8.74L
The major difference b/w (according to me) is the tyres and the engine. The other frills i can live without. Question is these differences really worth about 60k ?
- another option (new confusion) is the basic Scorpio LX with mhawk engine after discounts and offers is only about 12k more than the E4. Is it better to go for this ? *grrr* this is turning out quite paniful!
anyways, i'm planning to do a TD of the scorpio also now. will post dtls of this.