[mentalmaxout]

So war of the titans (Indian SUVs) is here

Want to shift from sedan to first SUV. Plus mid life YOLO setting in .

shortlisted these 2 candidates. Facelift safari Accomplished + 7 str vs XUV 700 AX7 L

requirements
- comfortable to drive in city ( 95% time in Mumbai city bumper to bumper)
- good FE for an SUV ( 10-12 KMPL)
- yearly running will be 13-15k , preference for diesel
- niggle free ( joke, i know) but as far as possible and easily solvable as possible
- should be solidly built and should last 10-12 years ( my Nissan sunny is in its 12th year with over 1.3 lakh kms odo)

Test drove the Safari and XUV

Liked in safari: (over XUV)
- massive road presence
- excellent touch screen and camera quality - features like 360 degree camera quality
- feature loaded
- higher seat viewing adding to SUV feel
- ventilated seats , memory functions and auto dimming IRVM
- small touches like sun protection for windows & foldable headrests
- interior richness
- solid built

Other points of safari
- ride felt stiffer
- brakes seemed to have delayed response compared to XUV
- steering felt a bit more heavier (compared to XUV)
- reliability of Tata service centre vs Mahindra ( have been hearing horror stories of Tata Motors since childhood)
- ac cooling seemed slow ( on 2nd seat air vents were located near the knee)
- music system sounded louder than XUV but XUV seemed more richer
- gear shifter seemed tacky and plasticky... Couldn't shift gears in first few tries and still kept getting it wrong

Liked in XUV (over safari)
- ride felt more plush and more sedan like
- 2023 model seems to have most niggles sorted out
- responsive brakes
- auto booster headlamps
- Sony 12 speaker system with 3d surrounding sound
- chiller Ac

Other points XUV vs safari
- lack of ventilated seats and auto dimming IRVM is a big bummer
- shades for 2nd row seats would have been nice


The mind and heart are clearly torn. Head says Safari - futuristic and feature loaded, and latest of the 2 suvs.. but have concerns over how reliable Tata service would be . Plus reliability of all the electronic features on offer

Heart says XUV .. hearing most niggles are sorted out and even random rattles have stopped rearing their heads, but missing a few features like ventilated seats and auto dimming IRVM. ..

Existing Tata owners and Xuv Owners and seniors. Pls help me decide

[subbarp]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

Want to shift from sedan to first SUV.
requirements
- comfortable to drive in city ( 95% time in mumbai city bumper to bumper)
- good FE for an SUV ( 10-12 KMPL)
- yearly running will be 13-15k , preference for diesel
- niggle free ( joke, i know) but as far as possible and easily solvable as possible
- should be solidly built and should last 10-12 years ( my nissan sunny is in its 12th year with over 1.3 lakh kms odo)

Do checkout the HyCross as well.
- is comfortable to drive in the city (as also the highways). I have been taking the Hycross as a choice in the city as against the Corolla due to ease of driving. Sounds like a paradox! but thats what it is. Less tiring in bumper to bumper traffic, has ample acceleration. If you drive 95% in the city, this would be easier than many other SUVs. Auto-hold is a boon.
- Excellent fuel efficiency. One may argue the numbers depending on the style of driving, but you should usually expect over 14kmpl in the city and over 18kmpl on the highway with no specific focus.
- is E20 petrol compliant as are many other vehicles but there is no other specific requirement in fuel type. Offers flexibility of refueling and about 750km+ range on a tankfull (approximate-depends on the driving mode & style).
- Accelerates well, is nimble and agile. Body roll is not felt or reported by passengers.
- Niggle free and easily solvable is the expectation from a Toyota.
- Built to last is also an expectation. My Corolla is 2006 built, have similar expectations from the Hycross.

What you will not get:
- The tag of an SUV. It's called an MUV or MPV. You will also find taxis plying around.
- Good sized side walls. The car should have had a better ratio than 225/50/R18 for ZX variants.
- Super high-resolution screens but they all work well and feel confident that they should continue to work well. They serve the purpose very well.
- Great headlights. Highway driving at night is a struggle due to the short throw of light and the drive time has to be planned carefully. Within the city is fine.

