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Old 12th February 2012, 23:23   #1
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Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Well, finally I am glad that I found the time to write this review of my new Cheetah inspired XUV 500 W8 FWD. I had folks call me over the past few weeks on the review I promised to write.

Previous cars owned : Maruti Zen Lxi(old model); Toyota corolla 1.8J(old model); Skoda Octavia TDI AT
Other cars that we own currently: Maruti Alto Lxi; Reva-i AC

Before you read this ownership review, I would like to set the background context clearly. As you recognize by now that the XUV is the first SUV kind of vehicle that I own now and my review is kind of a comparison to earlier sedans I owned (Corolla and the Octavia). So, do take this with a grain of salt. If I ever happened to own an Innova or a Scorpio my review could have been different.

Initial Considerations:
Like everyone, I too have a story about how I landed up buying the XUV. My better half always wanted more space in the car(due the fact that our earlier car Skoda Octavia had a notoriously poor leg space at the rear). We do occasionally drive to our hometown a good 500kms from Bengaluru. Initially considering the Scorpio, Tata Safari and Innova I was rather surprised by the cost of these vehicles (all ex-showroom – Bengaluru)– Safari 4X2 VX 2.2 VTT – 11.73Lakhs, Scorpio – VLX BS4- 2WD Airbags - 10.45Lakhs, Innova VX 7S – 12.72 Lakhs. My primary requirement, due to the size of these vehicles and occasional use of the highways, was that, if I buy any of these there should be ABS + airbags at the minimum. These minimum safety features were available at the highest variants only which pushes up the cost significantly compared to the base trim(ex. Innova base variant is 9.75Lakhs – a good 3 lakhs less). My wife could not drive the Scorpio properly. The Toyota salesperson discouraged the Innova as it had a long waiting period and was trying to push the Etios hearing our space requirements. The Safari I heard maybe replaced with a new variant - Merlin. After much thought, I felt it is not worth the money and started considering lower end sedans, and settled for a more subdued and less expensive option - Honda City and the main attraction being, Honda was giving a major discount. It was more a compromise at home, as my wife was not even willing to coming to showroom to choose the colour. I was a bit worried though, about the ground clearance and the fact it is a “petrol” burner. To put it in short, a slight delay in processing the lease application at my company resulted in a days delay. I was supposed get the order placed on for my ANHC(All New Honda City) on a Friday(30th Sep) but got pushed to the following Monday. But then the weekend in-between and a chance watch of a TV auto-show, completely changed everything and resulted in me booking the Cheetah on 2nd Oct 2011. I booked the W6 variant on 2nd Oct and promptly changed it to W8 variant on 3rd Oct after watching the youtube videos and learning more about the ESP feature. I am always for any safety features that make sense. I feel automobile manufacturers in India should make it a standard to provide – ABS, Airbags and ESP (in the order or priority) for all the variants they manufacture. Companies like Honda are already setting that standard and I hope others will follow. XUV is in this respect very well equipped from a safety features point of view as the base W6 variant does have dual airbags and ABS.

Delivery:
I got the delivery of my Cheetah, on the 24th of Dec 2011 , and ever since, I have driven around 1900Kms which includes primarily includes within the city driving and a long drive to Chennai (~650kms). The delivery experience had been superb and Mahindra has truly taken special care to ensure that buyer feels on top of the world. The dealer made all the arrangements well before we arrived with a “Welcome” sign and curtain raising ceremony etc. I have rated the delivery experience 10/10, in the post follow-up feedback questionnaire. The delivery ceremony was the best I have experienced so far from all the vehicles I bought. The long drive I did with the Cheetah was to Chennai in the last week of 2011. The drive to Chennai turned from a pleasure trip to an adventure trip, not due to the XUV, but due to the cyclone that we were not aware of.
But more about the Chennai trip later, first the “first” impressions:

Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0379.jpg
"Shot at the opening Ceremony"

I opted for very minimal accessories for the car
- Floor mats ( Rs ~ 1600)
- Scuff plates (Rs ~ 800)

I must say the cost of accessories is significantly lower than the earlier sedans I owned. Well it pays off to buy an Indian car!
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0024.jpg
Considering XUV?
I have been trying to understand, who will need a XUV or when will someone consider it?

