Mahindra XUV500 W8 FWD - A Long Term Ownership Report

[Crazy cat]

Hi everyone, I started writing this review as soon as we took the delivery of our XUV, but it hasn’t materialised mainly due to my laziness. Now that it has been a year (& 20+ days) and 35000 kms, I’m writing a long-term report of our XUV 500 W8 FWD.

Buying Experience:
Coimbatore wasn’t one of the cities where XUV was launched in the first phase. And when they did launch, they came up with a lottery system for allotment. Dad was a bit hesitant, as it seemed like a waste of time. But we went for TD anyway at the only dealer CAI, just a day before the final date for booking. Dad, me and my brother drove it for about 15 minutes and the initial impressions were good, so we went ahead with the booking taking a chance but we weren’t allotted. Then Mahindra came up with a scheme to give us another go at XUV before opening fresh booking, dad wasn’t really interested as all these process was entirely different. The sales person called again, we asked for a quick delivery but he said that’s not possible citing the tight control Mahindra has on the allotment. He also said that we could get the vehicle in 2 month time, a lot of convincing from my side made us book the XUV again and like he promised he gave us the vehicle in less than 2 month time. The dealer did a very good job in our experience and if not for the huge demand, we could have got our XUV much earlier.

Our fleet:
2011 Volkswagen Vento TDi HL 51000km (My personal drive)
2011 Skoda Fabia TDi Elegance 40000km
2012 Mahindra XUV 500 W8 FWD 35000km
2012 Chevrolet Sail U-Va LS(ABS) 12000km

Past cars
2008 Maruti Swift VDi 109000km (Sold in 2012)
2007 Renault Logan DLS 115000km (Sold in 2011)
Besides these cars, we also had Pre-owned cars that include Fiat Uno D, Esteem Di and Amby 2000 DSZ, details of them are a bit sketchy.

Why XUV 500?
We considered Tata Aria, Toyota Innova, Force One and Toyota Fortuner before fixing on the XUV. We started with a TD of XUV and everyone in the family loved it and made a booking immediately (for the lottery system). Then we took a TD of Aria, loved the space and comfort but the car felt really old (durability concerns arose) for a 5000km car and driveability was bad compared to XUV. There was also a bad experience from our Indica Dicor in Chennai. I have driven and travelled in Innova long enough to make a decision without a TD, it was pricier than what it deserves and high-end performance was not good but it was not ruled out immediately being a Toyota. I got the brochure of Force One but couldn't get a TD as the TD vehicle is doing rounds around TN but they said when it is available they will bring it to my place. But timing never worked out and eventually I lost interest and the more I spotted it on the streets the more it looked like a Chinese car, so it was ruled out. By this time I found out we weren't allotted for XUV 500. We ran out of options and brought in Fortuner. But before I could take a TD, a big price hike came pushing its price in the region of 27 lacs. Meanwhile, Mahindra offered us another go at the XUV with a confirmed delivery and that is how we ended up with a XUV 500.

 

[Crazy cat]

Re: Mahindra XUV500 W8 FWD - A long-term ownership report

Exteriors:
XUV’s design is a mixed bag, but I like the overall design. I simple love the front end, it looks imposing but it could do away with those cheetah whiskers. Coming to the sides, the silhouette is nice but I would have preferred a cleaner looking sheet metal especially above the rear wheel arch. The rear door’s shape is protruding enough to make you exercise caution while opening the doors in crowded areas. Also, the door opener though very convenient to open, due to the protruding rear door it collects dirt on rainy days. The rear-end looks good in some angle but okay in others, but the tail lamp is powerful and looks unique at night, even from a distance.

Interiors:
The interior space is a mixed bag; it depends on where you are seated. The front two rows have enough width and legroom; I would prefer a bit more headroom for the second row occupants sitting near the windows. But the third row has extremely limited space making it unsuitable for tall or big passengers; the 2nd row should definitely be on rails as it has more than enough legroom. The same goes for the boot too, you cannot use it unless you split fold one of the third row seats. The seats are average in comfort; they could have been much better given the space available.

There are lots of storage spaces in XUV. I particularly like the one above the center console (with a flimsy lid), as it is convenient to keep toll or parking tickets. The red ambient lighting looks cool at night, so does the illuminated scuff plates (accessory). The conversation mirror is convenient but not everyone is comfortable with it. The dual zone, climate controlled AC is powerful and cools the cabin in reasonable time, but the 2nd row air vents could do with more powerful blower. The cooler box in between the front seats is a nice place to store your chocolates and tetra pack drinks, 500 ml bottles seem big for the box though.

