Hi everyone, we have recently acquired a Toyota Innova (2012 Base Model) two months back (IIRC) before the production stopped altogether for 14.5 OTR (IIRC). We had always booked Innova Taxis for the highway runs to Guwahati and so Dad thought that having an Innova in the family would be a good alternative to spending 10,000 rupees every trip. And also, the Opel Corsa, at 15 years old was getting long in the tooth, having constant breakdowns and good quality parts are also scarce here in North East so it was a good time as any to buy a new car.
Anyway, what we didn't anticipate was the horrible ride quality the Innova offered on our huge crater sized potholed roads in town and also on the highway to Nagaland (We commute on a near daily basis to Nagaland as well). The car would toss us around, literally, and dad's head has banged against the window countless times. I, sitting in the front seat also suffer from terrible back aches as the seat makes it impossible to sit in a relaxed position and I have to sit upright and keep my feet firmly planted to avoid being thrown around as well. The seatbelt aren't much help either. The ride quality is the same regardless of whether we drive slow or fast (although we always drive slowly) and after caring for it so properly, in just two months, our horrible roads have gifted our Innova with lots of body noise. Also, due to the low GC, the Innova has been scraped a few times even though we drove carefully and slowly trying our best to avoid it.
So after days of pestering dad, he finally put up the Innova for sale and we have been getting offers in the range of 12-13 Lakhs for it with a buyer nearby ready to come with cash and collect. The problem now, however, is which car to replace it with (in the given price range)? I suggested the Mahindra XUV 5OO to my dad, as being a monocoque, it might offer better ride quality on our potholed roads and also reading the favorable reviews on the facelifted version on TeamBHP, I suggested the same to him.
Dad however, is unconvinced. He
feels that companies like
Mahindra, Hyundai, Renault etc. make shoddy quality cars and they are very expensive to maintain compared to Toyota, Maruti Suzuki and Honda whose parts, according to him are very cheap.
Also, dad is unconvinced of the space in the XUV 5OO and complains that the leg room won't be enough and it will be a very cramped car. At 5'6" and our driver being 5'4", I doubt he'd have any issue of legroom in the massive (compared to our short size) XUV 5OO. Also, my little brother and me, really liked the interiors on the Mahindra XUV 5OO which felt a step above the utilitarian base model Innova of ours.
I then suggested the Mahindra Scorpio as well, since he has a soft spot for it in his heart (because our Grandpa bought it as well). However, both of us are worried that even the new Scorpio would have horrible ride quality on our bad crater sized potholed roads and might be just as much if not more bouncy and bumpy. Also, the top model of the Scorpio is quite close to the base model of the XUV 5OO so I'm confused what to suggest.
We are a family of four and dad's requirements are that the car be reliable, be able to sit four of us in comfort and have adequate ground clearance to tackle the crater sized potholes.
Dear BHPians, please help me clear the doubts:
- Would the Mahindra XUV 5OO be a better alternative to the Toyota Innova (2012 model) that we have right now? Does it tend to have a bouncy ride as well?
- Is the XUV 5OO more prone to mechanical failure compared to the Toyota Innova? I read on TeamBHP that they (Mahindra) have fixed a lot of niggles and issues?
- While driving the TD car, the XUV 5OO's engine noise was very harsh and audible on the inside as well. Is the same true for the normal XUV's? Also, the TD car had done close to 17,000 kms and the dashboard was also rattling over bad roads.
- Could the Scorpio be considered as well? Is the ride quality good on potholed roads? Not to exagerrate but, our entire roads are covered with potholes, from our house to the town.
Thank you all for taking the time to help out