[princey]

Congrats on your choice. Read your apprehensions in the niggles thread. Am glad you overcame your fears and plonked the mulah on the XUV. Wish you many safe and happy motoring miles in the beast. Must say the pics are professional class.
Happy crusing !

[Shreyas Aterkar]

Congratulations to you Satya! Very nicely written review, subscribed to this thread and will wait for the updates from your side and also the wonderful pics similar to the ones you have been uploading of you jet. When I read in you tjet thread that you are looking to sell the car, I was like, why? Good that you retained it, nothing beats a jet and now you have got the XUV, love the aggressive looks of the car, looks good in grey, though, white is the favourite. Curious to know your experience on the niggles part, am sure M&M would have sorted many of them. Also please upload lots of interior pics of you beast.

Edit: Those alloys look superb. Also what tyres did you get as stock?

[Ketan]

Congratulations Sathya,

A very well written initial report with lots of details covered. We are waiting for the pictures of your ride. I'm glad XUV behaved very well during your initial highway runs and as I said earlier, its surely a confidence inspiring for existing and potential owners for sure.
I'm another 100 kms to 1K after 2 weeks now and may take some more time before I take it on a longer trip.
Good, you could spend sometime along your trip (that to around your marriage anniversery! Many Happy Returns of the Day!) and share the initial experience. We are waiting for some wonderful pictures now.
- I read you've been doing some good speed and taking ghats as well in some part of your trip, have you ever felt the lack of ESP!
- Have you managed time to look for other alloy options in the market! I understand the one you took from M&M is the only option by them
- Same question again, have you felt the low beam throw shorter on highways/speeds above 70-80?

Congratulations again and wish you many more happy miles ahead with the new ride.
drive safe.

eidt: ok, I seem to have taken too long to reply, I see you already responded with some pictures, will go thru it. Thanks for sharing.

[aks_karthik]

Congrats Sathya for the Hawk.

Might be, I too follow you soon with W8 AWD. Awaiting for them to open booking for XUV5OO AWD.
For this price, It's a good car and no other cars in this segment will give this kind of VFM factor. Loaded to the brim and W8 has some more too.
Some of obvious omissions for me are 2nd row Seat rail to move back and forth and Front Sensor, as i used to it with my Silver Steark.

Enjoy and Drive Safe

[TaureanBull]

What a gift for the Wedding Anniversary! You are going to give all hubbies on T-Bhp run for their money.

Its a really nice colour..the first I have seen on T-Bhp and elsewhere. I am eyeing one for myself...sometime in Jun next year. Wish I have enough moolah by then or else I will look for something like Scorpio/Storme or Xylo.

Congrats buddy! happy munching miles.

[Sathya_sc]

First of all I will update on my additional 500kms that I have added to my XUV. Now the ODO stands close to 2000kms (just short by a few tens).

Oh man, what a drive, since the car had 1500kms on the ODO, return journey from Thekkady to Chennai, was a blast. What an engine it is. Simply awesome. Here are my observations on the engine,

Quick "speed (km/hr) to RPM" observations in 6th gear. Here is what it is,

120 - 2200 RPM
140 - 2500 RPM (Best Cruise speed for this Vehicle)
150 - 2700 RPM
160 - 3000 RPM (cake walk, feels like 120 inside)
180 - 3500 RPM (reaches with ease.. no stress on the engine)
190 - 3800 RPM (Takes some time, engine feels strained anything above this limit)
200 - 4000 RPM (Test for patience, but able to hit this mark)

This is precisely what it takes to achieve. Best part is to cruise at 140 at 2500 RPM.

Generally, in lower gears, the car revs upto 5000RPM while the power tapers out above 4000RPM gradually. 1st and 2nd gears useless, just for moving, too short for my taste.

Return trip mileage was 13km/lt as per MID.

Did Trichy-Chennai, 3hrs 30 mins flat. One of the best drives I have had next to T-Jet. Hoot to drive this machine. I am floored by Mahindra.

Brakes need a special mention, had a situation where suddenly had a couple of goats jumped on the expresway from the divider when my speedo was creeping towards 140 types. It was panic all of a sudden, and I had to ram the brakes and at the same time avoid hitting them. I was able to maneuver the car as I was braking and avoided the goats without any issues (ABS effect I guess). I do agree that brakes have a longer play, but the bite is perfect. I can't expect more from a 1800kg vehicle. Know the vehicle, and it will reward you back.

One thing is, in my Jet I don't fear during hard braking since I feel I am sitting in some deep well inside (closer to the ground). In XUV, I feel slightly scary when I brake hard because of the height. I am realizing am driving an SUV!

There is grinding noise during slow speed braking. For now, I am parking this only issue that I have. Otherwise everything worked perfectly fine and the car is niggle free as I am writing this update. and the front Driver door closes perfectly like any other door now. The issue vanished by itself. However, I am having it in my radar.

