New family member - Purple Cheetah Mahindra XUV500 W8 FWD Facelift

sathya_nars · 24th July 2015, 15:04

Background and pre-work:

I've been thinking of an upgrade for some time now. My current one, the Maruti SX4, hasn't been giving any major troubles but I want to upgrade to the next class of vehicle. My family was a bit sentimental about selling the SX4, which served us excellently for 8 years. It never abandoned us anytime. Kudos to me too, I maintained it very well!

Did some research to nail down my choices for the upgrade. Safety, driving pleasure (I'm particular about it - one of the reasons I bought the SX4), family comfort, value for money, resale value; were some of the priorities. I didn't want a Maruti again. Excluded quite a few manufacturers outright. Corolla Altis, XUV5OO, Jetta - were some of the finalists (not many choices are available anyway in this segment). The high end variant of the Honda city and few others were included, but they got eliminated subsequently.

While I was comparing the features/spec's among the finalists, I went on for the test drives.

First I tried the Corolla Altis. Apart from the size of the car (which is obviously more than the SX4), what caught my eye at first is the executive feel once I get in. It drives well, liked the interiors, rear seats recliners, etc. Key issues I observed are - my knee was hitting the steering wheel whenever I get in/out, it took some time to get used to a different way of entering/exiting (than my SX4 where it was seamless). I felt as if I'm kind of sitting very close to the ground while driving (same I felt with Honda City while exploring when I bought SX4). Ground Clearance was ok but seating felt so low. I couldn't see even a portion of the bonnet from the driver's seat - yes most cars are like that, but not all. I felt i had to get up slightly to look up at lights, etc. It's a perfect executive car, no doubts. The bhp, torque, etc are good. My family may have liked it.

Next candidate is XUV5OO (SUV for Gen X, 5th Generation & Oomph factor - so the name XUV5OO.. Some people still call it XUV500). Hari (the sales executive) brought the high end variant W10 FWD for test drive. I was hesitating a bit to buy an SUV - as I feared the possibility of missing anything around whenever I would take reverse (and hitting it inadvertently) as the size of the car is huge and blind spots would be more. Until I got into the car for the first time, I never knew that I'm going to choose this. I am a fan of SUV anytime (except the fear I described) and the spec already impressed me (2.2L, 140 Bhp, 330 Nm, 6 airbags, all disc brakes, crash protection, impact beams, so on and so forth). Features were impressive too (7" touch screen, in-built navigation, driver arm-reset, auto start/stop, hill hold, etc). When I got in, the view was good overall (Hurray! I could see the bonnet from driver seat). Started the car, moved - I realized my intuition made the decision now!! It clocked to higher speeds well, spacious, rear seat recliner helped parents (family liked it), getting in/out was a bit difficult for them due to the height of the vehicle, clutch press had to be longer (I felt it before I read reviews by TBHPians a little later). I was impressed overall, period. I asked my friend to bring his XUV5OO (he had the previous version) which had side-steps installed. This side-step made my parents comfortable. My fear about ability to handle such a big car went away after I test drove (reverse camera was a boon). When the specs/features on paper almost match the test drive experience, nothing like it. However, I was following all the issues/bugs people have been complaining about in Tbhp. No car is free of issues but I could see that people appreciated Mahindra's prompt responses and the face lift version solved many bugs reported earlier in Tbhp.

Cabin insulation felt very good. Many other parameters I observed were similar to observation by other T-BHPians. Thanks guys for the detailed reviews.

My destiny:

The decision is made. W10 didn't justify the additional features over W8 for the extra money. So XUV5OO R W8 FWD was final. What color to choose? SUV's muscular presence is felt well with dark colors, in my opinion. My SX4 was a grey already. Though I liked Black, family didn't agree (same happened in SX4's case too). Red was a bit harsh and orange was looking very odd. So only choice left was Opulent Purple and I liked it naturally too. My family didn't have to think too much and agreed with me.

Want to thank my friend, TeamBHPian "Selective", who helped me with many inputs and guidance.

