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My Mahindra XUV700 AWD diesel AT: 2 years and 57,000 km update

27th February 2024, 12:37 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

While I don't pay attention to fuel efficiency, I have always had numbers of 8-10 km/l in the city whereas 15-17 km/l is what I have seen on highways with sane driving.

BHPian abirnale recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Two years!

Whatever goes up generally ends up coming down too - the year that went by saw a lot of slowing down, a lot of rest, and easy-going schedules for #TheRedSparkle. The first year we ended the odometer at 35k km whereas the second year ended at 56789 km on odometer. That’s about 15k kms less than what we clocked in year 1. The slowness mostly owing to some family commitments and work situations. Regardless, #theredsparkle continued to be a fun and relatively stress-free ownership year! Of course, everyone loves their car and thinks it’s the world’s best car - nothing different with my car too!

For records, I would want to reiterate things that I am not happy with the car: probably my top 3 are:

ICE is not the ideal setup. The gorgeous single-panel dual-screen display is wow at first sight but then the fun ends there. Frequently disconnecting Apple CarPlay, the worst ever integrated phone interfaces into the MID console for CarPlay and that occasional HHC error and blinking screen seem to be the gremlins M&M will never be able to fix. I meant never!
TheRedSparkle is on its third set of tires now. The first one was low speed and noisy ones hence changed early. The second one from Continental lasted for only 35k km. The latest ones are Yoko H/T. It’s just next to impossible to procure nice A/T tires for the AWD. This tire size though now common seems to be extremely rare to have A/T support. Why do manufacturers choose such specs?
Howsoever I drive the car, the front brake pads won’t last beyond 15k km. Though they work beautifully and inspire confidence, the running cost is higher! More importantly, it contributes to the reason that M&M ASCs wants to see you no later than every six months! With overflowing ASCs and not-so-very-skilled personnel across the country for these modern cars, it's an owner's nightmare to find quick support when you need it the most.

The availability of spares (sometimes things trivial like the synth engine oil and air filters run out of stock at ASCs!) is a big concern. It was ok to have scarcity in the first 6 months - it's a new model, a new car. Now even after 2.5 years, more than a lakh cars are on the road, and the issues with spares and consumables availability are a huge concern. The only positive side of this story is - that if someone is holding the M&M Auto stocks, keep holding on to them. Their order book is strong and you will get good returns on your investments!

The cost of the vehicle so far is:

OTR Price: 29,05,000
Total service cost: 71,628
Insurance renewal for second year: Rs. 34,613
Insurance renewal for third year: Rs. 30,140
Fuel cost: 4,77,594
KMs run 57,000 KMs

Overall FE: 10.71 KMPL

Fuel Cost per KM: Rs. 8.44
Service Cost per KM (including DEF and minor accessories if any): Rs. 1.26
Approximate Fastag/Toll Tax: Rs. 40K
[Not tracking the cost of dual tone/CR70 films, Washing and Cleaning, and Minor Accessories bought outside the M&M network]

Total ASC visits recorded: 26

Total Recalls on this variant and model: 03 (LCA, O Ring, Battery Connector Sleeve)
In-Drive trouble: 02 (brake pad issue owing to cut sensor wire, OBD light last Feb)
Abandoned trips: ZERO

My concerns at the time of buying that proved to be uncalled for:

Zero issues with DEF so far. The car has done all kinds of roads, fast and slow drives. Has spent months altogether not going beyond 40Kmph speeds and none of this has ever caused any issues with DEF.
No major safety issues and recalls on the car.
Warranty claims are super easy: LCA suspension was a major one that changed the character of the car!
AT/AWD is a great combo. I don’t think I will crave MT in the future (I want paddle shifters for sure though)
New launches of M&M and Tata are buggy: contrary to this, my car from the very first batch of AWDs has fewer issues than some of the latest ones rolled out of the factory even today. For once the early adopters are treated with better quality. And yes, I don't need to put up with some stupid features such as smart-hybrid auto-start/ stop.
A lot of folks ask me about FE. While I am not at all focused on this factor, I have always had numbers of 8-10km/l achieved during Bangalore city drives whereas 15-17kmpl is what I have seen on highways with sane driving. The problem with this car is, that it has got a nice engine mated with optimum TC that gets you carried away into a spirited drive before you know it!
The AWD is a great to have utility. It has helped me go to places otherwise I would have avoided. Glad that I chose AWD over FWD.

And now to record the milestones, here is the fancy-looking odo number and clean PUC: