My 2022 XL6 gets an aftermarket 7th seat & other updates after 1500 km

Between the Kia Carens & the new XL6, I would recommend the Maruti MPV.

BHPian achintatri recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

2022 XL6 Update after 1500 km of ownership

1. Officially converted a 6-seater XL6 to a 7-seater. Here are some pics for reference.
2. The seat cost Rs 3750 here in Vimannagar, Pune.
3. It's a plug-n-play seat that doesn't require any fitment.
4. The seat in general doesn't wobble and the individual captain seats can be easily slid and reclined without disturbing the middle seat and vice versa.
5. It is strictly for kids and the advice is to use a harness for the kid who sits on that seat while the car is in motion.
6. The seat belt in that case can be tethered to the Isofix slots or to the base of the captain seats from the back.
7. On Amazon the same is available at double the price.

Also, the average from the last fuel refill to the latest came out to be 7.75 km/l (The car clocked 287 km in 37-litres of fuel) between two low fuel indications. Took the car to the workshop and they claimed to have cleaned up the air filter and told me to check the average this time.

SA suggests a different method e.g. driving a car till 50 km and checking how much fuel the car now takes to fill the complete tank. However, I told them that it doesn't matter since even if 10 km/L avg. is claimed in the city (stop and go traffic), it should have clocked 370 km in 37L of fuel rather than only 287 km.

I have decided to keep a track of the average till 5000 km now when I will send the car for second due service.

Android Auto

1. One Word: It sucks and is buggy. Workaround: Pull out and push the data cable into the USB slot in the car before u need to use the android auto for any new drive (manual way of clearing the cache may be).
2. However, a lot of times I do not hear the voice of the person calling me or vice versa when a call is received/made.
3. Music from my phone (Galaxy S10 lite) is still acceptable on the stock speakers and the head unit however when I connect an apple phone say iPhone 6s, it is way too bass heavy and has no setting either in the phone or head unit or the application like Saavn can change that.

In case someone is still looking between Carens and XL6, I would still suggest XL6 just because of the reliable engine and gearbox combo. If you are OK with adjusting your driving behaviour to counter the Carens DCT petrol heating issues and rely on your extended warranty for any hiccups in the future, Carens is a better deal.

So for Carens, you get a better, actually much better drivability (performance) at the same average but with a little peace of mind as compared to XL6 where you get much more peace of mind but with mediocre performance.

On a majority of driving on highways say 90%, XL6 will beat any car of its class on average on any given day.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.