[AutoIndian]

Before I can embark on my journey with the Orange Tank to conquer the roads, my heartfelt tributes to my two earlier workhorses:

The Amethyst Blue, Indica-DLX (2004-2015)


The pre-worshipped Black Innova-V (2014-2015)


Most of you might be already aware about my journey with the above two workhorses, but for those who don't here are the links to the stories of my previous two cars:

Indica:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ms-beyond.html

Innova:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...workhorse.html

[AutoIndian]

Why the need for a new car?

I was quite happy with my pre-worshipped Black Workhorse (BW), the Innova, which I bought from a common friend's friend on 8th Nov 2014. I had done many long trips in it with my family and I was enjoying my drives in it. However one fine day destiny took an ugly turn. While I was at the DSK Toyota Service Centre for ordering a duplicate key for my Innova, it was accidentally revealed to me that my car had encountered a major accident way back in Jan 2010 (while it was with previous owner). The whole chassis was replaced. The repair expenses were to the tune of Rs 5.69 lacs. The car was then re-registered with the new chassis number (the registration number however remained the same). The major parts that were replaced were as below:

• Chassis
• Lock setup
• Engine Mounting
• Radiator
• Air Duct
• Bumper
• Side fender
• Front windshield
• Top roof
• RHS door hinges
• Both front headlamps
• Both fog lamps
• Tail lamp RHS
• AC Condenser

That morning I had least expected that I would get the biggest shock of my life .

The full story can be read on my Innova thread here (from message # 282 onwards) ---> http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...khorse-19.html

After multiple frantic calls with the previous owner (who was in US), it was decided that he would take back the car from me for 7 lacs (Note: I had paid him 7.4 lacs and spent another 60K on sprucing the car up with new tyres, new seats covers, new music system, side steps, floor lamination etc). Essentially the car had cost me 8 lacs. So on knowing that he was ready to pay me 7 lacs, I immediately sealed the deal. Within a month and a half I got 7 lacs and handed over the car (in as-is condition) to his sister.


Various alternatives that were considered:

Before I handed over the Innova, the hunt for its replacement had already started. I didn't want to go for a new Innova as I was aware that the completely new, Innova with more powerful engine and many advanced features would be hitting the market in the next couple of months. Also to be honest, Innova was too big for my requirements. I was not going to touch another used Innova with a barge pole. I had already test driven the Ertiga, took the test drives of Scorpio, Mobilio, Lodgy etc.

Ertiga:
This was the car on the top of my priority list, especially after knowing that MSIL was going to bring in the SHVS (diesel hybrid) technology in Ertiga after launching the Ciaz with this. I was following up with 3 Maruti dealers in Pune. I was really looking forward to the Ertiga SHVS. However the uncertainty of its launch, here in Pune and the more uncertainty about getting the first lot of cars, really put me off. I wanted to go only for that car, which I would get before Diwali and even display cars were not available at dealers when I started my hunt. All were keen to just get my booking but no one was committing on delivery. Hence the Ertiga was ruled out.

Picture (Courtesy: Ertiga Facelift thread)



Scorpio:
Test drove the S10 and liked the power available on tap. The meaty tyres, the butch looks were very impressive. However the front seat ergonomics was not so good and the most important deterrent was its price. An on-road price of 14.5 lacs was too much. The lower variants (S8 or S6) were missing on some very important features like rear wiper, front fog lamps etc. Hence ruled out the Scorpio.

Picture (Courtesy: Scorpio Facelift thread)



Lodgy:
This is one very underrated car, hence wanted to give it a try. Test drove the 85ps Lodgy extensively for 25-30 kms. Liked its driveability. However the very long wheebase (2810mm), lower ground clearance of 174mm, comparatively bigger turning radius of 5.55m were some of the drawbacks. I was interested in the top end RXZ variant in the 110ps avatar. However that was costing a whopping 14 lacs on road. The dealer was ready to give a cash discount of 35K, even without asking for one. He then extended it to 50K. However due the 3 negative factors stated above I could not convince myself to go for the Lodgy. The car was readily available.

Lodgy - Apartment Parking Slot Test-1


Lodgy - Apartment Parking Slot Test-2


Readily available Lodgys at dealer stockyard


Readily available Lodgys at dealer stockyard-another shot


Mobilio:
Though I had test driven the Mobilio earlier, I paid a casual visit to Deccan Honda showroom in Pimpri, Pune to enquire about the Mobilio. Even before I asked for any schemes/ offers, I was told that the S-MT (i-Dtec) has a cash discount of 65K and a corporate discount of 7K, so 72K cash discount on on-road price in total. Same discount was extended to V-MT. The RS(O) had a whopping cash discount of Rs 1.5 lacs.

For a moment I though the SMT i-Dtec, would be a steal, but then it misses on some must have features like fog lamps, rear wash and wipe, bluetooth (although it has steering mounted audio controls). Honda, poor product planning on skipping these features for SMT and forcing customers to go for VMT, which is 1.5 lacs costlier.

The Mobilio RS(O) is a mere eyewash, other than the projector lights and touchscreen AVN, all other additions are mere cosmetics. There is no point in pricing a car exorbitantly high and then giving 1.5 lacs discount on it. Hence the Mobilio was also ruled out.

Picture (Courtesy: Mobilio Official Review thread)


Accidental brush-up with TUV3OO:
On Saturday I had handed over my Innova. While taking a nap on Sunday afternoon, I couldn't sleep much as the question of my next car was continuously bugging me. Hence woke up and straightway went to the Silver Jubilee showroom of M&M to check out the XUV W4. Since the TUV was displayed besides it, I just thought of checking the TUV as well. I liked its stance, the interiors, space on offer. Asked for a test drive and immediately got one of the AMT. The pull, low end torque just blew me away. The 1.5, 3 potter was quite capable of pulling this 1.6 tonner and It dismissed the pot holes like they never existed. The steering felt precise and quite chunky to hold. Next day morning took a test drive along with the whole family, initially I got only the AMT for test drive and later they arranged the manual.

I would like to share the experience of my 3 test drives of TUV (before booking), twice it was the AMT and once it was the manual.