Advance booking and PDI:

While I was negotiating for the exchange price for the SX4, it seemed to drag a bit. The sales executive (Harinath from Sireesh auto, Bommanahalli, Bangalore) messaged me saying he wants to visit me to close the deal. I liked his approach. He came on a Sunday morning, 5th July. I decided to close the deal on the new XUV first, then open up conversation about exchange. "He made me an offer which I couldn't refuse". I think, overall we both had the intention to close the deal and it worked well. I paid advance then itself (5th July). About the SX4, I told him, I'll keep the option open - if I get good deal outside I'll go with it, else I'll come back to him. He agreed.

Thanks to Tbhpians, I learnt to go for PDI. Hari told me to visit the godown to see the car (unfortunately there was only one Purple car available that week). Saw the car the very next day, didn't find any issues from visual inspection. Gave a GO to him. Asked him to get another test drive so I can drive at top gear. He got me one the next morning at 7am, we went on hosur road - it throttled well, still couldn't try beyond 85 kmph due to the traffic (not legal too). The gear shift could occur well within 1.5K rpm and it's in 65-70 kmph at 5th gear, @ 80 kmph in 6th gear (both at 1.5K rpm) - I was comparing it with the SX4. Not an apples-to-apples, but I want to know what I'm getting from the Cheetah.

D-day was fixed as 13th July 2015, Monday. Visited the show room (my first visit to Sireesh) on Saturday 11th. Chose the specific models for the accessories (sunfilm, side-steps, door protector chrome strips, transparent floor mats). The spares department person Pasha was patient enough to show whatever options were available. I took another test drive (thanks to Saritha who arranged it almost immediately). The diesel on the test drive car was almost getting over. Even though the distance to empty was showing less than few kms and the fuel indicator on the dial had only one bar which was blinking, we could still come back without running out of fuel - so this got tested too.

Saritha who accompanied me for the test drive (Hari was sick that day, yet he arranged for it through her), told me about relationship managers that are assigned to each owner and also that not all service stations will service the XUV.

D-Day : 13th July 2015 :

I just confirmed with Hari in the morning if all accessories, etc are done/ready. Though he wasn't well for 2 days, he made it ready and he was present all throughout the time that I was there for the delivery. I can call it only as "Dedication to work". Muhurtham was between 4:30-6pm. Since one of my family members wasn't very well, we thought of going a bit early so she could take some rest. While just getting in the show room, I saw that my Cheetah was kept in delivery area separately within covered space. I am the only person that day taking an XUV out.

Hari gave me all docs, receipts, etc. We went ahead for the delivery. Dad did the ribbon cutting and curtains were raised (Really! Cheetah was covered by a velvet like cloth indeed). Parents did simple pooja, photo sessions, gift exchanges, etc. Sireesh guys surprised us by giving a framed photo of what we just took. I'm delighted, Sireesh team!!

I drove the Cheetah to come outside the garage. I just kept her within campus itself for a while, took more snaps. Odo was reading 19 Kms and diesel indicator showed 2 bars. Hari came back with a coupon for few more liters of diesel. I drove to the fuel pump close by (Hari accompanied too), apart from their free coupon, I filled up the tank. Oh Boy - Need to remember to fill **DIESEL** now onwards, not Petrol as a habitual action for the past many years!

We came back to the showroom, Hari gave a demo of various controls. Thanked him and I left the showroom. Hari is a nice gentleman to work with. I appreciated him. Feel free to use my name as a reference if you approach him in future! (PM me if you need his contact no).

Quite a few head-turners despite weekday evening heavy traffic.

We visited a temple on the way, the pujari did a good pooja. He said, his relative bought an XUV few months back.

We're back home and she fits well in the parking lot in my home. Most of my colleagues would be surprised as they don't know I bought my new animal already, they were thinking I'm still choosing! Indeed all were surprised to see it in the coming days.

Accessories/others I've got already:

1. Side-steps
2. Door protector chrome strips
3. Transparent floor mats - these are better to cover the floor fully. I had similar ones for the SX4. Hari assured me while booking itself that he will get these ones for me.
4. Sun film
5. Teflon coating

Reverse camera isn't in stock, only the sensor is there for now.

My review:

After clocking for 920 Kms now (City driving as well as highway drive Bangalore-Chennai), my review goes like this.

I can feel the power of Cheetah while driving, but due to the city traffic I needed to control her with a "chain on the neck"! Unlike the SX4, I can't easily sneak her in, during tight traffic. However, on the highway, she runs seamlessly. Fatigue is significantly lesser in long drives.

