[pgupta]

Having completed more than 14000 Km in my XUV its high time that I write this ownership report :-) It was really long pending.


The wish of owning a SUV type vehicle was getting stronger as more and more urban SUV's were launched. I had lot of excuses for an “upgrade” but none was strong enough to justify buying another car for a small family when there was this trusted Wagon R serving very well without any issues. So I kept it simple and convinced my family that this is one of the wish in my bucket list and that's it, no more explanation was needed.

The customary decision process of selecting which “Car”

It was again simple, I had already lost my heart for “the Mighty Muscular” Scorpio long back but just to appear rationale in my decision making process, I went and looked a variety of cars like Ford Ecosport, Duster, Safari Storm, Xylo apart from of course Scorpio. I liked all for some or other feature but I liked Scorpio the most period. But the challenge was my wife liked all others but Scorpio due to the bench like rear seats and bland dashboard and probably something more. So nothing really moved, apart from us debating a lot. To eliminate some of the choices, one of my arguments were that we should ideally like to buy a car “made in India” and I think this did a little bit of trick and she approved Xylo. She said - It's “made in India”, has nice interior and has the same engine of Scorpio so go for it and also can accommodate additional guests if required. Yes, I agreed but silently knew that though I am closer to my goal but not yet there. So I kept showing her some aging and specially ill maintained Xylos and how they look after sometime etc. We also took some test drives of Scorpio, Xylo. In the showroom we both used to checkout the XUV but somehow never really thought about it seriously. Primarily due to our budget which was prepared keeping in mind Scorpio SLE. During this time I got a news in Team BHP about a new trimmed down XUV version to be launched. So then the wait started as it very much appeared that we probably have a solution in sight. And then the wait started for the launch and I started closely following the team bhp thread. Finally the W4 version was launched and we found the perfect match – a made in india car, SUV looks but a better interior than Scorpio (old version not the latest, I like the new Scorpio interiors), comfortable seats with flexibility to accommodate guests etc etc. I also liked the fact that safety feature wise there is no difference between a W4 and W6. So we were again a happy couple having made our mind we sealed the deal in March 2014. One of my friend too joined to buy one for him as well and we bought the beast together i.e. 2 W4s, during the financial year end and we are made to “believe” that we got some nice discounts.

Here is the first picture of the beast in the stockyard :




We felt that chrome looked good on grey colour so added a chrome package. The dealer gave some free mats and side beading and some discount on the roof carrier. Due to the lack of boot space while using 3rd row it was felt as a necessary thing. Looking back was it a wise decision to buy the roof carrier ? well, to some extent yes ; you only feel the value when you actually use it. otherwise its an "overhead".

So here is the final shot just before delivery :


After the delivery we went for the customary puja



And after all that finally it was parked in the parking lot and i always felt that it was also feeling better than being in the stockyard, look at the smile.

[pgupta]

Since I was "upgrading" from my petrol hatchback I took my sweet "long" time to get adjusted to the beast. I will start with the things first which made me feel a bit nervous. I was really not able to control the beast in bumper to bumper traffic with the ease that I used to drive my good old Wagon R. With the XUV the pull is so much that I need to literally shift to 1st gear to keep it under control. This was never the case in my petrol hatchback where the 2nd gear used to work fine for such situation. Then the real long clutch play was another new for me. I did take some time to get used to it. I used to take the wagon R as my daily commute to office and only used to use the XUV for weekend or long drives. So that also contributed to the fact that it took more time to really understand this vehicle. But nevertheless it was lot of learning and unlearning when it came to handle this gigantic vehicle compared to the wagon R. I still somehow feel that I did not get the right sitting position even now though I have tried hard to adjust the driver seat using all the height, position, steering adjustments available etc. Not sure why I never really struggled so much with the sitting position in my wagon R. Is it something to do with the better ergonomics of the Japanese cars or is it just me who feels this.

