Re: 2015 Mahindra XUV500 Facelift : Official Review I had gone to check out the "All-new" XUV 500 in person yesterday, and here are my thoughts (I am coming from driving my 2014 City extensively, in comparison): - The front looks overdone with the Scorpio-inspired grille. Wish Mahindra had stuck with the original one.
- The foglamp sections look ultra-loud, specially with that huge swept-back moustache chrome. The casings on the W6/W4 looked slightly better to the eyes. I would cover the casings in body-color paint and put in a pair of strong DRLs to double up as foglamps.
- The XUV has lost quite a bit of it's macho appeal due to the absence of the central grooves on the bonnet. The raised bulges on either sides of the bonnet give the SUV a more elevated stance, and maybe facilitate the dispersal of air slightly better. Otherwise, I fail to see the utility of this design change.
- Side profile and rear profile is same as earlier, except for very, very minor changes. The driver-side "paw" gets a nail! On a more serious note, the keyless entry should have been standard from the first-gen itself.
- The black applique above the numberplate (W4) looks much better than the chrome strip (W8/W10).
- The W4 had JKs on them, W6 had Apollos, and W8/W10 had Bridgestones. Conscious effort by Mahindra to keep differences between the variants?
- Seats are absolutely fantastic, and give that commanding stance. The fabric looked dull (W4) and cheap (W6). I doubt it will last the distance. Customers will be looking for seat cover options quickly.
- The steering is great to hold, with excellent grip. Still pretty heavy at a standstill/slower speeds, though.
- The speedometer looks better than before, with the integrated cowl. Has the number of lights gone down? It seemed to me that the pre-facelifted XUV had more light indicators than this one.
- The gear-shifting felt quite notchy while putting into the 2nd gear. I also had difficulty slotting the car into 1st and into reverse (did this on a W10).
- The W4 gets a single-line central display and (thankfully) an USB slot below, alongside the 12V socket, alongwith a CD slot. At least the Head Unit won't be completely useless now. The W6 has the monochrome display, same as before.
- The dashboard plastic and the plastic on all doors felt cheap and hard to the touch. Bad cost-cutting by Mahindra. The wavy finish inside the plastics doesn't help, either. The Eon, at a fourth of the XUV's price, has better plastics all around. This will be a grouse for future owners - a 1.5 million-rupee car simply demands better plastic quality!
- The double glove box is a smart option. The lower one didn't look that deep, while the one at the top seemed wider.
- The Infotainment system on the W8 and W10 is top-notch, but it looked like it still has some issues. I pushed the "Start/Stop" button below, and the whole display went blank! Turned the key off and turned it back on, and it came back. The touch response also took 2-3 swipes to register sometimes. Some gremlins are still present I guess.
- Middle row looks good enough for 4 people, let alone 3! Excellent back support.
- The last row is again best suited for kids. Grown-up folks will want to fold the middle row forward and sit with their legs stretched, to have any sort of comfort.
- The boot space, with the 3rd row up, is simply non-existent! My mother who had accompanied me, asked a very simple question, to which I had no answer - "This is being marketed as a seven-seater, right? What if seven people wanted to go on a trip somewhere together? Where will they put all their luggage?" Yes, a very pertinent question. If it is a seven-seater, it should have enough space for 7 adults AND their luggage! It could have helped if the length of the car would have been increased a bit more and a pseudo-boot (even a 200L one) with 7-seats up, would have been offered.
- The icy-blue lounge lighting at night is very soothing and relaxing. It looks much better than the red one on the earlier-gen, which made the interiors feel like a discotheque! Smart change by Mahindra. The overall ambience inside the cabin is much better now.
- The sunroof looked functional, and almost similar in size to the one offered in the i20. If the top W10 variant costing 20 lacs (in some cities) is getting this, it would have been better to have given a panoramic one.
- Reading lamps in the second row should have been standard on the W6 as well. The on-road difference between W4 and W6 is ~1.43 lakhs, and Mahindra would have been justified to have thrown in a few more goodies in the W6 for the price.
- The engine-noise at idle is evident, as is the notchy gear shift. The clutch is smooth but has a fairly long range. It will get tiring in everyday stop-go traffic. Better get ready to give your left leg plenty of exercise time in the mornings before you ease the XUV out from your garage.
- The steering-wheel weighs up well after speeds of about 25-30 kmph. Before that it feels noticeably heavy.
- Speeds of 100+ are easily achieved. The gear ratios from the 3rd gear onwards are well spread out, and the timing is just about perfect. The pick-up and in-gear acceleration is excellent.
- While negotiating through traffic, I felt queasy about my vision up front. Reason? The outward bonnet-bulges were interfering with my judgement quite a number of times, specially the one on the passenger side.
- Ride quality inside the city is very smooth, just like a sedan. There is quite a bit of stiffness felt on high speeds out on the highway, but not enough to make one uncomfortable. It is certainly better than the earlier-gen XUV, which was hard and had plenty of body roll.
- The brakes are really sharp. Straight-line stopping is top notch. I hope this upgrade is available for earlier-gen owners as well.
- Maneuvering inside the bylanes of the city was really cumbersome. The size of the XUV makes it a poor option for the inside lanes/roads. If you get stuck, good luck reversing AND turning at the same time.
Overall, I am impressed by the new XUV 500, except for the poor-quality plastics and those (glaringly loud) foglamps. It has huge on-road presence, looks premium from the outside, and is a capable highway performer. Inside the city, stick to the main roads and you will be happy.
The new W4 is priced (OTR) at 12.94 lacs, the W6 at 14.37 lacs, the W8 at 15.9 lacs and the W10 at 17.1 lacs. If you are not a fan of overdone chrome and too many electronics inside, the W6 makes the best sense with most of the gizmos at your disposal, and is the best VFM option in the range. The W4 is still underwhelming at it's price point in my opinion.
Booked a Volcano Black W6 with a token amount of 51,000/-. Delivery time quoted is 2 months!
According to the dealership, they have more bookings for the W8 Sunset Orange than any other variant/color combo. I am fine by the time quoted, because by then the Creta would be out. Whichever car impresses me more, will get the rest of my money.
On a side note, here's the official video by Mahindra & Mahindra explaining all the features of the new XUV 500:
Last edited by RavenAvi : 19th June 2015 at 11:25.
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