Biggest boon for me is the seamless music/phone calls across "engine stop/start" (auto/manual) during the signals. I've been waiting for it badly.

My family felt so comfortable in the rear seats. When I turn back at them from the driver seat, they're naturally sitting at a longer distance than how I felt in the SX4. Larger leg space was a boon to parents.

The Good points I liked

1) In-built Navigation: Works well (as long as GPS signal is available). When I typed my company name, it first lists the nearby branch address but when I selected it, it lists all branches to choose. Best thing I liked was - it recalculates the route pretty quickly and silently (without even announcing). In fact I didn't believe at first that it recalculated so quickly, I was waiting for it to announce (The GPS I used in US/Canada, it used to announce annoyingly "recalculating the route" and it took quite a few seconds). It also shows how many kms to nearby fuel stations at anytime. Also I saw it showed distance to nearby parking lots too. It has many indian languages to choose for the navigation voice directions.

2) Driving position, steering wheel, ergonomics, controls: I liked `em. Highest seating position (like I kept in SX4) isn't the right one I figured out, I lowered it little bit and it works well. 'Lumbar adjust' helps well with the lower back. Good that the front passenger has this control too. I'm close to perfect position now. Access to the controls from driver position is quite good. Steering wheel 'system controls' are handy. Steering wheel feels a bit heavier than SX4 but the control on the steering is good. The telescopic adjustment is very useful.

3) Voice commands work well (needs some training in the beginning). The number of commands aren't too many but it could recognize many names in my phone book pretty well.

4) Color, exterior styling & design: I liked the style overall. The view from all 4 sides are eye-catching. The vertical door handles are good to use. Most of my friends/relatives liked the Purple color of the Cheetah - this was the first comment from everyone.

5) Wheels & tyres: I would have liked an alloy for the spare wheel too, but Mahindra stopped giving it. 4 wheels are of course alloys. I got Bridgestone tyres. I inflated Nitrogen gas after taking delivery.

6) Overall build quality, fit n finish, paint quality, panel gaps - Looks good so far. However, the plastics quality could have been better for sure.

7) Air conditioner cooling & effectiveness - It's excellent. It cools pretty fast.

8) Audio system & sound quality - System is good, sound quality is good too. I'm not thinking of speakers upgrade yet, will visit it later.

9a) Gearshift & clutch: Gearshift is smooth but a bit longer throw (compared to SX4). Clutch is by design a longer throw. I got used to the gears very well now, clutch feels normal as I get used to.

9b) Engine performance & driveability in the city: Driveability is excellent, you feel sad for unable to touch 6th gear in city. It's a smooth drive.

9c) Engine performance & driveability on the highway: It's more than excellent - You feel awesome about your purchase while on the highway.

10) Overall NVH levels - It's excellent I would say. Cabin insulation felt very good in the highway (rolled down the window then rolled up). Wind noise was more in the highway so couldn't feel tyre or engine noise much - but I think the engine noise is controlled well. Overall I give thumbs up for better NVH.

11) Fuel efficiency: Gave about 14 Kmpl (highway + city driving). I would expect 10 to 10.5 kmpl in city driving.

12) Interior space & comfort: First comment from anyone is the large leg space in rear seats (2nd row). One friend said, the seats feel like sitting in a sofa. Comfort is well experienced with lot less fatigue during the long drive.

13) Auto wiper, aka rain sensing wiper, (if turned on) works pretty good. I liked rear windshield wiper - I was missing it in the SX4.

14) Cruise control - A boon on highways, indeed! Engaging/disengaging is easy and it's handy. I used to feel numbness due to constant acceleration on highways in SX4. Thanks to Mahindra, with the cruise control my knee was relaxing. Due to the run-in period (nothing specific, but it's good to stay within 100 kmph up to first 1K Kms), I stayed within 100 - Cruise was handy for the same (especially the "Resume" button is very helpful). It was at 2K RPM on 6th gear when on 100 kmph.

15) Braking felt very effective. I felt the control with me.

16) Ground clearance was awesome (even after installing side-steps). Many potholes and humps are seamless now. Family felt comfortable.

