[procrj]

Decided to get new seat covers for the dwarf as the fabric covers were beige & were already starting to stain thanks to my 5 year old son & his shenanigans. Was pretty sure that I would get these done at Imperial Leathers as I had got my uncles WagonR done here and even after almost 3 years, they are almost as good as new.

I had reached out to Shiva from Imperial leathers post delivery of the tank & he asked me to come down & select design and material.
While I really liked Napa leather Shiva did mention that it is very soft leather and needs careful handling, which was close to impossible given my 5 year old destroyer in chief. Hence decided on PU leather with black & red combination. Shiva opens his diary & schedules the fitment for 6th Feb at 4 PM.

After a quick confirmation call on 5th, I reach Imperial at 3.45 PM and in 10 minutes flat, Shiva & team have all the seats removed from the car. Thoroughly impressed with the professionalism and ease with which these folks do their job. Example - Halfway through fitting the front driver seat backrest cover, Mr A (calling him this as I dont remember his name) sees that a couple of stitches have split, he immediately asks the floor manager to inspect & off comes the seat cover. All stitches are carefully inspected and backrest linings are restitched again before it goes on the seat.

They also take care to remove all screws and carefully remove plastic seat mouldings before trying to yank them out. In spite of that I did see a couple of scratches on the mouldings, which could have been avoided with a little more care.

Best part is that yours is the only car that the complete team (6-8 folks) works on and hence the attention to detail & multiple QCs ensures that even the most minute issue is addressed & fixed. Entire exercise took almost 3 hours from start to finish and in the end, I am completely satisfied with my decision to go with Imperial.

All seats off


Under the driver's seat


Driver seat cushion after removing fabric covers


I was chatting with Mr A and asked for his openion on the quality of seats. He said that they are firmer and marginaly bigger than that of the new Scorpio. He also mentioned that firmer is better as they tend to last longer and also help reduce stress during long drives as the seat also tends to soak up vibrations.

Driver back rest after removing fabric covers


Simple mechanism to provide lumbar support


Rear back rest


Under the rear bench - back rest flip mechanism


Working is very simple. Pulling the chord pulls the 2 cables which are connected to spring levers which in-turn releases the back rest lock and with a small push, you have acres of space available. Wonder why M&M decided to make this simple cable mechanism a "premium" feature and not provide it across all variants.

Under the rear bench - chord & cables


Under the rear bench - cables & spring


Padding up


Both front and rear seats get some extra padding to ensure that the covers fit snug and there is negligible sag. Also observed that all areas which come in contact with the body, that is the actual seating area, backrests & armrests have been given a layer of foam lining to make it a little more comfortable.

Cross section of seat cover The black layer on top is the actual PU leather and the white layer below is the 2 mm thick foam lining which is provided to make the seat that much more comfortable. Not sure if all the other seat cover manufacturers provide this foam layer


Final Fit & Finish












Now I feel that the seats are a little more snug and the comfort level has gone up a notch. All said & done, I paid 12K for seat covers and I think I have got my moneys worth. This comes with a 2 year warranty which covers the leather as well as the stitching. Shiva assured me that he is just a phone call away in case the leather splits/frays or the stitching begins to unravel & I am hoping that I dont have make that phone call in the foreseeable future.

Steering wheel cover This is very soft leather and it feels great to hold. Decided to keep this completely black with red stitching. While the fit is good, Its not absolutely perfect as the section with silver insert is kind of open and over time this will start to fray & accumulate dirt.

[procrj]

Tank has been steadily munching miles over the last couple of weeks thanks to breakfast, lunch & dinner drives with friends and family. Planning to get the 1st service done on 13th Feb and get the tank checked thoroughly before my Hampi drive. A few clicks of the dwarf

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by procrj

Decided to get new seat covers for the dwarf as the fabric covers were beige & were already starting to stain thanks to my 5 year old son & his shenanigans.

