Mahindra XUV500 vs Tata Aria vs Toyota Innova!

[THE XOVER]

Now that the holy grail of all car magazines AUTOCAR has launched their full fledged review of XUV, and also compared it with its arch nemisis Aria, lets see how these two fare against each other as per the Autocar review.Here I have compared them as product vs product without bringing their price into equation, just to find out that which out of these two cars are better according to ACI without their price tag.

LOOKS

According to ACI XUV is better looker than Aria !!(though I think opposite), so XUV wins the first round.

RIDE

According to Autocar above the speed of 20 XUV has got poor ride quality, while Aria has class leading ride quality above 20 kmph.So Aria wins round two.

SPACE

Space = Passenger + Luggage.

According to autocar review Aria because of sliding middle row has better third row space and smart flexibility and also Aria trumps XUV black and blue when it comes to luggage space.So Aria wins here.

HANDLING

XUV being monocoque wins here, but mind you Aria even though is BOF, yet its handling is also commendable as per ACI.

ENGINE

XUV has got more torquey engine while Aria has got more refined engine, so Aria gets the point here.

NVH

Aria has better refinement inside the cabin and its a more smooth and silent car, while XUV's NVH levels are very bad according to ACI.

INTERIOR

ACI says that Aria has much robust interiors and plastic quality is way better than XUV interiors where though fit is decent yet plastics are very patchy. So Aria wins.

BUILD QUALITY

As per ACI Aria is a much robust car in terms of build as compared to xuv, so aria wins here as well.

So in the above 8 parameters

XUV wins 2

Aria wins 6

Folks I have deliberately excluded the price factor and just concentrated upon which is a better car as per autocar.

Now I know Autocar has said that XUV is fun to drive and the torquey engine would be a huge selling point, but since according to them this engine lacks refinement I have given additional point to Aria here.

So even though some of us may not agree about looks of XUV, like I for example, or some may not agree about the engine, but overall this Autocar comparo proves that barring the price factor Aria is a more refined, mature,practicle and a better car than XUV.PERIOD

But damn to tata's pricing of Aria and kudos to mahindra's pricing of XUV, if you bring the price in comparo XUV beats Aria hands down even though the above comparo results prove that it may not be a superior product than Aria.

DISCLAIMER : the above views are based upon Autocar review and comparo and not my personal views.Only in the engine department I have given additional point to Aria since as per ACI its way more smoother than XUV.

Cheers

 

[jayadev]

Mahindras design their cars in-house, by Indian designers. Ramkripa Ananthan, 40 year old female is the head of design team for XUV. The XUV was completely built & designed in Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai. And I think credit should be given for that.

I agree with you Raj. One of my friend (he is my neigbour) works in MRV chennai and is one among design team (it is a bit fun too teasing him regarding XUV).
I fully support MRV team and thier product. yet I expected a Classy product something like Nano from tata which will leave a mark in history of auto Industry.Now Xuv is just like any other regular car with extra updated bells and whistle .I wonder if Mahindra will soon launch xuv pickup trucks like they did with Scorpio, bolero and xylo.

Tata safari still stands apart in the crowd as a classic example even Aria has a fresh and different looks.
Please do not misunderstand me but it is my own general observation that Safari is mostly owned by "Elite" type of people (shared by aria) where as scorpio with youngsters and enthusiasts,
I expected xuv will become a head turner for "Elite" type too , but it has got much to go or I may be proved wrong in future let us wait n watch.

 

[raj_5004]

DISCLAIMER : the above views are based upon Autocar review and comparo and not my personal views.Only in the engine department I have given additional point to Aria since as per ACI its way more smoother than XUV.

Cheers

Sorry, I disagree. These are definitely your personal views!

Why dont you write the exact words written by ACI instead of putting your own magic in it? I could have pointed out where you have twisted the facts but that results in a cat fight always, which I want to avoid now.

