[E = mc²]

Just when the marketing department at Mahindra were sipping up their five-o’ clock tea ogling at their sales figures sky rocketing, that led them motivated (or a bit over-confident, maybe.?) to plunge right out into a segment in which they’ve never been before. But there had to be some archetypes to be acknowledged to trace the ancestry of their long respected SUVs. As of then, you wouldn’t have thought about about a Hatchback or Sedan when someone said “Mahindra”. To attain that genealogy, some traits had to be manifested over to the new boy in the family tree.

SUV like stance.? Check!

High ground clearance.? Check!
Engine with a bird name.? Check!
More seating..? Oh, yes yes! Check!

With all these put together, knowingly or unknowingly Mahindra cooked up a new recipe which could never be called a ‘hatchback’ or ‘SUV’( just for the sake, I call it hatchback). So, what they have basically done here is that somewhere in the middle of those two segments, they managed to come up with a new moiety of their own.

The upshot.? The KUV100!

The review has been on a long due and I almost dropped the plan of doing it. But you see, I’m having my internship going on now, and the place here is home to boredom and passing each hour is like waiting for the next blue moon to happen. Just when I thought of boredom, the first thing that sneaked into my mind was nothing other than my only vehicle as of now. You got the sarcasm, don’t you.? Ironically though, this review is to eradicate my boredom, but vehicle in the question works the other way around. (Pardon me for mockery). But hey, don’t get me wrong. The vehicle at times could be a peppy one to drive in terms of the growl it makes past 3.5k rpm, given that you have deep pockets. I’ll tell you more about this in a while.

Scripted down here is my personal view on the vehicle. More professional and intrepid review about the same can be found here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

A bit…long background.

I have always been a lad who fancied cars more than bikes from my young days itself. The first car I’ve driven was a ’95 Toyota Cressida. Then to Chrysler Acclaim, Chevrolet Lumina, Patrols and Land Cruisers under proper guidance and strict speed control, I was fortunate enough to have a taste of their feel back in my good old bygone years.

A couple of years later, after settling back in India (Kerala) we have had some vehicles which were chauffer driven.

The last weird quirky thing that I took the i10 to, before it slipped away from me


As time swept past, I was given the authority to take the car to nearby places with someone beside me on the passenger seat. A year later, something else appeared in the garage. A W203 C220! The car had been a breeze and loved it as much as I did my i10. Both the cars were pampered with care and love. All errand driving was done by me and the commutation was very much low for us thereupon.

She was gorgeous in Cubanite Silver and that special Elegance trim. I have hardly seen only one or two C220's wearing the Elegance badge.


Pardon the edits. This one's about 3 years old.


A close look portrays how the car had been taken care of. The beige interior was garden-fresh for a W203.


Had made some movie appearances as well. 'Bicycle Thieves' - Malayalam


Not a perfect two car garage, but sufficed me at that time. Again, sourced from my previous facebook posts.


Downright seduction up there - topping it off with 340 Nm and a 6 speed manual!


One among the very very small friend circle I have/had.


Bade farewell to the duo:-Seasons flew by, tanks of fuel filled up, miles of road trips crunched and fond memories cherished! Came the time when I had to pursue my higher studies, farewell to hometown and abroad again! As with the only driver at home abroad, a two car garage was rather pointless and C220 made way off from the garage. The usual travelling was low for everyone at home then and mostly they relied on public transportation as they were easily accessible, yet the i10 remained. As time passed by, i10 had seen a lot of drivers and probably that led to some weird happenings with the car. Repairs began sprouting up and service center visits kept happening often. Eventually, she bade farewell from garage. I wasn't told about selling off the i10, as they knew I'd be stern on keeping her and getting an outright revamp.

KUV comes in

It was Onam time back then and showrooms were overloaded with new car booking and dealers were finding it intimidating to allot cars to customers, and among them were us. Since my family isn’t by any means a petrol head one, they didn’t have any peculiar cars on which they were interested. Every brand was given a call and dealers quoted at least 25 days for the car to arrive. The 25 days period wasn’t acceptable as I would embark back down home for vacation in 2 days’ time. So, I needed a car for my jaunts, and rented cars were a big no. Eventually, they pounced upon Mahindra and they showed them Mahindra’s new ‘recipe’. Gave them a TD, and the extra one seating capacity was a thumbs up. Mind you, they were unaware and weren’t even sure about what color vehicle were they going to get.