AMT:
Slot the car is first gear (gear indicator visible on the instrument cluster). Lift your right leg off the brake pedal. People used to driving manual diesels would anticipate the car to move forward, but actually nothing happens, though the gear shift indicates "1" on the cluster. Press the throttle gently and the car begins to move. It moves with eagerness beyond 1500 rpm. Lift your leg off the throttle and give a gentle push to the AMT gear lever, the second gear engages, rpm drops and the car, which was pulling strongly seems to have lost the steam. Again it builds up momentum as the rpm crosses 1500-2000 range. This way you can keep upshifting till you are in 5th gear, 80 kmph comes @ 2000 rpm. It can potter @ 60 kmph in 5th gear (1500 rpm). The moment you hit the brake pedal it begins to downshift. It senses the brake pressure and modulation of brake pedal downshifts smoothly. If you notice a speed hump from 50 metres and you are in 5th gear, a gentle tap on brake would downshift it to 4th, again a second tap would downshift to 3 and again one more downshift to 2nd. Now you can easily cross the speed brake on 2nd gear and pull cleanly from thereon, by a gentle push on the A pedal.

Biggest negatives of AMT:
I was on an incline near the showroom gate. Car came to a standstill and the first gear was engaged. Now to prevent roll back I pressed the brake pedal. The moment I lifted my right leg off the pedal and tried to press the accelerator, the car began to roll back. If you press the A pedal aggressively, the car may move forward with a jerk. Very dangerous in choc-a-block traffic and at signals. Next time when I came to a standstill on an incline, I engaged the handbrake. This prevented the car from rolling back. Then I gently started pushing the accelerator, as the car was trying to move forward, I released the handbrake. This time it was a smooth maneuver. A hill hold assist function is a must for the AMT.

Also while putting the car in reverse in my apartment parking, I put the AMT lever to the "R" position. Lifting the foot from the brake did not make the car move backwards, I had to gently press the accelerator. While reversing any manual car, I always prefer keeping my right leg over the brake and left leg over the clutch. This way if I have to stop by pressing brake, I can do half clutch, so that the engine does not die off, but this is not a possibility in the AMT as there is no clutch pedal. May be one can try putting right foot on accelerator and the left one on the brake, this way there would be better control.

No such problems in the manual, getting off from standstill, just release the clutch, a gentle push on the "A" pedal and the car surges ahead. Getting the car in reverse, just release the clutch.

The steering is pretty good to hold and you get good control of direction. Pot holes and speed breakers are dismissed without any fuss. My wife knowingly sat on the jump seats to check them out if they were comfortable and she did not complain. Not sure if it is the high profile tyres or the suspension, but the car just glides over craters.

Noise insulation is remarkably good for this 3 potter. I was very apprehensive about the NVH levels, but the 3 test drives have just blown me away. On the outside the engine is barely audible and once the windows are rolled up, the cabin is super silent (by my standards as I am used to a noisy and seemingly crude sounding Innova diesel). The engine firewall insulation, then damping under the hood and the dual mass flywheel. Dual mass flywheel completely isolates Engine torsional vibrations. Results in elimination of drive-train rattles and low NVH. No vibrations on the clutch pedal or gear lever. Gears were also sure slotting.

The test drive TUV in my apartment parking - As seen from front


The test drive TUV in my apartment parking - Perfect fit


Booking:
After I was convinced that the TUV meets most of my requirements to the "T", the next big question was "delivery". The dealership discouraged me from going for the AMT variant as that would take at least a month or two to get delivered. He said the manual can be delivered before Diwali. When the dealership confirmed me the delivery of Molten Orange color TUV3OO, T8 MT variant before Diwali, I cut a cheque for 25K towards the booking amount.

Price break-up is mentioned below:

[AutoIndian]

Some interesting tid-bits post booking:

Value Proposiion:

I was taking a gamble of going for an altogether new Mahindra car for which even the TBHP official review was not out yet. I assumed the TUV has undergone very rigorous testing by Mahindra and they might have sorted out all the issues before the car started to roll out from the production line. In case if there were some still left then I hoped the after sales service would take good care of addressing those.

The TUV indeed offered tremendous value proposition. It had the same hydroformed chassis that is used in the new Scorpio (both have the same wheelbase of 2680mm). The top end TUV-T8 is 4.5 lakhs cheaper than the Scorpio-S10 (2WD). The Scorpio offers additional space in the jump seats and has a bigger engine, good top end. However the interiors of the TUV are far better and welcoming than the Scorpio. Obviously the lower excise duty helps TUVs case, but even then Mahindra has left a lot of value on the table and not priced this SUV exorbitantly high like the competition.

Skepticism about TUV's capabilities:

There were quite a few fellow TBHP members who felt that the Ertiga was better than the TUV for my requirements. I agreed the facelift had lots of features and was more sophisticated car than TUV. Also no doubt the service and maintenance would be anyday better for the Ertiga than the TUV. Some decisions are taken by heart as the head thinks too much. A single test drive of the TUV just blew me away and it won my heart.

I was made aware of the limitations of the TUV. The TUV had a very flat or rather lower than mediocre performance around 100 KMPH and gets worse above that. I agreed with him 101%. TUV did not have so good top end, but had enough grunt at low end. It had excellent driveability and tractability. I took three extensive test drives (two with family) before committing to the TUV3OO. I agreed TUV will struggle to go beyond 100 kmph. This may become cumbersome for long interstate trips. To be honest I may venture on trips like these only once in a while, whereas my regular (read week end trips) would most likely be in nearby remote areas, hills etc, not to mention that 80% of the driving will be within city (for home to office commutes). For such type of requirements, I needed a rugged vehicle, with very good low end torque, most importantly a rear wheel drive, would not buckle under load. The TUV3OO is meeting most of my above requirements.

Believe me reaching to the tonne mark brings a wide grin on your face, such is the pulling power of this beast. I have driven the Scorpio, Innova, Lodgy, Mobilio and Ertiga. When each of these cars are driven with full load, the TUV will simply surge ahead of each one of these to the tonne mark, may not be a match for the XUV though. That said beyond 100kmph, it won't be able to catch up with most of the above cars. I am OK with that for my kind of driving requirements.

