[teemus]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I received a message from my stock trade firm that Mahindra claims they received around 60,000 inquiries for the KUV100 since launch. Guess this has generated enough interest. Will have to wait and see how much of this converts into actual sales. But, doesn't look like a bad start to me.

I think it all boils down to Mahindra calling it an "SUV".

The rational behind calling KUV an SUV, which was heavily debated here, does not matter to the general public and Mahindra knew that! They did not want the perception of Mahindra can only sell SUV's to diminish in any way and kept on stressing that this is an SUV even if it's just an hatchback, not even an hatchback on steroid, but just an hatchback.

From many posts here, it is becoming clear that the SUV strategy is actually a masterstroke and it will generate decent sales numbers.

Well played, Mahindra!

[MMV]

Had a quick test drive as I was eagerly awaiting this new car from Mahindra.
The following are my few pointers that stuck my mind.

Design: looks nice.
Interiors: Slightly cramped, in fact the front bench seat even when folded up was a discomfort while driving. The gear positioning is like Datsun Go+ and will take time to get accustomed to. Rear seat has a bench like feel.

Drive Quality: The initial pickup and acceleration was smooth (I drove diesel). The steering was found lacking (may be a slightly bigger one would have done the trick). Clutch was long throw and may not be convenient for city driving.

Features: ABS as standard and Airbags as optional with all variants is a welcome step. Storage space is decent.

Build Quality: The door does not close with a solid 'thud' sound which gives a feeling of lighter build quality as compared to other Mahindra vehicles.


Overall the vehicle is VFM but may not be liked by masses. Those who are looking for a SUV type feel in a small car (micro SUV) will opt for it, but the unconventional gear position and cramped interiors may be a dampner.

Note: As the dealer was flooded with people flocking to preview and test drive, hence it was very short drive (they offered a detailed test drive later, which I politely refused)

[Rajeevraj]

Bookings open on Flipkart. Guaranteed delivery within 30 days of booking (Provided customer completes formalities at the dealer level within 7 days of booking). Now, in these times when waiting periods for new launches runs into several months, good move by Mahindra. The Guaranteed Delivery should encourage more online bookings.

OT: Pretty weird to be adding a car to the cart

[nivatakavacha]

Yesterday evening when I was getting back home from office in the evening, I saw two KUV100 test mules near Kathipara. I sped up, went to the driver and in excitement, asked if it was the AMT version being tested as the car has already released but sadly, the driver told me that it was just the regular diesel version being tested.
I checked the interior as well and it was the MT version.

Why would they continue testing after the launch? Anyone?

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by nivatakavacha

Why would they continue testing after the launch? Anyone?

Not only kuv, they are testing the already-launched tuv as well. Don't know what's in stock. Or, did they launch incomplete products?

[MaxTorque]

Originally Posted by nivatakavacha

Yesterday evening when I was getting back home from office in the evening, I saw two KUV100 test mules near Kathipara. Why would they continue testing after the launch? Anyone?

Its very normal practice with many companies. This is for observing the vehicle at normal working conditions like say 50,000 Kms, 100,000 Kms so on.

[sjcherian]

Originally Posted by MaxTorque

Its very normal practice with many companies. This is for observing the vehicle at normal working conditions like say 50,000 Kms, 100,000 Kms so on.

True - but some companies allow the customers to do the final round of testing. Hope Tata and Mahindra are listening.

[Visran]

According to this article Mahindra is being very optimistic by going with the production capacity of 9000 units of KUV/month

M&M has confirmed that it will ramp-up production capacity at its Chakan facility and in less than six months, the capacity is to increase from 9,000 units a month to 12,000 units.

Source: http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...-399706.aspx/0

[raj_5004]

I wonder why people think the KUV is overpriced.

When I checked the prices, it is -

• 85,700 INR cheaper than the Swift
• 5,000 INR cheaper than the Ritz
• 34,800 INR cheaper than the Grand i10

All the above prices are of the highest variant in diesel; ex-showroom in Mumbai.

The only comparable car cheaper than the KUV was the Celerio diesel by 68,400 INR.

For lesser money, the KUV offers an extra seat/hefty armrest, ABS and EBD as standard, a pretty roomy cabin, good NVH and optional airbags.

I am not a big fan of the looks myself, but except the Swift and the Punto, none of the sub 7 Lac cars win any beauty awards either!

[Ponbaarathi]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

I wonder why people think the KUV is overpriced.

That's because at the beginning, people compared kuv100 with Zica,celerio,wagonr and expected a similar price. In the contrary, Mahindra positioned it to compete with swift, etc.