The infotainment system is a cool feature, even after a year of using. It has MMI navigation system (Google maps are much better), shows which door is open (above 20 kph), AC information with regular updates (it’s annoyingly bright at night or while navigating through the interface) and some other information regarding the car. The clock is not visible when the gps navigation is on, it would be so much better if there was a dedicated clock preferably on the dashboard. The music system’s interface is not intuitive when you have pen drive or dvd with lots of folders but has very good sound quality for normal listening, may not be enough for loud listeners though.

Ride comfort:
XUV is Mahindra’s first attempt at a monocoque chassis and they have done a decent job. Now, Mahindra has a poor record in this department. My prior experience was with an old Scorpio 2.6 and it was horrible. XUV was a pleasant surprise though but still a long way ahead. The ride at the front is good with medium size bumps, potholes and undulations are all kept under control for the most part. Move to the 2nd or 3rd row, there is a big change making you wonder if you were in other Mahindra cars. From my observation, if one side of the roads are good leaving the other side on bad patches, you could see the heads of rear passengers moving from side to side. But if you put both your wheels on the bad patch (speed breakers, patch works on roads), the situation is better but still you can hear the rear passengers complain. Mahindra should really address this issue soon. But on dual carriageways, the ride is very good on all three rows even at speeds as high as 150kph. Somehow, XUV has replaced Vento completely for all highway runs as Dad like its space, comfort, and ease of getting in or out.

Build quality:
It is quite solid. Everything feels well put together, except for the lid of the storage space above central console and front door pads. The lid is of poor quality and sometimes has trouble shutting. I think the door pad is actually a cause of position of door handles which is far and when the doors are open wide it doesn’t get enough leverage to close the door, it is like having a door handle of a fridge on the other side.

After a year and 35000kms, it rattles less than the TD Aria at 5000 kms or our Sail U-Va at 14000 kms. A persistent rattle from the aircon control area is 3rd row is a bit annoying though, others only come up in really bad roads. The sheet metal used is very strong and once the door was opened carelessly hitting the edge of a granite stone (bench), it resulted in a tiny dent with the surrounding areas remain unaffected. The thud was so loud that I thought there would be a huge dent, but fortunately it is not easily visible.

 

[Crazy cat]

Re: Mahindra XUV500 W8 FWD - A long-term ownership report

On the road:
The 2.2l mHawk engine used in the XUV is probably the best engine made by an Indian manufacturer. The engine is fairly refined and on the run the NVH levels are decent, much better than Toyotas. The 6 speed gearbox with tall ratios makes sure the engine is relaxed even at 120kph. However, it is suits highway conditions better. The engine is extremely driveable and can pull from 1200 rpm but 30kph in 3rd gear has the engine running at 1000rpm only, making you to shift down often in city or ghat sections. The first two gears are short but third is really tall making a big difference. But the XUV is comfortable to pull from 60kph in 6th gear and begins to knock only when the engine speed goes well below 1200 rpm, which makes it easier to drive on most conditions. The cruising ability is simply brilliant, even at 150 kph. Our driver, who normally does 100-120 kph, is easily doing 120-140 kph, thus quicker travelling time. Passengers always think the XUV is going slower than it actually is.

Mahindra has done an extremely good job, as far as handling is concerned. There is minimal body roll, even at high speeds. Although, grip from the tyres aren’t great. Steering is a hydraulic unit and is easily the best from M&M and I would rate it above average overall (a bit vagueness persist). Normally, I don’t slow much on corners and XUV do require more effort than small cars but I could almost hold the line throughout, like I do in our other cars. The steeper curves require you to slow down, as it is just too much for the big SUV.

Braking is by discs on all wheels. While this may sound impressive, the reality is far from perfect. There is a lot of travel before the brakes actually work and you get only a little travel to modulate the brakes before giving work to the ABS. The infamous groaning noise is gone with new pads but M&M should have done something about pedal feel. Overall, it sheds speed faster but you don’t get the confidence from what you get in an Innova and easily end up locking the brakes but luckily you get ABS on all variants.

My view as just a driver:
My driving is quite different than most drivers. I drive with a light foot, gain pace gradually and will always maintain a speed that is higher than the traffic but lower than other fast moving vehicle, as it allows me brake lesser and maintain better average speed. I mostly use momentum to overtake and the mileage I get is easily the best among the family, friends, relatives and drivers but I still do much better than average time.

