[Desmosedici]

Allen,

Shut all the other AC Vents and keep only the driver side 2 vents open when driving alone. I read somewhere on TBHP that it helps reduce the 'wastage' of air going towards the rear.

[v12]

Hey Raj,

Thats what I normally do when I drive alone. But its not helping much. The similar a/c would have done wonders in a small car or a hatchback. Lets see - will try something this week to see how the blinds can also double as a partition. Will install this only if it does not hamper rear visibility.

[Desmosedici]

Dont do all that. Spoils the look and feel of the vehicle. I think its only we bhpians who think too much and try to get the perfecto setup , no one else even bothers to think about all these ideas.

[jacs]

Originally Posted by v12

We were thinking of blackening the roof - however not sure (1) whether to go for it or not since this may absorb more heat (especially in the summers) and (2) if we do go for it, do we go for a gloss finish, a matt finish or a CF finish.

I am more inclined towards a gloss finish (Pshopped image below). But would want opinions and suggestions :

v12 - Did you blacken the roof? Personally I dislike it but looks good on Silver color.

[v12]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

Dont do all that. Spoils the look and feel of the vehicle. I think its only we bhpians who think too much and try to get the perfecto setup , no one else even bothers to think about all these ideas.

Hey Raj I dont think it will spoil the look if the fitting is done perfectly. As long as it gets the best result - its worth a try. And if we never think about all this - we wouldnt have ever had a DIY section

Originally Posted by jacs

v12 - Did you blacken the roof? Personally I dislike it but looks good on Silver color.

Hey Jacs, no we cancelled the idea of blackening the roof. So its gonna remain silver.

[mooza]

Hi v12, loved your take on the DIY part !

I did some analysis to improve the cooling in my Xylo last month, and did the following things over a week:

1. Installed sun film on all glasses, including windshield and rear glass.
2. Removed some bits of dried leaves and twigs which had gotten underneath the bonnet, thereby blocking the AC air inlet grille.
3. Installed door visors at 6 places, which cut out some sunlight and enabled me to keep the windows an inch rolled down to avoid heat build up when the vehicle is parked.
4. Silver stickered the entire roof.
5. Raised my average engine rpms close to the 2.5 K mark on hot days, as it seems to help the cooling.

This combination of events has improved the cooling a lot. The above flurry of activities was triggered this summer by my family, which was threatening to migrate to our friend's MUV for all our group trips, but has now happily returned to my Xylo, much to my relief

[v12]

Thanks Mooza for the tips!! Unfortunately sunfilms are banned in Mumbai - so theres no chance of installing those.

Checked for blockages and none blocking the inlet grille.

Door visors were provided as free accessories by the dealer and although they do a good job keeping the heat out - they also hamper visibility.



Hence the roller blinds

[v12]

This weekend saw our Xylo going on a short picnic trip to Alibaug with 6 people on board. The entire experience was awesome - as mentioned by my brother - I could not make it for the trip due to bad health. Everyone enjoyed the drive - and it was a very comfortable drive according to them - 2+2+2. Even though the tempearture outside was soaring - everyone kept their cool (thanks to individual cooling vents).

The average FE returned on this trip was again a low 9.5. Anyways here are some pics of the drive.

The Xylo @ Golden Swan resort




The Xylo @ Alibaug beach




Sunset @ Alibaug


The fort @ Alibaug


Some NAwab Saheb's palatial house. There were 2 Land Rovers parked inside - one Defender and not sure of the other one. No pics, unfortunately.




The oil spill didnt seem to matter to people who had come to enjoy.

[sach.sri]

Nice and detailed review. On the FE part - I have personally experienced that reducing sudden accelerations and gear changes by the way of planning the drive better gives and incredible benefit in terms of FE. I used to get around 10.5 ~ 11 kmpl in city which went upto 13 ~ 13.5 after I adjusted my driving style.

Need less to say - it also is less stressful as you are not looking to accelerate all the time.

[v12]

Thanks for the tip Sri! The only problem in trying out this option is that during peak hours - the traffic is always a stop-go-stop-go. The roads too, are so pathetic that when you have just picked up speed on a good stretch of road - you have to suddenly slow down for a bad patch. In all this mess, we still manage a FE of about 9 kmpl.