However, on a more positive note, the biggest advantage that we felt which W4 brought was to offer a vehicle which was simply above the competition when it came to features vs cost. We saw a complete package with good safety package, proven engine power and performance, loads of space, comfort and combined with the looks, I could not find a better value when compared with available models in the market then. I am fully aware that many of these parameters are purely subjective in nature so I mention my choice here with due respect to all and their choices. It felt like a wise decision then and the best thing is it still feels the same after almost 18 months and 14000 kms. My whole family enjoys being in the vehicle, particularly in the highways where the engine is so silent and the ride is super comfortable even with full load. We have taken it to all sorts of territories with full load 7+loaded carrier and it never felt under powered. My family just loves the cozy feeling it offers inside the cabin with three rows AC (specially the third row occupants feel empowered with their own AC control) and a pretty decent sound system. I literally relish the highway drives where it munches miles seamlessly cruising close to 2000 RPM in the 6th gear with almost no engine noise. All four wheels with disc brakes coupled with the ABS does a superb job just in case you need to slow down or stop and never shakes your confidence for a moment. For all highway drives I always start early so I am never in a hurry. I drive to enjoy and not to race so that's why I have never found it scary to stop even in highway drives. I strongly feel that to me what matters most is how fast you can stop safely rather than how fast you can drive !

All in all, we continue to enjoy the height, great road presence, amazing power and handling in the highways, great fuel economy, loads of space, and overall the feeling of owning a safer and powerful vehicle. So am I happy with the decision ? Absolutely, and I am enjoying every day of my ownership !

[pgupta]

Head over heels for W4 ?

So does that mean I am head over heels for W4 and have nothing to wish when it comes to W4 as a package ? Well at the end of the day I am a customer so I always wish for more.

So here goes a list of things which I wish could have made me much more happier as a W4 customer.

- Rear parking sensor : Should have been a nice addition at least if provided as an option, I see it part of the basic safety feature on-board. The problem of not having it forces customers to go for after market options, bringing in concerns related to vehicle warranty etc. Got one for my W4 after almost 1 year of purchase, from the dealer itself paying much more than normal market price - just to have peace of mind.

- USB port : Same as above, no major impact to the cost but would have been a nice addition and thereby increasing the value proposition. But that's my / customer view. The manufacturer is well within its rights to decide and market these features as these are there in upper versions. Not sure but I hear that new W4 has an USB port. Not sure if this can be added to the old ones.

- A better quality Tyre : The JK Elanzo the good looking ones but not so good when it comes to function. Here you find my views.

- An functional dial instead of an empty dial in place of the temperature gauge, C'mon how difficult it was to have something displayed there, if not the engine temp ? Or the design intention was to rob the dial some of its basic functionality as a after thought to make it clear that its a trimmed down version. Thank God it shows the speedo !

However that leaves a lot of room for us as an W4 customer to become creative, stick a photo of your GF/Wife/Family, lets be inspired !

And what about my share of niggles

Have you not seen the famous thread yet Mine is a W4 but its an XUV so how can I not have my fair share of niggles. Here goes the list.

First one which both my friend and I found was that the door open warning icon along with cabin light used to come on in certain situations. Particularly while coming out of a steep ascent typical situation like when you come out of a basement parking. This was later fixed after half a days of investigation by the ASS as a faulty sensor in the boot lid.

The famous one - outside smell in the cabin even though aircon is set in inner circulation mode - Fixed to some extent. Not a big botheration though.

The notorious one - Left pull while driving - Yes, its still there, I have learnt to live with it. I know WA WB might help but probably I need to find a good place to get it done. So blame it on me, or may be on the JK Elanzos ?

The usual one - of getting a "khat khat" sound while driving when the driver side window glass is not fully closed. Fixed twice, but keeps coming depending upon its mood. I am not much impacted as I normally drive glasses closed - most of the times.

Then the ones which I know nothing can be done about - the squeaking sound from god knows where. Ah its there from the seat belt holders ; Oh no no, its from the dashboard dials, okay but that's not the culprit at least this time, yes I know now this is from the rear seat belts rubbing against the door frame, okay ! So didn't I discover there are clips to hold the seat belts, that's good As you know its always fun !

Service Experience


Its time to service

[pgupta]

1st and 2nd service experience

As XUV owners would know that the first service is due in 5000 Kms and then 10000 Kms. Both the services did not cost anything apart from the consumables cost. I had paid some 2500 INR for the first service at 5000 kms. And for the second one at 10000 Kms it was about only 60 INR .