For me this car fits perfectly for those who would :
  1. Like a family car with a lot of space with good looks
    • For a typical family, where you would like your kids to have a lot of space at the back (with car seats etc.)
    • Or you are in a profession of doing wild life photography or something similar and you are in need of serious space to carry your gear around.
  2. Not want to bother about huge speed bumps
    • For Bengaluru folks, who’s city is ridden with potholes and big speed breakers. I have not managed to hit the underbelly of the XUV so far.
  3. Frequent highways very often. – XUV is a great highway cruiser.
Things that I liked:
  • Power : - I simply love the performance , seems like the old Corolla feel again. Ever since I had switched to the Skoda Octavia automatic, I missed my Corolla dearly for this aspect. Now it feels really good again to own a car with exhilarating power. XUV’s, power delivery is simply superb, according to me. There is an initial lag below 1500RPM, especially when you are at 3rd gear and have to slow down, but otherwise the car just takes off. It seems like the front wheels are searching for the best possible path on the road and trying to run away. Apart from this “tram-lining”( the feeling one would get on the steering while driving over a tram line , probably some of you would have experienced that while driving cars in Europe) kind of feeling with the front wheels(where you get significant feedback in the steering wheel), the power delivery is quite smooth. Not sure whether this tram-lining effect is only in my car, need to get this checked at the first service.
  • City Driving : The drivability in the city is quite good and it is “quite” quiet. The car can amble along in 3rd gear at around 20-30kpmh or put the car in the second gear in slow traffic and it is sufficient to pull it out of almost stopping speed and so no need to do frequent gear shifting.
  • Inside Ambience: - Drive this car in the late evening with the red inside ambience light, you feel that you are being taken care of by a friendly monster. The small bits in the car really make you feel special. Open the vanity mirror and light comes automatically on; the puddle light under the OVRM and the door, makes alighting the car easy. The lights in the foot wells can easily help you locate the mobile phone you dropped.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0241.jpg
"Fantastic Ambience in the evenings"
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0245.jpg
"Red Ambience Light-suberb"
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0211.jpg
"Vanity mirror Auto lights- nice feature"
  • GPS:- . The “MaymyIndia” GPS is pretty good and though I would have liked the user interface to be a bit better the GPS did prove useful on the trip to Chennai and on a couple of occasions within Bengaluru city. It is hard to input things like “restaurant” and get the list of all nearby restaurants, but rather one has to input the destination and then ask for all the restaurants on the way. These features could hopefully make it in the next feature pack from MapmyIndia.
  • Cruise control: Well I know this is a very common feature, but then on the drive to Chennai, this feature proved its worth. The drive was not tiresome at all, although I had driven for 8-9 hours(we took a lot of breaks and I did not venture beyond 100kph). The + and – buttons worked excellently well while cruising and if in-case I had to brake anytime, this wonderful “Res” button that sets me back to the cruising preset speed. I don’t remember using this “Res” button in the car that I had in the US. I will say, from my other cars that I had, XUV is fantastic less tiresome cruiser on the highway! Recently though I discovered that “Res” button can be used within the city as well to a certain extent.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-img00129201112311210.jpg
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-img00130201112311210.jpg
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-img00131201112311211.jpg
"Dirty Cheetah after the Cyclonic Chennai Drive"
  • Space: This the first time I own a SUV and immediately the sense of space is really striking. The only bad bit is that wife sits a km away. My kid simply loves the space in the middle row. The leather seats are designed well and the driver seat offer a lot of comfort.
  • Headlight cornering: this is just a lovely feature and I find this extremely useful in the dark corners and turns more so in our apartment basement.
  • Body roll : though I am not an absolute expert here, all I can say us that I did not feel a major difference shifting from a sedan to the XUV. One to needs to recognize that this is a much bigger vehicle and would need to drive it responsibly and be extra careful. But from earlier experience with driving a friend’s Innova on the way to Goa, I could feel a major difference in the driving experience, from a sedan and was a bit scared to take those turns, on the winding roads. But, I need to take the XUV on a similar winding stretch to really judge. For now, I am driving it almost like the cars I had owned before and do not feel any significant handling issue.
  • OVRM close in neatly: Nice feature that I did not have in my earlier cars, but the OVRM does contact the window beadings while closing. Need to have this corrected. Similarly the wiper blade is slightly off it’s mark, and need to be adjusted.
  • Visibility: High seating position: well this nothing special about the XUV, but comparing to a sedan I can feel a major difference while doing night driving on the highway. On my way back from Chennai, in thick rain, the high seating position offered excellent visibility, and also a better reprieve from the blaring full headlamps from the opposite side traffic.