That dealership didn’t have any cars at that time, but told they can source one from another showroom which is 150 km away. Family nodded yes and payment token was given. Car was transported, registration done, took delivery, everything in two days’ time.

…and Hola! The KUV100!! Before the excitement of a new car engulfs in, let me tell you something. This KUV100 is a K2, which means it has gone back to old school of scrolling the windows down. No power windows even, but the window crank handle . Apparently, that was the only car the dealer had for an immediate delivery. But boy, does it come with ABS + EBD as standard! The new car reached out to me as a surprise though!

Pros

- ABS + EBD standard across all variants.
- Gear Position and armrest works in aid to provide driving comfort.
- Interior feels great for the price range with piano black finish.
- Fairly spacious cabin .
- Gear indicator.
- Adequate legroom.
- Sufficient low end torque

Cons

- Lacks refinement.
- Seats aren’t supportive.
- Blind spots make reversing intimidating.
- As with most other cars in India, airbags aren’t standard.
- No power window & central locking (K2)
- Weird side profile.
- Poor Fuel Economy, even after an ECU update.
- Poor VFM for the top end which is north of 8 lakhs.

Exterior



KUV100 is infamous for its weird proportions, starting from the front all the way to the rear, if you view it from the side. To me, the front visages look good, except the fact that they extended the head lamps utterly to the A-pillar. The side profile is something which everyone loathes about. What were design engineers from Mahindra thinking.?! They were the ones who gave us the truculent XUV500 and the boxy-masculine Bolero and even today with just minimal updates, they look timeless. Or could it be the layman interns at Mahindra the ones which came up with the KUV blueprint.? But you can’t sell a car with side profile like this one!





Rear styling is subtle. They’ve left this part alone without any absurdity. Looking it from a distance, tells you that it is a tad wider than other hatchbacks in the segment.


There’s the ‘Mahindra’ badge to the left and an another one at the right hand side indicating the model and the variant.


Door handles for the K2 aren’t body coloured. For higher variants, they have the front door handles in body colour and the rear ones in a much more premium silver



The bonnet gets heat shielding.


K2 variant doesn’t get a DRL. The space is compensated by a clean inlay. I wish if the orange stripe running along the headlamps could be used as turn indicators.

Again, the K2 variant doesn’t get body coloured rear view mirrors. But the mirrors look good in this finish. Yes, they are biker friendly.


Attached rear spoiler compliments the aerodynamics. A black wrap should make this part more lively.


Interior

Front row seats can accommodate 3 people including the driver. However, in case of a hard braking, the middle person may sustain a hard hit directly on the stereo.m, if not belted up. The backrest, when folded down can be used as a handrest and can be shared by the driver and the passenger in the front. However, with the 3rd person sitting on the front row, the aircon cooling at the rear is affected.


The dashboard goes dual tone with a piano black finish. Although it’s a dust magent, the overall looks of the cabin is levelled up by a good extent.


There isn’t a push start system. Turn on the power and you’re greeted by a few warning icons and they eventually fade away after cranking the car up. The MID aiding with a tachometer and speedometer, displays the engine temperature, fuel, odo reading and the gear engaged. The door ajar warning doesn’t show you the specific door. There isn’t a warning for the boot nor the bonnet. Also, this variant doesn’t get steering controls for the ICE.


In the interest of the third person seating and the handbrake, the gear lever is positioned along with the center console - easy upshifts and downshifts. Higher variants get more premium touch on the knob.


The interiors have the essential controls well lit up during night upon turning on the headlamps. I have put down a collage on on the interior lighting with and without the headlamps turned on.


View of the dash from the rear seat. Notice the dashboard having a curvy design.


The keyhole and the 12V socket are lit up as well. The keyhole light goes off upon shutting the door. I personally find the keyhole light of no use.


A handy storage space is provided for the driver to hold cards and alikes.


The car comes equiped with a LED dome light, which is capable of liting up the entire interior. This also acts as a warning light for the doors.