Due to the niggles I had to visit the service center multiple times. One thing I have always felt that the service staff are in general very friendly and at least to me have shown lot of patience. Not only they tried to fix all the reported issue (except one or two, mentioned below) but were very supportive throughout the process. No appointments were needed and I have dropped in many times with a short notice and was quickly attended to. For minor issues and requests they were happy to fix them without any cost. There have been cases where I have specifically asked them to feel free to charge but they were happy to mention that it is a small thing - no need to pay !

But there is, of course one instance, where they did not meet my expectation. This was an issue related with the headlight. Once after heavy rain drive, I saw some good amount of moisture deposit and had reported them with photos.



They were prompt enough to investigate, but they could not find anything wrong. I was told that there was a team from Mahindra, which was also looking into this issue and they wanted to take the entire headlight assembly and keep it submerged into the water for several hours to see if they could replicate the issue. For this of course, I needed to leave the car with them for few days - which I was not able to do at that time. Some how over a period of time the issue got resolved by its own and I could not see the moisture deposit happening anymore. So this issue was never really addressed and there is a risk that it might re-surface again.

The left pull issue was actually the other which even after multiple attempts the service center could never fix. I think now the general opinion about this is also suggests that WA WB is not always done properly in the service center and its better if one gets it done from a specialized WA WB center.

[pgupta]

Now as I have completed 14000 Kms here is my overall experience about the car and specifically about the version, to the extent possible.

Driver seat ergonomics

I normally use it for highway drives. City drive is pretty limited. And that perhaps explain the low mileage of 14K kms in 18 months. Most of it is done in highways. The highway drive as I have mentioned earlier is the most I like in this machine. Except for the driver sear ergonomics, which I think is the only complain I have. In my last highway drive involving more than 600 kms continuous drive, I had to place a pillow below my right hand to get some ankle support, otherwise my shoulders felt stressed. The problem is while driving, i would like to rest my hand on the door hand rest while still be able to hold the steering with a good grip. However in this case, if you do that then you will not get a proper grip on the steering. I tried adjusting the steering too but somehow could not find the best position. So the final "jugar" was to place a pillow below my right hand - which solved it to a great extent. It may be a different story in other versions where you have more control with the steering and seating position. But I feel that the seating position with all the steering tilt adjustment and seat height adjustments etc, still leaves a lot to be deserved, at least in the case of W4.

Btw a question to other W4 owners - Are you able to also adjust the rake of the steering ? I think it is mentioned that rake adjustment is possible in W4 but i could only do tilt adjustment with the steering so far. Am i missing something here ?

Seating and ORVMs

I do not like to seat very high so my seat adjustments are mostly towards lower side only. This of course does not give a clear view of the bonnet which is only possible when you seat high. But after driving a wagon R for years who cares to know where the bonnet is ? Wagon owners will know what I mean. Also I have notices that the height adjustment lever when increasing the height, actually pushes the seat a bit forward. So if you keep the seat high then you have to take your eyes off the front while looking at the left ORVM .So the thought of having a fender mirror crossed my mind many a times. But over the period I have gotten used to it now and no longer feel that strong for an additional fender mirror. The ORVMs are large enough to provide a good visibility and coupled with the rear view mirror it provides a pretty good all round visibility. I have a habit of checking IRVM frequently - this is due to the fact that my Wagon R never had a left ORVM and I used to use the IRVM to cover the rear left side as well. This has as a side effect resulted in a habit of frequent IRVM usage which has proven to be very helpful many a times. Also I use the day and light mode of the IRVM regularly. This is one of the reason why I did not go for a rear parking sensor which comes with a mirror attachment. This mirrors can not match the good quality IRVM provided and also lack the day and night feature in most cases. I have also heard that this mirror on top type attachement makes the IRVM image to shake and over time it produces squeaking sounds.