RWD (Rear Wheel Drive): Biggest advantage over other compact SUVs

There is no real advantage of RWD for regular city use (rather the mileage will be on lower side). But yes if the car is fully loaded and you have to stop on an incline, a FWD car will struggle to move forward as the complete load is on rear wheels and have good traction, front wheels might slip if they don't get enough grip. You may have to slip the clutch generously to move forward. For RWD cars, you can just release the clutch pedal and get going. You will know the real advantage of RWD cars while climbing ghats. Twice I was in a situation in my Indica when I had to ask my passengers to get down the car, so that car could climb the incline, once at Bhimashankar and other timein Konkan (of course that was a non-turbo Indica, with poor low end torque). The current generation of CRDi cars would anyday fare better. None of the cars that I listed are underpowered, however the way in which the TUV pulls is leagues ahead, the meaty low end torque has a role to play in that.

I wanted a "go anywhere" car, which won't burn a big hole in my pocket, both while purchasing and while running. In other compact SUVs/MUVs, you will have to drive carefully when it is fully loaded, not so with the TUV. Roads or not roads, you can drive it anywhere. I wanted a "Go anywhere" kind of vehicle, same like a tank. A tank can run on road (albiet slow), climb mountains, wade through water etc

The battle tank connection:

I was wondering why my Dad was so excited in getting the TUV at home, he was far more excited than me. It struck me only later. He is now in the 14th year of his retirement after serving in Central Govt for the almost 35 years. He was the chief draughtsman in the office of Central Govt designing Special Vehicles. He was instrumental in designing/ drawing at least a couple of parts (if not all) of many battle tanks like the T-72, Arjun, BMP etc and even the Bofors gun. So now I got it, why he could connect with the TUV3OO, afterall its design has been inspired by the "battle tank"

How compact SUV suits for a family of 6?

I have 4 adults and 2 kids in my family. The two decently built people, myself and Dad occupy the driver and co-driver seat. Mom is medium built, wife is lean and daughter too very thin, son is small (2.5 years). So all of them can fit in the 2nd row seat of the TUV. If one or two more people join us, and we want more space, daughter or wife can jump into the 3rd row seat.

NVH levels of the 3-potter:

When I went for the showroom for the 4th test drive, I made one important observation. there was a Blue colored TUV3OO T8 AMT ready for delivery. I was standing about two feet away from the car's rear end. You won't believe the car was idling and even then I was barely able to pick up the idling note. Mahindra seems to have put in great efforts to dampen all those vibrations and noises inherent to a 3 cylinder engine. I had vouched that in my entire life I will never drive a 3 cylinder engine, leave aside buying one, come what may. But just one test drive of the TUV was enough to shatter my perception.

[AutoIndian]

One fine day I informed my cousin that I had booked a TUV. He said that he would like to test drive the car and off we went to Silver Jubilee showroom. After booking the car I was looking forward to every single opportunity to drive the car. When we went to the showroom, fortunately the T8 manual test drive car was available as I had informed my Sales Exec that I am coming. On that test drive, I got to test some additional features/ functions:

• The Bluetooth calling worked flawlessly. I struggled to pair my Android phone initially, but once paired it was seamless
• The micro hybrid also worked as expected. Come to a standstill, put the car in neutral, apply the handbrake, lift the left foot off the clutch pedal and the engine stops in 3 seconds.
• When you want to get started, just press the clutch pedal, the engine starts, slot into first, disengage the handbrake and you are ready to go.
• The T8 has 4 speakers and the sound quality is quite OK (there are no tweeters). Volume control is from 0 to 30. The level of 8-10 is sufficient enough.

When we returned back to the showroom, we saw a verve blue colored TUV T8 AMT getting readied for delivery. Got to know that it was from pre-launch booking. The tank looked smashing in blue have a look.

[AutoIndian]

Post booking nightmare:

It was exactly one week that I had booked the car, however I was not able to get the necessary response from my Sales Exec. When I visited the showroom, he had specifically told me to give him a reminder about my car order status after 2 days. Hence called him after 2 days. However he could not get hold of his Sales Manager. I called him a couple of times, however he was not able to get the status. Though they had committed delivery before Diwali, one week into the booking, at least they should have told me what is the order status, had the car been manufactured, had it come out of assembly line etc.

I was desperately trying to get information from any possible source. The fellow BHPian silver Knight advised me to shoot an email to customercare@mahindra.com with my contact details and dealer name. He found M&M's customer care to be responsive. I thought what's the harm in doing so.

In the morning @ 09:30am I shot a mail to the above id and by 02:55pm, I received a response from Customer Care - Automotive Division:

Within 3 minutes of receiving the above mail I got a call from the Area Sales Manager. He explained me the whole booking to manufacturing process and how the car gets invoiced to the dealer. He said that either he himself or the Sales Manager from the dealership would get in touch with me and update me the status of the car. He asked me to save his number and I can reach out to him anytime in case I need any further information.

Hats-off to the customer centric attitude shown by Mahindra . Who said only the Japanese car companies were prompt in their responses and making the customer feel as a king. M&M has just demonstrated that they are not far behind, way to go Mahindra

The dealership Sales Manager (DSM) called me and asked me what was my concern. I told him that I am not getting any kind of updates about the status of my booking. He said that as per their system the billing date is showing as first week of Dec. I told him that I had gone ahead with the booking only after getting the commitment that car will be delivered to me before Diwali. On that he said that there is a lead time of 6-8 weeks and they are trying their best for delivery by Diwali.

I gave this update to the M&M Area Sales Manager (ASM). He then tried to get the dealership Sales Manager into conference with me, however his phone was coming busy. The ASM then told me that he would talk to the DSM offline and understand from him why he was unsure about delivery before Diwali.

I then replied back to the Area Sales Manager in these words:

Hello Mr XXX,


Not sure if you had a chance to talk to Mr XXX XXX (Dealer Sales Manager) after our call in the evening. However if by tomorrow I don't get a confirmation about the car delivery before Diwali, then I am afraid I will have to cancel my booking and look for other options.

As I told you earlier in the day, I am currently using a loaner car of my relative, which I have to return back to him before Diwali. I will have to go for a car, which is readily available.

The above mail set the cat amongst the pigeons. Things started falling in place. The ASM took me in conference with the Dealership Sales Head (DSH) and asked him about the availability of cars. The DSH informed that one White T6+ had arrived that day and if I was interested I could take a look at it. He also mentioned that one Blue T8 had been billed and he can confirm about its availability by next day evening. He mentioned that billing goes on till 31st midnight (for the monthly dispatches) and on 1st Nov, he will be able to tell me exactly, which colors/ variants will become available.

