[DoneAndDusted]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Hello Folks,

Its been a while since I updated the thread.

This week, the XUV went on a 1500kms trip and the experience was as usual.. FANTASTIC. The USP of this machine is its cruising ability. You can cruise at good triple digit speeds all day long with so much confidence. The mileage was 14.8km/lt on the highway and it is very decent when I compare it with the speeds and stress it was put through. All in all, one Happy Customer so far. Definitely this SUV is a new beginning for the INDIAN SUV's and it redefines "cruising" on our highways. Absolutely stress-free..

Now some pics from the trip..

Thanks for the post Sathya and great pics as always! the fuel efficiency is very very promising and we know you are not the one to drive slowly . Great figures.. I am itching to get my hands on mine, only a few days away..

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Thanks SDP.

Keep cruising and it will reward you with good mileage figures..The second service bill was around 200 which they charged for some consumables like grease, some anti rust stuff etc. I didnt bother too much to ask them since I was ok with the bill.

Wow! you are gulping down miles in the XUV, are these trips business or pleasure? I read last 3-4 of your posts and it read like Xuv is back frm 1200, 1700, 1500 trips

[Sathya_sc]

^^ All of these are pleasure trips across TN, KL, and KA. I just enjoy driving and love to drive all day..

[Sathya_sc]

Folks, It is quite some time I wrote about the XUV. There was actually nothing much to write, with the XUV munching miles effortlessly. Now the beast has 17000kms on the ODO and its growing strong everyday.

Recently did a trip to Kaladi.. saw some of the worst roads enroute and inner parts of Kerala/TN too.

The mileage was about 11-12km/lt with the car's engine on the BOIL ALL the time. XUV had no issues in handling any kind of terrain or any stress on its heart.

I am really not sure what I must write other than this, since XUV has absolutely been brilliant with NO issues / complaints so far. I don't generally care about mileage (you can see its lesser than what others' get). But I am happy that the mileage is good for the higher speeds / stress that I give to the XUV or for that matter to my FIAT or even the NANO.

A special thanks to SANDEEPMOHAN to have advised on the route and have given feedback on the route. It really helped.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Did the yearly Bangalore Cochin drive via the suggested route, that is, Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Perundurai - Kangayam - Palladam - Pollachi - Kollengode - Pazhayannur - Chelakkara - Wadakanchery - Trichur - EKM..

Thanks a lot buddy.

For those who are making a trip to Cochin / Ernakulam, PLS AVOID THE NH after Perundurai. Take the Perundurai - Kangeyam - Palladam - Pollachi - Kollegode - Pazhayanur - Wadakkanchery - Mannuthy - Angamali.. route. The NH is pathetic while the above mentioned route is far far superior. Enroute, I took the NH and felt bad for putting my XUV on a suspension test. But the XUV fared well. No sqeaks / rattles even after having been on "NO" road conditions..

Time for some pics.. The XUV will look as though its out of a battle. Yes, it was a gruelsome 1700+ kms in 3 days with Kaladi and other destinations in short span of time.

[Sathya_sc]

Time for an update since he has completed 20000kms and it was time for a quick checkup..

From my side, he has been absolutely great with no issues except for very minor ones. So it was yet another normal service.

Took it to the Service Station (India Garage) and Mr Vijay attended me. Trust me, this guy knows what he is doing. Did a quick check of the vehicle and took it for service. Vijay updated that the following things would be changed. Some of them per the latest re-call from Mahindra and some of them out of a proactive measure.

Through re-call:

1. Steering hose pipe
2. Wiper cover
3. Front two doors - power window motors

Proactive stuff:

1. Clutch - MSC (preparing the vehicle for the long drive - Chennai to Leh and Jaisalmer in August, 13). The new design will also be out soon is what I heard. The one changed for me was a new piece of the old part itself. Once the new design is out, he agreed to change it - keeping the fingers crossed that it must be out before Aug, 13.

2. Stabilizer bar bushes - he said that he observed some "kat kat" noise.. even I have heard it a couple of times, but didn't mind too much since it was not repetitive. He spotted it and changed the bushes proactively.

3. Brake pads - he said that the ones changed were the latest design and that a new pedal design will also be out soon. Will change it before the trip.

The bill came upto Rs 5970/- reasonable for a 20k service with changes in consumables like Oil, Oil and Fuel Filter, Trans axle oil etc.. I paid it and took the vehicle and on my way back, had some fun with a Classic Fiesta. The engine purr was even more muted on the way back and the clutch seemed a lot lighter. Didn't find too much difference in the brakes though (grinding noise wasn't there, but I found the long play to be the same).

Fiesta reminded me that I was driving an SUV. Agility Vs. Size

All in all, a busy day and now in the US for a short business trip. Will go back next week and check if everything is fine from the Service.

Ps: Mahindra simply rocks in Service. They are going all out to ensure their flagship is fine and the customers are happy. Good going Mahindra.

