[Acharya]

Originally Posted by drjkonline

Took delivery of our new KUV100 today evening, grey K8 diesel 5 seater. Initial impressions are very positive.

Congrats!!
KUV has received good amount of beating from BHPian just by looking at the pictures. It would be great to hear from you on first hand experience in details. In my opinion, KUV is a great alternative for many small cars.

We can blame the marketing team for calling it a SUV (when it's not) but most marketing teams are guilty of this crime across segments. Is Creta the Perfect SUV, sometime manufacturers go overboard with marketing, which is okay, as it attracts the required eyeballs.
KUV offers an practical and better alternative to small cars that has many novelties in this segment e.g. Airbag as option, sixth seat, smart position of gear level etc

I have a feeling, it will keep climbing the sales charts for Mahindra in time to come.

[tharian]

Had a go on the diesel version for a short distance today.

Gearshift location and feel was the highlight apart from the good space and sitting position for the driver. Felt comfortable right away for my height (6.2) and everything fell into place right. Interior space because of the height of the vehicle is good and although it looks compact, its spacious. Rear leg space for me with the driver seat moved to my comfort was just about right.The scooped back of the front seat helped. But looks like 3 abreast is not a problem.

Gear lever position is nice and something different and the shift quality was unreal for a Mahindra. Typical to a Scorpio or XUV, once the turbo kicks in, there is that thrust. However, I felt the second gear pulling from a speedbreaker was not possible without some clutch slipping. The showroom guy who came along said it is an issue with the test vehicle and the torque is quite good otherwise.
Suspension felt hard and some amount of harshness as well in the cabin over broken roads. I won't feel confident pushing this on a curve thinking of the height and small wheels.
I also felt that there was more than usual number of turns to make lock to lock on the steering.

Mahindra has its job cut out since the competitors in the brochure are Swift, Figo , Grand i10. But on the other hand, hats off to Mahindra for entering almost all segments.

[vasanthsm]

Took delivery of KUV100 from India garage Yesterday morning. The delivery experience was pleasant.

[kippu]

i saw one overtake me on the ORR yesterday , and the first time i am seeing it in the flesh other than pictures , did not see one bit of horrendous / weird and other words that were used to describe it in this thread.
It is quite a new car in its right and will definitely do well, I gave the driver a thumbs up and he flashed a smile when i overtook him back

[procrj]

Originally Posted by vasanthsm

Took delivery of KUV100 from India garage Yesterday morning. The delivery experience was pleasant.

Congrats vasanthsm . Do post pics of your new ride and start an ownership thread.

[msk_kapoor]

Originally Posted by kippu

i saw one overtake me on the ORR yesterday , and the first time i am seeing it in the flesh other than pictures , did not see one bit of horrendous / weird and other words that were used to describe it in this thread.
It is quite a new car in its right and will definitely do well, I gave the driver a thumbs up and he flashed a smile when i overtook him back

It sure is an attention grabber. It has a design that grows on you. The vehicle as per reports seems to grab decent numbers. Initial impressions in this thread actually made people to check how bad it is. Since they had lower expectations the reality gave a pleasant shock to all. Overall a good accomplishment from mahindra in the small car segment.

[SafeDrive0107]

Mods, waiting for an official review. Any idea by when we can get to see one? The unique gear placement is very intriguing and would love to read more about it.

I saw this one on the road a few days back & certainly did not feel like it looked odd. Considering our obsession with SUV's, this one should sell.

[BlackPearl]

Took a test drive of the KUV diesel K6 today. Here are my observations -
Good things -
1. Gear lever position and shift quality
2. Good NVH damping. Does not feel like a 3 cylinder once the rpm crosses 1200 or so rpm
3. Absorbs bumps on the roads comfortably
4. 170 mm GC on paper, but looks higher than that
5. Good acceleration considering the on paper bhp rating and weight
6. Cannot complain about the handling either
7. ABS is standard across all models

The not so good -
1. Glass area is too small for my liking
2. Seating and steering position could have been better
3. The middle seat at the front will be good for children. It will be difficult to change gears with an adult in that seat.
4. Felt that the vehicle is a bit under-tyred

[rohitz]

Originally Posted by drjkonline

Took delivery of our new KUV100 today evening, grey K8 diesel 5 seater. Initial impressions are very positive. Moves easily in traffic, rides comfortably over our broken Bangalore roads. Engine noise is a little more than what I felt during test drive. Looks much bigger than it is. Comfortably parked in our small parking area. My sister who owns a Ritz wont believe the dimensions are slightly smaller for the KUV except the width. Will update with pics and more in the next few days.

