Team-BHP > Team-BHP Reviews > Official New Car Reviews
Register New Topics New Posts Top Thanked Team-BHP FAQ


Reply
  Search this Thread
5,876,101 views
Old 23rd November 2011, 19:18   #1006
BHPian
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: NOIDA/Gurgaon
Posts: 84
Thanked: 12 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by anandtheleo View Post
I have a W6 which came with Bridgestones as stock. I think the choice of tyres has more to do with the lot your vehicle is manufactured with, than the variant you are taking.

Mine is a October month mfg., decoded this from the VIN with help from 'VIN Expert' Wildon here in Team-bhp.
I admit I have to eat crow here. . Guess you are right- The tyres are all a part of a certain lot and thats that. Never heard of two models being differentiated by the company basis maker of tyres! My mistake. Lack of good judgement.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rossiter View Post
Went to the stockyard to do the PDI of my car. Here are my observations:

1) Lots of dirt in the car
2) Barefoot marks on the seats
3) Car had run for 60 kms - Little too much for my comfort
4) Fine scratches on the console.

Point 1&2 can be overlooked because the car was unloaded from the trailer just yesterday and the guys hadn't finished cleaning the car when I got there. I was promised that the car will be spic and span by the time of delivery, which is scheduled for tomorrow.

As for the distance the car has done, I'll leave it for the experts here to decide. I'm told 60 kms is not so bad, but still it seems a bit too much.

Some pics attached.
I guess the car looks absolutely spic and span, shining to the hilt and 60 kms is probably too less a distance for you to worry about. I handle Maruti as a client and these guys give the cars a thorough run before handing them over to trailers who in turn take these to distributors. Apparently a run-in of 30-40 km is required before the vehicle is stamped fit for delivery. The shoe marks could be of labour in Mahindra plant fitting certain things inside! The cars are in horrendous shape-- full of dust et al when they arrive at a dealer's stockyard so dont worry at all my man, just check on two things--whether plastic covers everywhere are intact plus the standard Team- BHP PDI sheet!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Behemoth View Post
Hi Naveen,

Yes, newer vehicles are coming with improvements, which have been implemented during production post Oct-2011. The inital lot of vehicles produced in Sep, will not have these changes.
As the XUV is very new, Mahindra will probably continue making a lot of product improvements at least in the first 6 months, after which the product will become stable.
These changes are not informed to dealers and are visible only when a buyer compares vehicles from different months productions.
Only in case of a critical fault which affects running / safety do they do a product recall and update all previous supplied vehicles too (in case of gearbox oil, Engine ECU update, and W8 Entertainment system software update, they have already issued an advisory for buyers to get it updated asap)
All other changes are mostly ergonomic / aesthetic changes.

Regards,
Behemoth
Behemoth, pardon me for spoiling the party but I dont really think that Mahindra or any other manufacturer would be making so quick an amend so as to change the internal fit and finish every month to make it markedly improved. Ditto for smoother gears and armrest et al. I guess these changes will be implemented once and for all in a few months time but I dont really think that one fine day the engineers would think that hey, lets make the gearshift smooth today onwards and next day another group thinks, hey, lets change the fit and finish of dashboard. I may be horribly wrong, but who will make minor changes from month to month in an assembly bolting out 3000 XUVs a month? And imagine the variation, minor it may be, in every second XUV on the road. No?

Quote:
Originally Posted by naveenchhillar View Post
Would not like to name the dealer or person. But I know one in Delhi who has got the car in the 1st week itself, without any prior booking. Only thing that he did was - a phone call from some politician , that's it :(
I guess we are making too much hype and hoopla over a few instances of something tangential from normal happening. Maruti and many other car makers have riddled with this problem of cars getting sold in black for years and its a common sight still, try out booking for Swift Dzire Diesel where a premium of about 50 K would get a person a car in a week. Here we have quite a bit of transparency, Mahindra had no business to keep people informed via call center and SAP system access but they are doing it. Of course,a few dirty men would try and take advantage of whatever loophole they can find but lets admit, all in all the going's good.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kaks15 View Post
One of my friends just took an XUV W6 home, he did not have any booking , had an urgency as sister was getting married, thought of buying the XUV on 13th and took delivery on 21st. I was baffled, asked him how? "Dealer owner is father's best friend, a black xuv due for delivery to a poor chap, told him grey is available not black and showed on paper that customer changed color preference"

It is happening friends, be strict on your original choice and don t be fooled.
Yup, fair point. But I believe these cases would be one in 1000 or so. I dropped in at Koncept NOIDA to check if a premium of a Lac could get me an XUV without booking, There was absolute negation of the suggestion at the first instance, no questions asked. No booking- no XUV- a lac of rupees or not! So to each one his own. But guess we have a largely controlled atmosphere here than a free for all. My two cents on it!
Infiniti.Rahul is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 19:21   #1007
BHPian
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 184
Thanked: 22 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Update: Got my car delivered today with very less hassles. Will post a detailed ownership experience over the weekend.