Ride & Handling

Owing to the tall posture with 170 mm clearance from the road, one driving the KUV doesn’t have to worry about scrapping underneath the body. It also accounts for high body roll while cornering at a fair speed. The steering doesn’t encourage you to be sporty, it lacks feel and feedback. Despite coming with ABS, the brakes don’t give you confidence for hard braking at highway speeds. You can actually feel the ABS kicking up on wet tarmacs or gravel. The turning radius until now has been adequate to me. Negotiating small humps at 5 kmph – 10 kmph would make the rear shudder with no passengers at the second row. With regards to safety, I maintain an average of 60 kmph on the highway and with that on the speedo, the cruising is quite comfortable. City driving can be cumbersome sometimes due to its not so light steering wheel and unsupportive seats. You wouldn’t experience a ‘long reach’ for any controls from your driving position as everything is positioned quite logically. The cabin is silent and the engine growls only sneak in past 3000 rpm.

The 5 speed manual transmission is super smooth and the gear lever is placed exactly at your luxury. Switch the gear to 4th, and you could hear a thud once it falls into place. Despite the gears being so smooth, this quirk leave my friends with a sheep’s eye for a few seconds at the gear lever. The tallboy stance of the vehicle, with the suspension jacked up is a welcome aid for body roll around corners. After all, this ain't a car for fast corners and rapid highway runs. Also, while one of the front wheel climbs over a slightly bigger hump, expect the adjacent rear wheel to lift off from the road. Although I find it absurd, the spectators are left with a scene that's something bizarre (Refer to the video below).

https://youtu.be/EyyG5UmVr7o

At crawling speeds, the KUV100 gobbles the craters on roads or terrains of its size with ease without transferring much of a drama inside the cabin. Swamps and intense dips can be negotiated confidently without any part of the under belly going for a toss. In the segment, this vehicle should receive a clean chit for maintaining a unscathed under body. The car stays planted onto the road and wobbles aren’t evident till 80 kmph and a tarmac with a nice patch. Undulations on the roads are very much affected by the passengers inside the cabin and with people on the rear bench, it’s reduced to an extent. Riding over potholes is followed by a loud thud and jerk and a meager amount of tremble is slithered into the cabin.

Steering is not of an enthusiast's taste though. Creeping through the city isn't a pain yet. I personally don't find it intimidating as the steering weight is identical to that of my previous i10. Swift and i20 are incomparable with respect to the steering as they are more light and can be operated with barely less effort. Mahindra has to work on the vehicle's steering. A better calibration would have been great here.

Driving the KUV100

Driving within the city, in and out of the by roads and squeezing into the traffic is a cakewalk for the car. The turning radius is an icing on the cake. The car welcomes any rough patch or uneven humps and glides over it. The higher seating position gives a SUV feel. Everyone who’s switched from driving a hatchback or any other low slung cars appreciated the seating position for a hatchback (KUV100). The skid plates of my car hasn’t anytime taken any scrappings, nor any part of the underbody. As previously said, bumper to bumper traffic isn’t supported much by the car. Jerks and vibrations are very much evident, unless you lift the clutch off with a slight rev. The C-pillar makes reversing tougher with blindspots and one has to aid a second party help to get through the manoeuvre unscathed.

Performance: Comes with a 1.2L petrol, 3 pot locomotive, which churns out 82 bhp @5500 rpm with torque figures,115 Nm @ ‪3500-3600‬ rpm. Mahindra managed to come up with a new engine breed, called ‘mFalcon G80’. I must admit that the low end torque is ample enough and it can cleanly pull away from 30kmph in 4th gear. The 0-100 kmph is quite sluggish and trust me you wouldn’t want to try it often in this vehicle. The reason closely ties up with a statement which I said in the beginning, “The vehicle at times could be a peppy one to drive, given that you have deep pockets.” The rationale behind is that, the fuel economy is worse even than you can imagine. The vehicle can be peppy, given that you don’t care about the litres of fuel that goes in and you can afford stopping at each petrol bunk every 50 kms. Once you close the 3k rpm mark, the rumble which filters into the cabin will leave you smitten for late shifts and hunger for another one. It’s that moment when you’d forget all of its achilles heels and care less about how thirsty is the car. My KUV being a K2, it isn't equipped with an engine start-stop system. Gliding up to 80 - 90 kmph is seamless and subsequently, the car struggles to maintain the pace. My i10 was a 4 cylinder petrol with 79 bhp and 112 nm torque. Yet, I feel similar levels of struggle when comparing one another's speed munching rhythm. Engage the 1st gear, lift off the clutch and a sudden jerk and a slight shudder welcomes you - happens while negotiating speed hump and whenever you crawl out from a full stop. For that reason, being in bumper to bumper traffic isn't something that I look forward to. Redline comes at 5000 rpm and engine growl is prominent everywhere. As you'd expect, there isn't a 'be shoved into the seat' effect anywhere in the powerband. Although, if you time your overtakings and be ready with an apt gear at a competent rpm, drives can be spirited as well.