ICE
Wikipedia definition - In-car entertainment (ICE), or in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), is a collection of hardware devices installed into automobiles, or other forms of road transportation, to provide audio or video entertainment, as well as automotive navigation systems



W4 does not have a touch screen nor it has the Monochrome display for the infotainment system.It has a single row LCD system which displays minimal information like, clock, track info, source etc. In fact I have never looked at it seriously as you can very much do without it too.

Audio
I am not a guy who loves music a lot so for me in my long highway drive the AUX port allows me to connect it to my phone whenever i wish to listed to music. The sound output is very good as it comes with good speakers in all the four doors. The equiliser settings allows you to control Bass, Treble and which is useful when you tune in to some FM channels etc. So perfect for my need.

Video - Touch screen
Video playback - it was never a requirement for me - so never miss this at all. Touchscreen - of course if you have this in your car it looks good. But practicality of such a device is also pretty debatable. I have given my view above it in http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post3788037

It was interesting to see that 81% voted in favour of button, knobs and switches over Touchscreen. Here is the thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...boon-bane.html

And we don't have any derth of buttons, knobs and switches in W4

Navigation
Google Maps zindabad ! Never missed this too. Many a times the idea of having a separate unit from MMI crossed my mind but after using google maps extensively including offline in areas having poor connectivity, i do not anymore see a need to have a separate unit.

Storage


I think its known that when it comes to space and storage XUV offers so much that nobody has any complaint. So I am not going to write about it again. However, there are sweet little things which i really admire when it comes to storage. I just love the 6 bottle holders - each door gets plus there are 2 by the side of the third row. Even though you are travelling fully loaded almost everyone has a place to keep their own bottle. Then there is this very thoughtful umbrella holder, very thoughtful of Mahindra.

Then there are these tiny pockets to keep little things like toll receipts etc. which is very handy. And there are plenty of those thrown around the entire car. You have 2 in the first row.

Front passenger side


Driver side


Then there are the bigger ones for the second row.


And the third row also gets two- both sides. No partiality there.



Also look at the huge bottle holders. The third row occupants have been somewhat compensated with all of these controls and storage. The kids simply love the fact that they can control / play with the AC knob and keep their drinks in the cup holder which is place next to the seat.

And finally I was very happy to discover the Seat belt holder. I did not know about this even after an year ! I love discovering things with the XUV May your life full of stories !

[pgupta]

Engine Performance

Bearing in mind that I drove an wagon R for 10 years, I surely was bowled over by the sheer strength of this beast. Now I am not a person who can comment a lot on the engine performance from a technical point of view. My view is purely a users perspective. And this I like in this department :

1.The huge bonnet is impressive.
2.When you open the bonnet and see the engine - it looks very well arranged. Gives confidence looking at it. Compare that with an engine- where you see several components scattered around and lots of wires and pipes going here and there - to me such an arrangement looks risky
3.When I start the engine - low vibration and noise - no gear lever vibration at all
4.The sound of the running engine - must say I love to hear this, I find it very composed
5.No dearth of power - just like my Wagon R, this one too moves without really pressing the accelerator when I start rolling it every morning
6.The pull is awesome and also sometimes a bit for me to control in city bumper to bumper traffic, otherwise its pretty easy to drive around in the city. The turning radius is quite impressive looking at the size.
7.Its a true highway car. I simply love it in the highways. The Engine is super smooth, works like a charm, absolutely noiseless when driven under 2200 RPM. I have never driven it above 2500 RPM so far though. Never felt any lack of power while climbing inclines. I have regularly seen many other "big" vehicles loosing breadth while climbing these inclines. In my XUV, I don't have to even downshift. And that's what I like.

The only thing that I dislike is that in 1st / 2nd gear it takes a bit of time to gain momentum. Small cars then look more agile and swift and then you feel the weight of the car. It takes a bit of time to get up to the speed ! I think this is known as Turbo Lag, right ?

Gearshift and Clutch

I have never faced any issues with the gearshifts. The first one needs a bit push if you are downshifting and still rolling. Otherwise the gears slot pretty easily. Clutch has a long throw which needs time to get used to. Clutch is neither hard or too soft but the long throw sometimes makes it hard on your knee. I have although observed that the clutch gets a bit harder after running continuously in highways, typically after 500 Kms + runs. Don't know if its an issue but never felt to report it too service center too.

