[superbhikari]

Hi Friends
Got the delivery of my Mahindra XUV 5OO W8 - Satin White on 20-Sept. from Mahindra's Meerut Dealer. Its an upgrade to the ageing but loved and super comfortable NHC.

Prelude
Since the launch of XUV, I was a fan of it whether it's the looks, features, equipments & safety features, powerful engine and what not. Since we were looking for a 7-8 seater upgrade from NHC, at 12-13 Lac XUV was the only choice. But reports of the initial niggles especially brakes and long waiting period made us wait for something else to be available within our budget. Under the budget of 13L Scorpio and Safari were the options that were ruled out due to outdated looks and less comfortable cabin space. The left over option was Innova. So finally it took us good 1 month long to decide between XUV and Innova. Cutting the story short, Innova was ruled out due to factors - Under-powered engine and basic feature list and MUVish looks. Since this will be the second car for highways (self driven most of the time) along with i10 which is solely meant for city drives.


Tough choice - Color
Initially i wanted to book W6 but since we want white color which is only available with W8, booked W8 finally on 16-Aug at Meerut dealer with a delivery date for 5-6 months. In my opinion best colors for XUV in the order of preference are Black, Dolphin Grey, Satin White, Silver. I didn't like the Satin White too much preferred pure White like on Fortuner. I noticed that both Indian manufacturers TATA and Mahindra only offers Off-white on their cars rather than Pure White as other manufactures do. Don't know why?
There is no way for me to maintain a Black car at my place due to congested roads and messy traffic. Dolphin Grey was picked up my Brother-in-law who booked his XUV - W6 from Ghaziabad on 25 July (car delivered in 16 days of booking).

Booking and Delivery
The wait for the delivery started haunting and got some relative's links with the dealer. Pressed them to deliver within a month. He keeps dilly dallying. Finally made another booking in Ghaziabad on 18-Sept with a promise of delivery within 10 days and called the Meerut dealer to inform to cancel my booking, he asked time till afternoon to revert back. And surprise, he asked me to take delivery on 20-Sept by submitting balance amount. Cleared bank formalities and got the delivery of XUV on 20 Sept. afternoon after PDI n all.

First Drive
Drove the XUV back to my city from dealer (60 kms - NH58). What a change from driving NHC few hours back to XUV!!! High seating position with car that is ready to fulfill your command at the slightest press at the accelerator. Superb Pick-up. Enjoyed cruise control and Bluetooth phone connectivity during drive back to home.
Family were ready to welcome the cheetah at home. Little Pooja and drive to temple and then to ice-cream parlour. All in all great.
While coming back home after taking delivery, noticed HHC, HDC and ESP lights on the console to be ON. Initially thought it is like that but got it checked on the next day visit to the dealer. The SA did the diagnosis by connecting a laptop and running the utility - there was some plausibility error which he rectified. Also activated reverse horn. No problem of such nature occurred after then.

Driving Experience
Completed 300 kms so far with 50% city as well as 50% highway driving. The highway driveability is superb - Minimal Turbolag and awesome pick-up. The car has great stability at high speeds of 120-140km/h. Once i tried to cross 150 km/h a buzzer sound started. Is this a feature to remind driving at high speed? Tried Cruise control many times on highway runs, worked flawlessly. In city driving, lot of shifting from 1st to 2nd gear and vice versa occurs due to traffic conditions. Also Turbocharger kicks in 2nd gear as soon as you accelerate past 30km/h. Turning radius is good for city driving too.
Regarding the comfort the car offers - The front seats are great with lumbar support as well as height adjustment. You may easily find a perfect position to tame the cheetah. The centre armrest is positioned little backwards which eliminates its primary use as an armrest. The middle row seats are the highlight. Plethora of space with reclining adjustment makes the comfortable seating. Even it may accommodate four people for that occassional 8 people trips. Third row seats are good for people below 5'5" height or kids. AC is a chiller at both front and rear.

Experience till now - 120 kms
+ves
1) Super Pickup
2) Easy to Drive in city too (unexpected for such size)
3) Powerful & Efficient AC
4) Legroom and comfortable Front & Rear Seats
5) Amazingly Equipped !
6) Loved the Bending/Turning Lights...very useful

Minor -ves
1) Bumpy ride at low speeds unlike Duster and Octavia.
2) Zero Luggage space if using 3rd row seats. It must be little more as in Innova.
3) Rear Visibility. ORVM and parking sensor do compensate for it to an extent though.
4) Braking is little weak. (Not a major issue)
5) Average Audio System
6) Fixed Middle row seats. Sliding option would have given better leg space in 3rd row as in Ertiga.
7) Low Beam Headlight in Auto mode not sufficient for Highway drive. Also, it activates in reasonable sunlight.

Accessories Installed
1) Floor Mats - Smoked Black Transparent - Rs. 1500/-
2) Illuminated Scuff Plates - Rs. 1500/-
3) Sun Film - Garware - Sides and rear - Rs. 1500/-

Accessories planned to install -
1) Car Cover
2) Easy to fit and remove Roof Carrier - For occasional family drives. Suggestions/Feedback needed regarding this.
3) Will install Reverse Camera and Side Steps if feels the need for them.

Here comes the pics -

[swarnava.m]

Pictures pictures pictures pictures!!! Where are they???!!!???

Tantrums apart, congrats on a really good buy.
Glad to know that you are loving the car and enjoying the drive. Please keep this thread active by posting your experiences from time to time. Will only serve as a good reference for me when we purchase this car in a year or so.

Drive safe!!!