  • The Bluetooth connectivity and microphone: The Bluetooth pairing works very well, but the microphone is not that great and the person on the other end need to strain their ears to hear you properly. The Dail-pad and contact list comes on automatically and is quite good, but the usability could have been better.
  • Auto AC: The cooling of the AC is extremely good. Bound to be good for the Indian summers. The auto climatic control works very well.
  • Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0178.jpg "Intergated parking sensor is too sensitive- but good"
  • Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-img00135201112311213.jpg "Seems like standard company fittings for crtical parts of the XUV!"
Not so Good Things( that I did not like):
  • Power Windows : - there is a auto roll down feature and NO auto roll-up . For a 15 Lakhs car this definitely a sore miss. I recognized that this is a feature that I always used to use, and now I need to keep the button “on” till it has rolled up the entire long driver side window. The Power windows make more noise than usual and I need to get this checked up. Secondly, no auto roll-up on remote locking the car!
  • Mileage Indicator: I recognized that after my drive to Chennai where I kept an almost constant speed of 90- 100Kmph the mileage indicator jumped from 12kmpl to 15kpml overall. After that it got stuck at 15kmpl for an unusually long time and while driving back too I checked that it remained at 15kmpl. Seems like the upper limit that this display can show in 15kmpl and not beyond, or it could be that it got stuck at 15kmpl, as after returning to Bangalore and continuing to drive around for more than a week it remained at 15kmpl. I realized that this indicator is completely wrong as from my rough calculations, it was an overall 12kmpl. This is a bit of disappointment as this was one thing in the Skoda that worked perfectly and the mileage indicator was spot on to my full tank to full tank calculations.
  • Trip meter: A small but really annoying point -the trip meter A and B reaches a limit of 999.9 km and gets stuck there, it does not reset to 0 or continue beyond. I use the trip A meter for fuel resets and the trip B for long drive measurements and seems like this is a bit of a sore point.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0180.jpg
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-img00142201202011942.jpg
"Both Trip meters max out at 999.9km!!!"
  • Reflection on the front glass: From the earlier reviews, I know that reflection in the front glass is bad and I never expected to be as bad as this.. see pic. Especially the noon time when the sun directly beats down on the front dashboard area, it is a problem. Not sure what I need to do about this.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0202.jpg
"Aweful reflection"
  • Center console Plastics: I personally feel, M&M by having this small piece of plastic panel cover storage (near where you would keep the idol) has really killed an otherwise great interior due to two main reasons- 1st- this does not serve any purpose, as it is not large enough for one to use it and 2nd – this is a major cause for vibration in my car. Especially in the first and second gear there a major rattling in the cover. I need to keep the cover open and rattling goes away and then it is super silent. I am dead sure that Mahindra in their initial test cars did not have these elaborate plastics and they were fit later as an afterthought. In general the interior plastic quality and fittings of the center console area right from the windscreen, till the center glove box is much to be desired. The plastics do not fit-in well and these panels, I suppose, will rattle more and could eventually fall apart.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0203.jpg
"This storage space cover major cause for rattling in my car!"
  • Storage spaces: Plenty of them- 2 glove boxes, a place above the music system (with rattling cover), door pockets- but none of them are large enough to keep the SLR camera. I keep my SLR camera in the cooled compartment in the center arm rest. I am disappointed by the twin glove box space. I feel it should have been a single one with more space.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0215.jpg
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0216.jpg
"Lot of options but nothing large enough!"
  • Voice command: This is a pure marketing gimmick; this feature is of no use.
  • Braking: Honestly I feel, the brakes of the XUV are not the best. It could do with a better a stopping distance. When I brake it feels a bit weird as the vehicle does continue more than expected, then one needs to press even harder as the speed bump comes nearer and I do sometimes feel that in uncomfortable situations on a highway it could prove to be inadequate. Though the ESP and ABS should be kicking in critical situations but I have not put these to test yet.
  • Headlamps warning beep and remote locking: Most of the cars do have this feature of a warning beep when headlamps are on and one removes the key from the ignition - again a sore miss in the XUV. I did end up locking the car with the headlamps on. The headlamp does switch off, but the rear tail lights remain on. I had our apartment security call me on a couple of occasions telling that rear lights are on! The other disappointment is that if any of the passengers do not switch off the reading lights(XUV have 6 of them) or the light pair near the front rearview mirror, then it will remain “on” even I remote lock the car. I am wondering if I do manage to leave one of the light on for a whole night will the heat generated cause a fire. I will need to think of a solution to this in the next service. Personally I do not like the “tubelight bright” reading lamps and will try to change the bulbs to get a softer light.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0249.jpg
"These lights do not switch off when locking the car!"