Also, you cannot ignore the pricing in any comparo. Can you compare the Alto with the i20? For 3 lakhs more (the difference between Aria's & XUV's top variant pricing), Mahindra could have easily gives us better quality plastic & more insulation. But for that price, even XUV would have been a sales dud like the Aria, which is not praiseworthy.

even if I had 18 lakhs, I would buy the XUV since it has better engine response, more features, good ride handling combo & is absolute VFM.

Guys, for those who want an unbiased & honest comparo, read the ACI November '11 instead.

I agree with you Raj. One of my friend (he is my neigbour) works in MRV chennai and is one among design team (it is a bit fun too teasing him regarding XUV).
........

I expected xuv will become a head turner for "Elite" type too , but it has got much to go or I may be proved wrong in future let us wait n watch.

That is fine buddy, I respect your personal opinions.

 

[autosafari]

I fully support MRV team and thier product. yet I expected a Classy product something like Nano from tata which will leave a mark in history of auto Industry.Now Xuv is just like any other regular car with extra updated bells and whistle .I wonder if Mahindra will soon launch xuv pickup trucks like they did with Scorpio, bolero and xylo.

Tata safari still stands apart in the crowd as a classic example even Aria has a fresh and different looks.
Please do not misunderstand me but it is my own general observation that Safari is mostly owned by "Elite" type of people (shared by aria) where as scorpio with youngsters and enthusiasts,
I expected xuv will become a head turner for "Elite" type too , but it has got much to go or I may be proved wrong in future let us wait n watch.

Thats one classic post

 

[RaviAuto]

The Mahindra XUV 500 has been designed taking lots of national and international feedback of different customers. The power unit on this one is the well known m-Hawk series having a displacement of 2200 cc.

 

[THE XOVER]

Guys, for those who want an unbiased & honest comparo, read the ACI November '11 instead.

Ofcourse I don't insist anyone to believe my words blindly,people must follow their own rational to acquire truth, so I urge all those reading my comments to go through ACI comparo and then compare it with my results,and then decide for themselves what Autocar has said about both these products in ride,handling, interior plastic quality, more robust boiuld , better NVH ,more refined engine etc,and which according to them is a better product wthout bringing their respective price tag into equation.

 

[jayadev]

and which according to them is a better product wthout bringing their respective price tag into equation.

End of the day what matters the most is sales. Aria has been almost nowhere since a year of launch but xuv has exceded all the expectations.
after all these readings and research , If i have some money in my hand for these Bigger beast I will consider Xuv as priority especially due to Price tag.Aria can be considered if no other options are left or at least if I have so much money left to invest in it.
I wish if Tata could learn a lesson or two and come with more appealing Safari.at least now tata should admit price of aria was shocker for we Indians.

but at one place i feel dissapointed about mahindra is that they couldnt come up with something which could swap the territory of fortuner. fortuner still stands like King of all cars in Indian road..sigh ( I hate )

 

[THE XOVER]

End of the day what matters the most is sales. Aria has been almost nowhere since a year of launch but xuv has exceded all the expectations.
after all these readings and research , If i have some money in my hand for these Bigger beast I will consider Xuv as priority especially due to Price tag.Aria can be considered if no other options are left or at least if I have so much money left to invest in it.
I wish if Tata could learn a lesson or two and come with more appealing Safari.at least now tata should admit price of aria was shocker for we Indians.

but at one place i feel dissapointed about mahindra is that they couldnt come up with something which could swap the territory of fortuner. fortuner still stands like King of all cars in Indian road..sigh ( I hate )

Jaydev I am just trying to compare Aria and XUV as product vs product, in the real world though price matters a hell of a difference, and at the moment considering its price and gadgets XUV is definitely a better buy than the Aria.But I just wanted to check where Aria stands as a quality/flagship product of tata vs XUV the flagship car of mahindra.And after going through Autocar review I am proud of Aria as a product, and now with the 4x2 variant I think Aria is not that overpriced to say the least.

All those who are doubting whether XUV has traction control or not , buy the nov 2011 issue of Autocar , go to buyers guide section and see for yourself that the XUV hasn't got traction control as per autocar.You can check page number 296. It will clear all doubts regarding XUV, cheers.

