[motorhead123]

Originally Posted by buzzy_boy

Introduction

Circa mid 2020, I was very unhappy with my Figo Aspire. I used a drive a used Figo TDCI between 2013-2017. It was a fantastic machine; fantastic at handling, and a gem of an engine.

Nicely articulated review. Can't get any immersive than this for the current owners and would be owners. Seems like you know a thing or two about cars and how to write about them.

I am the owner of a 2022 XUV700 AX7 L AT Diesel. Manufactured in Feb-22 and purchased in Mar-22. Would agree with your assertions on the ergonomics. I think Mahindra has sacrificed ergonomics at the cost of styling. The 2nd row occupants complained the seating comfort is not like an Innova.

[buzzy_boy]

Originally Posted by motorhead123

I think Mahindra has sacrificed ergonomics at the cost of styling. The 2nd row occupants complained the seating comfort is not like an Innova.

Congratulations on your new car, and wish you many happy KMs in it!

I agree. The Innova is so well sorted - especially the seats - that we must coin a new term called the "Innova way"!

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of cars have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[buzzy_boy]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

Attachment 2367677

Thank you! I feel glad that my review was selected! I do hope that it'd helpful for many more readers!

[ramji_or]

A separate post for each section of the review and a post for the section headers with hyperlink. Loved this template and would suggest this template for our official reviews as well.

Apart from the template, loved the way it has been articulated from setting the perspective to the level of details mentioned.

Great read!

[shancz]

Brilliant writing and exceptional review

You hammered out all the corner cases too.
Almost no typos in such a long write up is an exceptional feat

[sbm]

Your observations about the MT gearbox on the Diesel XUV are spot on. We rarely hear about MT cars, especially in this segment, because most people prefer automatic transmissions.However, you pointed out that the second gear is enough to start from a standstill. Don't you think this will cause excessive clutch wear? I don't have prior experience with these engines, but I am taking more care of this clutch than my previous car.

[buzzy_boy]

Originally Posted by sbm

However, you pointed out that the second gear is enough to start from a standstill. Don't you think this will cause excessive clutch wear? I don't have prior experience with these engines, but I am taking more care of this clutch than my previous car.

In absolute terms, you're maybe right; ie: starting off in first gear is better than starting off on second.

The amount of wear is determined by how much you have to slip the clutch. For vehicles with high low end torque, you don't have to slip the clutch a lot to get moving even in second gear. So, in these vehicles, the starting gear is no longer the main reason for clutch wear. For reference, we have a 2014 Force Gurkha. We have always moved off in second gear, and it's on the orginal clutch pack even after 80000 KMs.

[sulliavi]

Great unbiased review !

The XUV700 scores high on performance, safety and tech, but somewhere it lacks in quality & practicality. That's where Creta/Seltos shine and are still selling in high numbers.

How is the rough road behavior of XUV700 considering it has FSDs ?

[George Thomas]

Mahindra XUV700 is almost perfect for India if Mahindra can reduce the waiting periods, maintain a certain quality control across the rangeand ensure to resolve consumer complaints in a quick and efficient manner. There is also a news that Mahindra are removing some features due to chip shortages which many manufactures are also doing at the moment but these things are beyong their control.

[buzzy_boy]

Originally Posted by sulliavi

How is the rough road behavior of XUV700 considering it has FSDs ?

I haven't taken it proper off-road! On the impoverished roads with many craters, it does just fine. This is with a full load, and stock HT tyres.

[true_sedan]

Originally Posted by buzzy_boy

Variant = AX-5 D MT Midnight Black. Chosen due to it's availability at a dealer I knew.

That was an amazing review. Thanks!

I got a long test drive(50 km) of the XUV 700 Diesel MT. Must say I loved every bit of the drive. Engine is perfectly sorted for low speed as well as high speed drive-ability. And suspension was very absorbent and the test drive vehicle did not exhibit any unusual noise. I’m planning to book one in couple of days but confused between the AX5 and AX7 variants. I’m seeking your advice with a couple of questions:
1) Apart from the budget was there any other reason for choosing the AX5 variant?
2) If given a chance to go back in time will you stretch your budget and get the AX7 or AX7L variant?

Cheers!