[DoneAndDusted]

Originally Posted by superbhikari

Hi Friends
Got the delivery of my Mahindra XUV 5OO W8 - Satin White on 20-Sept. from Mahindra's Meerut Dealer. Its an upgrade to the ageing but loved and super comfortable NHC.

Hearty Congratulations! Please post pics and details of the accessories that you will go for along with the price list. Enjoy your new Ride!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[dZired]

Congratulations on the buy mate. The thread now looks complete with the pics of the beast. BTW, your XUV too looks superb as always.

Kindly add the list of accessories planned or installed.

I wish you many happy miles of motoring.
Take Care and Drive Safe!

[redindian]

Originally Posted by superbhikari

Also activated reverse horn.

Thats interesting - can you elaborate on this ? Is this like a external buzzer/ warning when you reverse or and internal buzzer that sounds when you put on the reverse gear ?

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by superbhikari

Hi Friends
Got the delivery of my Mahindra XUV 5OO W8 - Satin White on 20-Sept.

...2) Illuminated Scuff Plates - Rs. 1500/-...

Congrats on the buy! Looks like you got the illuminated scuff plates quite cheap! Where did you buy it & some pictures of these please.

Wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

[superbhikari]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Congrats on the buy! Looks like you got the illuminated scuff plates quite cheap! Where did you buy it & some pictures of these please.

Wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

Got the Scuff plates from the local dealer who usually gets his stuff from delhi wholesalers & suppliers. Here are the pics -

Originally Posted by redindian

Thats interesting - can you elaborate on this ? Is this like a external buzzer/ warning when you reverse or and internal buzzer that sounds when you put on the reverse gear ?

Its the reverse horn (external buzzer) with less annoying sound.

[SDP]

Congratulations Super for the XUV5OO! Some lovely pictures there.
Noted your scuff plate picture in the official review thread and came back to your thread.

You got the scuff plates at a fantastic price. Are they glued to the body or are they fixed using screws?
What about the wiring? The small black thing that starts from the plate and goes below the rubber bidding, is that the wire?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by superbhikari

Got the delivery of my Mahindra XUV 5OO W8 - Satin White on 20-Sept.
Minor -ves
3) Rear Visibility. ORVM and parking sensor do compensate for it to an extent though.
4) Braking is little weak. (Not a major issue)
5) Average Audio System

Congratulation on owning the cheetah, IMO the colour white looks a bit more boring and make the cheetah look a bit more tame. The SUV does have an immense road presence.

have you thought about installing a rear camera to improve the rear visibility during reversing or is the reverse sensors sufficient. Could not understand why you felt braking is not a major issue. Will the HU be upgraded then to suit.

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

[superbhikari]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Congratulation on owning the cheetah, IMO the colour white looks a bit more boring and make the cheetah look a bit more tame. The SUV does have an immense road presence.

have you thought about installing a rear camera to improve the rear visibility during reversing or is the reverse sensors sufficient. Could not understand why you felt braking is not a major issue. Will the HU be upgraded then to suit.

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

1) Yes, White diminishes the aggressiveness of the cheetah to an extent but easy to maintain at my place in super congested area more prone to minor scratches and loads of dust.

2) Till now reverse sensors proved to be sufficient. No issue in reversing. I won't be installing the reverse camera.

3) Braking is not an issue as thought initially. Initially I felt brakes are weak but it's not the case. I moved in bumper to bumper traffic as well as on highways with 120+ speeds and felt the brakes are appropriate. Even sudden braking is efficient as required. I was also told by the SA, in case of sudden braking, the brakes adjust/increase pressure automatically sensing emergency off-footing accelerator and pressing brake. All in all braking do feel weak initially but work as needed in all the situations.

4) Won't be upgrading HU but may think of installing Components and an Amp.

[superbhikari]

Originally Posted by SDP

Congratulations Super for the XUV5OO! Some lovely pictures there.
Noted your scuff plate picture in the official review thread and came back to your thread.

You got the scuff plates at a fantastic price. Are they glued to the body or are they fixed using screws?
What about the wiring? The small black thing that starts from the plate and goes below the rubber bidding, is that the wire?

The scuff plates are glued. Yes, the small black thing is the wiring with black metal shield/cap to protect the wire.

[superbhikari]

Got the XUV's first service done few days back. It clocked 5562 kms at the time of its first service.

Problems reported to SA -
1) Autolock check - The front main lock few times does not open/close other locks.
2) Infotainment system - From past few days, its not recognising 16gb pen drive which iwas using till now and bluetooth not automatically connects with the phone.
3) Infotainment upgrade
4) Upper arm rest compartment lock
5) Too notchy gearshift to first gear

There's also an accidental claim. A tempo driver banged the rear right and a denting works need to be done.

Total Bill was 1950/- for the service and 14500/- for accidental claim.

After service-
1) Infotainment upgrade not done due to unavailability of the new software with SA.
2) 16 GB still not recognizing. He said you must use only 4GB pen drive with multiple folders. Will check if it is so.
3) Gearshift is better but still not decently comfortable for first gear.
All other issues sorted.

These 5.5k kms proved to be really awesome and put me in love for the drivability of this car that i oftentimes take it in the city ignoring my city car i10. Really very satisfied so far with XUV!!!

[TaureanBull]

Congratulations for your purchase and ride!

Did you get the insurance from the dealer? How smooth was the processing of the accidental claim?

[superbhikari]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Congratulations for your purchase and ride!

Did you get the insurance from the dealer? How smooth was the processing of the accidental claim?

I got the TATA AIG zero dep insurance from insurancepandit.com not from the dealer. The insurance claim procedure was so easy but it was not cashless though since dealer has tie up with National Insurance only for cashless settlement. I will be getting the cheque of the claimed amount after deducting 2k as compulsary deduction in 10-15 days.