20000 km update: My Mahindra XUV300 W8 (O) diesel MT

One of the main reasons in buying this vehicle was to travel on all kinds of roads, something which I did quite a bit.

BHPian DuckDoc recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Update: 20000 km with a March '21 XUV300 W8 (O) Diesel MT:

It's a little over 10 months since I bought a BS6 XUV300 W8 (O) and I see the thread has gone quiet, so I am posting my experience of 10000-20000 kms with it.

Having sorted out my issue with the 3 point rear middle seat belt earlier, I thought I would be at peace, but there were 2 issues which kept bugging me till it was resolved almost at 20000 kms.

The first one was the stock MRF Ecotred tyres. Not only were they noisy, there was hardly any grip. Unfortunately, in a tier 2 city there were no takers in the tyre market early on as they was R17 rims. Besides, as I had to make multiple trips to Chennai on roads which were a disgrace to be called highways, I thought I would put up with it, as I presumed MRF would have less wear, until there was an excuse. Fortunately, lo and behold, after a 2000 km trip during the last week of '21, I found a nail embedded in the juxta side wall and changed 2 tyres to Conti, put them in front and got wheel balancing and alignment done. My plan is to change the other two also to Conti after another 5000 kms. The difference in noise and grip is phenomenal.

The other bug bear was the sound system, as highlighted by multiple users. It produced tinny, flat sound with no bass. I tried convincing myself that it was sufficient but honestly, it was pathetic. The last straw was when I was sitting as a passenger in my daughter's 3rd gen City bought in 2010 after a long time and listening to music, it sounded so much better and I could no longer live with this noise maker. I did read the following threads many times before deciding what to do:

• The downside of high end audio installs.
• Mahindra XUV300 ICE upgrade: Need help from the gurus.

I did come to a sort of compromise, not resort to a very high end install but nevertheless have a reasonably good one. After a lot of research, as the install had to be professional, I got it done at Museek in Trichy. These guys are passionate about their music and a pleasure to be with and so got it done last week, with Alpine R series speakers and DrArtex damping of the 4 doors. I never realized damping could make such a difference. To test their install, the first two tracks I played was 'Honky Tonk Women' and 'Stairway to Heaven' by the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin respectively, and I was blown away as it was the difference between night and day. They told me to try this for 6 months and then decide about a further upgrade with a DSP Amp and sub-woofer, if required.

As most of my trips late last year, especially to Chennai was in rainy weather and slush, the rear windshield was being spattered with mud and I made this mud flap extender inspired by this thread.

And I must thank @gmhossain for this which made a lot of difference.

I also got some mats for the boot and to protect the fabric on the back of the rear seat and a nice touch from Mahindra, 11 piece dash mats:

One of the main reasons in buying this vehicle was to travel on all kinds of roads, something which I did quite a bit. My first ghat road trip was to Kothagiri in October with 5 adults and luggage and it pulled uphill without any effort or need to downshift more than if I was the only occupant which was very impressive.

Views from Kodanad view point near Kotagiri.

These 10000 kms were mostly on roads which were bad, to put it politely. There was a trip to Chikmagalur dt. last month where the road had disappeared in some parts. I had to drive from Belhonnur back to a homestay near Mudigere late at night where guided by Google maps, was for sometime on mud tracks and for a large part being the only vehicle on the road. One of the problems of being in this forum is reading about instances of being stranded in the middle of nowhere. As this section was largely deserted and as there was no signal and in pitch darkness, the above thought was there at the back of my mind but fortunately there was no incident.

Coffee, coffee everywhere and kayaking at a homestay near Mudigere.

I had never visited the Koonthankullam bird sanctuary, so with a few relatives who are birding enthusiasts went there last month on a trip down south. Unfortunately, as there was not much water till the last year, there were few birds but we actually saw them closer on the fields nearby which entailed bad roads guided by Google maps but this is where the XUV came into its own as if looking forward to this.

Roads near Koonthankullam.

Black headed ibis.

Little cormorant.

Lesser black backed gull.

Grey heron.

Knob billed  duck.

Spot billed pelican.

Beach at Uvari near Koonthankullam.

Somewhere in south Tamil Nadu

The good thing is that closer to 20000 kms is when the XUV really gives you joy, the earlier addiction to the power and acceleration becoming stronger, the engine seems to have settled well, the FE has become better, the gear shifts smoother and the ride quality and suspension better than earlier. At least so far, the infamous Mahindra niggles which many had warned me about did not happen, touch wood.

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