[PetrolHead2272]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

requirements
- comfortable to drive in city ( 95% time in mumbai city bumper to bumper)
- good FE for an SUV ( 10-12 KMPL)
- yearly running will be 13-15k , preference for diesel
- niggle free ( joke, i know) but as far as possible and easily solvable as possible
- should be solidly built and should last 10-12 years ( my nissan sunny is in its 12th year with over 1.3 lakh kms odo)

Your requirements scream Innova Hycross hybrid. Despite its size, the Hycross is a very easy car to drive in the city owing to the light steering wheel. Amazing FE in the city too (do not go for the regular petrol variant if you want good FE). For yearly running of 13-15k, a diesel isn't exactly mandatory and tbh even a Hybrid would do just fine.
When it comes to niggle free and solidly built, drop the Safari ASAP. The old Safari continued to have niggles and this new facelift of 2023 would only add on to those numbers due to it being a fresh batch of manufacturing. If you really really want a Safari and are willing to take the risk, please delay the purchase till when a few lots of the new Safari have already been sold. XUV7OO is more or less a niggle free car except a few cases and should something go wrong Mr. Anand Mahindra is very approachable to the customers unlike the case with Tata where even mails dont work at times. However, whether the XUV is solidly built is a question only time will tell.
My honest suggestion would be pick the Hycross ZX or even the VX(o). It would surely be a few extra bucks but with that you would get a solid vehicle and the legendary service and durability of a Toyota.
Happy shopping.

[GTO]

Aha, so the Sarkari Family (23 days in UK Lake district & Scotland with the Sanskari family) is out looking for a new car . Knowing how you keep your cars long & travel so much, spend a lot of time test-driving, reading forums & choose wisely.

As other BHPians have said, the Innova Hycross seems tailormade for you and one really cannot go wrong with it. But maybe you prefer an SUV, maybe you don't need all that 3rd-row space and maybe you don't want to spend more for the top-end Innova Hycross.

If that's the case, both the Safari & XUV700 are fantastic SUVs. The Safari, especially, looks like a 60-lakh car after its facelift came out; there is no doubt that its got a greater personality now than the Mahindra. But between the two, I'll go with the XUV700 AT. Just find it to be better engineered, better powertrains (including a great turbo-petrol & a sweet refined diesel that's better than FCA's diesel in the Safari), superior suspension setup and lesser niggles overall (although it will still have its share).

[androdev]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

- comfortable to drive in city ( 95% time in mumbai city bumper to bumper)

Innova Hycross.

What it lacks in the initial WOW feeling, it more than makes up for in daily city usage and fuss free ownership.

[libranof1987]

What are the current waiting periods quoted for the Hycross and XUV700 AX7 L? A friend was in the market in Aug and was quoted a year by Mahindra, since the top end is the hardest hit by supply chain issues + has the most demand. The Hycross goes even longer.

If waiting period is not a concern, I agree that the Hycross may be best suited. Especially the hybrid that'll be very handy in crawling traffic. The XUV700 next. None of the three cars are SUVs per se so if you want a true SUV, perhaps consider the Compass?

[rajshenoy]

You haven't mentioned if you need 7 seaters but since you did not mention Tata harrier(5 seater) I assume you are ok with 3 row seats(excellent boot space on folding).

Biggest concern I have is 95% drive inside city (bumper to bumper) - From my analysis on team-bhp, this might lead to Diesel DPF issues. Diesel is amazing choice if you are looking for a highway tourer. Among the two, only Mahindra offers petrol (ok for 13-15K kms per year) which I hear might return you only 7-8kmpl in city(and 11-12 on highways)

As few have already suggested, I feel hycross might suit your "city" requirement better. I too am confused between XUV700, Tata safari and hycross. Drove them on same stretch and felt TATA to be the widest and heaviest(feeling) and hycross felt very car like to drive(XUV comes in the middle). As I drive a sedan(Corolla), I felt hycross to be more city friendly(the width makes it easy for city drives). XUV came close second on ease of drive. My family did not like Safari back seat ride quality.

Since you are looking for top end variants, XUV and Safari also are over 30L and it is not much of a stretch for Hycross.

Toyota however comes with that super long waiting period, so if you are not willing to wait, do give it a pass(I feel both XUV and Safari offer amazing value)

Lastly, do check the service experience of your local TATA, Mahindra dealerships as that alone will decide the fate of your long ownership.

I booked hycross purely for these reasons as the nearby TATA service stations seem always overcrowded and Mahindra dealership is dragging their feat in bringing service centre near my house for XUV(Need to travel 25+ km in bangalore traffic). Hope that helps

[vattyboy]

I suggest you please read the team BHP forums of both cars, I did last week and I was surprised to find that many fellow bhpians are experiencing niggles in both these cars very frequently. So I ruled both of these cars out from my list as after spending 25 lakhs I don't want niggles and
my new lovely car to visit ASS because of the fault of Manufacturers.