On poking further and letting him know that I was a TBHP member, well aware of the fact that 4K+ TUVs had already been dispatched to dealers, where have all these cars gone? He mentioned that most of them have gone to other states, Pune being the nearest to Chakan plant gets the least preference. 130+ TUVs have been already billed to the two dealers in Pune (Silver Jubilee and Kundan).

The ASM also mentioned that he will talk to his higher management and come back to me by 31st Oct afternoon, if I will be getting the car of my choice delivered before Diwali. If not then I was free to go ahead with my cancellation of booking. I wanted to give him a fair chance and see if things worked out as expected in the next few days (fingers tightly crossed).

I compared the specs of the T6+ against that of T8. Unfortunately the lower variant loses on 19 features and almost 50% of which were very important (I have highlighted in yellow colour below the important ones)



Conclusion: I sent a text message to the Dealer Sales Head that I was not pursuing the White T6+ (or any color of this variant) as it is loosing out on some important features. I told him I will stick to T8 manual. open to different color options. Would opt for Blue T8 if that became available.

Next day I talked to the Dealership Sales Manager (DSM) and M&M's Pune Area Sales Manager (ASM). The one Verve Blue TUV3OO-T8 that was likely to be billed to the dealer was not billed. So my hopes of getting a quicker delivery were dashed. The DSM mentioned that all out of state billing would happen till 29th Oct and billing for Pune happens on 30th and 31st, Pune being nearest to Chakan plant where the TUV is manufactured. He was hoping that around 70 odd TUVs will be allotted to this dealership. He said that he will be able to confirm on 1st Nov afternoon, whether my car was in the dispatched lot or not. If yes then it may take 2-3 days for unloading the car at their Uruli Devachi stockyard and another 3-4 days for RTO registration. I was hoping against hope that my car would arrive in that lot and I would get the keys at least on Dhanteras.

[AutoIndian]

Finally Silver Lining in the Dark (booking) Cloud:

On the afternoon of 31st Oct, the Dealership Sales Head called me and gave me the good news that my Molten Orange, TUV3OO-T8 had been billed to the dealership. He even offered me other color options. He said the T8 was getting available in Molten Orange (my booking color), Verve Blue, Bold Black and Majestic Silver. He asked me to confirm my color choice within an hour. Since I was outside I initially thought of calling home and getting confirmation from family. But that would be a waste of time as each member would have his/her different choice. Though I loved the Verve Blue, I stuck to the original Molten Orange and gave him my confirmation then and there itself.

I told him that I would be holding back some payment so that in case there were any issues after my PDI, those would be fixed immediately. He said that I would have to make the complete balance payment (9.75 lacs) and they can give me the car prior to registration. I can use it for some time and only when I am completely satisfied with it they can send it for registration. Couldn't argue much on that point and thought that was logical.

Decided to go to the dealership to make the balance payment. By that time they should inform me the VIN.

The sales head mentioned that the car will be dispatched from the factory by 2nd Nov, land in their stockyard on 3rd, 4th they will do their PDI and on 5th Thursday it will be at the showroom ready for delivery (without registration). I was thinking of taking the delivery on 5th use it that day and give it back on 6th with issues to be addressed if any and accessories that I want to get fitted (mostly floor mats and mud flaps, even thinking about side armor skirt and body wheel arches if available). 7th I can take a retest and give the clearance for registration, so that I can take the registered car on the auspicious occasion on Dhanteras (9th Nov).
That sounded to be a reasonable plan.

After reaching the showroom I negotiated a bit for retaining some payment, finally they obliged. Gave a cheque for 9 lakhs, retained 75K to be given after doing the PDI and before sending the car for registration. I told them that once the car lands in their stockyard and they do the PDI, they should inform me so that I can get my PDI done simultaneously. Also once the car reaches their showroom and is to be sent for registration I will do the final inspection and do the online transfer for the balance payment of 75K.

I inquired about the TUV accessories. I was interested in getting the floor mats and mud flaps, however the prices of the accessories stunned me. Humble mud flaps costing Rs 1200/- and rubber floor mats costing Rs 1700/- . I would be better off getting these from outside.

The Black Armour Kit with black spoiler costs a whopping 68K. Attaching below the TUV Accessories Price List for those who would be interested.



After reaching home, I received my TUV's chassis number. It was F6KXXXXX.

As per Wildon's thread on VIN decoding:
F = Year of manufacturing = 2015
6 = I guess this is the manufacturing plant = Chakan, Pune
K = Month of manufacturing = Oct
XXXXX = These 5 digits are the serial number of the car.

[AutoIndian]

The big goof-up during PDI at dealer stockyard:

When I called the dealership Sales Head, he mentioned that my car has landed in their stockyard on the night of 2nd Nov and on 3rd they were going to do the PDI. I immediately hopped on this opportunity and told him that I would be doing the PDI as well at their stockyard. He said that normally they don't allow customers in their stockyard, but would arrange their driver to take me through the car. Went there @ 02:30pm, their person took me inside and spotted the car. He said that he will give it for PDI and I can do my PDI there itself. Here were some pics of my Molten Orange T8

My Old Workhorse (Blue Indica) standing besides a white TUV.


The car comes without spare wheel cover from the factory


The Technician doing the PDI


The Technician inspecting the right side of the car


Right side B pillar came with black cladding


Left side B pillar came without black cladding


The spare wheel moulded cover comes box packed


The spare wheel cover being fitted by the technician


The first scratch spotted during PDI


The Technician at the wheel during PDI test drive


When I informed the sales head about both the above issues (missing B pillar black cladding and scratch) he assured me that both issues would be fixed in the stockyard PDI. I was not worried about the small scratch, but wonder how can a newly launched car come out of the factory without the B pillar blackened. What were the final inspection folks @ M&M's Chakan plant doing when this car rolled out of the assembly line?