17) Handling, grip, stability, Turning radius: Felt very much under my control at any speed in city/highway. Even while taking turns @ 100 kmph in highway, I never felt body roll or out-of-control. Anyway I was letting it to the cruise control only when I felt confidence, else I reduced the speed. Turning radius is definitely good. Only in few places I had to take reverse while turning, else I could manage it well.

18) Suspension and ride quality: Suspension was definitely very good at different humps/speeds. Ride quality was excellent for the high-end SUV. The engine revs up quietly I would say, the refinement feels good.

19) The storage just above the touch screen is very handy to keep money/toll receipts during highway drive and parking tickets in malls.

20) The storage space inside the driver armrest comes with cold air provision - they claim we can keep food items that need cold storage slightly. I kept fruits.

21) "Auto engine on/off" (during signals, etc) is something that works well. However, I'm not using it frequently as it'll waste the fuel/battery if the signal duration is short.

22) Current Gear is displayed on the dial - very handy for me.

23) Once the mobile phone is connected via Bluetooth, I can see the signal and battery strength on the screen. It helps to put on the charger if I forgot.

24) Settings like sleep display, auto display work well and they're useful to save power (& reduce excess brightness within the car during night) and comes up almost immediately when needed.

25) I think voice recognition works better after I switched to Indian English option (or my imagination !!).

26) Lever for the reverse gear is handy, even by mistake you won't switch to reverse gear.

27) While I miss the explicit boot storage, ability to fold both 2nd and 3rd row seats is a very good feature with which I can carry any item that's longer (say, my bi-cycle).

28) Conversation mirror was useful when many passengers are behind you. Having more compartments to keep things is another thing I liked.

29) In few roads, navigation screen shows speed limit when I clocked higher - it's not shown on all roads though.

30) Few features are by default enabled such as ESP (Electronic Stability Program), hill hold. In fact for hill hold, I'm not given an option to disable - I liked the design choice here. Hill decent, of course, must be turned on with a button.

31) Locking up power windows for preventing control by passengers, still lets the driver control all windows. I just love the feature - I always wondered in SX4 why not this was enabled (when I locked it, even I wasn't able to operate the other windows except driver side window).

32) Opening up bonnet automatically turns on emergency light mode (and turns off automatically too) - it's a cool feature.

33) Mobile charging points for all 3 rows is a great convenience. Same with AC vents. That too, I can manually turn on/off 3rd row AC. Wow !!!

34) Economy mode for the AC helps save the fuel, it cuts of fuel supply when it cooled enough (is what he told me).

35) Follow-me-home headlamps option was good feature. I haven't paid attention (or used the) Lead-me-to-vehicle lamps option yet.

What are the bugs - Team Mahindra !! Are you listening?

1) After turning on the infotainment system, when I press "Navigation" button - it takes many seconds to come up and screen is blank all throughout. Hmmm, Mahindra!! Why not a status text or a progress bar? If there is no GPS signal, then it takes more time to show up.

2) I didn't expect this but happened. Most places in chennai, navigator kept saying "no signal" - even within city areas. It taught me a key lesson - it's not good to rely on this in-built navigation, keep the backup (mobile phone maps) always. But when it finds the signal, it works well.

3) Once a while, while turning on the audio system, it starts playing from the very first song of the USB key (as if it's plugged in for the first time) rather than from where it left off. Couple this issue with the problem that it doesn't have an option to skip to prev/next folders, it's the most annoying bug. Imagine, after playing 100 songs, if it starts playing from 1st song in next boot, literally it takes many movements to reach position it left off. I tried to workaround it by turning on shuffling and after many skip tracks I may get a bit closer to the last played track but it's not easy anyway.

4) SMS read-out on/off option is given in settings but it doesn't work at all. So no notifications itself on receiving SMS.

5) Up/Down arrow keys don't work even to scroll up/down the songs list or phone book. Scrolling is a pain, indeed.

6) Mahindra Blue Sense App doesn't work. I don't think it's a problem with iOS only. Without the app, I can't monitor tyre pressure precisely and other status/controls.

7) "Auto headlights" - even during better lit situations around 5pm, it ends up turning on the lights. NOOOOO. Why do I like it? I'm still exploring with it, to see if it ever makes sense under any circumstances.

