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Long weekend test drive of the Mahindra XUV700 AX7L Petrol AT

I felt that the suspension on the Mahindra XUV700 is softer when compared to my 6-year-old Volkswagen Vento.

BHPian The Alchemist recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I took a long-ish test drive of the AX7 L Petrol AT on the weekend. Test drive route contained 2-lane state highways filled with traffic, single-lane roads, a short pothole-ridden stretch, and a relatively wider bypass road.

For context, my current ride is a 6-year-old Volkswagen Vento 1.6 MPI Highline, manual transmission. I'll try to make some comparisons with the same. I was originally on the lookout for an upgrade in the CSUV segment, and now XUV700 is on the shortlist.

  • The engine & gearbox combination is lovely. Engine noise is barely audible in the cabin except during hard accelerations and the gear shifts are smooth. Gearbox did exactly what I wanted it to do, and hence, I never missed the paddle shifters, or never felt the need to switch to manual mode. I didn't observe any turbo-lag, and if at all anything was there, it was well masked by the gearbox.
  • I was a bit concerned about how a big car would feel on the narrow roads of Kerala. If anyone is having similar concerns, rest easy! The car nicely wraps around you, and you will soon forget that you are driving a big car. It nicely wrapped around me once it started rolling and I didn't feel that I'm driving anything bigger than my Vento.
  • Steering is very light when you start off and it weights decently as you pick up speed. But it is no match for Vento's lovely steering. Even then, I felt that it would be a good handler considering the transition from a sedan to an SUV. I was not expecting XUV700 to be a good handler in comparison with the Vento. But it is not bad either. This is definitely one of the best handling big SUVs out there (don't expect it to be a corner craver and you would be happy).
  • I expect the steering to weigh up a bit more in diesel versions. Drive modes should help. The sales advisor mentioned the same, but I would reserve my final comments until I test drive one.
  • Suspension is softer when compared to the Vento, and it took the potholes very well. Didn't feel the need to slow down on patchy surfaces. The ride was comfy enough. I haven't driven Hexa or Safari, so I can't make any direct comparison comments. But I'm one of those guys who want a balance between soft ride and handling. And I think XUV700 does it right for an SUV of this size. Again, not even close to my Vento though.
  • I was pleasantly surprised by the turning radius. I don't know what the actual number is, but it is short enough to take sharp u-turns effortlessly.
  • I observed minor body roll in certain uneven stretches. I don't know how it would feel in the second and 3rd row, but it wasn't much from a driver's perspective.
  • Ergonomics was spot on for me. Full marks to Mahindra here. It hardly took a few seconds for me to reach a comfortable driving position thanks to the electronic seat adjustments with good range. The pedal heights were perfect and the footwell was well laid out. Brake and clutch pedals in my Vento have long travel and it was uncomfortable for me. XUV700 was perfect for me in all aspects - seat, pedals, armrest, footrest & access to switches.
  • Hill-hold assist worked beautifully. Features like this would make driving effortless on that long tiring day.
  • Couldn't test any of the ADAS features. But I'm happy that Mahindra has included it in the package. I'm 100% confident that crash prevention systems such as Autonomous Emergency Braking would be highly useful in a number of scenarios. Adaptive Cruise Control would be a boon. I frequently use normal cruise control in my Vento and I'm sure that adaptive cruise control would eliminate the pain points.
  • I consider myself a tech nerd and I love my electronics gadgets. But I didn't try out any features in the infotainment system as I was very much engrossed in driving the car. The startup animation is dope and the MID & infotainment system contributes a lot to the cabin ambience. I would need a second visit to experience all features. But for now, the only comment is it feels rich & premium.
  • 360-degree cameras and blind-spot monitors are a big plus. For the first half of the test drive, my mechanical memory always made me look at the mirrors. But once I started driving through the ultra-narrow roads, I realized the benefit of these systems. It helps that you can always activate the 360 cams at the click of a button.
  • The first and second-row seats were very comfortable and spacious. I don't need the 3rd row. If I end up buying XUV700, I would just fold the 3rd-row seats almost permanently and get a parcel tray or luggage cover as an accessory.

The showroom experience was nice. The sales advisor was a friendly person and we had a friendly chat. On-road price for Diesel AX7L AT AWD was very close to 30 lakhs in Kerala, including an extended warranty for 4th & 5th years. He said accessories are not mandatory. I expect the final price to be still above 29 lakhs. RTO expense itself was very close to 5 lakhs. I envy some of you folks from some other states with better tax slabs.

Overall, I came back impressed after the test drive. I will be taking a test drive of Diesel AT in the coming weeks. This is definitely one of the contenders for my car upgrade.

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