There’s no drama in finding the ECU. You can see it straightaway once you open the bonet, close to the firewall. Quite skeptic on Mahindra’s choice to have such a position for the same.


Braking: It comes with disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear. Thanks to Mahindra for making ABS + EBD standard across all variants. The ABS kicks in every now and then upon a bit firm braking on gravel and sludgy surfaces even at speeds below 20 kmph. I must admit that the brakes aren’t confidence inspiring and they have a spongy feel. At moderate speeds though, I have tried some hard braking manoeuvres, expecting the car to throw up but was surprised that the car did good on its braking part there and there wasn’t anything nasty surprises for me. The car rolls over to the front highly upon braking and it has an effect on the passengers too. Howbeit, the person sitting in the front row should be extra cautious to not slam his/her head on the ICE unit.

Fuel Efficiency: Fuel economy is a concern with everyone owning a KUV. Expect 8 kmpl - 10 kmpl between short trips and it can climb up to 11 kmpl - 13 kmpl during long drives, given that the car is being driven sedately. As the car is more focused towards city drives, anyone having a KUV100 seldom will go for long ones. Although I have said sporadically that the car is inteded for city usage (as that’s really is the case), the fuel economy is worth the monetary only when driven on the highway. Else, combining short trips is the only way out, unless the fuel price doesn’t bother you. Just when the car was newly launched in 2016, M&M was thronged with complaints about the fuel efficiency. As a way around that, KUVs were given an ECU update, which personally for me was in vain. Just when the car climbs in rpms when overtaking, there is a mixed set of feeings and a debate of heart vs brain - you really want to heart the engine growl and simultaneously doesn’t want to drop the FE!

As I pen this down, my car has just touched 13000 km and is 1.5 years old. Despite me being away from the country, I did crunch most of the miles, during my vacation cruise.

Carven above is just my personal glimpse on the car. It’s me first time scribbling down anywhere about a car, and rest assured, there has been flaws in my way of critiquing up it. Pardon me for those!

[E = mc²]

Other points to note:

1. K2 gets a fixed rear seat. It can’t be folded down for more boot space.

2. The wheel arches compliments the SUV like stance


3. The ICE for my car was done up as an aftermarket addition from Mahindra itself. Set us back by Rs.15k and I loathe it. Any kind of bass is obscure here.

4. Bumpers get a dual tone finish and the plastic skid plate for this variant doesn’t get the silver tone unlike the K8.



5. The wiper blade hits the A-pillar upon sweeping the windshield with its maximum speed

6. Gets a MFalcon badging in the headlamp extension.


Issues faced till date

1. Loose Gear Knob (Solved)

The gear knob was poorly glued onto the lever, which led it spin every time I used it and finally came off in hand.

2. Defunct indicator (Solved)

I was midway enroute an errand and the right indicator went kaput.This happened on the 9th day of the ownership. I was skeptical about driving it anymore with the right turn indicator lit up all the time, as it'd give false cue to fellow drivers. I touched the lights with my palm and the lights felt hot as it was lit up steadily for about one hour during my drive and in no means could I turn it off. I called Mahindra and they vouched for a person to come and sort it out that evening. As promised, the person came and concluded that it was a faulty fuse. I was asked to get the car to Mahindra next day, to which we refused, reasoning that we would not risk ourselves driving a car with a broken indicator.

As he lived near my place, he came early morning the next day and drove our car to Mahindra, Kollam, to work. The car was returned the same evening with the gear knob and indicator sorted out, along with an official ECU update, for better fuel economy (in vain tho!).

3. Fuel cap and boot release levers stuck with each other (Solved during second service)

This turned out to be quite cumbersome whenever the boot needs to be opened. Tugging the boot release lever would release the fuel cap too as both were stuck together. In order to hamper that from happening, one must firmly hold down the fuel cap lever and pull the one for boot.

4. Rattling noises from dashboard and door (Yet to be resolved)

Though frail, they are quite bothersome. Feels like chocolate wrappers are stuck around somewhere, but it is something else coming out from the door and the dashboard.

