It was the month of September 2011 when XUV was launched I guess. I was amazed and impressed with the spot on pricing by Mahindra, but to me the front looked overly done atleast in the pictures. I even saw the picture of the alien in the film Predator in one of the posts here as a comparison to the face of the XUV. Along with my family, I went and checked out the XUV to see that it was awesome to look in person with super road presence and the front was really aggressive. Realized how much photos could be deceiving.
I always wanted a worthy companion to my T-Jet and decided it will be good if it was an SUV. Wanted to buy the XUV immediately but backed off due to various personal reasons and the wait began to buy an SUV or some other good tourer. Was destined to buy the new Vehicle atleast by 2012 year end.
Meanwhile, decided to sell my Jet and buy any SUV due to soaring petrol prices but a drive to Kotagiri and the adrenaline drive back to Chennai in my Jet changed my mind completely. What a drive it was with the car redlining at 5th gear crossing a double ton. Higher triple digit speeds was so easy in my Jet. So decided to retain my Jet and scout for the next best car that will give her company.
Meanwhile, became very very curious about the Duster and was really excited about its launch. But the wait started to kill me too much. Similarly the same goes with the Tata Safari Storme. I can be a clear example of a person who loved the Safari too much than any other SUV but decided against it due to delays from TATA in not launching the vehicle on time.
So the list of contenders grew for my SUV selection, it was XUV, Duster and the Tata Storme. In the month of April started my selection process and my price range was 12-14L with some buffer to it.. May be I was ready to scale by a Lac more if required. So short listed all the cars in that price range. I know some of these are not SUV's but I thought to give it a try without having any mental block towards sedans in that price range. The list of cars that I checked out were,
1.
CRUZE for its sheer power (I was perfectly fine to trade of the SUV stance for the sheer power the Cruze offered)
2.
Fluence for its solid build and road presence
3.
Yeti for its drivability
4.
Jetta even though it was out of my Budget (as an aspirational vehicle)
5.
XUV for the all round capability and for its aggressive road presence. I was blown by the red XUV with those flower type alloys (Super speed rims, as the Mahindra calls it)
6. Old
Tata Safari for the Cult status
7.
Aria for its sheer size and highway cruising ability
I decided to trade of my Ritz Diesel for the new buy. The Ritz was an year old and a true practical car and had 17k on the ODO. Listed the Ritz in Team BHP, Sulekha ads. and in my Office portal. The deal was closed in two days and it was a WIN WIN deal. Was quite happy with the deal and now the true search began with one car short in my family.
Test Drive process: Cruze: Man what a car it is! True muscle engine. I was blown by the way it accelerated when in turbo. Almost finalized on it but when I saw the Service and maintenance costs, started to think again. Rs.2000 for every 5000kms service and the brake pad change to put you down by 17-18k. Horrible it was. And with my running and driving style, thought I will change my brake pads every 15000kms which will make it extremely hard to maintain due to the costs involved. So pushed it to "Strong Contender" status in my search. In summary, if you have money and want raw power, look NO BEYOND CRUZE. Period.
Fluence: Drove the car. Loved the solid build of the car. But the engine was mediocre and my Jet felt faster than the Fluence. One thing I want to comment on the Fleunce is its highway manners. I loved it. But my family felt there was nothing unique about the car and decided not to proceed with it. Overall, one thing that worked against this car was its price. 2L lower, I would have kept it as a Strong contender. So, Fluence went out of the list.
XUV 5OO: Mahindra showroom was just opposite to the Fluence and I saw a sparkling XUV standing tall - a red XUV with those super speed rims parked inside the showroom. I was literally drooling at it. Tested the car and the handling was a notch below the sedans I had tested (CRUZE and Fluence) and multiple notches below the Jet that I drive. Brakes were not really confidence inspiring and the niggles thread here gave me nightmares. But my family was ALL for it because of the all round ability. A Seven seater with good road presence, stonker of an engine loaded to the brim with features. So I had pushed it to the Strong Contender status. My heart was though in favor of it. But, I was playing the role of the Devils’ advocate to my family and I pretended not to be in favor of it to hear the positives from their side. In that way, you can get an unbiased "layman" view of the XUV. I was patiently listening to them. So XUV was in the "Strong Contender" list at the top followed by the CRUZE.
TATA Safari: My dream SUV from the age of 14-15.. for the last 10-12 yrs or so, every time I see a Safari pass the road, I turn my head and drool over it. But aging model and a heavy rattling machine (Test vehicle with 5k on the ODO) put me off completely. SO took it out of the list in relative comparison to other vehicles. But even now, I drool at this machine when it crosses my XUV. Simply the RX 100 of this age. The cult car to own and be proud of. Hats of to the TATA guys to have given that ageless design.