If I’m the only one driving, XUV is the only car I would take. It allows me to go over small and medium potholes without braking hard. On under construction roads with lots of diversions, I could easily keep ahead of the traffic without many worries. On small speed bumps found on TN state highways, I just need to bring it around 30 and it will glide over it without much fuss. It may seem like I’m abusing the suspension but I’ m not. The XUV feels tough enough to take on bad roads with ease, but anything big (or if the speeds are higher) you will hear the suspension crashing through the rough patches, there is an optimum speed for different types of bad roads which you will learn as you live more with the XUV. And at highway speeds, it requires lesser gearshifts and XUV easily has the best average speed of any car in our fleet on normal conditions.

Also worth mentioning is the XUV simply rolls on any surface and you always have to hold the brakes to stop it from moving (while stationary). While this might help in gaining momentum soon, on downhill/declines it acts like a locomotive and if you are not in the right gear, braking will be very hard. This might be a result of the type of bearings used or just more weight than I’ve been used to. Normally in cars, if you take your foot off, speed will come down but in XUV it comes down but very gradually and if there is a decline (a flyover maybe) speed will actually increase without acceleration, like the heavy vehicles.

 

[Crazy cat]

Re: Mahindra XUV500 W8 FWD - A long-term ownership report

Mileage:
Our XUV’s only city runs are to movies with the whole family or while going for service, other times it is shut inside a room in our factory. It is a proper highway runner. The best mileage recorded was 15.5 kpl and the worst is 13 kpl (ghat sections). Normally we get around 14.5-15kpl. All the figures are with AC on all the time and based on full tank method. If driven carefully, I was able to max the MID indicated mileage of 18 kpl for 150 kms which showed 18 for another 30 kms of fast driving (to make up time) before gradually dropping below 18, so, it must have given well above 18. The range from the 70 liters tank often crosses 1000 kms but the trip meter maxes out at 999.9, which is just ridiculous. Overall, the mileage is pretty good for a SUV with AC on all the time.

Niggles:
The steering alignment seemed to be a big task for the Mahindra mechanics. There was one time the steering was slightly off and I had to hold it straight to make it go straight. But now they have fixed and there hasn’t been a problem since. We got relief from groaning noise of the brakes only a month ago and that too after a brief argument as they said M&M directed them to give free replacement to vehicles that has clocked less than 15k kms. Then there was a problem with the infotainment system on 2 occasions where it required removal of keys to make it work again. And the tyretronics acted couple times saying Front-left tyre pressure is low, but when we checked it was just fine.

Service:
The service at the CAI Mahindra, Coimbatore is quite good. They have an appointment system but they understand if the service should be done urgently. They may not have had enough knowledge for XUV at the beginning, but they were eager to sort out the problem. There were some unscheduled visits due to the steering alignment but other than that we only went for scheduled service or for regular wheel alignment.

3 services have been done till now. First service was at 10000 kms and surprisingly it is just check up and topping up of all oils. Oil change was done at 20000 kms, which I think is a very long period for a new engine. There was a third service for check-up at 30000 kms. Bill for the checkup service is around 4k and Oil service is around 9k, which is on par with Vento, Fabia and Swift (with synthetic oil) at every 15k kms. I feel these costs are reasonable given the size of the engine and I would go as far as rating it next to Maruti (maybe Toyota could be better, but I don’t have any personal experience).

Final words:
Overall, it is a pleasant experience with the XUV 500. It has become a great mile muncher and Dad is very much attached to it and he even takes it when he is travelling alone. Mahindra is also doing a decent job with the service and I'm proud to support an Indian manufacturer for the first time. Hope this continues.

PS: Sorry for the less number of pictures, I haven't got many. But I promise to take some and upload soon.

 

[raj_5004]

Re: Mahindra XUV500 W8 FWD - A long-term ownership report

Let me be the first one to congratulate you buddy.

Its been a long time I saw you in the forum. Infact, I never knew you had acquired a XUV!

Braking is by discs on all wheels. While this may sound impressive, the reality is far from perfect. There is a lot of travel before the brakes actually work and you get only a little travel to modulate the brakes before giving work to the ABS. The infamous groaning noise is gone with new pads but M&M should have done something about pedal feel.

M&M has designed new brake pedals which improves the brake bite tremendously. Ask for it at the A.S.S.

