Mahindra XUV700 diesel AT: 10 key highlights after a 1300 km road trip

The max fuel efficiency figures reached was around 17 - 18 km/l while cruising with AC & 3 people on board.

BHPian Dark water recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Just completed 8000 km on my XUV7OO D AT and recently had the opportunity for a very long drive i.e from Pune to Bharatpur in Rajasthan, around 1,300 km, this is what highlights my experience:

1. The car is an absolute pleasure to drive on highways, in fact, long open highways are what it's made for, whatever you want to do, be it just cruising at normal speeds or zooming across open stretches, the vehicle is always up for it.
2. Since the trip was quite long, I could try different drive modes and speed combinations to test the mileage, in zap mode, the sweet spot is 95 to 100 km and in zoom mode, it is 105 to 110 km per hour for maximum fuel efficiency which was between 17 to 18 for me with AC on and 3 people on board including me, wife and son.
3. There is no dearth of power for overtaking be it squeezing between trucks which occupy both lanes of the highway and give only a 10-meter window or some over-enthusiastic Creta / Seltos / Alcazar etc.
4. Also tried ADAS, but the traffic I faced was very erratic, nonetheless, it is very helpful and enhances endurance as you feel less tired. Lane assist is very prompt too.
5. Braking is never a problem, a special mention here for guys travelling through MP or Rajasthan, be very careful of stray cattle on the highway, I have seen 4-5 accidents on the highway like rear-ending or vehicles skidding off trying to protect the cattle. An excited Buffalo smashed its head into one of my ORVM, fortunately only the glass part of the mirror shifted out of the bracket slightly and was restored easily by hand. I had to apply emergency braking quite a few times and would highly recommend that you reduce your speed gradually once you witness any cattle. The real problem is when a Buffalo or black cow is lurking on the highway and you have to look into high beams of oncoming traffic. Anyways braking was reliable for me. Maybe the highway or toll authorities can deploy some of their staff to check the roads for stray cattle on an hourly basis, some of the toll booth staff are available most of the time as they don't have to man the booths like before after the advent of FASTag.
6. Suspension is quite good since it was the rainy season I was showered with all kinds of rain very frequently, sometimes even cloudburst kind, the rains have created some large craters on the roads and the water makes them almost invisible, the vehicle jumped across all kinds of craters at uncomfortable speeds but no problem was encountered. Heard all kinds of noise from the suspension when going at high speed over potholes, even a blasting noise from both the front suspensions, but thankfully no damage was noticed.
7. I enjoy night driving most of the time, The booster lamps that come into play after 80kph are helpful but I found them too good sometimes, if there is any reflective surface ahead, it just becomes very bright and even affected visibility for me. Otherwise, the lights are very good and make driving easier.
8. The football in the hood is very much a reality, and sometimes I start to anticipate the sound after braking.
9. Both front and rear wipers do their job very well and the auto mode is prompt most of the time.
10. After an 8-hour continuous run the engine-bonnet area did not heat up much and there was a slight change in the firing sound when idling.

The vehicle is a pleasure to drive and I have already completed 8k km in just over 2 months, looking for more soon.

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