Yeti: I always bash Skoda for its pathetic Service attitude and literally had no regards for the Yeti or any Skoda car until I drove the Yeti. One test drive, my perception changed on the car. Man, what drivability it offered! It felt truly like a sedan with ruggedness of the SUV. But when I heard the price (16L for the lower variant 4*2) simply put me off. Another thing that worked completely against its favor was its PATHETIC under thigh support at the rear. My family simply refused to accept it saying that it will be extremely uncomfortable for long drives at the rear seat. So it went out of the list straight away due to bad rear thigh support and an awful price.
Jetta: Loved every bit of it. But was out of my budget. So it was only an aspirational car, may be a buy, I must consider when I change my Linea. Not now.
Aria: Loved the massive presence of the car and the solidness in it. Sense of safety when I sat inside the car and the amazing highway characteristics. Was in the same 14L bracket for the pleasure variant, but the MUV looks was a deterrent. My family loved it too. But the sales figures were dismal and reg. the future of this vehicle, I was not too comfortable (strictly my perception, no offences meant to any one here pls). But, the real reason to take this vehicle out was MUV/Van type looks. I wanted an SUV but I was Ok with a sedan, not really with a Van type vehicle even though the vehicle underpinnings were very strong to say even better than the XUV.
Duster: Now the interesting piece. I had the opportunity to see and feel the Duster in flesh (pls don’t ask me how and when). It was love at first sight again. Plastics looked average though. Had it in my “strong contender” list.
Now, it was either the Cruze or XUV or the Duster. Since my family did not have the chance to look at the Duster, I explained based on what I saw and what I recorded in mind as +ves and -ves for the car when I had seen it.
The call was close now, What do I want -- Is it the speed that the Cruze offered or the aggressive styling and features that the XUV offered or the practicality/Utility that the Duster offered (I had no apprehensions on the Renault engine and reliability since its proven globally).
I already have the Jet, so I felt I can take the Jet out for a spin if am in for an adrenaline rush and more and more I heard about the Service costs of CRUZE, I was not too sure whether I must go with it. So dropped it from my list.
Now it was finally down to Duster and the XUV. Created an informal excel sheet which compared the features between both the cars. XUV came out as a winner clearly with 3 main things that took it to the podium, the 2.2L tried and tested Diesel (higher speeds is a must for me, when in need), Superb highway cruising/mile munching ability (120-140 without effort), and MOST important thing - offered seven seats when in need. The exhaustive feature list was a cherry on the cake. So went for it finally.
Booked the XUV W6, on 8th June, saw a person cancelling his booking in front of me (his vehicle had already arrived at the yard), persuaded the Showroom Manager and got the car delivered within a week (on 21 June 12). My wedding day gift for my beloved wife - which is on 25th June as I am writing this review). Yes, the XUV is going to be her ride while I will drive the Jet to office and back daily.
Driving Impressions:
Now the car has clocked 1500kms. As soon as I took delivery of the car, the marathon drive started. The trip was from Chennai to Thiruvannamalai and back at the same day of Delivery; Next day from Chennai to Yercaud and then from Yercaud to Madurai and Thekkady and back all in all a trip of 2000kms of which I have already clocked 1500kms as I write this review. I will split the characteristics of the car into multiple sections. Let me start with the heart of the car first.
Engine: This drives on the same 2.2 L Diesel albeit in a different state of tune, this one pumping 140 horses and 330NM of torque. Whats’ so good about this engine is the ability to cleanly pull from 1500+ RPM and go all the way till 5000RPM. But true power is delivered from 1700RPM till about 4500RPM types after which power starts tapering. Since the engine pulls from 1500RPM, there is very little or no lag virtually at low speeds. This makes it very easy to lug along in the City and where the car truly shines is the HIGHWAY. Highway is XUV's fortress. The car has power, power and even more power starting from Second gear, but 4th gear takes the cake for me. The car pulls like a monster until 160 in 4th and cleanly hits the speedo indicated double ton at 6th with the motor spinning close to 5000RPM. But more importantly, the car is capable of cruising at 140-150 without any stress to the engine (rpm hoovers around 2200-2500RPM lazily). So this makes it the "
PERFECT" highway cruiser to hop on to and drive all day long. Simply fantastic engine. Period.
Ride: The ride is on the stiff side to compensate for handling. So you
will NOT get the magic carpet ride which I thoroughly enjoy in my FIAT TJET. This one bounces a little bit more and sends the undulations on the road into the cabin, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. The main reason for me to say that this is not a deal breaker because, this does not adversely create a nauseating feeling that most of us get in a old school SUV or MUV (I am even talking about the expensive ones, but I don’t want to pull names here..). I observed this during the test drives and was OK. My main concern was if there is a nauseating feeling, that was the end of XUV. Luckily it did even though the ride was slightly on the stiffer side.