[buzzy_boy]

Originally Posted by true_sedan

I'm seeking your advice with a couple of questions:
1) Apart from the budget was there any other reason for choosing the AX5 variant?
2) If given a chance to go back in time will you stretch your budget and get the AX7 or AX7L variant?

Cheers!

When I bought the vehicle back in 2022, the Crysta automatic was available in the market. The only reason why I chose the XUV over the Crysta is that we already had a Crytsa. Since I had the Crysta workhorse, I had time to deal with expected niggles with the XUV. Also, I did not need the luxury of AX7L as the Crysta handles most of my highway duties.

Now, the situation is different. Crysta doesn't have an automatic. Also, the Hycross ZX is ~5 Lakhs costlier than the AX7L. AFAIK, Toyota hasn't confirmed whether the Hycross supports E20 petrol. So, I would avoid the Hyrcoss.

Hence, in the present market, I would choose the XUV700. If this is my only car, I will get AX7L.

Hope this!

[buzzy_boy]

The vehicle has run close to 50K KMs in ~18 months. Summarising my ownership experience so far with factuals.

Scheduled service costs

1. 1000 KMs - 8000 Rs. I had requested oil and filter change (though technically not required), and anti-rust coating as extras
2. 10K KMs - 5679 Rs.
3. 20K KMs - 7790 Rs.
4. 30K KMs - 7665 Rs.
5. 40K KMs - 28466 Rs. per advice of SA changed both the front and rear brake pads. The discs weren't changed.

Unscheduled service visits

1. ~13,500 KMs: Brakes lacked effectiveness. Both pads were changed under warranty after I emailed to Mahindra.

2. ~20,000 KMs: This was a bit of a fiasco. I had just taken delivery of the vehicle from the service center after the scheduled service. Two days later, got a DPF malfunction error when I started the vehicle. Root-cause was determined to be a rat bite.

Now, I was open to bearing the charges as 2 days had passed since I had taken the vehicle back from service. However, a family member got involved, and there was heated back and forth with the dealership.

In the end, their GM agreed to replace the wires for free. Not a fight that I would've fought, but was happy with the outcome nevertheless.

3. 25K KMs: Ran into the infamous hill-hold control error. The SC flashed the silver box, and told me that it was a permanent fix.

4. 32K KMs: Guess what, the HHC error re-occurred. And this time around, on a couple of occasions, the sun-roof had opened on its own after I had parked the car and had locked it. After a long email thread with execs from Mahindra, they agreed to replace the silver box, but told me that it won't solve the problem.

Haven't seen either of the issues after the SB replacement, but fingers crossed.

Other observations

1. Apart from two instances, haven't had to force DPF regen.
2. No issues of DPF clogging so far - touchwood
3. The vehicle is still running on stock Wanderers. In summary, average tyres for average folks. Very durable though.
4. Sometimes, the passenger-side window doesn't roll down when controlled from the driver-side controls. It starts working on its own after sometime. I haven't been able to reproduce the issue to be able to get it fixed.
5. ASCs don't recommend wheel balancing and alignment before 15K KMs. Haven't taken the vehicle to FNGs for alignment checks as I am not sure whether they have the right configs for the XUV700 yet.
6. Despite my apprehensions, the vehicle is holding up without any rattles, leaks, and rust patches. Fingers-crossed.
7. Both M&M and the dealers (especially CAI Mahindra, Coimbatore) are trying to put their best foot forward when it comes to customer service. They've come a long way, but need to avoid careless mistakes.

Overall, an ownership experience with reasonable costs, and more than a fair-share of niggles. But, I had expected the niggles as it's a new model. I hope that these get ironed out.

A couple of family members bought the XUV700 D MT based on my recommendation, and they've not had any problems so far. So, Mahindra seems to be constantly improving the product.

I believe that the time is almost right for fence-sitters to take a bet on the vehicle. However, It may also not be a bad idea to wait for 6 more months.

[true_sedan]

Originally Posted by buzzy_boy

5. 40K KMs - 28466 Rs. per advice of SA changed both the front and rear brake pads. The discs weren't changed.

This sounds too high for 4th service. Could you elaborate more on this?

PS: I service my car at CAI Coimbatore too and own a 1 month old AX5 diesel automatic.