Actually customers are not allowed inside the stockyard. But since I was all the time in touch with the Sales Head I could easily manage getting inside to inspect my car. I did not try my hands at the wheel and enjoyed the co-driver seat, while the technician was test driving the car as a part of the PDI. It was a heck of a drive. The technician might have driven just 2-3 kms. He told me to fasten my seat belt and press both the legs against the floor under glove box, be very alert. He raced in each gear beyond 3K rpm and then slammed the brakes when he was racing ahead. This was to check the gears, acceleration and braking. He then took the car over a completely broken, kaccha road with some great speed. This was to check any loose nut-bolts. He took the car in reverse and took a very tight U turn to check the steering.

I would never in my life do that with my car or any other car for that matter. However I thoroughly enjoyed that short, gruesome test drive, which is a part of their PDI and came out of the car thoroughly impressed with the capabilities of this tank.

The missing black cladding on the LHS "B" pillar could be either due to:

• Damaged left doors replaced with new ones and they forgot to apply black cladding
• The left doors would have been from a lower variant. T4 and T6 do not have the blackened B pillar. The TUV brochure clearly mentions that the "Black-out pillar" comes only for the T8 variant, T4 and T6 have it in body color. So cannot rule out the possibility of the lower variant door getting fixed on T8 at the assembly line itself.

Next day in the evening received a call from dealership Sales head and he mentioned his regrets as the black vinyl sticker was not available. However he said that he had received three T8s in molten orange, two were against bookings and one extra and he offered me the extra car. He took the dealership sales manager in conference and said that this car had passed all their PDI and can reach showroom tomorrow afternoon if I give the go ahead. He asked me if I want to go for this car. He gave me the chassis number of this new car. He also mentioned that the currently allotted car won't be de-allotted unless I check and confirm the new car. I asked him if the new car has vinyl stickering on both sides and if this car is in perfect condition. He replied in affirmative.

The car was expected to reach the showroom on the afternoon of 5th Nov. I might not be able to inspect it on 5th as the showroom was far off from my office. I told him that I will inspect and clear the balance payment on Friday morning, to which he agreed. I told him to keep all the documents and the car ready in two days so that I will be able to take the delivery on Sunday morning. Registration can happen at a later date. He agreed to it but also informed me that registration make take more time due to Diwali holidays at the RTO. He cautioned me not to take the car far away from the city as temp registration may create problem. I agreed with him.

[AutoIndian]

PDI at the showroom:

Went for the PDI on the morning of 6th Nov Since I was armed with the TBHP PDI checklist everything went smoothly. Spent almost one hour checking all the points. When I asked for a test drive, initially they were reluctant, but when I insisted they obliged. Allowed a short test drive, but in that I could upshift to the 5th gear and got a feel of brakes and steering.

Made the balance payment of 74K online through NEFT. Told the sales guy that I would be taking the delivery of the car on 7th morning @11:30am. Earlier I had planned to take the delivery on 9th morning on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras, but then it would have been very stupid of me to keep a completely ready car for two more days at the mercy of the showroom staff. Hence decided against it. Also the senior home minister told that 7th Nov being the first day of Diwali (Vasubaras) was by no means less auspicious than Dhanteras. Moreover taking the car delivery on Saturday would mean I have an additional holiday of Sunday to spend with the car and will have sufficient time to get issues addressed if any crop up after delivery. Hence it was unanimously decided that delivery would be taken on Saturday @ 11:30am.

Attaching some pictures below that were taken during PDI at the showroom.

















Told the sales guys to keep all the documents ready on Saturday morning. When I asked if I needed to get anything along with me (garland, coconuts, sweets etc), he said that everything will be arranged. On asking for freebies, he told me to contact the Sales Head. When I sent the Sales Head a text message that not even a penny was reduced from the listed price, at least they should give the mud flaps as complimentary. He replied back saying that this being a newly launched there are no offers, however he can give me a best discount of 20% on all accessories. I told "No thanks", I didn't want to get any accessories from showroom. Was hoping that the delivery process would be smooth the next day.

[AutoIndian]

The "D" day arrived: Taking the delivery of the car

On Saturday morning @ 11:30am, I got a call from the dealership that the car and all documentation was ready. I could come to take the delivery. I told him that in one hours time I would be reaching there along with my family.

Reached the showroom @ 12:30pm. Below is the sequence of events that happened on the "D" day:

1. The dealership staff was quite courteous. The main sales person explained me all the features of the car in great detail and kept asking me if I want to know anything further.
2. While pairing my android with the car, my phone popped up "failure" message at least 10 times. Even the sales exec got frustrated. Finally I thought of deleting the earlier pairings in my phone and reconnect and voila it worked seamlessly.
3. I got rid of all plastic seat covers at the showroom itself.
4. The showroom arranged for all the pooja items, haldi, kumkum, coconut, sweets, garland, gandhi topi etc.
5. The dealer presented me the beautiful ganesh idol, picture of which is shared below.
6. They also gave me a 10 litre diesel coupon, which I redeemed at the nearest fuel bunk. The DTE went from 177km to 302km. So an increase of 125km for 10 litre, indicating average FE of 12.5 kmpl.
7. After that I moved on the the Shell bunk and did a tankful over there. The TUV gulped 33.46 litres and the DTE was now showing 675 km, giving an FE figure of 11.18 kmpl. Note: The above is just for academic purpose. The actual FE will be known only when I do a tankful again. Mostly will do it when the fuel gauge reaches half way mark.
8. When I entered my apartment and started reversing the car, there was a wild shrill from the reverse parking sensor as if the car is going to hit an obstacle. When I saw in both ORVMs and IRVM, there was nothing behind. But to be doubly sure, I put the car in neutral, pulled the handbrake and stepped out. My doubt came true, out of the 4 rear parking sensors the plastic protective covering of only 2 sensors was removed at the showroom, while balance two still had it in place. On peeling them off, the reverse sensors started working perfectly fine.
9. In the evening went to the local 3M shop to get the black cladding and floor matting done. The vinyl wrap that he showed had a lighter shade of black, whereas the original factory fitted wrapping is pitch black, hence I did not pursue it. However got the quotation from him for complete roof blackening (although I don't intend to go for it as of now).
10. Got the 3M nomad mats fitted in brown colour (as black or grey was not available). It costed me around 6.75K (24 sqft carpet area). Also bought a Meguiars supreme shine microfibre towel from there for Rs 500/-
11. Did some night driving. The cornering lamps are simply superb. Very well thought feature illuminating the corners. The brake lamps are also quite powerful, especially the LED stop lamp. The OE lamps seem to be sufficient with good throw. I will come to know their effectiveness during my night drives from office to home in the coming days.

