Quote:
Originally Posted by AMG Power Hasn't anyone TD'd this car yet? Please post a review of the drive.
This thread only has complaints about Mahindra's price, size and lies. |
I test drove the XUV 300 diesel a few days ago. I didn't test drive the Petrol version yet - so the following is only about the Diesel model.
First the negatives.
(1) The boot is small - around 260 litres. For big families this will be a problem. But for small nuclear families, this may be ok. The reason being that (unlike the boot of hatchbacks) the boot is deep, but lacks height. If you don't use a parcel tray, you can overload the boot above the rear seat height, and gain another 60 litres or so in my estimate - thus a total of around 320 litres, which is ok-ish for most needs. Of course, not using a parcel tray and overloading the boot carries a bit of safety risk - you have to make sure that whatever you put in the boot won't get thrown into the cabin during hard braking, etc.
(2) The rear seat cooling is inadequate. I test drove in the afternoon between 1 pm and 2 pm, and it was a hot day. The outside temperature must have been between 33 - 35 degrees. The ACC was set for the lowest temperature setting. The only way to get just about adequate cooling for rear passengers was to set the fan to the fastest setting - at that setting the fan was a bit loud. The rear A/C vents are sorely missed. Mahindra should also have used a more powerful A/C unit in this car, especially considering the lack of A/C rear vents. I wonder how effective the A/C would be in the peak summer when temperatures soar to above 40 degrees. One thing which could improve A/C performance would be to install a rear parcel tray - since Mahindra is not providing this as stock, the test drive car didn't have one, and the A/C has to work extra hard to cool the extra volume of the boot.
(3) Fuel efficiency is sub-par. Previous week I test drove an S-Cross on the same route I took with the XUV 300. I did a total of 40 kms of highway driving in both the cases (almost no traffic on the road in both the cases). About 20 kms, I drove with a heavy foot. Then reset the AFE reading, and drove the next 20 kms sedately. The S-Cross delivered 19.5 kmpl with a heavy foot, and 22.5 kmpl when driven sedately. The XUV 300 delivered only 14 kmpl with a heavy foot, and 16.5 kmpl when driven sedately. However, it must be noted that the XUV 300 was a brand new car with only 800 kms on the odo. Its fuel efficiency must improve by 1-3 kmpl after the first couple of service and few 1000 kms on the odo.
(4) The pricing is a bit hard to digest. For a car with some deal-breaker negatives (and some huge positives - which I will come to later), the pricing that is way above the competition (especially for W8 and W8-0ptional variants) is unlikely to go well with prospective customers. Mahindra should immediately figure out a way to price the W8 diesel below 10 lakhs (which leads to savings in taxes, etc), even if it is by cutting some features. The W6 variant pricing would have made sense if it came with driver seat height adjust and rear defogger (both of these can't be added after-market).
(5) The light color interiors can be hard to maintain. Especially the light color seats in the w8(o) variant - the other variants come with black colored seats.
Now the positives
(1) The build quality is impressive. It is heavier built than the Ecosport even. The bonnet lid is super heavy. The doors are heavy. The doors close shut with a reassuring thud. The sales person was saying that the Mahindra management told during training that they are aiming for 5-star rating for the XUV 300. I think that is quite likely. There is a plastic engine guard for both the petrol and diesel models.
(2) Interiors look and feel premium. The fit and finish of the interiors is really good - way ahead of the Brezza; better than the Ecosport too. The interiors quality is comparable to that of the Creta, perhaps even slightly better (I haven't experienced the facelifted Creta though).
(3) Looks cool, youthful and aggressive. I think it is the best looking among the sub-4m cars. Between the Creta and XUV 300, I prefer the mature, understated look of the Creta. But a younger person might prefer the aggressive, edgy, sporty, slightly over the top design of the XUV 300. The boxy SUV looks really helps - the only wish being that the rear of the XUV 300 was slightly less curvy, and more squarish.
(4) Good road presence for a sub-4m car. I think it has comparable road presence to the Ecosport. The aggressive design and the width ensures it has much more road presence than both Brezza and Nexon. The aggressive front grill design means that this car could be intimidating to another driver who watches it coming in his rear view mirror. The side profile visually looks slightly longer than a sub-4m car, because of the slightly lower height (than Ecosport) and the longer wheelbase - it is a visual thing.
(5) The engine is sweet. The torque starts kicking in at 1500 rpm, below which there is manageable turbo lag. A performance enthusiast will be happy revving the engine. The engine revvs freely upto 3500 rpm, after which it feels slightly strained to reach 4000 rpm. Beyond 4000 rpm, the engine feels very strained upto 4500 rpm, where the engine red-lines. There is plentiful torque after around 1750 rpm, but the 300 Nm torque figure is not reflected in the real world performance. You don't get pushed into the seats unless you really really floor the pedal hard into the floor. But it accelerates fast - slightly faster than the Ecosport Diesel.
(6) It feels very planted and stable at high speeds. The long wheelbase, and the wide front and rear tracks, ensure that it feels way more planted and stable than the Ecosport, and competitors in the segment. I tend to think it felt more stable and planted than the Creta too. This was probably the most impressive quality I felt about the XUV 300.
(7) Handling and ride quality is very good. The suspension is slightly firm and delivers good handling - an enthusiast would be more than happy with it. I didn't get it drive it on curvy roads, so can't comment too much on the cornering - but as far as I can tell, I think it will be very good. At the same time, the ride quality is impressive. It absorbs broken roads with aplomb and very little of it permeates into the cabin. I didn't get to drive it on really horrible roads with gutters, etc - but the slightly bad roads I drove it over, I was totally impressed with the ride quality. I don't think it has the magic carpet type of ride quality of the Duster, but it comes close. At one or two places while driving over bad roads, I heard a low, slightly squeaky voice from the rear suspension - but I can't confirm if it was from the suspension, or something else.
(8) The driver seat gives good support. It is wide enough for a person with a reasonably large frame. The seat is slightly firm - a very good thing in my books. In fact, all the seats are slightly firm - and offer the right amount of support - without being too firm. The driving position is raised enough to give a SUV feel. The bonnet can be clearly seen from the driving position - by adjusting the driver seat height, even a short 5 feet tall driver should be able to see the bonnet clearly.
(9) It is fun to drive. If you combine points 5,6,7,8 - it is easy to see that this is a car that will appeal to a performance enthusiast. No two ways about it.
(10) There is ample leg room, and shoulder room in all the seats - front and rear. The rear seat should be able to seat 3 persons quite easily - unless all the 3 are of large build. The leg room is also generous, unless both the persons in the front seat and the rear seats are more than 6 feet 2 inches tall. The rear seat space is clearly way ahead of the Ecosport. However, there is one thing in which the Ecosport rear seat scores better - in Ecosport the rear seat is a bit taller, and also offer better under-thigh support.
Summary
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In summary, I would say that the car is very capable. It is a car that will easily appeal to performance enthusiasts. It has some weaknesses in terms of practicality and utility, which could be a deal breaker to many Indian families. Personally for me, I am willing to live with the smaller boot. However, the sub-par A/C cooling for rear passengers is something that has me worried - especially since my kids get really agitated if the cabin gets hot.
The pricing has also left me a quite worried - I think the premium pricing has the potential to kill the sales of this capable product. If it becomes a sales dud - then those who bought it will end up with a resale disaster on their hands. So, I would wait at least 4-6 months to see if the product takes off, before making a buying decision.
(Note: It is a premium product, and the premium pricing could be justified - the only caveat being that it has some big practicality negatives too).