 

[jayadev]

I don't get it, what is the point of highest quality and least sales?
products are made for sale, isnt it? production and sales should be in sync. I dont think tata might have produced Aria for less than 300 custome

Aria have failed, it may have additional bells and whistles sure, would that translate into better sales..better for Tata if it does.

 

[Vishwas]

I don't get it, what is the point of highest quality and least sales?
products are made for sale, isnt it? production and sales should be in sync. I dont think tata might have produced Aria for less than 300 custome

Aria have failed, it may have additional bells and whistles sure, would that translate into better sales..better for Tata if it does.

Yes that is the point,Anyway a customer(Basically Indian) without knowledge of cars will first see the car and the next thing that comes to his mind is the price and rest of that likewise,The ACI has just compared between the products that's all.The pricing stratergy of Aria should be rebuilt,until then It cant stand up like XUV,and as a matter of fact XUV basically did well only for its price!

TATA understands the customers needs,but they fail in pricing their product why? because they always try to bring hype which then results its just they are conning the customers

 

[jayadev]

TATA understands the customers needs,but they fail in pricing their product why?

That is not always true. Tata vista and Manza is truly a vfm product from them even nano is.
They fail to hit the nail at right point sometimes.
IMO They should leave Aria as it is as a benchmark and come up with something irresistible through new safari.

 

[mastersquall]

agree with jayadev . they need to be careful with merlin launch

 

[autosafari]

ACI has just compared between the products that's all.The pricing stratergy of Aria should be rebuilt,until then It cant stand up like XUV,and as a matter of fact XUV basically did well only for its price!

TATA understands the customers needs,but they fail in pricing their product why?

That is not always true. Tata vista and Manza is truly a vfm product from them even nano is.
They fail to hit the nail at right point sometimes.
IMO They should leave Aria as it is as a benchmark and come up with something irresistible through new safari.

agree with jayadev . they need to be careful with merlin launch

Aria was not meant as a mass selling product.

It was introduced as a niche product to acquire a premium brand image which TATA Motors do not have at present.

(Its another story that Mahindra saw a market oppurtunity in that segment and suceeded with good marketing, pricing and PR techniques)

Whether TATA business strategy was right or wrong in the case of Aria is a subject for debate and could be a case study for management students.

If TATA wanted to introduce Aria as a mass selling competition for Innova, they could have done that easily since Aria is a good design and price it lower than Innova by stripping all those extra features.

So I feel Xover has got a point here.

It seems they are serious about Merlin (or what ever name it is) that they postponed the launch after seeing the market response of XUV. That means they want a perfect launch with proper preperation in terms of Product and strategey.

Going by the trend in Tata, they will make use of the Aria platform to the maximum launching multiple products and thus the money spend on development will not be wasted.

 

[THE XOVER]

So I feel Xover has got a point here.

** Thank you autosafari, you have great level of intelligence without a shadow of doubt.



It seems they are serious about Merlin (or what ever name it is) that they postponed the launch after seeing the market response of XUV. That means they want a perfect launch with proper preperation in terms of Product and strategey.

** Actually Safari X2 aka Merlin is absolutely ready to launch, tata just have to finalise its pricing strategy.


Going by the trend in Tata, they will make use of the Aria platform to the maximum launching multiple products and thus the money spend on development will not be wasted.

Once again you have hit the nail on the head, its only a matter of time when from 207 to Sumo all will have X2 platform.

 

[S Class]

If Merlin is launched with aggressive pricing with good quality, I am sure that those who didn't like in face look of XUV, liked Aria more but couldn't buy due to price factor will surely opt for Merlin. In this, those who bought XUV just becuase of price, these type of people can jump to Merlin.

Merlin if launched with above factors, has the potential to take away buyers of even XUV 500 & I am sure several existing Safari buyers too will upgrade to this one. XUV took away buyers from Aria due to price, same can be done by Merlin to XUV as well.