The XUV.e9 is a pure-electric version of the XUV700 with a stylish coupe design.

You may have seen spy images of the Mahindra XUV.e9 before, but this time, the prototype was seen sporting its pre-production bodywork.

The XUV.e9 is a pure-electric version of the XUV700 with a stylish coupe design. The electric SUV features a blanked-out front grille with a full-width LED light bar and vertically stacked headlamps. At the rear, it has a unique LED tail lamp setup connected by an LED light bar that follows the vehicle's contours. The latest test mule is also equipped with a new set of aero-optimized alloy wheels.

Inside, the XUV.e9 will get a futuristic-looking dashboard with three 12.3-inch displays and a 2-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel. The SUV is also expected to get features like a head-up display with augmented navigation, Level 2 ADAS and a vehicle-to-load function.

Mahindra might offer the XUV.e9 with an 80 kWh battery pack, powering a dual-motor setup. Peak output could be in the range of 227 BHP to 345 BHP. The battery could offer up to 450 km of range.

Source: @rahul_auto_spy

When you are on such a predictable road, and use light foot, the car surprises you with an amazing FE.

BHPian abirnale recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A summary of the update (kind of!):

After the 60K service was done (1200km ahead of time), we completed a nice family drive-cation in the first week of April. The detailed updates of that drive are here:

• (TheRedSparkle Story: T for Tadoba, T for Tigers!)
• (TheRedSparkle Story: In Search of Flamingoes)

The drive included about 2500 KMS round trip via KA, MH, AP, and TS. It involved driving on the National Highways, non-existent state highways, country roads, the Samriddhi Mahamarg, and everything in between.

I wanted to highlight some of the observations on this drive related to the car and how it behaved here in this post:

• If there is one thing about the car that is undisputed, that is: This is an excellent highway mile muncher, period. The single-day drive (my solo driver, max till date) happened with #TheRedSparkle. I drove from Tadoba to Bangalore in a single day for about 1100 KMs! I was as fresh as I could be in the smaller distance drives at the end of the day. For the entire day, the car did not cross 120kmph on speedo and yet managed to munch this distance in about 17 hours with four sizeable breaks!
• This trip highlighted the ADAS features at it’s best for me. The drive on Samriddhi Highway is so boring that unless I am forced, I will not go there again. To survive whatever I had embarked on that highway, ADAS-ACC was used extensively on that road for about 97-98% of the time! It worked like a dream! It is a real deal!
• When you are on such a predictable road, and use light foot, the car surprises you with an amazing FE. On the MID console, I saw numbers hovering between 15-16 kmpl whereas the T2T method revealed about 14.5 for that section. And note, mine is AT, AWD, and laden with a full cabin, 10 days' worth of packing including ample accessories, storage boxes, etc.
• After the service and re-flashing of the hardware, I have been using three maps at a time on the phone! Apple Maps for those quick glances on the MID, Google Maps for actual navigation on the main CE, and RadarBot for thos critical alerts So far, all is well - had CarPlay disconnect about 4-5 times in the entire trip of about 2500 kms. The Apple maps resume automatically, but google doesn’t on reconnection. Only once the CarPlay scree became unresponsive - everything else worked but ICE when into the CarPlay screen, blanks out. Go back using other screen options from IC Knob buttons, you can access and do everything as normal - I think this is to do with CarPlay itself playing games.
• The AC in the car is built in Arctic circles, I assume. In the simmering heat of 42 degrees celsius, my passengers were sitting in the car with fleece or using a shawl to cover them! I like the Auto AC at 23.5 and they forced me to keep it at 26-27! We were only using the front AC, the rear one is almost never used in the past 2 years plus.
• MH mostly has a great Vi network - a couple of times around the Solapur/ Dharashiv area, I used Adrenox remote functions to start the car and cool it down before we step in. I want to use it again and again at my base location in BLR too but Vi won't even function in this area - zero coverage in most areas.
• The MID console display was kept rotating manually between TPMS and Maps most of the time. I fill N2 in all tires, and keep pressure around 35 PSI. While on this drive in hot summer and on cemented highway roads observed the temperatures in tire to reach about 55 degrees and pressure to be around 40-41 PSIs. Highest ever I saw in my car. Not sure if that is normal but glad, our speeds were in check, and we had a peaceful drive without any issues.
• I understand that the panoramic sunroof is a debatable feature. In my view - it is super useful. We used it to the max while on jungle/ country roads and when the sun was not beating us down. The curtain that comes up to close the sunroof is descent enough - it doesn’t let the heat come down - feels as comparable as the roof itself when it comes to shielding the cabin from the sun through the sunroof.