Quote:
Originally Posted by anandtheleo View Post

Rest of the MONTH Codes are follows

A= JAN
B= FEB
C= MAR
D= APR
E= MAY
F= JUNE
G= JULY
H= AUG
I = Sep
J= Oct
K= Nov
L= Dec
I think you missed the I?
LastActionHero is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 19:38   #1008
BHPian
 
naveenchhillar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Rohtak-Dehradun
Posts: 169
Thanked: 85 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Some nice points made by Infinite.Rahul above on the changes being made/not made in assembly line of a vehicle for minor changes.
However, my brother in law works with M&M Mumbai & he told me not to buy the first lot (due to obvious reasons), though I have been following this vehicle since last 3 odd years.
Also mentioned that initial XYLO had more than 150 issues in first few months - that include some major, some minor. They have been doing constant upgrades in solving them one by one. Keep in mind that the car has not gone for a version change or generation change as such, but yes minor tweaks have been handled (in case of XYLO).
naveenchhillar is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 19:44   #1009
Senior - BHPian
 
nitinralli's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Delhi
Posts: 1,522
Thanked: 1,106 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by LastActionHero View Post
Update: Got my car delivered today with very less hassles. Will post a detailed ownership experience over the weekend.



I think you missed the I?
Congrats Bro. Thats really nice that there was no hassles from Koncept
By the way, who was the SA with whom you were dealing?
nitinralli is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 20:06   #1010
BHPian
 
anandtheleo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 421
Thanked: 450 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by Infiniti.Rahul View Post
I admit I have to eat crow here. . Guess you are right- The tyres are all a part of a certain lot and thats that. Never heard of two models being differentiated by the company basis maker of tyres! My mistake. Lack of good judgement.
Aww!!! shucks, you are being too harsh on yourself.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LastActionHero View Post
Update: Got my car delivered today with very less hassles. Will post a detailed ownership experience over the weekend.



I think you missed the I?
Congrats on the delivery, wish you a hassle-free ownership.

About the VIN info, I got them as-is from the sources mentioned below, also Wildon had interpreted my VIN to represent my month mfg. (K) as October (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...ml#post2576983).

Dunno if he too used the same info. But, if what you say is right my vehicle's mfg. is in November, so well... no complaints.
anandtheleo is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 21:39   #1011
BHPian
 
bhatiagagan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 27
Thanked: 0 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Any update on when the bookings of XUV will resume..i'm only hearing January and am seriously hoping for better (quicker) news
bhatiagagan is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 21:47   #1012
SDP
Team-BHP Support
 
SDP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 4,739
Thanked: 11,294 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by Behemoth View Post
Hi Naveen,

Yes, newer vehicles are coming with improvements, which have been implemented during production post Oct-2011. The inital lot of vehicles produced in Sep, will not have these changes.
As the XUV is very new, Mahindra will probably continue making a lot of product improvements at least in the first 6 months, after which the product will become stable.
These changes are not informed to dealers and are visible only when a buyer compares vehicles from different months productions.
Only in case of a critical fault which affects running / safety do they do a product recall and update all previous supplied vehicles too (in case of gearbox oil, Engine ECU update, and W8 Entertainment system software update, they have already issued an advisory for buyers to get it updated asap)
All other changes are mostly ergonomic / aesthetic changes.

Regards,
Behemoth
Behemoth,
Did anybody from the dealership mentioned about the improvements or its your own observation?

BTW, during my second TD (on a new TD car), even I noticed the gears slotting better and the armrest position better. Did not click to ask the SA about it.
SDP is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 22:00   #1013
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Behemoth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 2,125
Thanked: 5,940 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by SDP

Behemoth,
Did anybody from the dealership mentioned about the improvements or its your own observation?

BTW, during my second TD (on a new TD car), even I noticed the gears slotting better and the armrest position better. Did not click to ask the SA about it.
Hi SDP,
This is entirely my own observation on the aesthetics and ergonomics - I have worked in the automobile industry Earlier and have a fine eye for such things. I was also part of the launch of two very major cars in India. The company will never say outrightly about these aesthetic changes, but they are part of product improvements and do happen with all manufacturers. I must admit that Mahindra is being very quick and proactive with the XUV to make it a great success.
However, things like the transmission oil change, Engine ECU update, and the W8 entertainment system, their RMs have already told customers to get done. In future I also foresee a repositioning of the steering column universal joint to prevent it rubbing against your foot when the clutch is pressed.
Regards,
Behemoth
Behemoth is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 23rd November 2011, 22:49   #1014
BHPian
 