8) When I skip to next or previous track while playing audio, for a brief time (~0.5 Sec) the current track plays after a brief pause and then it skips to new track - it's a glitch. In any player, we would expect it skips to new track just immediately without a glitch. It's very annoying. It happens more frequently.

9) The reflection of dashboard on the windshield (see picture) is distracting.

10) After turning on the dial (engine started or not, doesn't matter), default display comes in the touch screen that shows date/time. At this time, if there's pop up window due to any settings change like fan, AC, etc - I'm unable to turn on the music system until the pop up disappears.

11) The fuel bars aren't accurate. For 70 liters capacity, 10 bars in the dial, makes a bar equal to 7 liters each. But when I refilled diesel 2nd time, I saw only 4 bars left, (= 6 bars of fuel used up = 6 x 7 =) 42 liters only. But she drank about 50 liters (= 7 bars of fuel). I would be ok with +/- 2 liters but not an error of 1 bar. Will watch more here.

12) Voice command error of mis-recognizing some names is seen. Many times, it refuses to get few names however else I tried to pronounce. This was when I tried to call someone using voice command. I'll train him more.

13) Cruise control - after I lock up cruise at a particular speed X, I see that, it drives between X up to (X+5 or even X+7 kmph). I won't expect that to happen, but it happens. So I need to account for this too and setup the speed less than the max I would intend to run. Yikes! It's a bad option.

14) It happened once. After I got out, I tried to lock the Cheetah with the remote - it didn't lock. Yikes! Tried again and again, tried to unlock and then lock, opened the door, closed and tried, put the key back in the slot, turned on and took it out and tried to lock - NOTHING WORKED. Finally locked it using key slot on the door. Went to the restaurant and tried once again when I came out. At last it worked. Scary!! Didn't hit the issue again.

What are the Bad points I disliked ?

1) In-built navigation: Typing isn't very intuitive especially if it's a longer name. There is a noticeable lag while typing. Though the phone call screen doesn't occupy whole screen over the map, yet it's almost half. I can't minimize it too. So if you are on call while navigating, you're on your own directions until call is cut.

2) Driver position, ergonomics, controls etc; Longer travel to clutch & uneven levels of ABC (accelerator, brake, clutch) in normal position make it bit difficult to get to the "perfect" seating position. I prefer to stay far from the steering but forced to be closer to ABC due to the same.

3) This is one thing I hate the most - Sorting and menu options of music playback. Folder view isn't supported, not all songs will have all the tags available so can't see all songs in list easily, scrolling the album list is very counter-intuitive, folder jump controls aren't present (only can skip current track). It was a feature discontinued from previous version. Why Mahindra why?

4) "Auto wiper aka rain sensing wiper" works fine - however, the enable setting isn't remembered !! Across signals on a rainy day, if I turn off/on the engine, I need to turn on the auto wiper setting each time. IS IT BY DESIGN, MAHINDRA? Very bad design. The whole idea of seamless wiping is pointless if I have to "remember" to turn it on after each engine start.

5) The 'default' low beam seems not enough. I had to upgrade to higher capacity lights on SX4. Why am I not presented with decent enough capacity for a car of this segment where I already paid hefty? I'll spend more time with this and decide whether an upgrade is needed.

6) The pop up window (that comes up briefly whenever I change anything wrt temperature/fan/lights/auto wiper/etc) is very useful to check the current status but a button to simply pop it up to see current status would have been handy - it pops up only if I "change" any control.

7) I need more commands for the voice control, such as - skip next 2 tracks, call up last received call, redial, etc.

8) I think these are the limitations with Bluetooth interface (and/or with iOS version of the same) - Repeat on/off voice command has no effect while playing through Bluetooth audio.

9) In the previous XUV version, the USB slot was in bottom compartment (where the mobile charger was present) - this was very intuitive, it doesn't obstruct the hand movements while playing with panel controls and safe from children as well. I'm missing this benefit now. USB port is now in the slot just below the volume control (where the CD player was present in old model). The music and radio buttons are partly hidden now.

10) SX4 had a simple dedicated display for the clock. In many screens (like navigation, settings, etc) the clock isn't displayed in Cheetah. It makes it compulsory to wear wrist watch. During the night, when I'm on the navigation screen, I need to lit up my watch to know the time, which isn't good.