Well these are minor things you would imagine, but the fact is that if you are a finicky kind a person who would like everything to work as expected and get annoyed by small niggles here there then step away from the XUV. In my experience no car is perfect as I have had a lot of rattling in my Skoda as well, though I never bothered getting it corrected.

Well here is a list of issues I have faced in my car so far
  • First to start with the Major Issue (fortunately set right): My car had an unusual sound from the front right side suspension while going over rough patches. I had this sense that something is wrong with the front suspension the day I took the delivery. Slowly the sound became more, and after my trip to Chennai this sound had become so evident that it was like something had fallen loose or dislocated. The sound was similar to what you will hear when an empty bottle is kept in a loose bottle holder in a car. I called my RM and he promptly took the car to get it checked, and by evening when I got back the car, to my surprise the issue was not fixed. I called the RM again and then he volunteered to send the engineers to my place and have it checked. The technicians were also surprised that they missed fixing it and told me that the front suspension needs to be checked and asked me to send the car immediately to their service center. The concerned look on their faces left me flabbergasted and I then realized that they may not have all the adequate expertise to deal with the problem in this new car. So I decided to call my RM and connect me to another RM from another dealer, whose workshop was near to my workplace. I took the car personally the next day and my visit paid off as the technician there was already aware of a similar problem from another XUV, and pointed me the source of problem. It was loose bolt on the top of the suspension joint !(Pic attached). It was fixed in 10 minutes by tightening it and adjusting it a bit. The whole incident left me a bit concerned, and I kept wondering what would have happened if this bolt had come out completely on my highway trip to Chennai. Since then this issue has not come again and I feel this is the result of lack of good quality pre delivery inspection checks.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0256_01.jpg
"The bolt under the black rubber dome was loose in my car!"
  • Rattling sound in the front door: The driver side door has a minor rattling noise on the inside that I cannot figure out what is causing this. When the door is shut there is this rattling sound and also when the car is going over rough patches. I am not too concerned about this for the moment and I will have that fixed in the next service.
  • Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0255.jpg "Slight rust on the fancy tailpipe - RM has promised a replacement!"
  • Cruise control switches off: On my drive to Chennai I so enthused by the +and – buttons that while playing around with it a bit too much the cruise completely disengaged. After that I could not switch the cruise control back on. I then had to pull over, switch off the car completely and start again and then it worked perfectly. While on the way back too this happened and my wife was surprised why we pulled over on the highway, stop and then start and go. I just mentioned “re-boot required”.
  • The Entertainment system switches of abruptly: I had this happen at least 6 times now, all of a sudden the center entertainment system just re-boots itself and it seems like a loose connection somewhere. The other thing is that when I put the audio in mute there is constant humming sound as if the radio is on! Need to have this checked.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-20111231-20.48.20.jpg
"The error message quite familar to Software engineers like me!"
  • TPMS error: Well, this I believe is a common problem for those who have been following the reviews so far. I too faced a TPMS error on the rear right wheel on my way back from Chennai. It happened when I was constantly driving at 90-100kph for a long duration(>30 minutes). After a while during the drive the error went off automatically came back on after a while and thankfully went off permanently. When I enquired with the RM , he mentioned that in longer drives due to the heat the TPMS sensor sometimes could malfunction. Well, I can bet the tyres could have never got hot, as it was raining cats and dogs throughout my whole drive back.
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-20111230-20.02.38.jpg
"Apologies for the poor quality image- TPMs error in rear right tyre!"