Jo-G's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 149
Thanked: 137 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Has anyone got the AWD yet? Is it available for TD? wondering when they would open the bookings again. Eagerly waiting for the bookings to re-open.
Jo-G is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 22:51   #1015
BHPian
 
noidaboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Noida
Posts: 1,003
Thanked: 268 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by bhatiagagan View Post
Any update on when the bookings of XUV will resume..i'm only hearing January and am seriously hoping for better (quicker) news
Decemeber end or Jan is what can be expected as of now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Behemoth View Post
Hi SDP,
This is entirely my own observation on the aesthetics and ergonomics - I have worked in the automobile industry Earlier and have a fine eye for such things. I was also part of the launch of two very major cars in India. The company will never say outrightly about these aesthetic changes, but they are part of product improvements and do happen with all manufacturers. I must admit that Mahindra is being very quick and proactive with the XUV to make it a great success.
However, things like the transmission oil change, Engine ECU update, and the W8 entertainment system, their RMs have already told customers to get done. In future I also foresee a repositioning of the steering column universal joint to prevent it rubbing against your foot when the clutch is pressed.
Regards,
Behemoth
Very true, The 1st batch's feedback is taken into high consideration, And some problems can be only spotted once the consumer receives the car. Minute issues like you need a COIN to open the spare wheel nut cover will be acted upon and changes will be made, Its not with Mahindra its with every vehicle launched. People working with hyundai told me that verna had major alignment issues slowly they were rectified , Same with swift the problem of turbo failure was causing an alarm initially, The upside with mahindra is the support as they are going to every possible extent to keep the owners happy.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 24th November 2011 at 14:48.
noidaboy is offline  
Old 23rd November 2011, 23:58   #1016
BHPian
 
bhatiagagan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 27
Thanked: 0 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by noidaboy View Post
Decemeber end or Jan is what can be expected as of now.
This might be slightly out of context but aren't the Duster and the Ford SUV's lined up for that time? M&M really needs to buck up n capture what it can
bhatiagagan is offline  
Old 24th November 2011, 00:15   #1017
BHPian
 
Gerardfdz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 214
Thanked: 66 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by anandtheleo View Post
Wildon had done the decoding for me, but I too could find the same info from Google:

"Typical MAHINDRA (M&M) Car VIN has 17 Characters starting with MAI in which 10th and 12th characters represents YEAR and MONTH respectively.

if your 10th VIN Character is A then it represents Year 2010
If your 12th VIN Character is G then it represents Month JULY

So for year :
7 - 2007
8 - 2008
9 - 2009
A - 2010
B - 2011
C - 2012
D - 2014

Rest of the MONTH Codes are follows

A= JAN
B= FEB
C= MAR
D= APR
E= MAY
F= JUNE
G= JULY
H= AUG
J= SEP
K= OCT
L= NOV
M= DEC

Last 5 Digits is serial no.
Well the dealer has given me the engine no. ( has 10 digits) and chassis no. has 8 digits). If I count back wards then both the last 5 digits as numerical. if there is any relationship with the VIN, then the 10 digit as "B" and the 12th as "K".
This is NOT good! it means its an Oct model! I'v not yet got delivery!!
Could someone confirm if im correct in my assumption?
Rgds
Gerardfdz is offline  
Old 24th November 2011, 00:19   #1018
BHPian
 
bhatiagagan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 27
Thanked: 0 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Could someone who has got his XUV serviced do an updated review ...focusing on some of the problems that were being discussed earlier..
bhatiagagan is offline  
Old 24th November 2011, 09:19   #1019
Senior - BHPian
 
raj_5004's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Dubai/Mumbai
Posts: 5,239
Thanked: 3,146 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by Infiniti.Rahul View Post
Behemoth, pardon me for spoiling the party but I dont really think that Mahindra or any other manufacturer would be making so quick an amend so as to change the internal fit and finish every month to make it markedly improved. Ditto for smoother gears and armrest et al. I guess these changes will be implemented once and for all in a few months time but I dont really think that one fine day the engineers would think that hey, lets make the gearshift smooth today onwards and next day another group thinks, hey, lets change the fit and finish of dashboard. I may be horribly wrong, but who will make minor changes from month to month in an assembly bolting out 3000 XUVs a month? And imagine the variation, minor it may be, in every second XUV on the road. No?
I think what Behemoth said is right. Mahindra is already taking feedbacks from customers & trying to improve the next lot of XUVs.

Why else would they do the software upgrades or the transmission oil change so early in its product cycle?

infact, i think, the sooner they do this, the better. Lesser issues faced by owners & also a more stable product is the market.
raj_5004 is offline  
Old 24th November 2011, 13:13   #1020
BHPian
 
noidaboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Noida
Posts: 1,003
Thanked: 268 Times
Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by bhatiagagan View Post
This might be slightly out of context but aren't the Duster and the Ford SUV's lined up for that time? M&M really needs to buck up n capture what it can
Mahindra seems to have its own niche market and fan's. Until the pricing is competitive doubt it makes a difference. SUV comes along with bigger maintenance cost and hence any body upgrading from suzuki's or similar cars tends to get a shocker, Spare parts cost a bomb. Long term ownership of Ford's OR Renault's might become a pain. May be that's why Mahindra moved to FWD helps them attain fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs but people who liked the ruggedness of mahindra are bit disappointed.

2012 will interesting as lot of cars in this segment would come up, Guess mahindra must be having more cards to show
noidaboy is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed


Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks