[gururajrv]

Perhaps, it's time for me to retract my previous statement on 3XO! Truth be told; I am mighty impressed with overall execution of this package by Mahindra. Efforts are evident here.

Interiors surprised me with that leatherette wrapping of door pads and dashboard. That's quite a thinking where other manufacturers haven't really considered doing that.

Didn't notice review mentioning about how the fit & finish feels in terms of overall execution? I mean the body panel gaps on XUV 7OO or competition like Safari is quite uneven and inconsistent. I'm sure Mahindra will take note of all this, unlike Tata! So, I'm curious if the reviewers found this to be in acceptable standards?

[Col Mehta]

Brilliant package!

While the car's aesthetic is a bit funky for my personal taste, the combination of that punchy turbo petrol engine and a reliable TC gearbox (unlike the less reliable DCTs and terrible AMTs) will certainly appeal to many potential buyers. Plus, segment first Level 2 ADAS (radar based) with a solid build (the pre-FL scored 5-star in the crash test) makes it a standout product in the segment.

Not a big fan of the dashboard though. Mahindra should have redesigned it to make it more modern and premium. However, with those beautiful soft touch materials, excellent space (barring the small boot) and a big glass roof make it the best interior in the segment. It’s a new Astor of the sub 4 meter segment which has the best interiors in the price range of up to 30 lakh.

Overall, mighty impressed with this one.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by Omkar

Note that you don't get a parcel tray:

This is to ensure the boot looks big visually, this is the weakest link in this otherwise fantastic car. Boot has always been small on XUV300 and its evident Mahindra doesnt want this to be deal breaker, but in fact with no parcel tray people will smell the rat as its very unusual for a car not to have a parcel tray by default.

For me boot is always the space measured till parcel tray, and this car is trying to play games with numbers to convince people that boot space has grown. The only way they could have improved boot space was by providing rails for rear seats to slide forward thus creating some more space.

[Paritoshkalra]

Did anyone notice that the Boot space is increased a little bit by reducing the width of the Stepney Tyre. Its tiny!! Really tiny! No reviewer is talking about the Stepney Tyre. Please check the specifications: 135/90. Which means Stepney Tyre width is even smaller than what we have in a Wagon R

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by Paritoshkalra

Did anyone notice that the Boot space is increased a little bit by reducing the width of the Stepney Tyre. Its tiny!! Really tiny! No reviewer is talking about the Stepney Tyre. Please check the specifications: 135/90. Which means Stepney Tyre width is even smaller than what we have in a Wagon R

It’s a space saver, rated for upto 80kmph. It’s a very smart move on Mahindra’s part. Gets the spare tire’s job done while making way for precious extra boot space. Tire is meant for emergency use, will allow you to reach a puncture repair or tire shop in case of a blow out.

[youknowitbetter]

Looks like this car will sell inspite of its looks. Specs are really good on paper and couple of reviews which I read have mentioned that the car drives well as well. I think Mahindra has hitched the tech bandwagon completely, the first one being XUV700 which was loaded with tech. This car will surely given Korean siblings a serious competition as Korean siblings are more known for a package, which so far was not matched by Japs, Europeans and Americans (whatever is left of them). Tatas have tried to improve their offering by including few element in their cars, but M&M and Tata cannot be compared as M&M has gone quite ahead. Let's see when will NCAP ratings released and if this car retains 5 star rating (don't see a reason why it should not).

Don't want to put cart before the horse, but if this car does well, it will surely force other manufacturers to start offering better products at competitive pricing.

[SoumenD]

Yet to go through the entire review but wanted to share one feedback:

Please don't miss the pros & cons list right at the start. It helps set a nice context.

[evtdtorque]

This is a good Review of an improved car from Mahindra in many aspects. Turbo-charged petrol engines with TC AT at these price points will draw more people to Mahindra showrooms. They are reliable compared to quicker DCT/DSGs and satisfy the enthusiast in you largely. The big miss is not having this amazing AT with the diesel engine. How can they miss such a popular want when they want to revive a flop car? Do they want customers to move to XUV 700? No, customers would probably move to Korean twins. Missed opportunity, IMHO. They just followed TATA's strategy here.

[Evyas]

So went to see the display vehicle at the NBS Mahindra showroom in Andheri (West).









Must say in person this is a very handsome and capable looking car. It has a very solid presence and being a Mahindra has the heft of its elder siblings - almost pulled my shoulder out opening and closing the bonnet And strangely now it doesn’t look as small and compact as the earlier 300. The new lines and cuts have given it some volume I feel.

The variant on display was the AX5 since my SA believed it is what they are hoping will sell the most, being most feature rich and VFM.





The interiors are very very posh now. I for one love the white accents and the piano black finish and the textures on the various places. I had beige coloured interiors on my old Duster so I always prefer lighter colors.

I even got white and red (F1 McLaren inspired!) seat covers on my Duster so I have always liked lighter colours in the interiors.





Only here the seats are black fabric covered in the AX5 but the rest oozes class. And the manual variant AX5 for 12.7L on road?? It’s a steal! With 6 airbags, (hopefully) a 5* safety rating like its predecessor, I think it’s doing a lot of things right.