Sharing below the happy moments captured at the showroom.

Preparations going on for the customary puja


The whole family posing with the TUV


Without his blessings nothing would have been possible


The huge garland adorning the butch front


Mom doing the pooja, offering water on all tyres


Wifey doing her part of the pooja


Dad breaking the coconut


Curious dealer staff looking at the procession


Key hand over ceremony, priviledge taken by my kid


Daughter distributing the gifts to the staff that I brought along

Immediately tanked up the tank at Shell bunk. The bunk attendants in their orange attire gel so well with the TUV


Finally the tank resting in its home, apartment parking

[AutoIndian]

Coincidence @ Shell Bunk:

Sharing one coincidence that happened at the Shell bunk when I had gone there for doing a tankful. One man walked over to me and asked if I had taken the TUV delivery recently, I told yes. I saw a sparkle in his eyes and sense of pride as he was looking at my TUV. He then introduced himself to me as Mr. XXX (name concealed for protecting identity) working with M&M's Chakan plant as a Quality Manager. Now I could co-relate his enthusiasm on seeing the TUV. I took this opportunity to let him know that I had been to the dealer stockyard for doing the PDI of the original car allotted to me. During the PDI I observed the missing B pillar black cladding. This was a serious goof up on a newly launched car coming out of the factory without the B pillar blackened. What were the final inspection folks @ M&M's Chakan plant doing when this car rolled out of the assembly line. I showed him the pictures that I had clicked. He requested me to share these pics with him on whatsapp and he would investigate it further. I shared the pictures with him a day later. Awaiting for updates from him on why this had happened and what care they would take in order to prevent such incidents in future.

On the evening of same day I took the delivery, I went to the 3M shop to do the floor matting. Attaching some pictures taken over there.

TUV standing shoulder to shoulder besides a black Safari undergoing a detailing treatment


Second row floor matting (3M Nomad mats) laid out


Driver side floor mats

The 3M (CR70) film demo model

[AutoIndian]

My first drive to office:

9th Nov was the first day when I drove the tank to my office with prayer on my lips and a sword on my head. I was very skeptical and apprehensive, especially about the two-wheelers cutting across during morning traffic. Hence started a bit early to beat the traffic. There were few scary moments, but nothing that could stop a heartbeat. The TUV came out with flying colors and covered the 20km drive without any fuss.

What I didn't like:

• You give the beans to this engine and it will cry and howl. This is no tarmac scorcher.
• The three potter will show its nature if you try to exploit it
• It has load carrying capacity and can work like a donkey, but whip it to run like a race horse and you will be disappointed.
• I pressed the "Eco" button midway during my drive to office, hence the engine response sort of felt lethargic.
• I drove the car on the "Eco" mode only for a short duration. The muted throttle response was worrisome. When in traffic I would never ever switch on the Eco mode. It makes sense when you are driving in a very relaxed, leisurely manner and there is no traffic around.

What I liked the most:

• The noise insulation of the cabin is pretty good. The tyre and road noises are pretty controlled (Note: my points of reference are the two previous cars that I have owned till date, Indica and Innova). So it may not have the most silent cabin or a very refined engine, but more than meets my standards
• The way in which the tank gobbles up the road irregularities, be it pot holes, speed bumps, road joints etc. There is nothing but a very mild thud heard inside and passengers are undisturbed. It would be very hard to tell the quality of the road if you are sitting inside the TUV with your eyes closed. You will feel every road to be super smooth.
• The first stage of the turbo has a very sweet whine. If you are on 5th gear and driving @ 60kmph (around 1500 rpm), you can hear this whine very clearly, sounds music to ears. Very often I turn off the radio to hear this "devine" music or turbo whine
• Mahindra has surely given a chiller of an AC. This was necessary as there are no rear AC vents for such a huge cabin. Middle row passengers could feel the chilled air flow even on speed "1".

Couple of message exchanges with GTO and he recommended to make the review more comprehensive. Gave some pointers on which I can make observations and share here to make this review more meaningful. So here they are:

Engine performance & driveability in the city:
Engine performance & driveability in the city, is par excellence. A light tap on the "A" pedal and the tank shows its eagerness to surge ahead. The 187Nm of torque coming into play at just 1100rpm and once you past the 1500 rpm mark, the full peak torque of 230Nm is at your disposal. You don't need to rev the engine beyond 2000 rpm for upshifting, because when you lift the foot off the accelerator the rpm drops to 1500 rpm, after upshifting a feather touch on the "A" pedal and you have the peak torque at your disposal. This car is best suited to potter around in the city with a relaxed driving style, perfectly suits me. When you come across a gentle speedbreaker, you can even glide over it in 3rd gear. A light touch on "A" pedal and the car picks up smoothly from 1100rpm. When the engine reaches 1500 rpm, a faint whine is heard, probably the turbo spooling completely. It is music to my ears. I often mute the radio/music to hear that whine, it is so addictive. The 5th gear is calibrated perfectly. Below is the rpm and speed combination for 5th gear

1500 - 60kmph
1750 - 70kmph
2000 - 80kmph
2250 - 90kmph
2500 - 100kmp

In other cars having tall gearing or a sixth cog, the 100 kmph mark may be reached @ 2000 rpm or even lower, not so in the TUV. This may be the limiting factor for the lower on paper fuel efficiency of 18.5 kmpl for a 1.5 litre engine. Other factor being the weight.

The above rpm range is exactly when the peak torque of 230Nm is available. Hence if you are on 5th gear the speed drops from 90kmph to 60kmph, you don't even need to downshift. The car can easily pick on the same gear, feels very effortless. If you are single in the car or it is fully loaded, it doesn't make much difference. The 3 potter is capable of pulling a fully loaded car. Have driven it with six adults and a kid once. It did not have any problem pulling the load.