Overall Ownership Experience:
Overall, baring the front suspension issue that I faced and the initial euphoria, I have starting liking this car more and more since that day I got it. The driving pleasure is great and slowly I have settled in and got used to new up stance seating position and new driving style. I feel the gear shift is great and smooth, unlike some of the other reviews mentioning that it is a bit “notchy”. There is a minor issue engaging in the second gear, but one will soon get used to it and engage the gear perfectly. I realize that this is biggest car I have owned so far and with it comes with certain undesired effects. For example my daughter finds a lot space at the rear, but she never had the habit of putting the seats belts on, and at times she dozes off on the seats and due to this couple of times when stopping the car, she got tossed right to the front and hit herself to the front seats, which is a great distance away. This would have never happened in a smaller car or a sedan. Now she sits all perfectly buckled up. Secondly the ride is not as plush a sedan and so if you are planning to make your grandma or your future mother-in-law happy by putting her in middle row, forget about it. You will be better off with a sedan or if you ever plan to do that on a XUV, choose a super smooth highway. The car does jostle the occupants a fair bit on rough terrains at slow speeds.(I am comparing this to a sedan). In really large potholes the sideways motion is a bit more magnified than in a sedan. I believe this should be the case with other bigger vehicles like the Safari for instance. But with the high seating position you get a sense of feeling of “being on the top” in normal traffic and the visibility to the outside is excellent, thanks to the large windows. I have not considered the last row of seats, as I plan not to use them and use this car as a 5 seater. I did have some of my office colleagues sit at the last row and they said it is quite ok and though the leg space is less. It can only be used for short rides. So, do not count on the last row of seats and plan to buy this car as a 5 seater only, or else then you seriously lack boot space.

Summary:
To summarize, if anybody does ask me nowadays all I say-“this is the best car that I have owned so far!” which summarizes it aptly. For now I am enjoying the celebrity status, as the car does not go unnoticed and as I am the one of the few who owns a XUV! Attached are the pictures of the Cheetah:
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0224.jpgCheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0025.jpg
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0209.jpgCheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0208.jpg
Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8-dsc_0235.jpg[
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Old 12th February 2012, 23:47   #2
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Note From Team-BHP Support-Team: Thread moved from Assembly Line to Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports section. Thank you for the wonderfully compiled report and pictures. *thumbs up*
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Old 13th February 2012, 01:15   #3
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Good pics and write up! Looks like its a mandate to live with some of the niggles in Indian cars!! But I am truly happy with the strive that M&M has made with respect to TATA!

Congrats & wish you happy miles with your ride! Silver looks better than I thought!

PS:: Some more ambient lighting pics please! Pics are never enough even if you get TONS of those!
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Old 13th February 2012, 05:45   #4
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Congratulations, Lovely writeup/pictures and very candid about the good and not so good things in the car.

One wishes there should not be any problems in the car, but that being a little unrealistic, what i like about Mahindra and Tata is, most of the time they support the customers fully and try and fix the problems. XUV is a looker and usually looks good in all available colors.

Bangalore-Chennai is not the best route to try and understand the capabilities of this monster, do take it out on some hilly routes near bangalore, or some not so great roads, that's where XUV excels and proves to be a money's worth.
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Old 13th February 2012, 07:17   #5
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Heartiest Congratulations on the Cheetah!
Wish you many happy motoring miles on the XUV
Superb pictures specially the low light conditions one's.
Likes- Very well covered,.. precisely pointed out strengths
Dislikes- Shocking to hear poor faultfinding expertise from the workshop staff. This even after so much time after launch of the XUV.
Have seen similar half trained mechanic staff traits at the local mahindra dealer workshop here. Also saw two banged up XUV's come for heavy repairs. Apparently the service manager says that the XUV is very powerful with a fast pickup, thus the no of accidents in thick traffic. And poor brakes, that tend to lock up too soon. Also the body panels, front fenders and bumpers seemed to be made of thin plasticky type fiber material, that was the main culprit as per the manager. Seems like weight reduction efforts going too far. And Yes the niggling problems in the electronics do not seem to be getting solved anytime soon.
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Old 13th February 2012, 07:57   #6
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

@acinoynx
Congratulations on the wild one. The XUV is sure a looker on the streets making the heads turns when it moves. How did the beast handle during your Chennai trip?