Suspension

City drive condition - With the kind of roads we have in Bangalore - I think over the months it has improved. Initially it was quite happy to make us feel the exact road surface but now it has "learnt" a bit and the experience is "better" now.

High way condition - Nothing to complain. Very smooth on good road surface.

Overall the suspensions are hard and the ride is okay on bad roads only if you can drive on a moderate speed. It does not help driving this car slow on bad roads. But I remember that I was also told by the SA to take care of the suspension as its not really meant to take on bad roads.
However I also felt that after 10000 kms they have become relatively soft.

'Mileage' / Fuel Efficiency

I have really never calculated it. But I can fairly say that on highways it gives 15+kmph. Some point to remember : I have a small family so most of the time the car is not fully loaded and the third seats are not used. Although the roof carrier itself weighs like a person - 60Kg. Most of the time I drive below 100 kmph. I use normal fuel mostly filled from HP/IOCL fuel bunks.

Now to sum up :

Likes :

- Imposing stance, looks
- Unlimited Power
- Acres of space and storage
- Good Safety feature, Dual Airbags, ABD with EBD, All wheel disc brakes, Rear Fog lamps, Demystifier, rear wiper etc.
- good drive-ability in relatively patchy road surfaces
- Low maintenance cost
- Good fuel efficiency

Dislikes :

- Driver seat Ergonomics is substandard when compared to even hatch backs
- Clutch throw too long
- Absence of basic things like USB port
- Absence of MID

Whats next

As I grow old with this car, hopefully I will know it more and become wiser. And as and when that happens, I will keep adding my observations in the appropriate sections above. So please keep watching.

[GTO]

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

[ShellZee]

Congrats on the purchase and the very well worded and balanced ownership report. Your niggles list is short because you took the smart decision of going in for the W4 which brings to the table the best the XUV has on offer ie the drive, the mechanicals, the power, the space, the looks and the proven engine without the hassles of what Mahindra is still experimenting on ie the electronics, and they seem to be doing all the experimenting on the buyers.
But till something competitive in the same price range comes along I guess we will keep buying the car and learn to live with the niggles.

[mpksuhas]

Congrats on the purchase!!

From the pics I am guessing you took the delivery from Sireesh Auto Silkboard, are you getting the vehicle serviced from them itself? If so can you please let know how is the service experience?

Regarding the need for downshifting to 1st in bumper to bumper traffic to keep the speed in check, yes I too can relate to the same. For me that is the irritant in driving XUV in traffic, this is bit more painful since downshifting to 1st is not as smooth as down/ up-shifting to other gears.

Regarding your left pulling issue, I suggest you do a tyre rotation and check. There are few owners who had mentioned that the issue is under control once they did a rotation.

[Aditya]

Hi PG,

Congratulations on your new car. It's really good that Mahindra did not skimp on features such as airbags and ABS on this "Lite" version of the XUV500. The W4 makes a lot of sense. It's got seven seats and enough equipment to satisfy most people.

While I like the XUV500 a lot, I feel that Mahindra should have ironed out all the niggles by now - it's been 4 years since the car appeared on the scene. It's only when the quality of the vehicle is acceptable and consistent that it will do well in international markets.

[fusionbang]

Congratulations Gupta Ji on your beast and thanks for the first W4 ownership report

Some more pictures would have made it complete

Regarding left pulling, I would suggest you to get it aligned at Madhus along with road force balancing, which should help you to overcome this issue.

Also for reverse parking sensors and camera, why don't you try one with separate screen on the dashboard which is available as an official Mahindra accessory.

PS: With some many XUV's with Bhpians from Bangalore, it's high time we should have a quick meet with a photo shoot.

[pgupta]

Originally Posted by ShellZee

Congrats on the purchase and the very well worded and balanced ownership report. Your niggles list is short because you took the smart decision of going in for the W4 which brings to the table the best the XUV has on offer ie the drive, the mechanicals, the power, the space, the looks and the proven engine without the hassles of what Mahindra is still experimenting on ie the electronics, and they seem to be doing all the experimenting on the buyers.
But till something competitive in the same price range comes along I guess we will keep buying the car and learn to live with the niggles.