And to round up the post, here are some pictures of the car at various points in our recent drive:

Thank you for reading, see you soon again with more updates on #TheRedSparkle as well as our travel - the long-drive moments are back again!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The average waiting period for the XUV700 is now down to 2-3 months.

Mahindra has managed to reduce the order backlog significantly. The carmaker has 2.26 lakh open orders for its SUVs as of February 1, 2024, down from over 2.86 lakh at the end of October last year.

Mahindra has ramped up production to clear the pending orders. The carmaker is producing around 49,000 units per month, which has reduced the waiting period for some models.

The order backlog for the XUV700 has reduced by 50% from 70,000 open orders to just 35,000. The company claims that the average waiting period for the SUV is now down to 2-3 months. It receives around 7,000 new bookings for the XUV700 every month.

The Scorpio and Thar account for over 75% of the order backlog. The pending orders for the Scorpio N and Scorpio Classic stand at over 1.01 lakh, with the waiting period for the Scorpio N at around 8-9 months.

Around 71,000 Thars are yet to be delivered. The model also has the highest waiting period, with the Thar RWD commanding a one-year waiting period.

Mahindra has over 10,000 pending orders for the Bolero and 8,000 open bookings for the XUV300 and XUV400.

According to the company, booking cancellations increased to around 10% between November 2023 and January 2024. Cancellations were down to less than 8% in January 2024.

Prices for the XUV700 MX Petrol AT variant could be announced in the coming weeks.

Mahindra is likely to introduce a new entry-level petrol automatic variant of the XUV700. According to a Type Approval Certificate issued by ARAI, the XUV700 will get a new 'MX' Petrol AT trim, making it the most affordable petrol automatic variant of the SUV.

Currently, Mahindra offers the automatic gearbox in the AX3, AX5 and AX7 trims only, with prices starting at Rs 18.19 lakh (ex-showroom). The new MX AT variant will help bring down the base price of the XUV700 automatic considerably.

That being said, the MX range misses out on several advanced features that are available in the AX trims. These include an 8-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, two additional speakers, a rear seat armrest and a 60:40 split folding rear seat.

The XUV700 MX AT is likely to get an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wired Android Auto and 4 speakers, a 7-inch instrument cluster, follow-me-home headlights and powered ORVMs; among others.

Prices for the XUV700 MX Petrol AT variant could be announced in the coming weeks.

Source: Autocar India

Mahindra XUV700 and Toyota Innova Hycross are beyond my budget. The Scorpio N is nice but its 3rd row is unusable.

BHPian viper33 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello TeamBHP community, hope all of you are doing great. I am just writing this fairly long post to gather your opinions.

• Financial advice
• Whether to buy a new car or continue with the Honda BR-V
• Which car to buy

I was born in a humble family (humble is a small word, but a poor family). My father was a carpenter and worked as a watchman and our monthly income was Rs.2000 per month before I started earning. I have mostly studied in Govt schools and colleges with my parents putting in as much as they can and with the help of my relatives.

Currently, I am 34 years old and I work with Microsoft as Sr.Product Manager. I earn approx 45L post-tax.

We recently bought a house worth 1.5Cr, a 3 BHK villa in Hyderabad. This is the first and only property we own right now. The primary reason to choose a villa over an apartment is that an apartment might lose value over a period of time and selling would be difficult. With a villa, the chances of appreciation are higher and the probability of selling it, in case you know life is unpredictable, is higher.

Apart from the house, approx. 20L in savings

Here is my conundrum

Currently, I am on a mission mode to close the home loan and if there are no surprises in life, I would expect it to close in the next 5 to 6 years. As I am paying high EMI with less tenure, I do not have any money for investments. As the house loan interest is cheaper, the question is whether should I rush closing the loan or continue to pay the EMI and invest the amount as the probability of fetching higher returns is higher. Please share your thoughts on your experience considering my background.

Let's come to the car

I am an auto enthusiast, and I always help my friends and family in choosing their perfect ride. I enjoy driving and I swear by it. Till now, based on my background, haven’t dared to buy a new car of my choice.

My first ride was a 10-year-old A-star which I bought for 2L and sold for 1.85L after driving it for 2 years. Then I bought a pre-owned Sunny automatic. My mother has her legs operated on and can not fold her legs completely, so I needed a car with a lot of leg room and chose Sunny. I bought it for 3L and sold it for 2.85L after driving it for 2 years.

