A very good morning fellow BHPians,
As I slithered out of my python like lethargy and took test drives of automatic top versions of Hexa as well as XUV500 this weekend, I couldn’t stop myself from sharing the experience with You all.
I know, this comparison has already been beaten to death umpteen number of times with different sticks, but nonetheless, here goes my one hit as well
Hexa
The first to arrive was Tata Hexa XTA in Tungsten Silver colour. Mr Samarth from Sri Durga Tata Dwarka NCR was a very prompt, courteous and knowledgeable member of Team Tata. He was immaculately dressed, eloquent and very well versed with Hexa. Full points to Tata. (I’m a ten year old customer of Tata with 60k on my Indica Xeta, so I don’t expect anything much from Tata dealers; but then the advantage of being a pessimist is that you are always pleasantly surprised).
The moment You enter Hexa’s cabin, You feel like You’ve arrived in Scadanavian Winters. I mean You know that You’re in the best place in the world but yet it’s so sullen. Fit, finish and quality is top notch, but in the name of premium look, Tata has gone overboard with Black. Come on guys, it’s depressing. Even Audis and BMWs throw some colours. What stopped tata from using two shades of leather on dashboard? Why didn’t they use a red stitching on seats? Believe me, the quality of seats on Hexa is as good as or even better than those of Jeep Compass, but even then Hexa’s seats don’t stand out. Tata has lost a big opportunity here to make the cabin lively.
The key of a 20 lakh vehicle is like that of my Indica Xeta, no smart key, no keyless entry, no engine start stop!! Did Tata put all these efforts in developing Hexa to just be the underdog? I fail to understand really. XUV500 goes overboard and Tata Hexa deliberately goes ‘underboard’ (if there’s such a word, Moderators please pardon me for taking the english grammar also for a test drive today).
Ok, so there’s no electric adjustment for Driver’s seat, what’s the logic behind that no one knows. I have stopped trying to look for logic with them post ten years with my Xeta. Once You huff and puff and adjust Your seat a beautifully crafted steering wheel greets You. It is solid, chunky, leather clad and a joy to behold. It befits a vehicle of this size. The Automatic gear lever too exudes premium quality, You put it in reverse and the Hexa moves gracefully back. I didn’t find the steering to be heavy at all and easily did a Y back turn and came on the main road.
Once I accelerated the vehicle, I moved ahead without any jerk or nervousness. I would like to put
graceful in bold because that is how I felt Hexa behaved always. Once I reached the speed of 50 kmph, I deliberately breaked suddenly and it stopped without any nose dive or shudder. I didn’t miss the ESP. Now I floored the accelerator and to my joy, this beast accelerated like a running rhinoceros and I overtook two trucks on the highway in a matter of seconds. I really felt exhilarated as I didn’t expect a 2.2 ton vehicle to have this much mojo.
The second row seats, surprisingly, are less on leg room. There’s a minor drive train bump in the middle but then Hexa is a rear wheel drive whilst XUV500 is a front wheel one, so One shouldn’t complain I guess. However, the second row seats tilt as well as slide. Slide for second row is missing in XUV500. Seats are comfy and would hold the occupants well over long drives.
What surprises You is the actually usable third row of Hexa. It is good enough to seat three kids or two adults comfortably. Cushioning on third row seats is also very good and what’s good is that these are fully developed seats, not some afterthought.
With all three rows up, Hexa still has usable boot space and it can easily accommodate two mid size suitcases and a big duffel bag.
So seating wise Hexa is good. Ride quality wise Hexa is
magical. I don’t know how Tata has managed it, the suspension just glides over bumps. The cabin of Hexa remains so pliant that You feel that the road tax paid by You has been utilized well by the Roads and Tpt Ministry.
Build quality of Hexa is robust. However, what will make Hexa flop in the Indian market is as follows:-
(a) a very premium and very depressing cabin.
(b) no gimmicks. Give me atleast keyless entry for God’s sake Tata.
(c) the couldn’t care less attitude of Tata dealers. Tata, either You go the Maruti Nexa way or Your ‘Taxi Driver Entertaining’ dealers will take your business down the drain.
I am still missing the look of the leather stiched upper glove box of Hexa with HEXA embossing.. sigh..
Now, we will shift our gaze to the next stallion, the
XUV500
XUV500 arrived majestically in her grey colour, the W10 Automatic Fwd Wheel Drive variant. The cabin is bright, the beige coloured leather seats are very good, but nowhere near to Hexa’s though.
XUV500 pampers You from the word Go. Keyless entry, autofold out ORVMs, electric 8 way adjust driver’s seat. The car tells the Driver that You are my God and I am here to serve You. Everyone has a board hanging around his neck that says
“Make Me feel Important” and XUV500 does that and more.
The top dash is black in colour, plastic is cheap and to add insult to injury Mahindra has given it a tacky texture. Cheap is the word to describe it. Storage spaces are a plenty, twin glove boxes, below arm rest, around the Auto Gear Lever, on top of central dash. You will never find yourself lacking a place to put something. The gear lever and steering wheels look good. Again, nowhere in comparison to Hexa’s.
The driver seat offers amazing support, adjusts exactly as per your desire and requirements. The car is more nimble in her movements compared to Hexa but Hexa was graceful, XUV500 is not, XUV500 is
eager, not graceful. The auto gear change in Hexa was almost intuitive. I drive with pedal to floor style (my favourite sticker for my car’s rear bumper is Got BHP!
) and Hexa smoothly shifted gears. It felt as if I was driving a CVT. XUV500 on the other hand holds the revs for two seconds too long. I think it caters for any uphill situation without even me pressing Hill Hold control.
Compared to Hexa, ride quality of XUV500 is bumpy. The difference is as stark as between the ride quality of old Hyundai Santro and Honda City. I drove over the same bumps at the same speed as I drove the Hexa, hence I can confidently say that XUV500 tosses You around much more. Acceleration of the vehicle is good but it never feels as solidly attached to road as Hexa did. It doesn’t exude a lot of confidence at a speed of 100 and above.
The second row of XUV500 pampers you with lot of leg space and knee room. Second row tilts but doesn’t slide. Third row is passable, good for kids or short drive for adults. There’s no boot space with third row up. You can keep your shaving kit and a toothpaste there though (just exaggerating, but only a very small bag can fit with all 3 rows up).
Now, XUV500 is that kid which although not very intelligent, gets better marks in class impression. I will tell You why:-
(a) it pampers the driver.
(b) it is much more sporty and beefy to look at.
(c) has a lively cabin.
(d) has all gadgets and gizmos.
Conclusion
So, as per my opinion, XUV500 will continue to rule the roost in mid level SUVs for some time. Mahindra needs to upgrade the music system and get Apple Car Play soon to stay ahead.
Hexa, although the kid with the better IQ, will lag behind as it doesn’t know how to impress the teacher. If Tata doesn’t get electric seat adjust, smart key entry and a livelier cabin soon in Hexa, I am sure Hexa is gonna go down the drain like Aria.
Regards fellow BHPians, thanks for tolerating me.