I was wondering what car to buy, having had a Honda City for close to 11 years old and having to give it away to my daughter.
My colleague suggested the XUV 300 because of its impressive safety and knowing how much value I place on that.
I bought a 300 W8 opt Diesel MT. I was fortunate that the rest of the family also prefer the MT. I was concerned about what my family would think about the looks. Once I told them, it looks like our dog, a boxer, with a flat front and a chopped off tail, they absolutely were sold.
I have driven 3000 kms in the first month over roads which I would have struggled on
with a City.
I really love its ruggedness and
the powerful and fantastic engine, and not scraping any speed brakers till now. There is an exhilarating surge of power at 80 km/ hr in 5th gear, at 100 km/ hr in 6th and a milder one even at 120 km/ hr. Besides, my son who is 6'2" was able to sit behind me comfortably though I am a six footer. I found the much maligned music system better than I expected, while not fantastic, at least for the '70s and '80s rock I mostly listen to after turning down the bass a bit and playing around with the equalizer. I was also happy with a mileage of 15.9 km/ l on bad roads with innumerable speed brakers, barricades and animals crossing at regular intervals.
There were a few things which I had to get used to. Firstly, the seating position was an issue. I have to drive with the seat raised to get as much under thigh support as possible, while my wife has to drive with the seat lowered to reach the pedals, which seems counter intuitive. Then there was this blind spot of the A pillar and ORVM, and need a bit of awareness to see and avoid the 2 wheelers cutting in from the side roads on the right, without concern for life or limb. The boot space was adequate for my needs. I do miss the driving around curves with gay abandon which was a pleasure on the low slung City though, and the driving comfort. Another issue to get used to is the brake which is soft to begin with and then with a sudden bite which can be unnerving in city traffic. For someone used to controlling the speed using gears with a light touch of the brakes, here, I had to come down a bit more on the brakes.
I found there was no light for the boot, apparently for the new XUVs, which was a minor issue, though it seemed pretty cheap.
As someone who always made sure everyone buckled up even in the rear seats and in a profession dealing with accidents, I was excited that there was going to be 3 point seat belts for the middle rear seat. I did know by casual reading that this was not there. However, I assumed that this would not happen in the top variant. I was bitterly disappointed, especially as Indians, there was a certain amount of pride in an Indian car manufacturer having made the safest car in India and South Africa. This was especially galling since the TD vehicle had one.
The above is a reason why everyone looks with awe at manufacturers like Volvo, in contrast, who made it available to everyone a long while back without charging for a patent, as the article below shows:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/douglas...the-world/amp/
I guess altruism and good business ethics continues to be elusive for the Indian car manufacturer where form seems more important than substance.
It gets one's goat to see someone obsessed with the media profile and gifting Thars to those who don't need such largesse, with the cost cutting being borne by the unsuspecting customer.
In a civilized world, there would be a recall and fitted with the correct seat belt, especially as it was there earlier.
This one glaring defect leaves a bad taste in an otherwise great vehicle.