Thank you for sharing the seat cover details procrj, they look absolutely stunning. Very good color combination. I think the 12K spent on these is really worth given the fantastic fitment and gorgeous looks. Dark seat covers are always good when you have kids around. However during hot sunny days these will take long time to cool. Are you planning for any sunfilms as well? I am surely going to benchmark these seat covers and ask my seat cover guy to emulate these whenever I go to him for my tank's seat covers.

[Sirvoicar]

Originally Posted by procrj

Steering wheel cover This is very soft leather and it feels great to hold. Decided to keep this completely black with red stitching. While the fit is good, Its not absolutely perfect as the section with silver insert is kind of open and over time this will start to fray & accumulate dirt.

The seat covers look smart.Very sporty on a Red TUV. The silver insert is detachable.It will look very good when installed over the Black Leather. You can get it done properly to avoid accumulation of dirt.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...anual-ss02.jpg
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...11.2015-05.jpg

[chetans]

Originally Posted by procrj

Decided to get new seat covers for the dwarf as the fabric covers were beige & were already starting to stain thanks to my 5 year old son & his shenanigans.

Thats looks fantastic and a job very well done.

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

I am surely going to benchmark these seat covers and ask my seat cover guy to emulate these whenever I go to him for my tank's seat covers.

Where are you planning to get it done?
any recommendation would help me.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by chetans

Where are you planning to get it done?
any recommendation would help me.

I had done the seat covers for my pre-worshipped Innova from Shree Ashtavinayak enterprises, Rasta Peth. He did a fantastic job. He has quoted me 11.5K for TUV seat covers.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Thank you for sharing the seat cover details procrj, they look absolutely stunning.

Thanks Deepak.

Are you planning for any sunfilms as well?

I have 3M CR70 on all windows from day 2. I had them on my wagonR as well and it worked very well to control heat. Not saying that it is value for money (vcool is more VFM.Check abirnale's orange cheetah thread for details) but I am OK with the premium paid for them as I am looking at it as a 1 time investment for a 5-6 year period. Total cost for all glass area is 25K

Originally Posted by Sirvoicar

The silver insert is detachable.It will look very good when installed over the Black Leather. You can get it done properly to avoid accumulation of dirt.

Thanks Sirvoicar. Will get this done right.

Originally Posted by chetans

Thats looks fantastic and a job very well done.

Thanks chetans

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by procrj

Decided to get new seat covers for the dwarf......

They look so similar to what my friend got for his Ecosport 2 years before :

This chap gives you "Door Service" at your will. Makes one visit after a call, carries all type of material templates and design books. You decide, make an advance and decide a day and he will come home and accomplish this in 3 hours.

Prices are more competitive than the typical brands or even your accessory shop folks. He was earlier working for an accessory shop and now works at the TKML Plant at Bidadi stitching seat covers for Fortuners!

I have experienced his workmanship since 2006 and can easily rely on the material he uses. In fact if you want a cheaper option, he will show you that material and its your final call that matters.

[Enobarbus]

Thanks for sharing the seat cover details procrj. They look really nice. The seat covers on all the 3 cars that I owned were installed over the existing fabric covers. I wonder if there are any specific advantages in removing the existing fabric to install new leather covers.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by Enobarbus

I wonder if there are any specific advantages in removing the existing fabric to install new leather covers.

I asked Shiva from imperial the same question and he said that 1) The covers fit better and hence look better & feel a lot more comfortable 2) Because of better fit, the chances of splits & tears are lower. My uncle's car has seat covers from Imperial and I must say that they look & feel the same even now after 3 years but my WagonR had seat covers over the fabric cover & I did not face any issues even after 5 years. Hence I am not really sure what the advantages are.

It could also be a case of what the folks on the floor are used to. Shiva & team used to work at Stanley, where I am assuming that fabric/OEM covers were removed before fitting leather covers & hence they continue to follow the same routine even though the covers are not leather.