5. Unreliable hand rest release

The hand rest release lever has proven that is has to be used with utter caution. They cannot be pulled anyhow randomly. I had 2 service center visits just to re-connect the cable with the hand rest and the lever. The issue would take about half an hour to be resolved and is prone to keep happening often. The service center told me they'd do a complete overhaul in an out of the hand rest if it happens once again.

Bumper Scratched During Service

During my second service, I highlighted to the service executive that I need my rear seat belt buckles to be brought back into their original position, which were shoved down into the rear bench before delivery. That seemed to be the normal showroom practice, as they were told by none of us to do so. Just after getting my car after the service, it turned out as if they completely ignored my request and hasn't done that part. I feel like an imbecile not to check this before taking the car out of the service yard .

What made me clean forget to check this part was a deplorable sight which caught my attention. The front bumper has taken a short yet deep bruise with some sharp object. Called the executive and asked her to have a look.



Soon, a group constituting of technicians, other executives, etc gathered around and me explaining that the scuff wasn't there till I left the car with them the previous day. They were adamant that they hadn't hit the car anywhere, else the bumper could be showing some misalignment which in this case wasn't, to which I agreed. But I strongly held on my point that it happened inside their yard, probably due to some careless handling. Later on, they agreed to repaint the bruise and asked me to come with the car the next week, which they did as promised. But on a close look the scratch still can be seen and felt

Here are a few more snaps that were clicked in the recent times.

Rain in the forecast.? I'll be out for a drive.!


The weird part of the story. You wouldn't want to see it from this angle!


Negotiating such roads isn't an ordeal with such a high ground clearance.


It isn't about how many miles you ramble, but how much you relish each. Being a passenger with me will earn you a dawdler reputation I stop it at every picturesque spots.


It loves pluggin' the mud. In terms of a hatchback tho!


Again, the subtle part of this car.


One of my favorite shots.


That's my G1W-C. People mistake it often for a reverse cam.

.

[E = mc²]

Pulled over, KUV100 saved us! - One of my memorable experiences with the car until now.

Since I'll be home for atmost 1.5 months, my late night outings are quite reasonable upon the tale that the kid has to seek some freedom from the willies of his nerve racking studies and semester exams. During one such spree back from Kovalam beach, Trivandrum at around 11:00 pm, a cop who was standing aside with the highway patrol vehicle flashed his torch on to our vehicle, which meant that we just aroused their curiosity and has to pull over.

Switched on my hazards, turned off my headlights and windows down. Mind you, I have sustained only two or three times through such police checkings ever and I was expecting a disaster to happen - cops towing away my car and 3 of us getting jailed for visiting beach late at night

Cop: "Where were you heading to.?"
Me: "Just visited the beach and now we're on our way back home."

Cop: "Where are you from.?"
Me: "Ermmm....ermmm..."

Since our homes were about 50 km away, I had a feeling in mind that the next question he'd ask is why should we come to a beach this far!

Moreover, 3 of us reside at three different places, although it's near. I was confused which one to say at first. My friend came into help as he sensed that I was wrongly fascinating the cop with my silence and way of talking

Friend: "Quilon, sir." (While giving me a nasty look)

To make things even worse, another one at the rear was having his nap with a funky cap on and weird beard and mustache. We were skeptical that if the cop would mistake him for someone who just had his Marijuna.

Cop: "Come out with the documents. We need to go through a check."

As soon as he said this, an another cop appeared out of the patrol vehicle and came to us.

Cop 2: "This one is KUV, isn't it.?"
Me: "Yup"

Cop2: "Heard that the fuel economy is quite low for this one."
Me: "Spot on!. At around 11 kmpl."

By the time, I was chilled and knew that we weren't going to be jailed!

Me: "Any plans to buy one.?"
Cop 2: "Yes, most probably. But the fuel economy part is driving me dubious"

After a few chats, and giving my take on the car, we were given the clean chit to go and appreciated about the experience and that friendly cop!

The Kovalam Beach


None of my nightdrive is complete without a Masala Tea from CCD!

[E = mc²]

I'm still at my company where I'm an intern and it's still boring up in here. So, I just dug up some pictures from my phone. Thought I'd scribe down some memorable events happened. I haven't yet had a chance to experience a super long trip with the car. Every time I'm on vacation, the usual places are revisited. Don't get me wrong, I really love going there again and again!