Meanwhile, dont forget to pen down your opinion in this thread -

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ahindra-xuv5oo-owner-satisfaction-survey.html

 

[Music_Swift]

Excellent review Balachander Sir.How is your XUV experience till now?And,what about your Vento ownership thread?

 

[singh890]

Very well written review buddy and it covers every good and bad aspect of the XUV. Hence rating it with 5*.

Though it's late but welcome to the gang of Cheetah

Do post more pics as an ownership review without pics looks incomplete.

 

[Crazy cat]

Let me be the first one to congratulate you buddy.

Its been a long time I saw you in the forum. Infact, I never knew you had acquired a XUV!



M&M has designed new brake pedals which improves the brake bite tremendously. Ask for it at the A.S.S.

Meanwhile, dont forget to pen down your opinion in this thread -

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ahindra-xuv5oo-owner-satisfaction-survey.html

Thanks buddy. I updated on the XUV 500 thread about the booking and then after taking delivery. But failed to write a review then.

I already got a brake pad about a month back to fix the groaning noise. Is it the same update or different one?

Excellent review Balachander Sir.How is your XUV experience till now?And,what about your Vento ownership thread?

Thanks. The experience till now is quite good. I will try to write up a review for Vento, but finding distraction-free time is not that easy for me [thinking] as I've got an erratic schedule.

Very well written review buddy and it covers every good and bad aspect of the XUV. Hence rating it with 5*.

Though it's late but welcome to the gang of Cheetah

Do post more pics as an ownership review without pics looks incomplete.

Thanks. Sure I will try to post more pics.

 

[Raja]

@ crazy cat

After Singh 890 , kinshukarya this is one of the finest , comprehensive and most unbiased to the point , frank and honest review written that I have read so far , kudos to you . Without a doubt I will rate it 5 * for the effort and the sheer amount of detail , honesty in the review .

Btw all your cars have super mileage man , do you frequently travel out stations ?

Hope you update the thread very often and keep the great work .

 

[raj_5004]

I already got a brake pad about a month back to fix the groaning noise. Is it the same update or different one?

You have changed the brake pads, which eliminates the brake grinding noise.

I suggest you to change the brake pedals, which will eliminate the sponginess in the brakes (or brake travel as you call it) by improving the brake bite.

It is not included in any recall, so you will have to specifically ask the A.S.S. about it.

By the way, what is the manufacturing month and year of your XUV?

 

[Crazy cat]

@ crazy cat

After Singh 890 , kinshukarya this is one of the finest , comprehensive and most unbiased to the point , frank and honest review written that I have read so far , kudos to you . Without a doubt I will rate it 5 * for the effort and the sheer amount of detail , honesty in the review .

Btw all your cars have super mileage man , do you frequently travel out stations ?

Hope you update the thread very often and keep the great work .

Thanks a lot. Yes, we do lots of long distance travel to Chennai and Tirunelveli. But another reason could be our location in Coimbatore is about 20 kms from the central part of Coimbatore.

You have changed the brake pads, which eliminates the brake grinding noise.

I suggest you to change the brake pedals, which will eliminate the sponginess in the brakes (or brake travel as you call it) by improving the brake bite.

It is not included in any recall, so you will have to specifically ask the A.S.S. about it.

By the way, what is the manufacturing month and year of your XUV?

Thanks buddy, I will check with them. I don't remember the manufacturing month, will check and update.

 

[Iron Rock]

Congrats crazycat - have many a safe miles!
Btw that 3 digit trip meter is now changed to 4 digit - get the latest software update done!

 

[Crazy cat]

By the way, what is the manufacturing month and year of your XUV?

The manufacturing month and year is May, 2012.

Congrats crazycat - have many a safe miles!
Btw that 3 digit trip meter is now changed to 4 digit - get the latest software update done!

Thanks Iron Rock.
The trip meter's inadequacy was quite annoying, I will check with them the next time I visit there. Is it fixed by just a software update?

 

[singh890]

The trip meter's inadequacy was quite annoying, I will check with them the next time I visit there. Is it fixed by just a software update?

Yes they just have to update it by connecting through a laptop. If they have the software then it will only take 15 mins.

But if they don't have the software then they will have to download it first and then update yours. And this might take around 30 mins.

 

[RagMax]

Hi crazycat,
Sorry for congratulating late, but a very detailed and indepth review. Your beast looks best in white colour which is incidentally also the colour which I am thinking of getting. It has been a while since you upstaged. Please update on your experience with the beast.