[extreme_torque]

I would suggest Innova Hycross as well over the two even though I absolutely adore the new Safari. Your usage pattern which is going to be 95% in the city is perfectly suited for a hybrid which would give you better efficiency than a diesel with none of the headaches of the diesel such as dpf issues or adblue addition. The Innova Hycross looks great, has great performance and efficiency, great practicality and most importantly fuss free ownership experience and better resale than both Tata and Mahindra.

Thats the head part taken care of. If you want to go with the heart, I would pick Safari over XUV700 any which day. Safari looks like a millions dollars and I find Safari's interior to much better looking and feeling compared to XUV700 who's only claim to fame is two giant screens which copy Mercedes design and not much else. The rest is a sea of bland very average quality hard plastics.

All the best.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

requirements
- comfortable to drive in city ( 95% time in Mumbai city bumper to bumper)
- good FE for an SUV ( 10-12 KMPL)
- yearly running will be 13-15k , preference for diesel
- niggle free ( joke, i know) but as far as possible and easily solvable as possible
- should be solidly built and should last 10-12 years ( my Nissan sunny is in its 12th year with over 1.3 lakh kms odo)

Majority of your requirements (highlighted in bold) scream Hycross. Price difference between all models top variants would be around 3L. But that would more than easily make up for a lower running cost (Hybrid and Toyota service) and an awesome resale value (Toyota badge, 10-12 year fortuner/Innovas are still being sold for 50% of their original price!)

Only issue with Hycross is the waiting period. Check if any December stock is still available.

If you still want to go with XUV/Safari, of the two I would anyday pick the XUV700. Mahindra's niggles are fewer in number and stature IMO. Tata's is altogether a different story!

[3WiseMen]

Between the two the XUV700 is a better product - It has better engines and suspension. XUV also is a relatively fuss free ownership and the after sales service is much better.

As for your criteria - Though in the fuel efficiency department, the Mahindra may be lacking but the diesel is still better than the Petrol. It is very good in Mumbai traffic conditions - the steering wheel is light, the acceleration is good + ADAS also helps.

The refresh Safari however has better looking interiors and some additional features and a more usable last row.

Hycross if your budget permits is a good wild card entry that checks all your boxes, just that the availability is low, the prices are unjustifiably high and the car is a van and not .

But then again, I'm a big advocate for buying Indian cars. We need to help our homegrown brands.

[FAIAAA]

Hi, between the two options mentioned, XUV700 for reasons already mentioned above.
However you didn't mention if you need the 7 seats/3rd row. If not, why not go a size down to the Maruti /Toyota strong hybrid twins. You will save a lot of money, the Grand Vitara strong hybrid should be easily available and incredibly fuel efficient. Smaller footprint makes it easy to drive and park in the city. Great suspension for Mumbai roads.
Yes the engine can be anaemic on the highway, but your use case is 95% in the city. For the balance 5% time, rent a 7 seater self drive / cab option.

[Quiche_SK]

Hi, I would recommend Innova Hycross considering your priorities of comfort, fuel efficiency (hybrid for sure), niggle free (most important) and value for money even considering resale value of Toyota.

If you still stick to SUV looks, go for XUV 700 which is better in terms of ergonomics and long drive comfort.

[Asoon]

How are you defining SUV ? And how important it is for you to stick to SYV ? For Me it should be either RWD or AWD or 4x4
Rest everything is a regular car in a boxy shell

Real SUVs in the bucket are XUV 700, Scorpio N or Jeep Meridian
If we are ok with the non strict definition then it it is a choice between XUV, Hycross and Alcazar

I still hesitate to recommend at 20L+ Tata due to the baggage (after sales experience and build quality) brand has

[supertinu]

This surely is a tough decision to make. Even though I am not in market for a new car for couple of years, but I am almost certain I would pick between these 2 at the time and I cant decide which one. Heart goes to Safari and head to XUV.

You have already summarized the pros/cons pretty accurately. Ventilated seats in XUV should show up in the upcoming minor revision in 2024 as per rumor mill, so that is not a deal breaker anymore. Overall I would tilt towards XUV mainly due to better engine which in my mind is vital in car buying decision, but if looks/presence is something you care for more, then Safari anyday.