Engine performance & driveability on the highway:
Haven't really had a chance to do long highway drives as I haven't received the registration number yet. However my daily drive to office (of 30kms) has a part of old NH4 and NH9. I rarely get a clear stretch and the max I could reach is 90kmph. Reaching upto the tonne mark is cakewalk. Will be able to authoritatively comment on Engine performance & driveability on the highway once I do some long trips along with my family. However one thing is for sure, above 2000 rpm, the engine note becomes very throaty. The engine sounds sweet between 1500 to 2000 rpm. As you progress above that, it becomes coarse. Fast overtaking maneuvers won't be that exciting as the engine will groan.


Additional comments on the engine:
This 3 potter has definitely got in it what it takes to pull this 1.6 tonner SUV. Outright power is not that great, definitely not in the league of its bigger sibblings, the Scorpio and XUV. It is also not that rev happy, refinement leves are best in the max torque band, 1500rpm to 2250rpm. The NVH levels are well controlled, the dual mass flywheel really does its job well is damping the vibrations. Also the generous damping under the bonnet, the thick insulation material over the firewall, the double beadings on the doors, all these make the TUVs cabin a pretty silent one. Dare I say it is leagues ahead of the Innova in this department. Turbo lag, what is that, this word cannot be found in TUV's dictionary. Due to the twin scroll turbocharger, ample torque is available at very low rpms. Hence you never feel the lack of power.

Overall opinion on the engine:
The engine shines with its performance in city. Will reserve the comments on highway performance until I make some long trips.

Gearshift & clutch:
During cold starts the gear shift feels a bit notchy (which is common to most of the cars). The notchiness is more prominent, especially when slotting into second gear (be it upshifting from 1st or downshiting from 3rd). Once the engine warms up the shifts smoothen out further. I think once the car has put couple of thousand kms under its belt the gear box and engine will open up and it will become more smooth. However I will keep observing the second gear.

The gear lever has a long throw and this is common to all rear wheel drive cars. Although gear throw is long, not much effort is required to shift the gears. The clutch travel is also long. I have been using the Innova for the last one year, hence I felt at home within no time. I quickly adapted to the long clutch travel and the longer gear throws.

Overall NVH levels:
The NVH levels are pretty good for a three cylinder engine. The XUV is the benchmark and the most silent and refined Mahindra diesel on the road today. The TUV may not be anywhere near to XUV, but does not disappoint either. There are very little vibrations felt on the gear level and almost nil on the clutch pedal. As mentioned above the dual mass flywheel, damping under the bonnet, good insulation on firewall, double beading on doors, all play a significant role to make this Mahindra's cabin a pretty silent one. My TUV is shod with Apollo Apterras. Thes tyres are silent beyond my expectations. You can hardly hear the tyre noise even on concrete roads when the windows are rolled up. If I would rate my Innova at 6/10 on tyre noise, then the TUvs rating of 8/10 won't be an exaggeration.

Fuel efficiency: City and Highway
On the first tankful I have already covered 250kms and the DTE is still showing a range of 650kms. So if the tankful has a range of 900kms, then it would be no surprise. Assuming that in the 60 litres tank, around 50 litres is usable and this figure is used to calculate the real time DTE, it comes out to a whopping 18 kmpl, which is a little hard to believe. The actual tankful to tankful mileage will give more accurate FE figures. Due to the huge 60 litres tank and my driving limited to the daily office runs, emptying out the tank is going to take quite some time.

Suspension & ride quality:
This is one area where the TUV scores full marks. The double wishbone front suspension and the rigid axle muti-link rear suspension do their job pretty well. The 215/75R15 tyres have a comparatively high profile and aids to the cushy ride. Most of the other UVs have 65 profile tyres. The high profile tyres may have an adverse impact on handling as the sidewalls will flex more on sharp turns when the car weight will be transferred towards the outer tyres. However on bad roads, craters, speed humps etc the high profile tyres absorb a majority of the shocks and the remaining shocks are filtered out by the suspension, making the cabin a comfortable space to be in. Small speedbrakers, pot holes, undulations and best crossed at
higher speeds. However if you cross them slowly the ladder frame car becomes unsettled and rocks and rolls

Handling:
Handling is pretty decent for a SUV of this size. Handling have never been a forte of SUVs (especially the ladder on frame types). If you are looking for a car that handles pretty well don't look beyond a hatch or a sedan. Some other compact SUVs like Duster may be an exception, but that is more because of its lower centre of gravity and monocoque construction. Due to the high centre of gravity one has to be careful during quick lane changes and more careful on sharp turns.

The biggest plus point of this huge SUV is its shorter turning radius, there is a discrepancy though. The brochure mentions a turning circle radius of 5.35m, whereas the owner's manual has it as 5.21m. Now, which one of this is true, only the Mahindra product engineering people can comment. However taking tight "U" turns is a child's play. Wonder how they have achieved this when the wheelbase is exactly same as the Scorpio

Steering:
Steering wheel is perfect in size and a delight to hold. The contours/ projections at the 10-10 position and spot on. The steering feels chunky to hold at that position. For some people who are used to driving EPS steerings, this one, which is hydraulic may feel on the heavier side. Some owners on the TUV Official review thread have wished that the steering would have been lighter. For me it is spot on. My earlier two cars, Indica and the Innova, both had hydraulic power steerings, I didn't have much difficulty in adjusting to the TUV steering. Rather I feel it lighter than the 68K kms run Innova and 154K kms run Indica. In city, at crawling speeds it is quite manageable. Only on long drive will I come to know its true nature, how does it weigh up. During my daily office runs, while returning home in night I have touched 90kmph and it feels quite weighted at that speed, there are no corrections required.

Braking:
Brakes do have sufficient stopping power, but when I compare it with that of Innova, the latter's brakes felt more sure footed. I haven't done any panic braking or emergency braking. Considering the size of the car, I always do anticipative braking and avoid and sudden braking. The handbrake is very smooth in operation and quite effective. The high mounted brake lamp (LED row of lights is very effective and has got brilliant illumination)

Ground clearance:
This was again controversial. The brochure mentioned 191mm, whereas our official review mentioned it as 185mm. In either of the cases, there has never been ground clearance issues with any of the Mahindra cars. They are meant to tackle rough roads, hence have ample ground clearance. TUV is no different. In fact you sit so high up from the ground that you are completely cut-off from the ground realities. I have done some really bad roads/ no roads in my Innova and never even once the Innova underbody scraped. I am sure TUV will be no different.

