[kalleo4]

Thank you Everyone.. I'm really Glad that you Guys have liked it!
The Paint Job Concept here was to keep a Clean Design, to be Minimal & Practical.

Below are Few more pics of the Mahindra TUV300 in Different angles..
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...1&d=1442229976
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...1&d=1442229976
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...1&d=1442229976

Below is the TUV300 with its Big Brother XUV500..
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...1&d=1442229976

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

The TUV300 has a turning circle radius of 5.35 M, and you found it easy in city driving?

Or are you referring to something else when you say "easy turning circle"?

I am referring to the turning circle itself, and believe me, I know what that means. That said, I never go by spec sheets and rely on my general impression of driving the vehicle. In this case, I did perform 2 u turns within crowded S Delhi lanes, and I found it easy to drive AND turn.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Most of SST's observations are echoed by me. In addition, I'd like to add that the abundance of torque makes for an excellent vehicle to drive within the city. In both my (Hyundai) CRDI cars, I tend to overtake the vehicle in front only by pressing the accelerator, without downshifting. The torque does the job. In the TUV it seemed child's play.
Manoeuvring the car in city traffic also seemed very easy, thanks to the dimensions of a hatch, the easy turning circle and the ride height of an SUV!
Yes I agree. When a person opens a car door, he is subconsciously distancing between the handle and his hip point. If the top of the door juts out 7/8 inches beyond that, it can cause serious injury, as I discovered yesterday.
My first comment to SST after we got out of the showroom. People who discuss cars with me know I'm generally skeptical of Mahindra cars. But this one was a revelation.

Thanks SST, predatorwheelz for your feedback. One tends to take most test-drive feedback comments with a pinch of salt. But yours sounds straight from the hip and puts my mind at rest - I agree that wind-tunnel testing maybe a luxury in our industry, but still, this is a robust SUV and drag coefficient figures may not have been a M&M priority here.
After going through your feedback I feel I can safely stand in the queue for the TUV!

[fusionbang]

Took a small test drive today and below are my first impressions,

What I like:

- Easy to maneuver in city conditions
- Good steering feedback which makes handling easy
- Good turning radius
- Stiff suspensions and took the potholes and rough patches easily
- AC was very effective and chilled my bones very fast
- Headlights had good throw and static bending lamps was helpful to illuminate the road more
- Average NVH levels, but still you can here the engine growling

What I Dislike:

- Gear lever was vibrating badly during idle
- I felt 2nd gear ratio is very small for the car, whereas 3rd gear ratio was good (Probably I am spoiled after driving the XUV). Somehow felt if I am driving a Nano with the engine sound which struggled in 2nd gear.
- Doors feel very flimsy and the lock/unlock button made a huge sound when the central locking is working ( Bolero is far better on this)
- Not a good range of seat adjustment, I felt really difficult to find a suitable position for my height (5.11')

Not sure how the car performs with full load, should wait and see what an owner would comment on this. And also should check on AMT once how it performs.

Summary:
IMO the car is most likely to cater a Rural market more than the urban market where AMT would sell more. The car looks good in dark colors and the additional accessories should add more character to the car. Probably if I had not driven/owned the XUV, I would have considered an AMT version.

[studedude]

Regarding the edge of the door bumping your head while opening it, how many of you have been knocked by the sharp edge of the Nissan Sunny rear door.

[mrbaddy]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Yes I agree. When a person opens a car door, he is subconsciously distancing between the handle and his hip point. If the top of the door juts out 7/8 inches beyond that, it can cause serious injury, as I discovered yesterday.

Hi Predator, Welcome to the TUV Head Toughness Test Club.

You might have missed my advice about doors in the below post.

Originally Posted by mrbaddy

I stood few centimeters away from the door on outside and opened the door slightly fast (some issue with the door, not opening smoothly with all the covers on seats, doorpads etc). My eye line (slightly bent) is looking towards the glass area on the door. Because the door is angled outward towards the top, the top of the door hit me very hard on forehead.