My sister’s family is like the same family and we miss her always whenever we go anywhere, so I needed a 7 seater. Currently, I drive a pre-owned Honda BR-V. I bought it with the assumption that Honda is reliable, but my current car gives one or the other trouble now and then and spent quite a good amount in servicing that. In addition to that, the ride was so stiff, that my mother complained every day.

Now, I am planning to buy a new car and that too a 7 seater. My financial mind says to wait for 2 more years, reduce the home loan burden, and get a car, but to be honest, every time I drive my current car, I feel why am I driving this and never enjoyed it as well. Please help me with which choice to make.

Cars I am considering

Just I have three prerequisites, it should be safe, it should be fun and an automatic.

• Maruti Suzuki Ertiga: 3-star and lethargic engine, so ruling out.
• Kia Carens 1.5 Turbo: Super fun with its powerful turbo petrol engine, again a 3-star rated car, when I am spending 20L which is too huge for me, I don’t want to settle for an unsafe car.
• Mahidra Scorpio-N Z6 Automatic: Safe and Fun. But unusable 3rd row. If I pick the petrol, I don’t think I can handle the low mileage. If I pick diesel, I am not sure about the reliability/maintenance of the BS6 diesel engine, and anyway, I don’t drive enough to need a diesel.
• Mahindra XUV700: The lowest trim with 7 seats is AX5 diesel and it costs approx 26L in Hyderabad, petrol 7 seater is way beyond my budget.
• Tata Safari: Waiting for the petrol which is expected to launch in 2024, I love the design and I like the dynamics of the current car, but I want peace and I am not sure whether I get it with Safari with so many niggles reported.
• Invicto and Hycross: Invicto's lower variant is 31L on the road Hyderabad and Hycross VX is approx 32L on road, I don’t think I can spend such a big amount.

So I don’t know which one to pick either. Share your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Here's what BHPian Raghu M had to say about the matter:

Sir, I am in my late 30s and work as a VP ops for a US-based firm. I can share some insights into the financial planning part. Allow me to be a little open with the financial part. While I cannot comment on your previous expenses (read obligations), I can see that your hurry in closing the housing loan is not exactly the right decision. I think that is a common misconception that a housing loan has to be closed early so we can have some peace of mind.

• Lower tenure of housing loans (with low interests) takes away the advantage of investing aggressively in the markets (read mutual funds, shares, real estate). Your current cash should be invested while the markets are beginning to show dominance. The next 15 years will see the Indian markets mostly on the bullish side. Your money will start compounding after 6 to 8 years and I am sure you understand the power it has.
• In case you want to upgrade to a bigger house in the future (I hope you do) it will be easy to sell the property (loan transfer is a matter of couple of days) and move on. Not that closing a loan would make it difficult but the documentation (legal opinion, valuation and EC) all take time and a lot of due diligence is needed. A property under loan is pretty safe and has protection from various risks. You are even insured while the loan is running, it gives your family great security and legal ownership of the property in case something unexpected happens.
• You have a solid 15 years from now to invest so that you can retire before 50. So, the plan should be to invest all the extra cash rather than focus on closing the loan. The loan is secure and gives you ample time to close. If I were you, I would negotiate a longer tenure with my bank. Housing loans have the lowest interest rates, hence that is always a safe bet.
• The 20L savings that you have currently should have been a bit more (my honest opinion). But since you have bought a big property, that is understandable. You should ideally be having a corpus of at least 50L given your financial standing. Your portfolio should be 60% in equity and the rest in bonds/debt or even real estate. Talking purely in terms of financial gains, gold is also not a great investment when compared to markets. They beat every other instrument in the long run.
• Your emergency fund should take care of you and your family for at least 18 months in case of a job loss or any unforeseen circumstances. Do you have that?
• The decision to go for a 7-seater while your BRV is not satisfactory is totally fine. I guess all your shortlists are awesome vehicles but be wise on the EMI. A car is a depreciating asset and a short-term loan wouldn't hurt. Any cash that you invest in it has low ROI, so try to move that to a safer investment with the additional cash you have.

This is purely from my experience and it is beginning to work slowly. I have a goal to retire by 2030 (or at least feel secure by then). Am sure you have your goals, so the above points are only for sharing insights. Good luck!