You would see this checkpoint before entering the passage to Braemore, Trivandrum. Quite a nice place with waterfalls and forest. There was a lady security inside the guardhouse, where also we're supposed to get our tickets. She insisted on checking my car, in suspect of any alcoholic drinks (I don't drink nor smoke).


She was a nice lady who was very much friendly with us but was adamant on checking our car. Props to her for doing her duty. She went through a detailed overhaul, unzipping our bags, searching in the boot and finally the glovebox too.

I asked her if she missed the secret unsuspecting storage space at the rear floor board of the KUV and showed her the cubbyhole. She was surprised to see one such storage compartment there and wasn't expecting that. We filled out a form and were let through the check post, only to get a call a while later that one of us forgot to take back our bag from their office. Took a U-Turn and got it back. We gifted them a pen and a bottle of fine perfume for their gesture to call us and remind about the bag and continued.

A few shots from Braemore water falls.



There isn't any security guards near to the waterfall. One mustn't be over confident to go to the deep end of the waters. We weren't ready for any perils and maintained our cap at one quarter of the entire water body.



We decided to head back into our homes after having bounteous buffoonery in the water, but were reluctant to end up such a wonderful day, as we had ample amount of time by then. Made quick plans and requested Siri for the shortest route to Ponmudi - a misty place with 22 hairpins one-way.! We set off!!

All these while I was the only one driving the car. Thanks to my non-petrol headi friends, none of them has asked even once for seat exchange and they were too busy in sight seeing and sarcastically mocking each other, to which I joined occasionally. For us Petrol Heads, during any road trips, the primary objective would be the driver's seat and the steering wheel held in 9 O' clock and 3 O' clock posture. I'd care less about being in the passenger seat.

That was my 3rd time being to Ponmudi, and the last time I've been there was with my C220, i10 both together, the latter being driven by a family member. I have had never experienced the i10 through those hills. With the KUV100 taking each steep hairpins now, I feel way more confident in it than in the C220. The steep bumps at the hairpins were tackled in the Mercedes with a lot of unease, where as with the KUV, the ground clearance suggests that the bottom will be safe unless I deliberately try to be a Ken Block!

Don't get me wrong. I ain't comparing apples and oranges, but my personal feeling on how I felt back then after bringing a hatchback to the same patch of tarmacs where I struggled to cut through with a sedan a while ago.

Not a corner - happy car, but driver is one. The car has to endure it!


There's still the kid in me. Everyone complains. I like to park it with a wheel off the ground


Any talk about wheel articulation is a punishable offence


Photographer's knack, driver's thrill.


There's this viewpoint a km before you reach to the top. Quite a scenic place is this, but your parked car would create a gridlock if vehicles approach from both the sides.


Aside of the above one, there's adequate space to pull over to the sides and admire the ambiance.



The road trip was loud with twists.


The only cafeteria up there. I'd suggest staying on the pavement to prevent a leech bite. The washrooms here are very well maintained too.

The restaurant on top of the hill hasn't got anything mouth watering to consume. Unless your darn hungry, the eatables available there would suffice. Feels great sipping up the tea, admiring the mist.

[Varun_HexaGuy]

Let me be the first one to congratulate you on this car.
The report is well-written and pretty much sums about your take on the vehicle. The KUV100 is more of an half-hearted attempt from the Mahindra. Wish they could've taken their time and made this car a bit better. They created niche of their own nonetheless. Wishing you many miles and happy smiles with this cute little SUV.

Cheers,
Varun_HexaGuy

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[E = mc²]

Originally Posted by Varun_HexaGuy

Let me be the first one to congratulate you on this car.
The report is well-written and pretty much sums about your take on the vehicle. The KUV100 is more of an half-hearted attempt from the Mahindra. Wish they could've taken their time and made this car a bit better. They created niche of their own nonetheless. Wishing you many miles and happy smiles with this cute little SUV.

Cheers,
Varun_HexaGuy

Thank you, Varun. I wish if Mahindra spent more of their time in their R&D department. Of late, I’m getting check engine lights as well (occasionally). Need to get it rectified.

[ashwinprakas]

Congratulations mate!

More than the car I’m glad to know of a fellow bhpian from Kollam, I’m from Asramam

[E = mc²]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Congratulations mate!

More than the car I’m glad to know of a fellow bhpian from Kollam, I’m from Asramam

Thank you, Ashwin! Equally exciting for me to know that you live quite near to me. I’m from parippally and I frequently visit Ashramam and places nearby. A few bhp’ians reside around Kollam, one among them has a souped up S60 T6!

