[aryayush]

I can see that since you started with the premise that the XUV700 doesn't have "basic, usable features", you had to struggle to come up with the three you did. I'll give you ventilated seats, for sure, but it does have wireless Android Auto and an auto-dimming IRVM is a cheap and easy aftermarket fitment.

While ventilated seats would have been nice to have and can definitely be considered a miss, it's far more important to have an effective air conditioner that cools the cabin quickly in the first place, which the XUV700's dual zone automatic climate control setup does very effectively and the Slavia's does not.

I really love the Slavia and, unless something better comes along by then, it will replace my Ford Ecosport some years from now—but to say that "if you want a feature-loaded car, then the XUV700 is not for you", while the Slavia is—is wildly inaccurate.

Even if you completely set aside ADAS, the marquee feature of the XUV700—the interior space and quality of furnishings, the superiority of mechanical components and the list of genuinely useful features that it has over the Slavia would be significant.

[Greenville]

I can only vouch for Honda City Hybrid which I am using in busy Banglore roads for the last 10 months. I have never faced any ground clearance concerns till date for my City. The adas on highway works like a charm and city drive gives amazing driving pleasure with 20+ mileage. Bootspace could be a concern and that depends on individual usage. If you need a spacious and luxurious sedan with a niggle free engine, City eHev can be considered.

[VaibhaoT]

Personally 8 months is too long IMHO. One of my friend managed to get XUV700 in 15 days after booking as someone had cancelled. But he had to agree conditions of dealer like insurance, finance & some accessories.
In case if it helps, there is a XUV700 in TBHP classifieds in Bangalore. Car looks good in description (minus expected price). In case if you are fine with pre-owned, then it is worth checking out.

If you are keen on getting new, then my choice would be Honda City, mostly because I love City.

[Starwar19]

I would like to give some piece of information as I’m also in the market to buy a new car in the range of 25-35 Lakh range. I also happen to own a Honda City 5th Generation.
First things first, The backseat of Honda City is best suited for 2 people only. The cushioning and comfort of back seat is unbeatable but for long journeys, 3 in the backseat feels like a punishment.

We are also in the market for a new Car which can be a Long Journey tourer. We visited the Mahindra showroom and to our surprise they had one AX7 L petrol open! The SA was insisting and trying to convince for a Petrol over a Diesel. (We strictly want a diesel/Strong hybrid, as we already have one petrol car)
The Showroom also had one Scorpio N ready for delivery.
I suggest you to look out for some other Branches of Mahindra and you might get a deal.

[Hawk]

Originally Posted by MotorDev

So now we are confused about the above-mentioned cars. Our requirements are:

1. Space for 3 at back. We need a proper 5 seater. This car is only for highways.
2. Fun to drive with excellent stability between the speeds of 110 to 130.
3. Feature loaded
4. Waiting period is not an issue but the sooner the better.
5. Decent reliability
6. Solid build quality and crash rating.
MotorDev

We have owned the XUV 700 AX7L for a year now . You're requirement screams XUV 700. On highway trips people tend to carry a lot of luggage and that 3rd row folded down will make your life easier.

Also , you will be spending 10 years or more with this car so no harm in waiting sometime for it.

Also , on long road trips if you have a problem with a mahindra vehicle, Mahindra has a larger service network compared to Honda or VW.

Also , the petrol will give you 10-12 KM/L in the automatic petrol avatar on highways.

For similar money your getting a bigger and practical car.

Just have some patience and the fruit will be sweet

[Autokett]

Originally Posted by MotorDev

You spoke my heart out ! I personally want the slavia but my family wants the xuv as they are concerned about the back seat space for 3. The reason for skipping Virtus is that my dad didn't like the looks of the Virtus. It's a tough fight between slavia and xuv700. I'll wait till March and then decide. Now city's out of the competition.