We had done a few road trips via Zoomcar years ago in the XUV300 and it felt very ‘basic’ then, but now my first reaction to the SA was ‘glad I waited this long’ ! I turned on the car and the digital displays came on and even my wife was very impressed with the music system and the various screens.



I’ll probably test the music system properly once the TDs start. The SA was saying TD might happen from the weekend, since this time they are not doing any online bookings. They want people to test drive and then book. 15th May you have to come down at the dealers and do it physically, to prevent the 700 and ScorpioN type of mayhem from online bookings.



This is leg room for me in the back seat after adjusting the drivers seat for my height. I’m 6.2”!

Despite my skepticism about the cladding and the car looking small in pictures, I’m quite impressed with this overall package. The boot is larger by a few inches but looks good enough for a small family now. The space inside is still massive, and the overall soft touch leatherette in the door pads and drivers arm rest are really good. It’s pushing it to a higher segment level.

This looks like a solid, dependable car.

Leaving some more pics while I wait for a TD

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by 07CR

Is that a typo? Shouldn't Nexon's 382 number be as per ISO V211?

Its not a typo. That data point is coming from the Nexon brochure.

Originally Posted by lordrayden

They don't provide a parcel tray by default because putting a parcel tray visually highlights/accentuates how small the boot is. Given that its a big weakness of this car, they don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to it .

You're right, that reason is probably true. I'd also add - if the boot space is anyway slightly less, its helpful to get that little extra space which the absence of a parcel tray will afford. Otherwise you'll also be trying to constantly figure where to store the 'removed parcel tray' on occasions when you want that little additional space.

Originally Posted by gururajrv

Didn't notice review mentioning about how the fit & finish feels in terms of overall execution? I mean the body panel gaps on XUV 7OO or competition like Safari is quite uneven and inconsistent. I'm sure Mahindra will take note of all this, unlike Tata! So, I'm curious if the reviewers found this to be in acceptable standards?

The fit and finish is actually quite good for most part and the quality and touch & feel of the materials also feels quite nice. There were the odd panel that felt otherwise, and a few panel gaps that didn't seem dead-on consistent - for instance around the boot lid. But for most part, fit and finish and quality felt nice.

Originally Posted by Paritoshkalra

Did anyone notice that the Boot space is increased a little bit by reducing the width of the Stepney Tyre. Its tiny!! Really tiny! No reviewer is talking about the Stepney Tyre. Please check the specifications: 135/90. Which means Stepney Tyre width is even smaller than what we have in a Wagon R

Thank you - we did indeed make a point of recording that. Also makes sense to save that little extra space to maximise the tight boot space, as best possible.

The stepney is a 16" space saver, where the stock tyre on the tested variant is 17". Honestly this is something that users will increasingly have to reconcile to with each new generation. I won't be surprised if we soon start seeing puncture repair kits becoming the norm across more models - sort of like some modern day EVs like the Ioniq 5 already sport.

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Please don't miss the pros & cons list right at the start. It helps set a nice context.

Thanks Soumen. This is a essentially a review of a "facelift", even though a reasonably substantial one. AFAIK, we generally don't reiterate pros and cons for facelifts - those are reserved for reviews of all new models. Although I do recognise some erstwhile pros may be cons today - exterior design for instance, for many. Similarly the engine / gearbox combo itself, which is now a proper torque convertor and a categoric strength of this facelifted iteration.

[Vikash Kumawat]

Again there is no Torque Converter in Diesel while Venue and Sonet have. I don't understand why Mahindra changed the name to 3XO from 3OO. They ruined the series by adding an X, they should have continued with 300, 400 and 700!

[HarKag]

Originally Posted by Vikash Kumawat

Again there is no Torque Converter in Diesel while Venue and Sonet have, I don't understand why Mahindra changed the name to 3XO from 3OO, they ruined the series by adding an X, they should have continued with 300, 400 and 700 !

Slight correction. Only Sonet has diesel TC. Venue has only manual gearbox.

[Venkatesh]

Originally Posted by Vikash Kumawat

Again there is no Torque Converter in Diesel while Venue and Sonet have

Small correction, Sonet is the only car with Diesel AT and Venue is offered only with MT in Diesel.

[sachinshastry]

The front look has started to grow on me already.. When I saw the car on the day of launch, it was difficult for me to digest the front look. But now my mind seems to have started accepting it. It feels less odd except from a couple of angles. I think this would be the case with many people. The rear is very well done. Interiors look premium. Liked the frameless IRVM, which adds a premium appeal. The side profile and the boot are still the pain points. Anyways, since this is not a platform level change, these were expected. Combined with very competent engine and transmission options, the car seems to be a very good package.

Once again, regarding the front look, I feel the inverted triangle housing around fog lamps is the one spoiling the look to some extent. Tried removing it and pushing the fog lamps down. IMHO, the car looks much better with the changes. The foglamp housing can be redone properly below too, but my skills only took me this far.

Considering how competent the platform is and the loads of features Mahindra is offering here, I hope that they bring the 4XO in the above 4m space and target the Koreans who are enjoying a monopoly there.

[ashishk29]

The updates are significant enough to make me want to exchange my 3OO for a 3XO

Major attractions for me are Level 2 ADAS, the new interiors, especially the full TFT console. I prefer to have navigation on at all times, and this would be handy.

Wish the Diesel came with the torque converter
Would've been such a pleasure.