Fantastic review!! Gets the well deserved 5 stars straightaway. Very well detailed, and the best part- the photos! The dirt trail which you took the car into, offers some breathtaking views. And the machine complements the nature wonderfully.
Anyway, the silver testing car also looks really good in the review. The colour shows the lines on the car clearly, and does not make the TUV look like a massive brick like how the white colour does. In fact, I would say silver looks the best on the TUV. Black looks beastly, but hides some of the lines on the car from the casual onlooker. Silver makes it look crisp and sharp.
Also, the TUV looks MASSIVE, feels way larger than you'd expect of a typical sub-4m SUV, or would believe after seeing it in pictures. Saw one in silver on the road last week. Yours truly was riding a rather humble Scooty, and this TUV came from the back. The driver didn't rush in, neither did he honk. Yet a couple of Rickshaws and an Indica moved aside straighaway. This car has some presence! An EcoSport in its place, and nobody would have cared. Even the Creta doesn't make people give way like the TUV does. I tried to go past it to have a better look, but the Scooty proved to be a bit too, er, 'humble'
, so couldn't catch the TUV.
However, despite getting the basics perfectly right, to me the TUV still feels like it lacks that something which could've made it a far more appealing car. I like it a lot, don't be mistaken, yet I feel some piece is missing in the jigsaw. It's not the 84 BHP figure. The engine is good and delivers what one may expect of it. Same for the interiors.
I guess it's the lack of a 4x4 option. A 4x4 should have been introduced at launch itself. Earlier before launch, it was rumoured that it is in the works, and would be launched a few months down the line. Now the news floating around read something like "Mahindra will consider a 4x4 option if there is demand", or "Mahindra has no problems adding a 4x4 drivetrain to the TUV". This is not sounding very reassuring. Our review, for instance, says this:
Quote:
There's no real technical factor stopping Mahindra from adding a 4x4 variant.
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Also, somewhere (don't remember exactly where) I read that Mahindra say they didn't launch the TUV with a 4x4 because 'they have other options with 4x4 available in their stable'. I should say that's a rather pathetic excuse to offer. Is this TUV a competing product in the market, or a 'redirection link' to their other cars? Similarly, the people also have entirely 'other options' for a small SUV. Why bother making the TUV at all then?
I do hope they correct their mistake and start working on a 4x4 option for the TUV. It really deserves one. I believe they would have tested it in the development phase itself, but are afraid of launching it as it would make the sticker price swell.
Also, I do believe there will be some cross-shopping between the TUV and the EcoSport. Perhaps not in metros, as the conditions don't really demand a proper SUV, and most buyers are looking for a crossover itself in the first place; but for people who are actually looking for a proper SUV, but can only afford an EcoSport due to budget, size or practicality constraints, the TUV makes for a formidable option. And I think there must be many such customers.
Even in small cities, where the roads aren't as congested as the metros, the houses are generally much larger, parking space isn't a problem and commute distances are much shorter, the TUV makes the better alternative. The ladder frame can tackle bad roads with aplomb and for those who own farms/weekend homes, the TUV will surely be the happier going there.
The 'badi gaadi' folks too will be delighted to get a much 'badi' gaadi at the same price, and offering 'mylej' comparable to a 'chhoti gaadi'.
The thing is there was no real SUV alternative to the EcoSport in the sub-10 lakh segment, and the Duster is really expensive. So it pretty much ran a one (okay two) horse race until now, and I feel it wouldn't be fair to say just yet that the EcoSport will have a different audience or that the TUV won't affect its sales.
It did manage to move out ~4000 units last month, and though that was the first month and doesn't necessarily reflect upon the actual market response, the indications aren't bad to begin with.
PS: The review mentioned a somewhat bumpy and unstable ride. Could this be due to the tyres your specific car was running? Or maybe it was a media test prototype and retail units may get slightly better tuned suspension setups on them?