Anyways, here is a compilation of various alloy wheel options for the Xylo - not that I am planning on fitting any. Will be good for Xylo owners to decide if they planning to go for after market wheels. My fav are number 4, 1 and 7(in order)

[v12]

The Xylo has now completed around 7200 kms and there have been no problems whatsoever - I hope this continues till it makes it to the Long-Term Ownership Reviews section.

We did a short weekend trip to Lonavala / Karla with 7 on-board along with luggage (one bag per person) and realised a few things :

• With full load - there is hardly any luggage space in the Xylo. The Xylo badly needs a roof carrier if you are carrying a lot of luggage.
• The beige interiors get dirty very easily and its more visible than a black interior.
• The middle row seat headrests touch the floor when they are folded. Please be careful when the floor is dirty.
• Even with 7 people on-board - the Xylo flies on the Expressway. At high speeds, its a bit scary on the turns - due to its tall design.

Anyways, thats all for now - enjoy the pics!!

My favorite pic -

[v12]

Notice the Xylo
Rats bit into the LHS foglights and headlight wires. The wiring has been fixed now.

Mileage update : 9.9 kmpl.

[RajeshK]

Originally Posted by v12

Mileage update : 9.9 kmpl.

How are you calculating this? Tankful to tankful or the AFE in the DAS? I own an H8 and the AFE reading consistantly above 16kms in highways and in city it is above 11.5kms. For my last trip to my native I got 13.5kms/ltr (tankful to tankful). Mine is a new vehicle (3wks old and 1500kms) and I am running with very light foot.

OT: Your review pictures are showing up in MahindraXylo FB page.

[v12]

The Xylo went in for its 2nd Service today - after covering 8325 kms in 8 months. As usual, the car was taken by bro to the Mahindra Authorised Service Center in Sewri. It was accompanied by a relatives Quanto which was delivered together. The booking was taken for an early morning service for both the cars - but due to some backlogs of the previous day - our cars were only taken in the afternoon. There was nothing much to do in that area and coming back home and driving all the way back to Sewri in evening traffic was not an option at all - heck there was no car to drive back in

Anyways so bro and uncle spent their whole day at the service center watching the cars being serviced. This seems to be one of the best service centers in the city. I never expected a Mahindra service center to be so organized, well-equipped and clean . The best part is that they were allowed to walk into the service bays where the cars were serviced. The technicians were very co-operative and patiently responded to any queries that were thrown to them.

The 2nd Service
As per the Service Manual, the Xylo requires an engine oil change in the first service and then every alternate service / 20,000 kms. This being the 2nd service - the engine oil was only topped up. The engine oil used for the Xylo was Mahindra Maxmile Feo. Mahindra recommends that for any other brand of engine oil - the same needs to be changed every 10,000 kms (instead of 20,000 kms). Any idea, why such a logic? Dont synthetic oils last upto 20,000 kms? Any suggestions on what is the best engine oil for the Xylo?

The following were done in the 2nd service :
Transmission oil change
Differential Oil change
Cleaning Air Filter
Tightening of external nut bolts
Engine oil top-up (Maxmile Feo)
Battery / PS steering fluid check
Tyre pressure check
Full wash

This time the only complaint that we had was the low mileage 8-9 kmpl. As per the Service Advisor, the Xylo should not be returning <10kmpl in city driving. The low mileage, he said, could be due to the driving style or a clogged air filter. The Xylo is driven mostly during the day in moderate traffic and during early morning hours when there is no traffic at all (at an average speed of 50 kmph) with a very light foot. A/C is used only one way, during the day. So I doubt the low mileage could be due to the driving style. Lets see if the 2nd service improves the mileage. Fingers crossed!!

The Service Bay


The Xylo waiting for its turn (PIK ME UP)


Let the services begin!


Ready Get Set...Go! All washed and serviced and ready to hit the road agaon!


The 2nd service bill

[condor]

Originally Posted by mooza

3. Installed door visors at 6 places, which cut out some sunlight and enabled me to keep the windows an inch rolled down to avoid heat build up when the vehicle is parked.

4. Silver stickered the entire roof.

5. Raised my average engine rpms close to the 2.5 K mark on hot days, as it seems to help the cooling.

@Mooza, could you share pics for #4 ? How does this help ?

I also didnt understand how did you do #5, and how did help.

Regarding #3, it can be a problem to keep the windows rolled down like that. When you keep the glass down by 1", the glass i now supported only on 3 sides, and is easier to break (when un-attended).
One may argue that if some one wants to break a glass, he can do it anyway, but why add to the risk ?