With your criterion, I'd strongly suggest to TD Virtus if you haven't already. And try Slavia and Virtus back to back. Take family along specially for the rear seat test.
I was surprised with the difference in Slavia and Virtus, especially in driving stability and rear seat comfort for 3 people. I TD'd Slavia from 2 different dealers just to be sure. But, the suspension setup is much better on Virtus.
Yes, looks are a personal choice, but I feel Virtus looks much better in person than many photos do justice to.
Btw, if you're considering fuel efficiency along with stability at 120-130, and are worried of the DSG, maybe try the 1.0 TSI once. As someone else mentioned, with Indian roads I've found it to be more than what I need 100% of times. I get 13-14 kmpl in the city traffic and 18-20 with a bit sedate driving purely on Highway. The TC on 1.0 suits the engine very well. Oh and a plus note, I recently did a 2600 km trip across Karnataka and parts of Kerala with my Virtus AT 1.0, all through the ghats, never once I was left wanting for power, and not once did the underbody touch any undulations. Again, it comes down to the driving style.

On Honda City, with its 'sofa seats' is only good for 4 passengers. I also didn't enjoy the CVT, which is tuned more to relaxed and city driving than fun and hardly does the justice to the 1.5 NA engine. The new hybrid variants may be worth checking out though.

[dsr001]

Have recently driven 1.0 tsi automatic (torque converter) at constant speed of 14**/hr and it was good.

There was scope for more but I didn't want to explore more! You don't need 1.5 tsi, if that helps to avoid DSG.

Now, with so many expressways opening up across the country, cruising close to 120 will become a need rather than a "good to have". And ability to cross that if needed for overtakes etc.

If you/car lack that, you could feel "left alone" on a long 50-100 km stretch of expressway, when others pass by you. This was not relevant till a few years back but it is now.

Test drive all vehicles and I'd say offer to pay for fuel if that helps in getting a long test drive with family.

Honda City safety rating is not applicable for India; similarly the VAG sedans are not tested, only SUVs.

[IamThat]

Originally Posted by dsr001

Honda City safety rating is not applicable for India; similarly the VAG sedans are not tested, only SUVs.

Are you sure Honda City is not crash tested.

This link says otherwise.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...sh-test-423554

[dsr001]

Originally Posted by IamThat

Are you sure Honda City is not crash tested.

This link says otherwise.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...sh-test-423554

Well, the 4th gen was tested in (which launched in 2014) and not the 5th, the 5th has now been around for ~1 year. And, as I mentioned, I consider VAG twins also in similar territory, cannot rely on their SUV counterparts.

[MotorDev]

Whoa! A lot of replies! I was busy so, couldn't give time to see the thread.

Originally Posted by Hawk

We have owned the XUV 700 AX7L for a year now . You're requirement screams XUV 700. On highway trips people tend to carry a lot of luggage and that 3rd row folded down will make your life easier.

Also , you will be spending 10 years or more with this car so no harm in waiting sometime for it.

Also , on long road trips if you have a problem with a mahindra vehicle, Mahindra has a larger service network compared to Honda or VW.

Also , the petrol will give you 10-12 KM/L in the automatic petrol avatar on highways.

For similar money your getting a bigger and practical car.

Just have some patience and the fruit will be sweet

Thanks, how is the road noise insulation and is it stable at high speeds ? Saw a review from a youtuber called Daksh Agnihotri and he told that after 110, the car gets unstable. I couldn't check the stability and insulation as the TD was in the city.

Originally Posted by Autokett

With your criterion, I'd strongly suggest to TD Virtus if you haven't already. And try Slavia and Virtus back to back. Take family along specially for the rear seat test.
I was surprised with the difference in Slavia and Virtus, especially in driving stability and rear seat comfort for 3 people. I TD'd Slavia from 2 different dealers just to be sure. But, the suspension setup is much better on Virtus.
Yes, looks are a personal choice, but I feel Virtus looks much better in person than many photos do justice to.
Btw, if you're considering fuel efficiency along with stability at 120-130, and are worried of the DSG, maybe try the 1.0 TSI once. As someone else mentioned, with Indian roads I've found it to be more than what I need 100% of times. I get 13-14 kmpl in the city traffic and 18-20 with a bit sedate driving purely on Highway. The TC on 1.0 suits the engine very well. Oh and a plus note, I recently did a 2600 km trip across Karnataka and parts of Kerala with my Virtus AT 1.0, all through the ghats, never once I was left wanting for power, and not once did the underbody touch any undulations. Again, it comes down to the driving style.