11) "Auto engine on/off" - If I see that traffic is heavily congested, I wanted to turn on this feature.
-- Engine is already on
-- Turn on this setting (it won't take effect)
-- Turn off the engine (but music system is on) and then turn on this setting (still it won't take effect)
-- I need to fully turn off everything, turn on this setting and only then it works. Make it easier Mahindra !!

12) Be a little more intuitive Mahindra - Why not the reverse gear be designed to shift in the reverse direction instead of forward movement?

13) Manual override for the fuel cap is a good backup option, in case the electric button fails. However since it's kept in the last row where children end up sitting mostly, I need to be very attentive that they won't fiddle around.

14) The person who gave detailed demo told me that I need to keep checking "coolent" level in the engine compartment once in 2 weeks. It seems a check needed for diesel cars, not petrol. How frequent does it drop the level below minimum (Existing XUV owners, comments please)?

15) Dead pedal next to clutch is inconvenient for me. When I drive wearing chappals (which aren't too much wider than my foot), I saw that the dead pedal is obstructing while pressing the clutch.

16) I can feel the Turbo-lag of the engine. After I shift any gear upwards, little after 1 or 2 seconds, I can see that the car revs up faster without even throttling - initially it scared me, but now I look forward to it. But be careful in city traffic, you may hit someone. In the highways, I'm anyway revving the throttle so this effect isn't noticed.

17) Battery warranty is only for 1 year.

18) ORVMs fold automatically when I lock the car after I step out. It's a boon & curse. I would like a setting to enable/disable this.

19) There are no reading lamps in 3rd row.

20) I preferred having the sound when I lock/unlock the car using remote key. I'm missing the feature (only the lights flash). Strangely it sounds 4 times when I lock it in covered areas like my parking place at home, etc (not in the parking places outside). What design is it Mahindra?

Misc:

- I'm yet to check if the "sound dependent volume control" is indeed helping/working well. I spent good time enjoying my songs, didn't notice this.

- Got so many calls from Mahindra since the delivery and a person visited to give detailed demo, it was helpful.

- On-road assistance is free for 2 years.

- Warranty is for 3 years.

- My usage pattern is 12 kms/day on week days & about 20-50 kms/day on weekends.

- The horn sound is low compared to SX4. Cabin insulation is one reason, otherwise also I felt it low (my Dad noticed too). When the song plays little louder itself, I couldn't hear the horn sound.

What to keep an eye on:

1. Battery - The person who gave detailed demo claims it will last for 4 years (SX4 gave a solid 4 years). As features are more and with the touch screen, let me see how well it lasts.

2. Luggage space - When fully loaded with the family (including children in 3rd row), I won't have space for luggage. I'll wait to see, before I consider the roof-top carrier.

3. Need to build more patience to drive a bigger animal than the SX4, maneuvering isn't as easy these days as it was with the SX4.

4. Mileage - 10+ in city is what my friend tells me, same as SX4.

Accessories in the future:

These are next set of accessories in my "watch list'". I'm not gonna hurry up but load them one by one only when I feel it's important.

1. Reverse camera - A must.. I'm waiting for the stock. Hari said he would let me know when it arrives.

2. Seat covers - Though Beige looks classy, it will become dirty quicker. Hari suggested some cleaning liquids. Need to focus on good options here.

3. Roof luggage carrier - I don't see an immediate need. Saw that someone in Tbhp already raised an opinion about it interfering with airbags? I think Mahindra's genuine design would have taken care of the key safety issue.

4. Magnetic visor for covering windows - I saw it creates scratches in Tbhp reviews. Any updates from owners? One thing I suspect is - how well it supports 'shoulder check'? I'll keep an eye on it.

5. Rear bumper - I suspect it may obstruct the rear camera view. I'll take a look after I fit the reverse camera.

6. DVD player: Not an immediate item to buy.

What next?

Watch this space!!! I'll update more reviews as I experience my Cheetah further.

Thanks for reviewing my post patiently…

P.S.: Why I could hardly see 'only' ~10 threads on the XUV so far in Tbhp? Aren't there more XUV owners posting reviews or are all pouring into same thread?

Some snaps...

