11,000 km with Maruti XL6 Alpha AT: Who should buy it & who should not

I'm definitely concerned about its mileage. The worst fuel efficiency figure that the MID has shown is 6.3 km/l and the best is 20 km/l.

BHPian achintatri recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

11000 kms and 3rd free service update: 2022 XL6 Alpha AT

Every car feels a little improved after servicing so does mine (Blue XL6 aka Casper). I have already mentioned this and would like to emphasise the same again (for any purchase decisions) that XL6 is a great car if the following are your primary requirements:

• You need a good amount of luggage space along with 5-6 passengers (even if all are adults)
• You need comfortable seating for ALL passengers for all-day-long drives
• You need a smooth and silent cruising car
• You need a reliable and niggle free car (touchwood for me till now)
• You need a car that is very easy to drive in ALL kinds of traffic despite being a long 6-7 seater car (I have very well managed to squeeze her in and out through some very tight/blocked parking spaces)
• You are not an enthusiast driver who cannot drive (or live) without being ahead of everyone on the road
• You did not find any other option in the same class as well as price range with 6 airbags (although this one has 4) (OK, Kia Carens is an option but if you consider the total cost of ownership, after-sales and VFM factor, I would still vote for XL6)
• You love cruise control with easily manageable controls on the go

Now who should avoid (inputs based on 3 services and many road trips till now).

• If you are looking for a rocket performance in overtaking and sudden acceleration otherwise
• If you are very particular about 6 airbags
• If you are very particular about Engine being a diesel one
• If you are in general an enthusiastic driver
• If you are looking for double-digit FE figures in city-like conditions (with lots of traffic signals and bumpers where frequent gear shifts cannot be avoided)
• If you need your car AC to chill the cabin in less than 5 mins after exposure of your car to the scorching sun for more than 30 mins
• If you need a middle seat to fold flat completely to carry those large IKEA furniture boxes

Apart from the above shortcomings (where few can be ignored and few are rather trade-offs), XL6 does whatever it is supposed to do (carrying 6-7 passengers comfortably with a linear-based acceleration and cruising speeds). I am definitely concerned about the city FE and even highway mileage that is somewhere around 15-16 (I drive around 99 kmph most of the time whenever and wherever I can drive).

Now, before going deep into the FE correction through the workshop, I have decided to first ride the car completely on manual mode (using paddle shifters that are saviours) for about a month and if still the FE doesn't improve, address the same through the workshop.

BTW, the worst that the MID has shown till now is 6.3 and the best is 20 (yeah the same MID, the same car, the same driver but a different road). I drive in 'D' mode 99% of the time and 'M' mode was only used for testing purposes or sometimes in error since that's the obvious mode that the gear level automatically and conveniently slots into when one moves or needs to move from 'P' to 'D'. BTW, with practise and regular driving, this error reduces almost completely.

Every day when I see Scorpios, Safaris, I feel to exchange BUT considering that most of the Maruti Suzuki cars including my XL6 alpha AT are a niggle free cars (as compared to some of the horror stories in some other SUVs), I feel like waiting till I have enough money and peace of mind to reach a stage where I can ignore any niggles on those 25L+ automatic 6-7 seaters (No offense to any such owners).

BTW, XL6 now has OTA updates for wireless Android/apple car play and mine is working perfectly fine (works 95 out of 100 times otherwise a phone reboot takes care of the same).

And Yes, the JKTyre TPMS, as well as the Window automatic sunshades (both third-party accessories), are perfectly working fine too.

One last thing, I still consider XL6 the most VFM car for the features, reliability and space that it has to offer in the market today. Drivability is subjective. FE though needs to be understood properly before making any Final comment/decision.

Stay Safe! Keep Driving!

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