[Sathya_sc]

Some pictures from the recent trip.. XUV rocked again. Kudos to Mahindra

Now he is getting ready for 2 inter state trips and finally in August the big one - Conquer Khardung La! Am all excited.

[krishnaraja]

Hey Sathya, first of all congratulations on the wonderful writeup of your experience until 20k in the beast. I loved the pictures of the photoshoot, guess Sriram is a pro with the camera - convey my khudos to him for that.

I have booked one and expecting delivery on Apr 1 - what a day to take it home. Need your view on few things:

a. You bought in Zulaikha, shifted to IG for the 10k service, guess I should take to IG for my first itself. Well, by time they might have become better, but they should know word of mouth [well blog] matters and in this case, yes it does
b. How about Insurance - which company, what is the cost, what is it [zero dep or comprehensive or b2b or what]? I have gotten quote for comprehensive + zero dep for 41k and 46k from two differenc companies. Is it good to go with this or ask for b2b and go with that?
c. I see you have not put in the side step, do you miss it by any chance? Have you felt it would have been good to have it?
d. Have you changed the stock headlights to something better to get the low beam throw that people have discussed in other forums?
e. How about chennai scratches to the vehicle all around? Did you not feel the need for a bumper in the front and rear?
f. How about a reverse camera? Do you have one or if you dont have one, have you felt the need for it during the initial days and how about now?
g. How has the MMI worked for you during all your outings? Decent navigation or error prone - I mean the content in terms of direction, not the device working

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Some pictures from the recent trip.. XUV rocked again. Kudos to Mahindra

Now he is getting ready for 2 inter state trips and finally in August the big one - Conquer Khardung La! Am all excited.

Sathya, great update as usual! Inspiring!

About the Aug plan to Ladakh, are you part of the LEC (Ladakh Explorer's Club) which is planning a multi-car expedition to that region?

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by SDP

Sathya, great update as usual! Inspiring!

About the Aug plan to Ladakh, are you part of the LEC (Ladakh Explorer's Club) which is planning a multi-car expedition to that region?

No. I am going along with some FIAT-ians. I am the only exception with the XUV. I have the T-Jet but think it may not be financially practical to drive a petrol all the way up from Chennai.

Originally Posted by krishnaraja

Hey Sathya, first of all congratulations on the wonderful writeup of your experience until 20k in the beast. I loved the pictures of the photoshoot, guess Sriram is a pro with the camera - convey my khudos to him for that.

I have booked one and expecting delivery on Apr 1 - what a day to take it home. Need your view on few things:

a. You bought in Zulaikha, shifted to IG for the 10k service, guess I should take to IG for my first itself. Well, by time they might have become better, but they should know word of mouth [well blog] matters and in this case, yes it does
b. How about Insurance - which company, what is the cost, what is it [zero dep or comprehensive or b2b or what]? I have gotten quote for comprehensive + zero dep for 41k and 46k from two differenc companies. Is it good to go with this or ask for b2b and go with that?
c. I see you have not put in the side step, do you miss it by any chance? Have you felt it would have been good to have it?
d. Have you changed the stock headlights to something better to get the low beam throw that people have discussed in other forums?
e. How about chennai scratches to the vehicle all around? Did you not feel the need for a bumper in the front and rear?
f. How about a reverse camera? Do you have one or if you dont have one, have you felt the need for it during the initial days and how about now?
g. How has the MMI worked for you during all your outings? Decent navigation or error prone - I mean the content in terms of direction, not the device working

Sorry for the late reply.. Here are my replies..

1. Mr. Vijay in IG - SIMPLY THE BEST. Refer my name to him.
2. Insurance - Didn't think too much when I bought. I just bought what I got from a insurance perspective.. Didn't do much research in that area.
3. Side step - I don't feel it as a needed acc. But, elders definitely feel.
4. Default lights are very much good. I adjusted the throw and I am fine now.
5. Didn't feel the need for the extra bumper. I am fine with the size of the car except when I want to commute faster (little difficult to negotiate in a fast pace in heavy traffic - NOT TOO AGILE as my FIAT Linea T-Jet)
6. I have the reverse parking assist system (no camera though). But generally I park large vehicles without any need for that. I learnt driving in a Willy's and have driven tractors in my hometown.. so all these gimmicks are not too important for me.
7. I dont have the MMI since mine is W6

[Sathya_sc]

Happy to share that my XUV featured in the "1 Million Fans" page from Mahindra.. Thanks to Sriram for clicking that picture (2nd image at the top).

[sridhar24]

Hey Sathya thats a great write up on your ownership experience and happy to know the XUV is serving you very well indeed. You seem to enjoy the long drives very much as I do.

We have booked our W6 in Bangalore yesterday, I had Black and Dolphin Grey colours in my mind and initially booked a black one, but had to change it to Dolphin Grey as the Black comes with the Wall nut Beige interiors. I like the Black interiors better and also feel they will age better over time.
Also looking at the beautiful pics you posted of your Dolphin Grey XUV helped me change my mind.