Vik0728 · 24th July 2015, 15:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by sathya_nars

D-Day : 13th July 2015 :-

Congrats sathya on your latest acquisition. I am not a big fan of the really dark colors (except Black) but this shade really looks gorgeous on the new XUV !!

Quote:

Oh Boy - Need to remember to fill **DIESEL** now on-wards, not Petrol as a habitual action for past many years !!

As soon as I read this line, I almost shuddered as one of my friend's adventure came back from the memories. He had picked up the I-gen I20 1.4 AT and tanked it up with Diesel right after the delivery !!

Luckily for him, the RSA from Hyundai were onto the case in a jiffy and ensured he didn't end up with an Engine Swap at his own cost.

With your case though, at least until the "Petrol XUV" comes about, even the Gas Station folks will not fill in Petrol for sure.

Wish you happy motoring.

sbala · 24th July 2015, 16:14

Congratulations on your new purchase. Keep revving...

Do you mind sharing the deal you got on XUV 5OO? Any discounts on the car, accessories, anything free??

amansanc · 24th July 2015, 16:36

Congrats on the XUV, fellow bhpian. I love this shade on the car and it makes it look more upmarket somehow.

Read that you are planning to get seat covers. Beware. Your car has side airbags which might be impacted due to seat covers. Dying the seats is the safest option and is done by Color Glo in Kerala. Search for the name on the forum itself and you will find the details.

Tanveer_2558 · 24th July 2015, 21:35

Hello sathya_nars, Congrats on the New age XUV, Looks really good in the purple shade, I was always a fan of XUV in this color. And in the New Age it looks even better! Also thanks for the pics showing the infotainment system going into the one hour mode, Which for me it doesn't. Will get it checked soon, Wish you many miles of happiness, Enjoy the beast!

Maky · 24th July 2015, 22:27

Very nice review. Nearly T-BHP levels of review detail!.
I have some questions though

:

Quote:

Originally Posted by sathya_nars

6) Overall build quality, fit n finish, paint quality, panel gaps - Looks good so far. However, the plastics quality could have been better for sure.

Could you elaborate here. I would like to know if you found the interior plastic of uneven quality across different panels, as was the case with the last XUV, or if you think they should go up a level or two in quality generally across all surfaces.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sathya_nars

27) While I miss the explicit boot storage, ability to fold both 2nd and 3rd row seats is a very good feature with which I can carry any item that's longer (say, my bi-cycle).

You find the boot space with 3rd row folded down to be less or less with the 3rd row folded up?
Also, does the 2nd row fold flat or is there a hump?

Thanks Sathya : ).

abirnale · 24th July 2015, 23:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by sathya_nars

My current one, the Maruti SX4, hasn't been giving any major troubles but I want to upgrade to the next class of vehicle.
...
Next candidate is XUV5OO

Congratulations SATHYA_NARS for bringing home the purple Cheetah!

Seems like our stories are very same. I too upgraded my 2011 SX4 ZXi to XUV5OO W10. You can find both my ownership thread on the forum.

Wish you many more happy and safe miles with Cheetah.

Quote:

1) After turning on the infotainment system, when I press "Navigation" button - it takes many seconds to come up and screen is blank all throughout. Hmmm, Mahindra!!

This has never been the case for me. It's always instantaneous in mine. Must be something wrong. Do check the software versions - may be old version or pending update. That should be a simple fix at first service.

Quote:

2) I didn't expect this but happened.

It happens. The signals in close building areas may be weak. Use navigation for directions but when close to destination, at least in India, ask people! and more than one for sure

Quote:

4) SMS read-out on/off option is given in settings but it doesn't work at all. So no notifications itself on receiving SMS.

Mine works perfect. It reads all the SMS without any issues. Again - this is attributed to the software version. Do check for pending updates if any.

Quote:

6) Mahindra Blue Sense App doesn't work. I don't think it's a problem with iOS only.

It does work only if you fill in the personal info and vehicle info - specifically the engine and chassis number first. If that is not done, make edits. Note that when you use the iPhone as iPod, it disconnects the bluetooth from the infotainment. This is known issue mentioned i the infotainment guide too.

Quote:

7) "Auto headlights" - even during better lit situations around 5pm, it ends up turning on the lights.

Cloudy perhaps? Or the light sensor on the dashboard is covered with idol or something? Check once.