Can you ask mods to format your posts please, its difficult to read it. Also if you can post the interior pics too (the broad daylight ones).

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.
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Old 13th February 2012, 08:30   #7
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

@Acinonyx, Congrats !

Is your XUV a AWD or Front-Wheel-Drive (FWD) ? Pls have the titled edited suitably. I think you meant AWD.
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Old 13th February 2012, 08:40   #8
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Congratulations for your Cheetah

Your report is wonderfully detailed and extremely well compiled. It's a benchmark for initial ownership reports. The SLR photos are also stunning, making it easily one of best reports on T-BHP visually.

I'm impressed by the minute details you pay to your beauty and take care to resolve any issue as soon as possible. I'm sure that due to your close inspections, your Cheetah will not have any significant problem in her life.

Before XUV5OO, I was never a fan of SUVs. I don't know why but I feel jealous when someone drives an XUV around. Happy revving!
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Old 13th February 2012, 09:11   #9
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Fantastic review Acinonyx Its very unbiased and to the point. To top it, you have excellent set of pics too. Do post the pics with interior mood lighting (with more exposure times).

A noob question though, is windows powering the entertainment system?
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Old 13th February 2012, 09:27   #10
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Tons of best wishes!

You own the most anticipated and discussed vehicle in India. Silver is my favorite color in this car along with those chrome/black alloy wheels, which mahindra sells as an accessory for W6. Few niggles like rattling, ICE shutting off, TPMS sensor issues have been faced by most of the XUV owners. Hope Mahindra finds a proper solution to them. Have you opted for extended warranty? I would suggest to chip in.

How is the sound quality of the OEM speakers?
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Old 13th February 2012, 11:02   #11
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Wonderful review Acinonyx,

Yes, as someone said, this is one of the best ownership reviews since you have tried to cover a lots of details on likes/dislikes you have come across so far. Please continue to update the thread as you put on happy miles on it. Great pictures to go with, you may want to adjust the way you post pictures so that readers dont have to scroll horizontally, I guess mods will now be doing it shortly.

Please check on the dashboard matts in the market, you may get those with a rubber underside and a very soft material on the top in the market, those are a bit heavy and rubber helps to stick to that plastic material on the dashboard, that will help you avoid the reflactions on the windshield in direct sunlight conditions.

from your review, it seems they notchy gearshift is something they may have worked on, didnt hear anything about the scratching noise while breaking and many other niggles that we keep hearing about, yours should be the one with quite a few issues resolved.
How do you feel the clutch, is it hard (I'm sure you may have some feedback since you have been using sedans all this while).

Congratulations again! Wishing you lots of happy miles on your XUV. Drive Safe!
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Old 13th February 2012, 11:13   #12
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Last edited by GTO : 13th February 2012 at 12:05.
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Old 13th February 2012, 12:31   #13
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

This is one of the best reports I have ever come across. Beautifully written, all details covered & of course, GREAT pics.

One query - what is your take on the A.S.S. standards? Are you happy with their service?
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Old 13th February 2012, 12:51   #14
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

@Acinonyx, very neatly written review.

Hope your small niggles gets solved soon. Congrats & wish you happy miles with your ride!

The pics are very nice but why no interior pics
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Old 13th February 2012, 13:38   #15
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re: Cheetah comes home - Mahindra XUV500 W8

Very nicely written review.

From what I can tell, except for the loose screw, you have mostly minor problems most of which may be fixed in a future software update/first service.

You've owned a toyota and a skoda, both cars usually don't have these kind of teething problems and you're still saying that this is the best car you've owned? Why? Is it the price or is it genuinly more fun to drive ?

Another thing I noticed is that you've mentioned the ride quality is not very smooth on pothole'd roads. Is this true in general for all SUVs ? I'd assume the ride would be better in SUVs.
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