Originally Posted by narchennai

So I understand from your picture that you are one among the few to register your vehicle at Tambaram RTO with a new series TN 11. (Please correct me if I am wrong)

Thanks Narchennai. Yes. You are correct.

Originally Posted by MAS

I was too tempted to go in for it, but the niggles thread kept me away.
Are you sure this is going to be your wife's ride? Naah...

Thanks MAS, I am also having a close watch on the niggles and am prepared to face them. I feel, for 14L it offers more than what we typically get. So a couple of problems here and there is not an issue. I am OK to get them fixed. What is life without problems!! and Yes, this indeed is my wife's ride. I am already a married man (I mean to the TJet)

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

How would you rate the AC of XUV, now that you have driven around quiet a bit, also in comparison to your TJET, how does it perform in the hot+humid climate of Chennai?

Thanks Mayank. AC is super. It chills in no time with the limited exp I have with the car (just 4 days). However, I will update after some time on this.

Originally Posted by arvi86

Having floored all of us with S-U-P-E-R-B shots of your JET, you are making me all the more impatient to see your XUV500 captured in those lenses.

Thanks Arvi. The photo shoot may be this weekend with my friend. Lets see how this weekend goes. If everyting goes well, the beast will be in for a wonderful photo shoot!

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I hope you must have familirized with all the gadegtry available in the XUV. How's the buying process been? What was the OTR cost? Did you go for any mods? Looking at the frequent comparison with the Tjet looks like more Tjet man than XUV.

Thanks Ghodlur. I am getting familiarized with the features still. OTR is 14.08L here in Chennai. Yes, for me FIAT stays close to my heart always even if I drive a BMW. "According to me", Nothing comes close to a FIAT. Period.

Originally Posted by _raVan_

Do update this thread with the servicing costs and experience and do upload some interior shots.

Thanks Ravan. I will update this thread periodically. Hope everything goes well.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Congratulations Satya. Thanks for the pictures. That’s a very elegant looking XUV. Nice choice of color.
An interesting garage now! Drive safe!

Thanks San. Yes, I have a Petrol and a Diesel Beast. Where is the beauty then? haha..

Originally Posted by princey

Congrats on your choice. Read your apprehensions in the niggles thread. Am glad you overcame your fears and plonked the mulah on the XUV.

Thanks Princey. Even I was scared to death by reading the niggles thread. But now I am happy with my decision. 2000kms on the ODO and no niggles yet. Lets see how this goes and how reliable is this machine. Hope it is.

Originally Posted by Shreyas Aterkar

Edit: Those alloys look superb. Also what tyres did you get as stock?

Alloys are from Mahindra. Stock tyres are Bridgestone Dueler and I am happy except for the excessive sqealing it does under hard braking or on hard corners.

Originally Posted by Ketan

- I read you've been doing some good speed and taking ghats as well in some part of your trip, have you ever felt the lack of ESP!
- Have you managed time to look for other alloy options in the market! I understand the one you took from M&M is the only option by them
- Same question again, have you felt the low beam throw shorter on highways/speeds above 70-80?

Thanks Ketan, Yes, I miss the ESP. There is understeer to a large extent on hard cornering. But I knew what I am getting into. So no issues. Also, I have to remember that I am NOT in the Jet. If I dont, then what will save me is "TIG" only.

Yes Low beam throw is short. I switch between High and Low to overcome this issue. But I am not feeling the pinch since the Jet also has poor low beam! My Ritzy was better than both the Jet and XUV in low beam!!

Originally Posted by aks_karthik

Might be, I too follow you soon with W8 AWD. Awaiting for them to open booking for XUV5OO AWD.

Thanks man. Is the AWD still on? I am not sure whether they are open to take bookings for the AWD..

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

What a gift for the Wedding Anniversary! You are going to give all hubbies on T-Bhp run for their money..

Thanks TaureanBull. and True. This is definitely one that I will remember for ever.

[anandtheleo]

Congrats Sathya. So finally took delivery, hope you have a pleasant ownership experience.

[rameshnanda]

Excellent initial ownership review Sathya. I always had a high regard for this vehicle when you told the story of your T-Jet's encounter with an XUV sometime back. You are now having one rare combination of cars in your garage now.

One man with two beasts .

[raul]

Hey Sathya, and to think you were contemplating whether to buy this. Great luck! and that too grey which is my preferred colour for the XUV. Nice and indepth review, very useful to get a feel of the car's capabilities.

From my many test drives I agree with you, the XUV is tremendous value and Mahindra really nailed this. Kudos. The important things; engine, handling, stability and space are all there. It does 150 leisurely and without drama, where else do you get this kind of performance in an SUV at this price?

Only thing is I feel for city use it can be a handful, the use case has to be significant highway running to make sense.

Since you also got a feel for the Duster would be interesting to hear your thoughts a bit more between that and the XUV, as with the Duster launch and depending on pricing a lot of folks will have to make the decision.

[Ketan]

Originally Posted by raul

Only thing is I feel for city use it can be a handful, the use case has to be significant highway running to make sense.