[Jred]

I must admit, this thread has been really busy with the ongoing debates.
Well, I visited the showroom on the day of the launch. May be an hour after the official launch at the showroom. As expected, the showroom I visited was crowded with people coming in to see the vehicle and for test drives. My brother had booked the car, so went along with him to take a look. Took a test drive, we were 28th in the queue as per the token system arranged by the dealer. It was short drive for a kilometer and half, so the impression is just from this drive. I drove the petrol version, as that was what my brother intended to go in for. I also spent considerable amount of time looking at the car on the day, while waiting for the test drive and post that as well. My views are purely based on these.

From the front:
The front looked aggressive and butch. Looked like a 'Big Vehicle' (SUV?) head on. I felt the headlamp design suited the theme and styling - may be a bit over the top. I liked the way it looked from this angle.

Rear:
The rear looked nice and clean - although looked quite similar to few hatches in the market - Hyundais. The 3D tail lamps, are what catch the eye, looked really nice.

Sides:
The Beat like handle, crease is what you would notice. The crease - I think this is what is in trend lately, else I don't see any reason for them .
Does it look ugly? Not that I think, it didn't look great either. Like many people have already written, it begs to be stretched - just that much may be. It would have definitely made the vehicle more proportionate. I am sure the designers had their reasons to keep it the way they did. As a matter of fact, I felt individually from all angles, the vehicle looks reasonably good.

Interiors:
I liked the over all design theme, although I wish, Mahindra could have chosen a different color theme. The top of the dashboard looks fine, but the plastic quality and colour looked awful. The interior is quite spacious, with many storage spaces. I think these storage spaces should be available, regardless of the variant. The shift stick placement is something that will need getting used to, along with the hand brakes. The seats are comfortable with good leg room. I noticed some tall folks sitting at the back comfortably, so I must say there is enough headroom too. The sixth seat can be used with moving the seats slightly backward, provided people sitting at the back are not very tall. I think it could accommodate an average adult with the above mentioned arrangement. It is just fine for short city drives and during an absolute need for that extra seat. I would use it as an armrest - I think many people felt the same as well at the showroom. After checking the car, my brother too decided to change his booking to 6 seater, from 5.

Drive:
Like I mentioned I drove the petrol variant. The vehicle needs to be revved to move ahead - the clutch peddle didn't have much feel. The steering is of right size and comfortable to hold, but was a bit heavy/tight on lower speeds. I do not know if it was the TD vehicle or that is how it performs. Too short a drive for me to comment more any way. I am eagerly waiting for the official TBhp review from our experts.

An update I received from the sales person, when we asked about our booking; At the moment, there are more bookings for petrol top trim, with six seats than diesel variants. This, apparently is exactly opposite to what was anticipated - seems all dealers have the same predicament, in Karnataka.

In my opinion, Mahindra has got themselves a serious contender, which can create dents in to all their rivals.
Cheers!

[MaxTorque]

Originally Posted by sjcherian

True - but some companies allow the customers to do the final round of testing. Hope Tata and Mahindra are listening.

It's not just limited to Tata/Mahindra. Even we have examples like 4th Generation Honda City.

Auto manufacturers will never do this intentionally but due to their limitations in product development processes. There are many difference between a domestic and an international player. The international players normally launch products that are tried and tested in their home market. Also they normally source their aggregates from same source irrespective of the market. That strategy is helping them to maintain quality levels in the final product.

Anyway let us hope our home grown players will reach those level very soon.

[rajeev k]

Saw the KUV in flesh for the first time today and the important aspecr is, it is not at all an eye sore as widely propagated.
If Kwid can, KUV will definitely sell well.

[msk_kapoor]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Saw the KUV in flesh for the first time today and the important aspecr is, it is not at all an eye sore as widely propagated.
If Kwid can, KUV will definitely sell well.

Saw an KUV100 with explorer kit in showroom in flesh today and it looked really good. But this is not for people who love simplicity. This is for people who goes all out and want all looks and chrome. I can surely say this car is going to be a successful one for mahindra..

Also i had some doubts on the clutch play and safety of central seats. In 5 minutes they put me on a video conference with a technical person from chakan plant who explained things clearly to me. I was quite surprised to see them making so much efforts to make sure the queries doesnt go unanswered. Hats off to mahindra for this. After this i confirmed my prebooking filled the order form for Orange K4+ petrol six seater version 😀

[thatsdileep]

KUV 1OO...Kwirky Utility Vehicle 1OO in terms of design. The front and back profile look trendy and not too bad. But looking at the side profile it definitely seems compressed. The side character line seems a little overdone. Having said that this design language will appeal for the young buyers who are the target customers for this vehicle. Not too bad after all...!

Autocar, Overdrive and some other first drive reviews seem to be pretty positive and Diesel seems to be pick of choices. Looks like this Kwirky machine is yet another winner for M&M. I'm guessing it would settle down to 5k a month in longer run.

I would certainly give it a spin over the week end and will post my observations here.