[Travelator]

Awesome details. You really got into the "JOB" of owning this car and the amount of comparisons and contemplations that have gone in would be an inspiration to the finicky mom trying to get her "well off" son married to the best suited girl .

Indeed it is big leap from the Wagon R that you replaced it with. Even I was looking forward to own one until this Sunday when I test drove it and found it fairly underpowered, against my liking.

Nonetheless wishing you many high and happy miles in your red dwarf

Originally Posted by paragsachania

This chap gives you "Door Service" at your will. Makes one visit after a call, carries all type of material templates and design books. You decide, make an advance and decide a day and he will come home and accomplish this in 3 hours.

@Parag: Can you share the details of this guy in a PM

[procrj]

Originally Posted by Travelator

amount of comparisons and contemplations that have gone in would be an inspiration to the finicky mom trying to get her "well off" son married to the best suited girl

I plan to spend the next 6-7 years with the car. Not a short time frame & hence all the comparisons and exclusions.

Indeed it is big leap from the Wagon R that you replaced it with

Big in size but still drives like a tallboy and thanks to the sub 4 meter length, manoeuvring in city traffic & finding a parking spot is not a big hassle

Nonetheless wishing you many high and happy miles in your red dwarf

thanks & hope you find your perfect car soon.

[procrj]

The dwarf steadily rumbled over 3K KM earlier in the week and today was the 1st service. Was a relatively peaceful affair as I had booked an appointment for 9.30 am and reached there sharp at 9.30 am. The SA was the same person who attended the car 2 weeks ago when the resonator & modulator was replaced. Job card was created and the car was in the service bay in a jiffy.

Engine oil was drained and replaced with 6 ltrs of Maximile Feo2 - Mahindra's recommended engine oil. Replacing the oil filter is a pain as its located just above the front left wheel and there is no easy access to it. The technician struggled a little but managed to replace the filter in 20 minutes. All other fluid levels were normal and there was no visible leakage. All the bolts under the body were tightened and I asked the SA to connect the scanner to the OBD port and check for errors. None turned up and I was happy man

Also got the body side molding installed for 1200/- and the total service bill was 3,514/-


Compared to Mahindra ASS, Maruti ASS is miles ahead. At the Suraksha ASS where I used to get my WagonR serviced, Saturdays were like a mela. Not a single SA or technician would be idle for a minute and the floor would be buzzing with activity. At the Mahindra ASS, its the exact opposite. Technicians were loitering around and when asked by SAs to work on a car, the response was non committal or in some cases straight forward refusal as the technician would say that this is a TUV & I work only on XUVs

But I have managed to befriend a couple of SAs and technicians over the last few visits and that ensured that my work got done quickly. I shudder to think what will happen to these folks if the KUV starts selling in huge numbers and they are suddenly flooded with cars which need to be serviced. They will have to take a few tips from Maruti & the sooner they do it, the better it will be for both Mahindra & its customers.

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With the first service done & dusted, the dwarf is now all set to conquer new roads. Post service went for a quick 150 km spin and I will say that driving the tank puts a big smile on my face everytime. Why you ask - here goes:

1. Was driving on the Nelamangala - Hassan road and this grey Ertiga overtakes me and the driver gives me a sly smile. The tank was quietly rumbling at 80 kmph and the ertiga was probably at 100. The next section was a mild upward gradient with a couple of twists and I slowly let the RPM needle touch 2500 RPM and eased next to the ertiga matching him stride to stride. A little more pressure on the A pedal and I watch the needle climb while the ertiga is trying hard to catchup with me while battling gravity (ertiga was fully loaded with 5 adults while the tank had 4 adults)

2. A swift desire starts darting in and out between a truck and the dwarf and starts honking like his behind is on fire. I give way and let him overtake & he gets stuck behind another truck and a tempo traveler. I tail him sedately and wait for the rumblers - yes I have driven this road many times and I know where the rumblers are. The tempo traveler & desire slow down while I go to the extremely left and without much ado roll across the rumblers and use all 180 Nm of torque to get away from all the chaos behind me. The small joys of driving an SUV