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Ps: Mahindra simply rocks in Service. They are going all out to ensure their flagship is fine and the customers are happy. Good going Mahindra.

Nice to hear such good words about M&M service which we don't normally get to hear, gives me so much more confidence.

BTW any XUV owners here in Bangalore. Can you tell me how good is Sireesh Auto with regards to service and also compared to India Garage, I have booked mine at Sireesh.

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by sridhar24

Hey Sathya thats a great write up on your ownership experience and happy to know the XUV is serving you very well indeed. You seem to enjoy the long drives very much as I do.

We have booked our W6 in Bangalore yesterday, I had Black and Dolphin Grey colours in my mind and initially booked a black one, but had to change it to Dolphin Grey as the Black comes with the Wall nut Beige interiors. I like the Black interiors better and also feel they will age better over time.
Also looking at the beautiful pics you posted of your Dolphin Grey XUV helped me change my mind.

Nice to hear such good words about M&M service which we don't normally get to hear, gives me so much more confidence..

Absolutely.. Grey ages better in my opinion and Mahindra service rocks in one of the service centers here at Chennai. The other one was not upto par. So it depends.

[Surprise]

Fantastic log. A thread that assures on the product in between those niggles/bad experiences threads. You're lucky to have those two beasts at the garage waiting to get unleashed.

Photographs on this thread are fabulous, no wonder it made to the XUV5OO FB Homepage. Looking forward for your updates

[getsurya]

Hi Sathya,

Good pictures and updates, as well. Thank you!

These are valuable inputs for future XUV buyers, I am keenly following XUV evolution to make a choice about this car by end of this year.

I have been a legacy M&M customer(with two versions of Scorpio's), however would now look for a 'stable', 'quality' car(SUV).

[Sathya_sc]

22000 kms update

Did a long drive to down south from Chennai this week, and the drive was quite good except for a few issues that cropped up because of something that got messed during service. Wheel balancing was messed up and hence there was an issue at high speeds.

The trip was to Tiruchendur, Tutucorin and Tirunelveli all in 2.5 days. Started Wednesday evening (10th of April at about 6PM) with an expectation that I will reach Tiruchendur in 7 - 7.5 hrs. That is my usual driving time from Chennai. I generally cruise at good speeds (in the range of 130 to 150) with bursts of higher triple digit speeds. But this time there was a surprise / shock that awaited me.

Started at 6PM and was happily cruising at 100/110 types until Ulundurpet (generally I build the rythm slowly). Had my dinner and it was time for some good speeds. It was already 8.30PM in the night and I had close to 400kms to munch further before I can reach my destination.

Cranked the XUV after dinner and stepped on the gas and the needle zoomed past 120 to reach 140 within no seconds and the problem started. The Steering was vibrating like it was a 50 yr old car or I must say even my seats, gear lever was vibrating like hell. Stopped the vehicle and inspected it by coming out to check if something is wrong. Everything seemed fine, so again started and stepped on the pedal for the same problem to recur. I called Vijay from IG to ask him what could be the possible issue and he suggested Wheel balancing could have gone wrong during service. I was a little upset and tried reaching a couple of tyre dealers in Trichy so that I can finish the balancing and then proceed. To my bad luck, everything was closed. So , had to maintain speeds less than 120 all along and reached the destination by 3.30 in the morning. Got very tired and crashed. One good thing was, got a mileage of 14km/lt which I have never got in my XUV. Usually I get 11-12 max.

Next day morning, I took the vehicle to Tirunelveli to check for balancing issues and there was indeed a major balancing problem. He rectified the balancing problem and I hopped on to my car keeping my fingers crossed, cranked the beast, slowly stepped on the pedal.. the needle inched slowly past 100, 120, 130, 140 and by the time it was nearing 150 there was a very mild vibration that I could feel on the steering. Heart broken, I was. Again repeated the same in the highway - now there was no issue. The problem was occuring intermittently. So, made up my mind to return to Tiruchendur for Dharshan. The next day, I started back to Chennai and again the problem was occuring intermittently (but very mild vibrations).

My wife took the wheel to check and she said that the vibration is negligible and may be I am just assuming/dreaming its there. Did good speeds, sometimes I felt that the vibrations were there and sometimes not. But this time I didn't mind, I just came back in flat 7 hrs from Tiruchendur. Had a blast on the highway. Mileage was 10.8km/lt.

However, there is something that is running at the back of my mind as I write this - what could be the issue - is it the tyres.. The Balancing guy quoted that when he swapped the types between rims (front and back).. he said that the rims with the back tyres needed more weights and said that there can be some slight vibrations.. so assuming that its a tyre issue for now - culprit could be the rear tyres running at the front for now as a part of the rotation process.

However, it comes only past 150 types and intermittently. So going to leave the issue for now until I do the balancing again in some reputed shop here at Chennai. Lets see how it goes.

Can there be anything other than tyres and balancing guys??

Now the pics..