On Honda City, with its 'sofa seats' is only good for 4 passengers. I also didn't enjoy the CVT, which is tuned more to relaxed and city driving than fun and hardly does the justice to the 1.5 NA engine. The new hybrid variants may be worth checking out though.

Thanks, How is the rear seat sapce of the virtus when compared to the slavia ? Can it accomidate 3 people in the rear or is it the same as slavia ?

[Hawk]

Originally Posted by MotorDev

Whoa! A lot of replies! I was busy so, couldn't give time to see the thread.



Thanks, how is the road noise insulation and is it stable at high speeds ? Saw a review from a Youtuber called Daksh Agnihotri and he told that after 110, the car gets unstable. I couldn't check the stability and insulation as the TD was in the city

We have done many highway trips from Noida to Dehradun and have maintained speeds of about 120 KMPH. The car was so still that my dog was sleeping peacefully in the boot. We have mostly taken it to uttrakhand and it's suspension setup is really good for the roads of uttrakhand so that speaks for the ride quality. FE on these stints was about 10-14 KMPL .

The NVH levels are quite good and you can only hear the turbo sound inside the cabin when there is pin drop silence inside the cabin . Personally i like the sound of the grunt . With music playing you can't hear anything. I would rate the NVH a solid 8/10.

[MotorDev]

Originally Posted by Hawk

We have done many highway trips from Noida to Dehradun and have maintained speeds of about 120 KMPH. The car was so still that my dog was sleeping peacefully in the boot. We have mostly taken it to uttrakhand and it's suspension setup is really good for the roads of uttrakhand so that speaks for the ride quality. FE on these stints was about 10-14 KMPL .

The NVH levels are quite good and you can only hear the turbo sound inside the cabin when there is pin drop silence inside the cabin . Personally i like the sound of the grunt . With music playing you can't hear anything. I would rate the NVH a solid 8/10.

Oh that's a very good thing. Thank you so much.

[Autokett]

Originally Posted by MotorDev

Thanks, How is the rear seat sapce of the virtus when compared to the slavia ? Can it accomidate 3 people in the rear or is it the same as slavia ?

It is better than Slavia! I've done a 600-700 km Road trip with my parents and surprisingly rear middle seat was in demand on road. The hump of the two rear seats (difference in seat level) is much lesser in Virtus than Slavia, and the middle seat width is also a bit more, was the only explanation I could come up with, for the difference between two twins.

Do test it out with your family, and back to back to understand the difference!

Happy browsing!

[MotorDev]

Originally Posted by Autokett

It is better than Slavia! I've done a 600-700 km Road trip with my parents and surprisingly rear middle seat was in demand on road. The hump of the two rear seats (difference in seat level) is much lesser in Virtus than Slavia, and the middle seat width is also a bit more, was the only explanation I could come up with, for the difference between two twins.

Do test it out with your family, and back to back to understand the difference!

Happy browsing!

Thanks, so the virtus test drive is a must

[MotorDev]

Update

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share some exciting news with you all. After much consideration and anticipation, I have made a decision regarding the thread topic about waiting for the Mahindra XUV700 or choosing between the Skoda Slavia and the 2023 Honda City facelift. I am pleased to announce that we have opted for the Skoda Slavia.

Thank you all. Your input helped us in shaping our decision-making process. We considered the various options carefully and ultimately found the Skoda Slavia to best fit our needs.

I look forward to sharing my experiences and adventures with the Skoda Slavia in the future. Also, stay tuned as I will soon post an ownership review on Team-BHP.

Thank You,
MotorDev