After 3200 Kms of driving the tank - here is a quick fire round of answers to some FAQs

1. Is there body roll
Not on the straight roads, highways & flyovers that you will mostly drive on

2. Is this a city car
Absolutely. Its got the best of all worlds.
a. Good presence so that cabs, autos & small cars think twice before cutting you off
b. Not very long & hence finding a place to park is not very difficult. Reverse assist is a big big plus
c. Zero turbo lag & oodles of torque
d. Easy steering & handling

3. Kitna deti hai?
Easy to get 15+ kmpl without eco mode and with AC on Eco mode as long as you keep the RPM needle between 1800 - 2250 RPM in city


4. How does it handle bad roads?
Like a hot knife through a block of butter as long as you are at 25+ kmpl

5. Isn't the seating very high?
Absolutely! Once you get used to it, you will feel weird driving a low slung hatch/sedan

6. Can I offroad?
Yet to test. Will update

[procrj]

One Month Up - I'm loving it!

Its been a month since I got the read dwarf home and after the initial hiccups, its been a smooth ride. Thoroughly enjoying the ride and overall I have not had any second thoughts after buying the tank. Having said that, I am keeping all fingers and toes crossed and hoping that no major recalls, fixes are issued for the tank.



Vital statistics
Odo: 4100 KM

Mileage: ~15.1 kmpl (over the last couple of fillings & hence the average cost per km is Rs 3.2 per km)

Driving conditions: Highway 85% with the engine at 2250-2750 RPM (90-110 kmph). Having said that, I did push the tank over 130 kmph a few times but I was not very confident of keeping it under control and so got it back to sane speeds

AC usage: 90% AC usage in AC Eco. Apart from a couple of times when I had parked in the sun and had to use normal AC mode, I have always used AC eco and the fan speed is always at 1 or 2. Works like a charm and hence the lack of ACC does not really affect you a lot.

Driving style: Sedate. Quick shifts at 1500-1700 RPM in 1st & 2nd Gear and then use the 3rd gear from 1200 to 2500 RPM depending on traffic, terrain etc.

Modifications in the pipeline
- Dashcam & GPS hard-wiring
- Floor mats - Still debating between 3D Kagu/Star Mats & DIY of 3M style carpets
- Rear seat storage compartment DIY - to fit the air pump, tools & other knick-knacks
- Spare wheel easy fill DIY

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After a chilled out Saturday, decided to take the dwarf out for a spin today to Shettihalli church. This has been on my to do list for a while and finally got to visit the place. Thanks to a harebrained moped driver, I got to test the ABS. Was cruising at 80 kmph when this old man on a moped decides to join the highway by taking a wide turn from a narrow road. Stomped on the brakes and I though I will surely hit the moped and was mentally prepared for the aftermath but the tank managed to stop with almost 1 feet to spare and in a straight line. Whew! that was a hair raising experience and I must say that my confidence in the braking ability of the tank has jumped up a few levels.

Some pics of the church and the dwarf

Red, blue, green & grey


The sky is my dome


Square Arches


Do not test me boy!


Caught red handed


Thirsting for more


A touch of grey


Country roads, take me home


With 3 road trips planned in the next 5 weeks, I think the tank will end up doing close to 7000 km by the end of march

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by procrj

One Month Up - I'm loving it!

Its been a month since I got the read dwarf home and after the initial hiccups, its been a smooth ride. Thoroughly enjoying the ride and overall I have not had any second thoughts after buying the tank. Having said that, I am keeping all fingers and toes crossed and hoping that no major recalls, fixes are issued for the tank.

Attachment 1478716

Vital statistics
Odo: 4100 KM

Wonderful shots there procrj and many congrats on completing one month. 4K in just one month, your tank seems to be on a serious mile munching spree. If you continue at this rate I am sure you will cross the 50K mark in under a year's time.