Here's what BHPian Axe77 had to say about the matter:

This rings close to my heart as the current house that I live in, I had also paid off the housing loan on a very accelerated timeline - at the expense of throttling my savings-based investments for a few years in between. Please don’t make the same mistake. In hindsight, I wish I had invested a little more in some of those years even if it had delayed my foreclosing of my loan a few years later. In balance, it would have been a financially wiser outcome.

I would say try and see if you can elongate the tenure such that your monthly EMI reduces. Let the surplus amount generated per month facilitate some periodic equity investments, which you need not touch for a long time. Please don’t underestimate the power of compounding over an 8 - 12-year period. Over this period, strike a balance between using surplus funds towards prepaying amounts of your loan to reduce the principal liability as well as towards boosting your periodic investments.

This will allow you to wind down the loan in a sensible horizon (you’re still only 34) as well as allow you to create a sizeable savings corpus.

From the list you’ve mentioned, I would suggest the Carens diesel A/T or DCT - principally because it’ll be nice to drive, has excellent ride quality thanks to its 16” wheels and has an incredibly usable third row (relatively speaking).

An even better choice might be trying to find a good used Crysta. It should be low-cost to maintain, reliable, and again very comfortable for your intended use case. I don’t think there’s any harm in going for a car now even if it means pushing out your accelerated loan amortization by a little bit. You’ve clearly been very disciplined with your savings as well as asset creation. If you are an enthusiast and you hate being in the current car, by all means, change it with something sensible that doesn’t break the bank for you.

Here's what BHPian sunilch had to say about the matter:

You have achieved quite a bit in life and I wish I was in your place. Not that I am doing bad from where we/family started, but being a human I wish I was in your situation.

Can't advise you much but do sell the BR-V if you and your family are not happy with it. I own an MT BR-V and love every bit of the car and I am surprised with your observations. But if your primary requirements are not satisfied with it, better to sell ASAP.

Regarding the Home Loan, it appears you have chosen a lesser tenure and hence a higher EMI. If that is not the case, my comments are pointless and you can ignore them. Otherwise, I suggest you change the tenure to the maximum possible/available with the least EMI possible.

Reasons are simple:

• Allows for more in-hand and hence better options to invest the surplus money
• Pre-payment is free in India and you can pre-pay the loan partly every few months with your surplus savings. When you pre-pay, opt for tenure reduction at that time. Each time you pre-pay, your tenure will go down substantially during the initial years. Do this for the first 3-5 years of your loan tenure. Once your outstanding balance reaches are comfortable level, leave the Home loan as is to enjoy the lower borrowing cost and tax benefits. Not many benefits are available these days anyway.
• Extra money in hand is helpful always and can be put to best use based on available opportunities.

Get a car (pre-owned or new based on your preference) that is comfortable for the family. Appears that you want to keep One family car and not multiple. In that case whatever your family enjoys more than you. From personal experience, lesser-known brands may offer a wonderful product and experience. So TD every 7-seater out there and then pick what your family loves overall.

Check if a used Petrol Innova Crysta is available in the used market in HYD. It may have low FE, but would be a good comfortable and safe car for sure.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The 2024 XUV700 gets ventilated front seats and first-in-segment ORVMs with memory function.

Mahindra has announced the launch of the 2024 XUV700. The SUV gets several new features, but more importantly, it now comes with optional captain seats in both AX7 and AX7L variants.

The 2024 XUV700 comes equipped with ventilated front seats and a first-in-segment ORVMs with memory function. These features are available on the top-spec AX7L trim. 

The Adrenox suite now gets 13 additional features for a total of 83 connected features. These include firmware Over-the-Air capabilities, a Prognosis feature that provides updates on upcoming service needs, and an M lens feature that allows drivers to scan buttons and tell-tale lights on the SUV. 

The 2024 XUV700 is available in a new Napoli Black exterior colour option with black roof rails and black alloy wheels. Dual-tone versions get a Napoli Black roof. The top-spec AX7 and AX7L variants get dark chrome air vents. 

Mahindra has also launched a new concierge service called ‘ASK Mahindra’ for vehicle technology-related queries. 

The carmaker will also conduct a chauffeur training program once every two months in select metros. It has been introduced in Delhi and Ahmedabad on a pilot basis. The training will cover vehicle functionalities, ADAS systems, handling emergencies, and understanding faults and error signs. 