I have not driven other cars except my Palio, it reads ~70K kms now and this is the first time I'm driving a bigger car. It took just a few minutes to get the 90% of the idea on vehicle size, driving dynamics etc, it may take few more days or may be bit more to get the same kind of confidence that I have on my Palio.

The point I'm trying to make is, it doesnt feel like a big car in the city, I have been driving it to work every day for past 2+weeks - 800 kms and I felt its just fine, didnt have a real big difference in terms of driving a different size vehicle. I have had test ride of Safari and Scorpio last year, but somehow felt this one on lighter and tighter side. It may be just me, but thats what I feel.

[Off Roadie]

Congratulations on your XUV, it's a brilliant VFM package.
That said everyone is raving about it's engine but it's magic lies in it's gearbox.
Way back when we had the CRDe Scorp my dad and I both felt the need for a sixth gear. Heck there were times when my dad would slot it out of 5th in a bid to shift into a higher gear and realise what he was doing, then put it back in 5th again.
I can see that you're a rev happy chap but take my advise and don't rev above 3500 RPM and you will have a lovely long term relationship with the diesel.
Drive safe and enjoy your ride.

[Ketan]

Originally Posted by Off Roadie

I can see that you're a rev happy chap but take my advise and don't rev above 3500 RPM and you will have a lovely long term relationship with the diesel.
Drive safe and enjoy your ride.

I agree on that part and would like to repeat, you may want to be within 3-3.5K for sometime, even later, exercise 4K and beyond only for rare/needy situation. I'm not an expert but unlike Petrol engine, this doesnt like to be redlined frequently / unless extremely required. For the longevity of the engine life, during the inital phase, enjoy the 2.5K to 3.5 range where you get to feel the max pull and power.

I'm used to the up shift at around 2.25-2.5K on my Palio and with XUV, I'm doing that 2-2.25K, I guess I should go a bit beyond that but I'm still kind of scared and want to make sure I complete the initial few K kms with sedate driving, its difficult to resist sometime and going to 3K or little beyond is sometimes good for break-in process as well. However, I wouldnt dare beyond that for sometime now.
DriveSafe.

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by raul

Only thing is I feel for city use it can be a handful, the use case has to be significant highway running to make sense.

Since you also got a feel for the Duster would be interesting to hear your thoughts a bit more between that and the XUV, as with the Duster launch and depending on pricing a lot of folks will have to make the decision.

Thanks Raul. Spot on about your comment on City vs Highway use. Its indeed big for city use. Highway is where this guy is the King. Duster is equally a good car in all aspects. Its main USP is pure UTILITY. Take my word, if priced right, Duster will set the sales charts on fire. Good road presence, 110 hp engine with good low and mid range grunt, superb GC, Good Seating comfort (good shoulder/elbow room, and excellent under thigh support). Plastics will look tacky but is put together very well. Overall its going to be a good competitor to Sedans.

Overall a good vehicle from Renault. But pricing is going to decide its fate.

Originally Posted by Off Roadie

That said everyone is raving about it's engine but it's magic lies in it's gearbox.
I can see that you're a rev happy chap but take my advise and don't rev above 3500 RPM and you will have a lovely long term relationship with the diesel.

True. Six gears do the trick. No doubts about that. But for me 1/2 are too short and to a certain extent 3rd. The action happens from 4th (100-160 range).

Originally Posted by Ketan

I'm used to the up shift at around 2.25-2.5K on my Palio and with XUV, I'm doing that 2-2.25K, I guess I should go a bit beyond that but I'm still kind of scared and want to make sure I complete the initial few K kms with sedate driving, its difficult to resist sometime and going to 3K or little beyond is sometimes good for break-in process as well. However, I wouldnt dare beyond that for sometime now.
DriveSafe.

Sure Ketan/Off Roadie. I will be careful from now on. Since I drive fast in the highways, it was very difficult for me to keep low speeds/low rpm. I know, I must resist. Better to avoid highways for sometime. Thats the only way out for me. When I hit the highway, its always higher triple digit speeds. So I better avoid it.

[ajay_satpute]

Congrats Sathya!

Finally, you took the plunge and i am glad you did. Darn you Sathya, you have the 2 most coveted cars in the country in your garage. Grrrrrrrrrr...

Wishing you a great run with the Beasts in future.

BTW, a interesting comparo between the two beasts will be interesting to read. I remember reading a similar report from Behemoth of comparo between Civic and Yeti, IIRC. Do try and put up the report when you have some free time.

Cheers!

[NIP]

Sathya, congrats on the XUV5OO !!

Grey is easily THE BEST colour !! I have also booked on 8th June, and blindly went ahead with a white booking. I badly want to change it to grey now, but the chap says my priority number will change and will get the vehicle only in Dec (as against 9th Aug). So I guess i'll have to settle with white. I must say I like the beige interiors better than black though.

Here's wishing you many miles of happy motoring !!