[Bluey]

Hi Aditya

Another excellent review from you. Though the car may never feature on my buy-list, I still enjoyed reading the review and the details being covered, a lot of things that are overlooked by a lot.
Regarding Mahindra as a manufacturer, on a personal front, I always found most of their products being quite quirky the Quanto, KUV and TUV series being prime examples.

Again, congratulations Aditya for an extremely well written piece.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Wonder if Mahindra would have been more successful competing with the Creta and S-Cross by undercutting their prices rather than being an expensive sub-4m SUV with a small boot.

You just gave shape to part of my formerly vague objection to the pricing of the XUV 300!

Why did Mahindra have to start out with a price-conscious product design (sub 4m) and then make it feature-rich and price it out of the 4m ballpark? That's certainly part of my dislike here.

Virender Sehwag was never one to play half-hearted shots in his illustrious career; if he ever played a shot, he went hell for leather and went all the way with it. Even cricketing purists had to laud his game, albeit with a grimace.

What Mahindra have done with the XUV 300 is to start with a backfoot defensive stroke (by cutting it to below 4m in length) and then tried to powerfully hit a sixer with it straight down the ground. Such shots have a 50/50 chance of making it past the ropes or to the hands of a fielder at Long-on or Long-off.

If they come out with a temporary (and innately cheap) AMT for the XUV 300, that'd only accentuate their primary folly even further - the cricketing equivalent of playing across the line. To put it plainly - an AMT is the very antithesis of premium-ness.

The Creta (while grossly overpriced as well) is on the other hand, an unapologetic and Sehwagesque grand hookshot far into the stands by Hyundai.

[Swap_Abarth]

Splendid review, thanks for putting together all relevant points. I personally didn't like the interiors and some part of exteriors (read rear). Smallest boot (in this segment) and premium pricing doesn't help either. Engines are the biggest selling attributes for this car.

[lurker]

I have a few questions from the reviewers,

1. Is the AC cooling in the diesel same as that in the petrol ? Due to difference in engine outputs I presume diesel can support a bigger condenser/compressor.

2. Is the ride quality in diesel different from the petrol. The heavier front means they will have slightly different suspension setups one would think. Or has mahindra given same setup for both diesel and petrol ?

3. How is high speed handling in diesel ?

[narayan]

Originally Posted by ashis89

At the risk of going off topic, I would like to respond. Boot space is very important for me (and few of my close friends). .

Well thought out comments. This car is probably not for you and few of your close friends.

My point was precisely this - to think through what boot space actually means to each person and not get carried away just by the volume number published.

[desertfox]

Well actually I am in the market to buy a small SUV of this class. To be driven 2 Kms a day! 500 m one way to my baby's school and back at 9 AM and 12 Noon by my wife.

But my choice will be an A/T Suzuki Vitara Brezza. A lot better built and much more reliable and dependable than a Mahindra vehicle.

This is a first hand experience. Current stock of Mahindras in my immediate family are:
Scorpio -1
Thar - 3
XUV 500 - 3
Little niggles, electrical failures are part of everyday routine.

[Scorpion 10]

Brilliant review Aditya.

One more addition to the most happening segment in Indian Auto Industry - Compact SUV's.

VW T-Cross, Hyundai Venue, KIA SP, Skoda Kamiq/Karoq to follow - Game On !

[silverado]

Such a lovely review .
This car is so un-Mahindra in terms of quality and design.

Thank god they did not get inspiration from some animal in this case
My senior collegue has bought a W8 Petrol variant.

Is the rear bench different for Top end W8(O)? ,since for W8 variant I found under thigh support to be average for my 5.7 height.

[sahilkhurana]

Very detailed and thorough review as always.

How is this petrol engine (with lower BHP/ton and higher Nm/ton) compared to Ecoboost ? Better or in same league ?

[landcruiser123]

A lot has been said about the boot. We had a Getz and Innova at home. The Getz had a 280 odd liter boot and I've struggled to fit stuff in it sometimes.

Scenario 1: If the XUV 300 is going to be your only car-
These scenes are where your boot space maybe a problem from personal experience using the Getz.

Cases you should consider: (If none of them apply to you, good for you)

• Picking up relatives from railway stations. I don't need to tell you that Indians don't travel light, especially on trains
• Carry potted plants
• Carrying a baby pram (medium to big size)
• Tossing the unused car seat into the boot
• Carrying luggage and trekking gear for a weekend trip for 4 adults

Scenario 2: If the XUV 300 is going to be your second (and city-only) car with a larger primary car:

• I wouldn't buy this car as it has no AT and it is expensive
• I'd rather buy a Baleno or Ecosport

[mchandra13]

An excellent review, as always. Rated full 5*

M&M has come a long way in the last few years with respect to quality. However the following things can stick out like sore thumbs with such a well made car.
1. Small boot. with my own personal experience I can tell that Indians are not light travelers and we have already seen in previous posts people are willing to let go of the car just for low boot space alone
2. Lack of A/C vents in the back. In these days where even smaller hatches are providing rear a/c vents, its definitely a bad miss. Indian summers can be extremely harsh. The review already talks about a mediocre a/c performance and lack of rear vents will only add to the sweat in the rear seat
3. No automatic option - Anything less than a standard torque converter AT will not work. I do not understand why M&M would want to bring in an AMT even in the short term. AMT by the very definition is cheap and I hate to see AMT going into such a highly priced car
4. Pricing - To me, the car is definitely overpriced despite of all the goodies available

Due to the initial euphoria the car might sell well in the short term, however with all the new launches in the CSUV space, we have to see how this car will fare in the long term.

BTW, when can we expect a TBHP review of Harrier.

[vibmat]

IMO Mahindra should have kept they original length. That would have created a perfect competitor for the creta.

Those who were going to buy entry and mid varients of creta would have bought the top spec XUV 300 if it had little more boot space and a automatic as an option.

They did the same mistake as TATA did with the harrier. Both are really charming products but just short of perfect.

[ampere]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this review. The fact that car was so good with initial reports; and then came the initial read on handling by Rush was pretty scary. Thankfully it turned out to be bad set-up. And great to know overall the car is a good product.

At the same it also signals the direction Mahindra needs to take on what it takes to deliver a great product right from the word go. I guess apart from a smaller boot, most other items are spot on for a happy go lucky urban family, who loves traveling.

Given we now have products from all major players on this segment, it only gets better and would compel these companies to keep the bar high.

One after market change which I can think off, is a good set of Michelin. And one is all set for the long haul!

Would be interesting to watch this segment this year!

[turbospooler]

Brilliant review as always.

Originally Posted by Aditya

The Smaller yet Significant Things

Soft foam insulation, just behind the radiator grille. I remember seeing this in the Verna:

Just a bit of trivia. These are Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) foam. These are generally placed inside the front bumper or behind it. These are required for pedestrian safety. Good to see Mahindra going the extra mile in all safety aspects.

[Almetal]

As pointed out in the review, the long clutch travel and the long gear throws are a big nuisance while driving in stop and go traffic. This was immediately apparent to me when I took the test drive and for me (currently driving a Honda City) it came across as a deal breaker.

Don't know how much re-engineering would be needed to resolve these issues, but Mahindra should definitely do something about it when they update the model in the future.