2024 Mahindra XUV700 ex-showroom prices:

• MX – Rs 13.99 lakh
• AX3 – Rs 16.39 lakh
• AX5 – Rs 17.69 lakh
• AX7- Rs 21.29 lakh
• AX7L – Rs 23.99 lakh

The service center used Procut machine which didn’t require removal of discs for skimming

BHPian A.G. recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

General inspection before a trip (Rear Brake Pads changed)

Before heading out on a family trip, it was wise to get the XUV7OO also inspected. Visited the post-Diwali break and upon inspection, the rear brake pads were found to be almost at the minimum thickness mark. With the trip ahead, got them changed. The Brake discs were also suggested to be skimmed to even out the minor undulations. I was pleasantly surprised that the service center used a Procut machine which didn’t require the removal of discs for skimming and performed the job in hardly 10 minutes on one disc.

Getting on the lift

Old Brake pads (Rear) - thickness was around 3mm

With new Brake pads

Product disc skimming machine in action

Skimming done

After the road trial, the general checks were performed and the air filter was cleaned. The total invoice came to Rs. 7,503/- with Rs. 1,350/- + taxes being charged for skimming and the rest being for rear brake pads.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The updated owner's manual shows two seating options for the XUV700.

The Mahindra XUV700 is currently available in 5-seat and 7-seat configurations. As per the latest leaks, the carmaker could soon introduce a 6-seater version equipped with captain seats in the second row.

The updated owner's manual shows two seating options for the XUV700 – a second-row seat with a 60:40 split and folding armrest and two separate captain seats with foldable armrests. The latter will also get slide and recline functions.

Another new feature that could be introduced on the XUV700 is an auto-dimming IRVM. As per the document, the IRVM will have a manual switch to activate the automatic anti-glare function.

Besides new seating options and features, no mechanical changes are expected. The XUV700 will be offered with the same 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine options, with a choice of a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic gearbox.

Thanks to BHPian RavenAvi for sharing this information with other enthusiasts!

Mahindra has over 77,000 pending orders for the XUV700, with the waiting period for top variants being almost a year.

Mahindra has a massive order backlog of over 2.81 lakh units for its range of SUVs. This has led to longer waiting periods.

According to the company, the Scorpio-N and Scorpio Classic have the most orders. Together, both models account for over 1.17 lakh bookings.

Currently, Mahindra has over 77,000 pending orders for the XUV700, with the waiting period for top variants being almost a year. As per the company, around 8,000 cars are booked every month.

Mahindra receives over 10,000 bookings for the Thar every month. This has resulted in an order backlog of over 68,000 units. The waiting period for the Thar RWD is around 15 months, while the 4x4 variants have an average waiting period of 5 months.

The order backlog for the XUV300 and XUV400 is 11,000 units, while the Bolero and Bolero Neo models have around 8,400 open bookings.

Mahindra has been operating its assembly lines at nearly full capacity. The carmaker delivered over 1 lakh SUVs between April and July 2023. It plans to expand its production capacity to 49,000 units per month by Q4 FY2024.

Mahindra receives about 48,000 new bookings, with 33,000 billings every month. Less than 8% of the orders are cancelled every month.

Source: HT Auto

Infotainment has become peppy and more responsive and seems more attuned to touch now than earlier.

BHPian IamNikhil recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Recently updated the software of my XUV700 AX7 P AT. Few observations after two weeks:

1. Software version is now 10.27.62
2. Rear Parking Sensors went for a toss. An error crops up showing two "X" signs on the MID when you slot into reverse.
3. The Reverse Camera has become crisp and lag-free.
4. Infotainment has become peppy and more responsive and seems more attuned to touch now than earlier.
5. There's still a noticeable lag between pressing the steering controls to bring up the MID menu to the menu appearing on the screen.
6. The Mappls interface is easy to use.
7. GPS takes a lifetime to load once you start driving. Enter your destination, press start and then forget about it. Drive for 10-15 mins and then finally the actual navigation will begin. This could be attributed to the unreliable Vodafone e-SIM. The network is displayed as full, but still no luck.
8. There was an instance wherein for the exact same route, Google Maps and Mappls were showing different timings; the time taken by Mappls was exactly an hour more than Google Maps.
9. When you connect Apple Carplay, there are times when the volume pane freezes on the screen. Volume level can be increased or decreased by the rotary knob or steering controls, however no change on the display.
10. The sound quality of streaming through Apple Carplay has definitely improved.
11. Alexa has gone on a long vacation. Tried the tactic of disconnecting the battery terminal, but to no avail.
12. Fuel efficiency seems to have slightly improved; though this is not directly attributable to the software update.

Will have to visit ASC again to rectify the rear parking sensors and get Alexa to work again.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.