[drjkonline]

Nice write up with pictures. Iam a KUV Owner and you nailed it with the "mixed emotions" thing. That is really the big feeling about KUV. I always wanted to write on Team BHP about the KUV, but never managed to.

I own a diesel KUV, but have gone through the gear stick loose issue, fuel tank opening issue, dash board vibrations(dont even think of it now as an issue) and also face the low mileage issue in spite of the diesel engine. The car does a decent job inside the city and the feeling of space inside is awesome(no, I dont have the extra central front seat). Someday I shall hopefully write about this quirky little car.

[Flyer]

Originally Posted by E = mc²

One of my favorite shots.
Attachment 1683728

Looks like a full size SUV in this pic. Congratulations on your new ride.

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Congratulations mate!

More than the car I’m glad to know of a fellow bhpian from Kollam, I’m from Asramam

Originally Posted by E = mc²

Thank you, Ashwin! Equally exciting for me to know that you live quite near to me. I’m from parippally and I frequently visit Ashramam and places nearby. A few bhp’ians reside around Kollam, one among them has a souped up S60 T6!

I'm from Kollam too.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by drjkonline

I own a diesel KUV, also face the low mileage issue in spite of the diesel engine.

I was hoping diesel KUV has good mileage, how much are you getting?
Is it due to high kerb weight/or down to unimpressive engine.

I am sure DDis would have given better mileage in same car, ask ZEST.

[drjkonline]

Originally Posted by silverado

I was hoping diesel KUV has good mileage, how much are you getting?
Is it due to high kerb weight/or down to unimpressive engine.

I am sure DDis would have given better mileage in same car, ask ZEST.

The car is driven only inside the city for short 2-5 km drives, with start stop traffic, no open stretches. I get between 10- 12 km/litre. Have only taken it out on airport runs a few times, but never could check mileage for those runs. Never gone on long distance drives outside the city.

[E = mc²]

Originally Posted by drjkonline

Nice write up with pictures. Iam a KUV Owner and you nailed it with the "mixed emotions" thing. That is really the big feeling about KUV. I always wanted to write on Team BHP about the KUV, but never managed to.

Thanks, mate. At times you really love the car, the way it looks from some angles and the way it crunches the hurdles at off roads. But the rattles at random places can be irritating as well - that’s where the ‘mixed emotions’ leafed up from

I own a diesel KUV, but have gone through the gear stick loose issue, fuel tank opening issue, dash board vibrations(dont even think of it now as an issue) and also face the low mileage issue in spite of the diesel engine. The car does a decent job inside the city and the feeling of space inside is awesome(no, I dont have the extra central front seat). Someday I shall hopefully write about this quirky little car.

Hopefully, the NXT version was led out from the factory fixing out all these. In a way, we did the R&D for Mahindra . Do pen up a review for your KUV as well. Love it to here from someone having a diesel KUV100. Btw, if you look upon the date at which I started my thread, it was back in October 2017, took me several months to finish up the same.

Originally Posted by Flyer

Looks like a full size SUV in this pic. Congratulations on your new ride. I'm from Kollam too.

Thank you, Flyer. A Team-BHP meet at Kollam would be an awesome venue to exchange names and to get to know each other

Originally Posted by silverado

I was hoping diesel KUV has good mileage, how much are you getting?
Is it due to high kerb weight/or down to unimpressive engine.

I am sure DDis would have given better mileage in same car, ask ZEST.

The Kerb weight hasn’t anything much to do with the Fuel Economy (I believe) here. I’d blame Mahindra on this issue too for not having done their R&D properly. How could one miss out on this part when 90% of India looks on ‘Kitna dethi hei’ over any other aspect when buying a vehicle.?!

[Tanveer02]

A nice writeup mate, with equally drool worthy pictures as well.

And I can totally relate to the title "mixed emotions". We had a Tata Indigo 1.4 MPFI from 2004 to 2017. During her stay of 13 years, she had her fare share of niggles (typical old Tata car niggles). Even though she wasn't the most trouble free kid in the block, she never stranded us in the middle of the road. And what really made me and my family love her was her magic carpet like ride and the acres of space inside. And not to mention, she had a terrible accident in the year 2005 in which her front end was completely destoryed but the occupants walked without a scratch. With all these emotions packed in heart, she will always be one of the best cars my family had ever owned, despite the niggles.