Bought a used Mahindra XUV300 W8(O) diesel : 6 pros & 6 cons

Light controls are a boon especially the steering, gear shifts and clutch. I drove the Ecosport and Scorpio both in diesel avatar and I can vouch for the XUV 300's clutch, really eases driving in town.

BHPian spr1ngleo recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I recently bought a pre-worshipped XUV 300 Diesel W8(O) 2019 Apr model, with just 16.8K on the ODO. This was a leased car registered with M&M themselves and was delighted to get it. Following are pros and cons of this new stead, along with queries I have.

Pros:

• Engine - "Damn good", especially between 1500 to 2500 rpm range. Lunges forward like a bullet.
• Amount of features - steering direction, TPMS, steering comfort, cruise control, sunroof so on and so forth.
• The car seems very nimble even when it weighs around 1,400 kgs.
• Light controls especially the steering, gear shifts and clutch. I rode Ecosport and Scorpio both in diesel avatar and I can vouch for XUV 300 clutch, really eases driving in town.
• Suspension is brilliantly tuned, hats off to Mahindra engineers.
• NVH/refinement is on par with Hyundai.

Cons:

• Lack of dead pedal, and then cramped up footwell makes it hard to accommodate your feet between clutch and center console, especially with those over-sized sandals.
• Lack of under thigh support in both front and rear seats is a downer. I have been spoilt by Ecosport and Scorpio in this department.
• Beige (rather white) leatherette seats could be hard to maintain in the long run - fingers crossed.
• Lack of telescopic steering adjust makes me miss Ecosport dearly.
• Of course, ubiquitous complaint of the lack of boot space.
• The bottom/low end pull of the engine is pathetic. Especially pronounced in the second gear where the engine starts to lug in the absence of throttle input. This is in contrast with Ecosport where in-city drivability is superb, what with the second gear acceleration without any throttle input pulls the car effortlessly. I guess XUV300 has been designed only for mid-range.

In view of the aforementioned cons, let me put forth my queries for this august forum to peruse and respond:

• Engine mapping available to enhance low end torque/drivability?
• Any chance a dead pedal could be installed ?
• Have seen under thigh support as an accessory, is it any good?

Thanks in advance.

Here's what BHPian krishnakumar had to say on the matter:

Man, almost exactly the same cons that I felt when I bought my XUV300. Spot on!

But I’ll tell you that you took the best decision going for a 2019 version. Mahindra has been incessantly deleting and downgrading features, I envy those 2019 BS4 models when I see them on road.

Regarding the low end torque, yes it is a problem. In Bangalore, there is a garage called Engineering Exponent who is well known in engine remapping. Comes with mod master Dr.Naren’s personal recommendation.

I spoke to EE and they confirmed that Wolf Moto has a remap available but I haven’t explored it yet because my car is still new and don’t want to void warranty. XUV300 isn’t really a very popular car (and quite underrated in my opinion) so I couldn’t find many mod stories on it online. Do reach out to them and it might be worth a long drive to Bangalore.

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