Guys, if you are more than 5'10", make sure you open the door standing with enough distance between you and the door.

Jokes apart, I still feel slight bump on my forehead after taking the hit on last Friday. Mahindra should do something about this, as I feel lot of people will get hit like this as it would very difficult to consciously be aware of standing far away from door on a daily basis while owning the car.

While on doors, which I missed to cover in my test drive review. Doors have a very bad open close functionality. You'll have to throw the door hard to get it closed. And opening is not easy too.

Originally Posted by mrbaddy

Few points from the test drive.

[Aragorn]

Had a brief TD of the T8 variant with manual transmission. Looks like the AMT is still playing hard-to-find.

Initial observations - Good:
1) The engine has good low end torque - I could "creep" up a small incline without touching the throttle - the driveability is almost a smaller version of mHawk in Scorpio
2) The interior space is substantial for a sub-4m car. Though, by avoiding the jump seats, the incline angle of middle row could have been better (even a reclining back)
3) The seats are firm and supportive - especially in T8 guise - with arm rests - the drive is effortless
4) Interior design is perhaps the most fuss-free of any Mahindra vehicle - though there are quirks like the power window switches on center console

Bad:
1) Doors are hard to close - literally have to shove them in. Could be a case of bad door setting from factory
2) The infotainment system could have a better choice of colour for the display - the orangish shade does not go with the white back-lit dials
3) The front bumper and grill together form a very long visual element - could have been broken using a black cladding extending from the fog-lamps

In all - this vehicle is likely to please its earlier Bolero fan base - upcountry folks. The dark horse however is the AMT which could have limited appeal in urban conditions.

Looking forward to a detailed TD - especially the AMT variant.

[iamahunter]

Decided to utilize today's time in TUV.
Changes made,
1. Redesigned Bumper
2. Added Body Cladding
3. Grill Design
4. Headlamps
5. Fog Lamps
6 .Painted the pillars and Roof Black.
7. Black Alloys Wheels

[srishiva]

Great one iamahunter. Personally for me grill size could be a tad shorter in height since it doesnt match with the compact dimensions of the vehicle. This looks it could travel in City or could go getting dirty. Meaty wheels could look great too.

The original's front end looks made out of carboard for me. It doesnt look finished properly.

[iamahunter]

Originally Posted by srishiva

... Meaty wheels could look great too.
.

I was planning to do that as well, Don't know how it skipped my mind.

Thankfully I had saved the PSD file.
Well, here it is.

One more modification
- Wider Tires.

Now it actually looks like THE TANK...!



@Admins: Sorry for the back to back posts. Editing time had crossed.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by iamahunter

Decided to utilize today's time in TUV.
Changes made,
1. Redesigned Bumper
2. Added Body Cladding
3. Grill Design
4. Headlamps
5. Fog Lamps
6 .Painted the pillars and Roof Black.
7. Black Alloys Wheels

Attachment 1415177

Good work there

I wish Mahindra did not have to keep this vehicle under 4 meters (Curse this 4 M rule in India )

Short length, tall stance and a body on frame chassis does not work well towards keeping the body roll in check. Hope Mahindra has addressed this. Eagerly waiting for the review.

Wanted to check out the car in person, but Mahindra Showroom at Pune Bypass does not have a display car yet.

[condor]

Saw the TUV today. It was not that bad in metal as it is in the pics. Short, a little tall for it's length. The design / styling indicates some one there has a fetish for the looks of the Bolero.

[saranhere]

Originally Posted by mercedised

WTH! So, these two so called SUV's will be eating each other. What kind of marketing strategy does Indian companies come up with is hard to imagine. If they think that Quanto and TUV has different target customers then I donot know how correct they are. Quanto was supposed tobe a filler, now with TUV3OO launched, Both will have to fight each other to survive.