Congrates for the car & Welcome to the club. I picked up my k8 diesel on 1st Feb. What accessories did you took along with the car? Keep us updated about the problems you face. Like I had a problem with foundation bolt being loosened so I had to go get it fixed from the service guy.

[timuseravan]

As part of my hunt for a new car, test drove the KUV diesel last week (although I am looking for a bigger car). The rear looks quiet good but the front is just strange. Maybe will grow on me. I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort and ride quality of the car. The low and mid end is quiet good but the car looses steam at highway speeds. Seems a very good city car with slightly higher seating position than most cars in this price range. Mahindra should add an auto option.

[MDED]

Hello fellow Bhpians,

Took the test ride of top end diesel KUV100 at Zulaikha Motors, Velachery, Chennai. The showroom was buzzing with lot of customers inquiring about KUV 100 and TUV 300 as well. Instantly i got reminded of Nexa showroom where i had gone for the TD of Baleno with my wife. But, to my surprise and unlike Nexa, a SA immediately attended to me and arranged for a TD vehicle. Here are my observations:

Pros:
1. Value for money (in the starting variants)
2. Good brand value
3. After sales service

Cons:
1. Not strongly built (when you are marketing the car as SUV, then you got to live upto the billing)
2. NVH levels are nowhere near satisfactory
3. Gear shifting is a pain
4. Mediocre brakes'
5. Cabin is not as airy as it is supposed to be (competitors offer more cabin room in their cars)
6. Too many designs on the body
7. Small tyres
8. 6th seat is not viable

Though i was not in the showroom with the intention of buying the car, but went with lot of hopes and came home underwhelmed.

(My wife was strictly against the idea of KUV 100 (even for TD). Hence, one Sunday after lunch when she was sleeping, I escaped for the love of driving

[drjkonline]

Originally Posted by msk_kapoor

Congrats on the new buy. Did you opt for any accessories with Mahindra? Start you ownership thread soon. It will be the first in Team bhp for KUV100 .

Originally Posted by rohitz

Congrates for the car & Welcome to the club. I picked up my k8 diesel on 1st Feb. What accessories did you took along with the car? Keep us updated about the problems you face. Like I had a problem with foundation bolt being loosened so I had to go get it fixed from the service guy.

Thanks. I took no accessories. The only accessory I have a real need of is parking sensors (not camera) as I have got used to it in my other cars. They quoted Rs.5000/- for it. May be the some seat covers also, as I have 3 kids who have started working on the interiors.

@rohitz What is a foundation bolt? Please pardon my mechanical engineering ignorance, I am an ortho surgeon who only uses screws and bolts in other situations. I have not faced any niggles so far, touch wood.

[drjkonline]

Originally Posted by Acharya

Congrats!!
KUV has received good amount of beating from BHPian just by looking at the pictures. It would be great to hear from you on first hand experience in details. In my opinion, KUV is a great alternative for many small cars.

Thanks. Have only driven 75 odd kms inside city.
My initial perceptions of the vehicle are:
Pros:
1. Interior space and comfort.
2. Seating position which gives a good view of the road, no blind spots and traffic in front (equals my Ecosport in this aspect)
3. Engine: I didnt feel any lack of power or need to excessively downshift. Even the eco mode is good enough if one is not over enthusiastic about rapidly closing gaps in traffic. Its the default mode for my driver.
4. Maneuverability in traffic bcos of smaller size.
5. Ease of getting in and out.
6. No major ergonomic issues so far(I have a 5 seater with a large void in between the 2 front seats)
7. Braking is good for those sudden forced stops in city traffic.
8. Rides well over potholes and speed breakers.

Cons:
1. Engine is noisy (again in comparison to ecosport). But I am learning to like the thrum.
2. Boot has a high loading lip and overall a narrow opening for getting your luggage inside.
3. Noise insulation is not great I felt.
4. Music system is average.
5. Steering wheel turns too much either way I felt.. have to reconfirm.
6. AC makes more noise than usual at the lowest fan speed, but chills sufficiently.

Coming to the looks, most people seem to appreciate it. My friends are happy when they sit inside, and they feel its spacious. Again a very subjective thing.

[Sutripta]

Are there crash test standards/ setup for front seat three abreast seating?

Regards
Sutripta

[drjkonline]

A small bit of info about the kuv100. We received the registration card from the RTO and the "unladen weight" is mentioned as 1140 kg. As far as I know, Mahindra has not mentioned the kerb weight in the specification list.