[AutoIndian]

"What did I learn today @ my TUV?"
This is the series of snippets where I would like to share my new learnings @ the TUV. Prospective owners can benefit from it and existing owners can correct me wherever I am wrong.

What did I learn today @ my TUV? #1, 09-Nov-2015:
When I was in traffic with clutch pedal half pressed, I observed that the gear indicator on the MID had vanished. The reason for this could be that the computer is unclear whether I am going to upshift or downshift or remain in the same gear. The moment I released the clutch pedal fully, the gear indicator came up on the dash. This could be very useful to know if you are riding half clutch, will help you prolong the clutch life.

What did I learn today @ my TUV? #2, 10-Nov-2015:
The AC is a chiller and even on blower speed of "1" there is too much air coming from the vents. Wish they could have provided a "0.5" or even "0.25" speed on the blower. One thing I observed is that even though I did not change the blower speed from the position "1", the fan speed was actually increasing and decreasing on its own. I guess this happens during acceleration and deceleration. I will keep a close watch on this and observe the pattern.

When I did the tankful on Saturday, the DTE was showing 692kms, Monday it showed me 775kms and now it is showing me 815kms. I think the ECU is adapting to my driving style. The actual FE figures will be known only when I do a tankful again after reaching the half way mark.

During the morning starts the 2nd gear is difficult to engage, feels a bit notchy. Once the engine has sufficiently warmed up, then it is business as usual and all the gears feel smooth.

What did I learn @ my TUV today #3: 10-Nov-2015
Yesterday while returning from office I could hear a very mild rattle from the driver side door. I initially thought that I might not have closed it properly. Hence opened and slammed it three times, however the rattle won't go. I then checked the seat belt if it was banging against the door, but even that was not the case. I then pulled the window glass a bit down and voila, the rattle vanished (even on very bad roads). So it seems when the window glass is fully rolled up it might be touching some metal surface and bads roads accentuate the rattle. I pulled the glass 1-2 mm down and the noise vanished. I can live with this till I get a solution to it during first service.

I had attached the nice "Ganesh" key chain to my car key given by the dealer. However being metallic and a bit long it used to bang against the dash when the car went over every bump or pot hole. Immediately after reaching home I got rid of the key chain and there is only a steel ring attached to the key.
On the morning of Diwali, I thought of checking the tyre pressure. Each tyre had 32psi against the specified pressure of 35psi. Guess due to the winter chill setting in the tyre pressure might have got reduced. Immediately took out my Accurate pressure gauge and "antique" foot pump (antique, because it is 20+ years old, Dad used to pump air in his Bajaj M-80 with this pump) and pumped in air to have 35psi pressure in each of the tyres (barring spare one). Some pictures below of the pressure gauge and pump.

[AutoIndian]

12th Nov - On the occasion of "Balipratipada" or "Diwali Padwa", there was another round of pooja for the car. Then I took the whole family for a spin in the car and visited the nearby temple. We took the "Dev Darshan" and I had the opportunity to click some more snaps with the temple in the background. Sharing a few pictures.













Friend's I utilized today's Saturday to come up with this owner's perspective. Actually my TUV has been on the road exactly for one week only and have covered just about 270kms. Obviously such a short duration and so few kms under its belt, I have come up with this ownership review earlier than expected. So it may not cover each and every aspect of the car and I hope it doesn't look undercooked. Initially I had planned to observe it for at least a month or 1000 kms, so that the review would be more comprehensive, however the "itch" of getting the review out at the earliest, got the better of me. Any mistakes or offences in this review are absolutely unintentional and kindly forgive me if I have gone overboard anywhere in this review.

Since I have not yet received the permanent registration number, I cannot take the TUV outside city limits on long drives. Hence cannot share its highway mannerisms just yet. Also I haven't yet been able to do a detailed photo-shoot as my work is keeping me occupied beyond my expectations. However these two are my next milestones for this review and I shall achieve these in the coming days.

I shall strive hard to maintain the TBHP standards and make this review a "One-stop-shop" for prospective and existing owners alike. Looking forward for your comments/ feedback

[AutoIndian]

With Kids and wife not around today I had some ample time to laze around my TUV. Hence the first thing I did was dust off the dirt with the Jopasu Duster and then equipped with my Nikon S2500, point-and-shoot camera I headed to the service road besides my apartment complex. This road has some good greenery and very thin traffic. Hence instead of going to a far off location, I chose this spot for the TUV's photo shoot. The photo shoot of my earlier cars, the Indica and the Innova had happened at the same spot. I will let the pictures do the talking

The Exteriors Shots

The gleaming orange tank standing at some distance


A closer shot - 3/4th front view from left


The left side of the tank as seen at an angle of 90 degrees


The same 90 degrees shot from a closer distance


The left 3/4th view from the rear


Again a closer shot of the left 3/4th view


A closer look at the fuel lid, fits quite flush


A closer look at the "chunky" rear left door handle


The front left door shot from the black "B" pillar


Another shot of both left doors as seen from the "D" pillar. Look at the body coloured "C" pillar


A close shot of the left wing mirror, seems built to last


The left door open and left side dash is seen


Both the left doors opened


Both the left doors opened wide enough


Right side rear 3/4th view from distance


Right side rear 3/4th view from a reduced distance


Right side rear 3/4th view up and close


The left front fog lamp with chrome border


The left headlamp assembly


The powder coated black colored roof rail, has a robust built


Right rear passenger door opened


The side foot step in black looks attractive and sturdy. Note how the edges are rounded off


The ribbed roof and the roof rails running end-to-end on roof top as seen from the rear of the car

[AutoIndian]

The Interiors

Lord Ganesha from a distance


Lord Ganesha - up close


The dash as seem from the left side front door


The gear lever knob feels good to hold, but top has silver finish. Would have preferred an all leather gear know instead


The primary 12V charging socket and the usb drive and Aux in port seen adjacent to it


The centre console with power window controls and other cubby holes


The dash as seen from driver side door opened


The steering wheel has good texture and is a delight to hold


The central air vents. Air flow through them is very powerful


The power window controls with backlit light on


The AC controls


Another view of the gear lever


The cabin lamp and the bluetooth mike seen in the foreground


The cabin lamp at the rear


Both the map lamps switched on


Its Diwali time, both map lamps and cabin lamps switched on