Thanks ShellZee for your kind note. And you are right ! W4 is a complete value for money. The best thing I liked is that it has a decent safety equipment list which is not available in other base models which I had compared. I think Storme Lx does not have airbags and ABS. In fact, its only Storme VX which offers both of these. The EX version only provides ABS but not the airbags. Now compare XUV W4 which tops this list with all wheel disc brakes, height adjustable drivers seat, Rear wash and wiper, which are pretty rate to find in this price range. Good Job Mahindra

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Congrats on the purchase!!

From the pics I am guessing you took the delivery from Sireesh Auto Silkboard, are you getting the vehicle serviced from them itself? If so can you please let know how is the service experience?

Regarding the need for downshifting to 1st in bumper to bumper traffic to keep the speed in check, yes I too can relate to the same. For me that is the irritant in driving XUV in traffic, this is bit more painful since downshifting to 1st is not as smooth as down/ up-shifting to other gears.

Regarding your left pulling issue, I suggest you do a tyre rotation and check. There are few owners who had mentioned that the issue is under control once they did a rotation.

Thanks mpksuhas ! Yes, you guessed it right. I took delivery from Sireesh Auto Silk Board.
However, for service I use their Marthahalli service station. The service experience is good so far. I usually try to go on a weekday and early in the morning when they still have time to attend me. And I have also build some rapport with the service staff which helps me get some attention at times. And I mostly, stay there when the car is getting serviced which gives me a pretty good idea of what they are doing.

One thing I can tell you that there wheel balancing alignment dept did not meet my expectations.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Hi PG,

Congratulations on your new car. It's really good that Mahindra did not skimp on features such as airbags and ABS on this "Lite" version of the XUV500. The W4 makes a lot of sense. It's got seven seats and enough equipment to satisfy most people.

While I like the XUV500 a lot, I feel that Mahindra should have iron out all the niggles by now - it's been 4 years since the car appeared on the scene. It's only when the quality of the vehicle is acceptable and consistent that it will do well in international markets.

Hello Aditya - Yes W4 is a pure value for money. And as you rightly said the "Lite" version is not really light when compared with some of its base version competitors.

Regarding the niggles, nowadays manufacturers are getting lot of feedback - not only thru their service centers but also thru social media so that should further help them to improve the quality of their products in less time what it used to take earlier.

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Congratulations Gupta Ji on your beast and thanks for the first W4 ownership report

Some more pictures would have made it complete

Regarding left pulling, I would suggest you to get it aligned at Madhus along with road force balancing, which should help you to overcome this issue.

Also for reverse parking sensors and camera, why don't you try one with separate screen on the dashboard which is available as an official Mahindra accessory.

PS: With some many XUV's with Bhpians from Bangalore, it's high time we should have a quick meet with a photo shoot.

Dhanyavad Fusionbang ! I will surely upload more picture as I have already added reverse parking sensor and front fog lamps from Mahindra. Will update the details shortly.

And for your excellent proposal of the XUV Bangalore Bhpian photo shoot, you can already count me in

[achyu]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

With some many XUV's with Bhpians from Bangalore, it's high time we should have a quick meet with a photo shoot.

Originally Posted by pgupta

Dhanyavad Fusionbang !

And for your excellent proposal of the XUV Bangalore Bhpian photo shoot, you can already count me in

Guys, if ever there is a meet up in Bangalore, count me in.

PG,
Belated congratulations!! Look forward to reading more updates from you on this thread. Cheers!

[pradeew]

I too own a W4. Finding it difficult without a in-dash navigation and USB music playing options on

Did anyone manage to install a aftermarket MID in W4....appreciate help here

[pgupta]

Originally Posted by pradeew

I too own a W4. Finding it difficult without a in-dash navigation and USB music playing options on



Did anyone manage to install a aftermarket MID in W4....appreciate help here

Technically it must be possible but so far have not seen any body with a aftermarket solution , might be due to warranty concerns.

You may like to look at some Map my india navigation devices which comes with touch screen, audio video playback and Bluetooth options. This can be powered from the 12v adapter so no warranty issues involved.