Handling: This one is mixed. Now for those who do not drive a FIAT or a SKODA or the likes, the handling is simply superb. For those who are addicted to the European cars which are infamous for handling, this one may be a letdown. Let me try to explain. I drive a T-Jet everyday and have pushed it to its limits around corners. There have been instances where I have taken corners on the wrong side of triple digit speeds with the car taking it aplomb without ANY FUSS. Relative to that, this one rolls a fair bit around the corner and that too mine being W6 (no ESP and roll-over mitigation). But having said that, I was cruising at 120-140 even at the corners during my trip to Yercaud (Chennai - BLR highway) and the car was composed. Anything more, you will be in for a surprise with the wheels screeching due to under steer. I had the opportunity to try the car in the ghats’ section. Again, no match to my Jet but was surprised with the composure for an SUV (again in relation to other EXPENSIVE SUV's that I have driven). One point to note is the tyres squealing all along when you push the car. Overall if I have to rate the car in the handling department, I would give it a 7/10 if I rate my FIAT 9/10, while other SUV's at the 10L bracket at 5/10 and at 20L bracket at 6/10. I am satisfied. Know the car and it will reward you. After all, its an SUV.
Space: This one has a foot ball field in the second row and the first one. I am specifically amazed by the room that it offers in the second row. Simply astounding. The recline feature is also very good and will help old people to relax at the second row. Space at third row is limited but no complaints from my family members so far. Statements like "Its only for kids" are not correct, since I had average height people (2 of them) at the third row for close to 400kms and they DID NOT complain at all. But try to fit in people who are 5.6+ and they are going to curse you for doing that. The seats are better suited for people
who are <160-165cms in height. Most important part is, you DO NOT feel like vomiting even at the third row which I have felt in other SUV's. The same was resonated by my family members too.
Features: One word, I am loving it, to name a few - Bluetooth for Phone and Audio streaming, Auto Headlights, Auto Wipers, Flat bed at the back when all seats (2/3 row) folded - This is specifically going to be a boon for my next year highway trip to Leh from Chennai with my wife and Kid. Lounge lights are simply amazing. This one has two separate AC systems for front and rear and I heard from my family during the first trip that the third row AC freezes the bones within no minutes. Going to be really good for Chennai weather conditions esp. those hot, really hot summers. In short, this SUV is packed to brim with features and I cannot keep praising it any more.
No other car at this segment offers more and even more value for the money spent. Simply awesome.
Finally the looks, For me, this car has a aggressive stance. As I write this paragraph, I am seeing both a Captiva and XUV parked side by side and this one looks really wild. The car has started to grow on me.. Now I like those whiskers and raised grill and even the bulges above the wheels which I hated when I saw the car for the first time (remember how a swift was abused that it looks ugly like a frog and what not). Those unique things give the car a muscular and purposeful stance. For me it’s a win! but looks are always perceptional. Isn't?
So in summary, here are the
+ves and
-ves.
+ Ves: 7 Seats - the first drive was with my entire family - 7 adults and a kid was on board and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. A sense of togetherness when traveling by a
single big vehicle.
Engine - 2.2 L engine in this car is a gem. Does 120-140 at 6th with the engine lazily spinning around 2200-2500 RPM. EXCELLENT HIGHWAY CRUISER.
Speed/Performance - In no time, can take it to 4800 RPM at 6th with an indicated speed of 190+. I had to pinch myself to believe that I am still driving an SUV and not a diesel sedan..
Road presence - Amazing and a head turner for sure. When I cruise at 140-150, it leaves the sedan owners with a surprise actually. I was able to see it with a Laura TDI owner in my recent trip to Yercaud.
Decent mileage (13-15km/lt) for the vehicle of this size.
-Ves: Brakes - Need to get used to or it might be very very dangerous. But for me, I am set and I have adapted to this car pretty well. Now give me a panic situation, I can bring this car to a halt without a sweat.
Some
quality niggles - Not a deal breaker for me, and I was mentally prepared after seeing the niggles thread.
The one I faced intermittently was the front door refusing to close without a firm push. It got sorted out by itself though. Not sure what was the problem.
I will add to this review as I clock more miles on the car.
All in all, still amazed that an Indian manufacturer has given us such a class vehicle. Hats off to Mahindra. I think, a little more good QC along the assembly line, nothing can beat this value packed beast.
Am loving it. And one last word to say - A TRUE WORTHY COMPANION TO STAND TALL NEXT TO MY JET.
Time for a teaser now.