I actually find two reasons, which should support the co-existence of Quanto with the TUV 300 : -

1. As a manufacturer, if you do not have production constraints, then having as large a product portfolio as possible, is a better marketing strategy , to meet the requirements of any customer who walks in and not let him / her go to the competitor. One doesn't know who would still want to buy a Quanto, especially, if it is rehashed in terms of pricing.


2. How about Quanto as the mass city cab ? Strip it to bare bones on features (remove power windows, music system etc), launch it for the yellow boards. I was privileged to be the recipient of a monologue by a rather talkative cabbie, wax eloquent about the virtues of the Xylo as a cab. So, there is a bit of a gap there in the market for a true cab, which is nimble enough in the city and large enough for the airport run.

My two cents worth of unsolicited advice to M & M.

[sallubhai]

I have taken two test drives of the vehicle, first was on the launch date and second test drive was taken yesterday. First test drive was small as large number of people were waiting for TD, and so I did not write about it. I convinced the SA for a longer test drive which will include an office time traffic and a flyover and she agreed to that.

What I liked:

- The behaviour of the salesperson, manager were excellent.
- The vehicle was very easy to maneuver and drive (mostly in second gear) in bumper to bumper city traffic, probably due to the low end torque.
- Turning radius - could not test as most of the signals had no u turn, but turning to left or right was not difficult.
- Suspension - Stiff, it glided over the potholes and bumpers.
- Steering feedback - Good.
- AC was very effective.
- Headlights had a good throw and static bending lamps was helpful.
- NVH - I will say very good NVH level, considering this a 3 pot engine. Though I could feel the vibration in the gear lever.
- Gear - It was difficult to reach for the second gear with arm rest, but the problem was gone when I lifted that up. May be the arm rest should be used during long drives. Gear shift was notchy.
- Clutch was very smooth.
- The seats were very comfortable for the front passengers.
- Music system was quite good, though could have been better.
- Liked the microhybrid system, the vehicle was going to sleep mode in two seconds. To awake it, I had to press the clutch.
- Third row seats are good for children for long drive and adults for short trip only, though it will eat up the luggage space.
- Leg room for second row was good for a person like me who is 6'1" and this was after I kept the driver seat at my comfortable position.
- Headroom was excellent.
- The view of the road even from the rear seat was very good.
- There were two pair of cabin lights, one above the front passengers and one in between the second and third row.
- There was one hand grip, arm rest for both the passengers and one cup holder for the third row passengers.

What I disliked:

- Jump seats could have been avoided, so that to increase the comfort of rear seat.
- Rear seat thigh support was inadequate, worried how much benefit I will get after getting a good seat cover with foaming. The inclination could have been better. Long drive may not be pleasant for the rear passengers.
- The spare wheel is non-Alloy.
- GPS was absent even in the best variant!
- Though I was aware of the angulation on the front door, but I was hit on my spectacle with the door.
- I could not understand why Mahindra is providing only White colour for display in showroom! All the three showrooms in Kolkata have only white colour.

The car had an accident 1 day before my second test drive. The right side of the bumper had partly come out of the body, but the most surprising part was that the Speedometer, Door auto Lock and the microHybrid system was not working! I would request to the eminent members to justify how that can happen after one accident! Though according to the driver, the accident was head on with an Indigo, which was coming on the wrong lane, and the vehicle (Indigo) had to be towed after the accident.

Summary:
The car is going to make a dent in the sell of Ecosport, Jazz, S-cross and other vehicles. I have booked T8 manual, though have not finalised the colour yet.

[Chillout]

Originally Posted by iamahunter

Decided to utilize today's time in TUV.
Changes made,
1. Redesigned Bumper
2. Added Body Cladding
3. Grill Design
4. Headlamps
5. Fog Lamps
6 .Painted the pillars and Roof Black.
7. Black Alloys Wheels

Attachment 1415177

I just cannot take my eyes of that MOD Hunter. This is superb and hope someone from Mahindra is looking at it. Trust me if Mahindra had launched a version similar to this, they would have been laughing their way to the bank.