Quote:

13) Cruise control - after I lock up cruise at a particular speed X, I see that, it drives between X up to (X+5 or even X+7 kmph). I won't expect that to happen, but it happens.

Are you sure? Just check if by error when you pressed the Set+, the speed was exact at X and you did not further press A pedal before leaving the Set+ button. Again works like charm and behaves perfect in mine but please check this with SA once. If there is something really wrong, must be fixed. This can be an issue if the cruise misbehaves on highway disobeying your orders.

Quote:

14) It happened once. After I got out, I tried to lock the Cheetah with the remote - it didn't lock.

So many strange things! This is never the case I have experienced. In fact I never taken the key out of my pocket so far while closer to car or driving it. I always use the black button on handle to lock and unlock. Only when I feel like may be I have not locked, I use the lock button on the lock to realise, I have already locked!

Quote:

4) "Auto wiper aka rain sensing wiper" works fine - however, the enable setting isn't remembered !!

Not sure about this one. I will check and confirm. But AC settings, Wiper Settings, Headlights settings should stay as they were left last.

Quote:

11) "Auto engine on/off" - If I see that traffic is heavily congested, I wanted to turn on this feature.

No. It's actually very simple. Once you set the Auto ON/OFF button to work for Micro Hybrid feature, the engine automatically stops if you leave clutch and neutral is engaged. Note that this does not work unless the engine has attained minimum operating temperature (around 2-3 Kms of driving).

Quote:

14) The person who gave detailed demo told me that I need to keep checking "coolent" level in the engine compartment once in 2 weeks.

It's good practice. Nothing really serious about it. I used to check on my SX4 every weekend. A good round of car, all fluid level checks, occasional peeping in the engine bay to see if there are any rat presence symptoms and once a month clean the air filter myself. All these small things go a long way in maintaining any car in tip-top shape. Get in that habit if you aren't already!

Overall very detailed observations and reviews. It would be great to meet you soon and in person check out more for mutual benefits and understanding!

Safe drive. Have fun.

RJ411 · 25th July 2015, 16:32

Congratulations sathya_nars. The car looks brilliant in purple shade.
I have always wondered how different it will be driving a big car like XUV, when you come from smaller ones. Your detailed write up gives a lot confidence for people like me

Seems SX4 and XUV has some connection

vdm · 25th July 2015, 16:39

Mod Note : There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use a spell-checker.

sathya_nars · 25th July 2015, 21:08

Thanks everyone. After I wrote such a lengthy report, I wondered who'll have patience to read it fully - TBHPians proved me wrong pleasantly

I'll continue to post my updates.

Btw, few more bugs to add to list:

1. When I take/make calls through music system, after few minutes, I hear weird 'chuk chuk' sound continuously from somewhere near the vents in front of my seat (it goes away the moment I disconnect the call). It doesn't happen always but mostly when the call is longer than 15 or 20 mins.

2. Switching songs across Bluetooth (phone) Vs USB shows up some glitches.

I've forwarded link of this thread to my relationship manager to have a look at the issues. I'll follow up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amansanc

Read that you are planning to get seat covers. Beware. Your car has side airbags which might be impacted due to seat covers. Dying the seats is the safest option and is done by Color Glo in Kerala. Search for the name on the forum itself and you will find the details.

Thanks Aman. As I said, I knew about this limitation, I'll check about this option.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Also thanks for the pics showing the infotainment system going into the one hour mode, Which for me it doesn't. Will get it checked soon, Wish you many miles of happiness, Enjoy the beast!

@Tanveer - plz update once your issue is resolved. I'm wondering if the root cause for our issues is the same, just we see different symptoms or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maky

Could you elaborate here. I would like to know if you found the interior plastic of uneven quality across different panels, as was the case with the last XUV, or if you think they should go up a level or two in quality generally across all surfaces.

The second part - I feel they should go up a level or two in quality generally across all surfaces. I don't get a feel (fully) that it's a high-end SUV from the interior plastics perspective.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maky

You find the boot space with 3rd row folded down to be less or less with the 3rd row folded up?
Also, does the 2nd row fold flat or is there a hump?

It's less with 3rd row folded *up*. Oh! I didn't notice about the hump Vs flat about 2nd row folded. I'll try it and update.

Quote: