[abirnale]

Getting to the point: I bought XUV7OO AX7L AT Diesel AWD - from a 2022 manufactured batch!

You might have seen my ownership thread earlier on the forum about the orange Cheetah - while it was in our life as a family, our life was full of stories revolving around it. if not, see this - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...50-000-km.html (Ownership tales of Orange Cheetah, my 2015 Mahindra XUV5OO W10 FWD. EDIT: Sold after 150,000 km). Statistically speaking, zero trouble car for me. The car changed my liking forever. I used to love those three-box designs but then XUV5OO changed it forever. I can't imagine my garage devoid of an SUV. The only mistake(?) I did in buying it was, I ruled out AWD for mere 1 lakh and change. I realized this late - an SUV without an AWD is like an urban poser only. They anyway help you wade through the small overflowing gutter water on the road and those mighty potholes.

Anyway, fast forward to 2022, Cheetah was still going strong but I needed a change (Of a few things I can change in life, the car is one of them). Don't mistake me - I love that car still. While I am clear that I want an SUV that has an AWD capability and definitely with the best engine that can munch 1000+ kms every day if I need it to drive in triple-digit speed and yet leave me fresh at the end of the day? Oh, and it should be below 30 lakhs INR. Do you think the criteria are already laid out for nothing else but XUV7OO? Maybe - and this in no way I consider as a great upgrade - my hope was for something more aspirational... but then still not ready with the kind of bank balance one needs for that... Anyway, some other day we will talk philosophy and YOLO/ YODO stuff. For today, let me just be practical.

By now you must have guessed, there are no contenders to go through and comparisons to make. like they say in the corporate world, play your own game

So lets's just skip to the best part:
1. The (Over)hyped Booking, Test Drives, Waiting and Moving goalpost!
2. PDI Formalities, Process and Dealer Experience
3. The Delivery Day experience
4. The highlights of car - Likes and Dislikes
5. The glitter - ICE Features deep dive, Adrenox
6. The Mechanics - Engine, Transmission, Suspension and Performance

And then we will continue with routine updates on the car, answer the questions if any, and share the joy with you, readers.

And before you dive deeper - here is striking change: from butch, bulky to slim and trim!



If you can identify the similarity - the car and the owner, are more agile and tamed now in their newer avatar!

Oh, and by the way, the XUV5OO never had a real name - just Orange Cheetah. Since XUV7OO is an evolution close to Orange Cheetah and probably the same feline family (I assume), we will call it "Red Sabertooth" due to these LED DRLs a.k.a Red Sparkle for its glittering presence on the road!

[abirnale]

The (Over)hyped Booking, Test Drives, Waiting and Moving goalpost!

Ever since the old car - the orange cheetah (XUV5OO) crossed into 125K Kms mark, this itch was there in the mind if this engine will last... if there will be any bigger issues and so on. Luckily, nothing like that actually happened. But then every now and then I continued to crave for the change - the cravings were not so strong that I was hunting seriously or making efforts towards so. Occasionally I would test drive a Jeep Compass or similar AWD/ 4x4 cars and come back telling myself that they are very costly and not the same size and ability to haul stuff as XUV5OO does.

When the XUV7OO was launched, we were casually looking at the launch event and then seeing the review videos from a number of media houses. They were great and slowly the thought that this car may be the right replacement for the existing one started seeping in. Mind you - this is not a serious upgrade in my opinion, just replaces the existing one with a relatively better thing. The deal was sealed when better half put her foot down and asked me to book as soon as it is available. I tried convincing her and myself that it may be the time I look at Endy or T-Fort. I love Endevaour more but Ford had different plans.

As a casual event, when the test drive and demo cars arrived with dealers, I was connected with a relatively newer dealership in the town - PPS Mahindra (Automotive Manufacturers Pvt. Ltd.) I was offered a private screening of the demo car on Oct 3 and asked to come back for booking on Oct 7. I went all the way from South Bangalore to North Bangalore to see the car in flesh at their newest and biggest service center. I and my 8 year old son sat in the car, I could test drive and loved the feeling. The only thing that was pending is confirmation of AWD availability at the launch. I was clear in my mind - I am ok with any engine, any drivetrain, and trim as long as it offers the AWD. To my luck, the car was offered with AWD in two variants AX7L and AX7 in diesel. Keeping the questions about DPF/ Diesel BS6 norms etc. I chose my option AX7 L - and did the booking with PPS. I paid Rs. 21,000 for booking - the exact trim I always wanted - Red Rage, AX7L AWD (Available only with AT and Diesel, so that comes as a mandatory combo.)

The next three weeks went by with routine waiting and follow-up - like everyone else, I was not sure when my car will be delivered. On one side I was hoping that I get it ASAP and on the second thought that I should be waiting for a relatively niggle-free car which is ideal to be rolling out in March 2022. Yes, I know Mahindra cars for the past six months - although lucky that no serious issues, I was still skeptical.

At the end of October, I received the email stating that my car will be delivered in Dec First week - that was a pleasant surprise. A lot of early owners who bought Petrol AT/ MT were reporting good things and I was mentally getting ready to bring the car home in December - even though it will be a 2021 model at the end of 2021! And this is exactly where the trouble also started. The way things worked - Dealer personnel had no clue of any dates, any visibility into the deliveries, and Mahindra was extremely secretive. You call customer care or send an email to them or write to the head of customer care, the answers are the same - no clear details :( On the online portal where the booking information is displayed, the dates kept moving from Dec 4 => Dec 12 => Dec 21 => Dec 29 => Jan 30 => Feb 6. It was just too much uncertainty overall. During the last week of 2021, I even made plans to drive with a new car - even before the car came. And then ended up being frustrated. This was getting on my nerves - I finally reached to the top officer in customer care - he promised tentative delivery by End of Jan. I assumed it would definitely be Feb 15-16! I only kept following and did not take any actions - just followed up. Until one day I heard from PPS Dealer that they are billed for the cars to be dispatched and told that my car is lined up in the batch coming at the end of January! Moreover, I was told that the car would be Jan 2022 manufactured.

This was the best news, only to be frustrated further! I quickly started reaching out to the friend who wanted to pick my Cheetah - worked out everything to ensure that the Orange Cheetah finds a caring den for it. The Orange Cheetah has gone, I was without a car and being tossed between various Mahindra officials for not having clarity on when exactly the car will be delivered - the online portal stopped showing any date... Then I had to make humongous efforts, call for favors to involve influential folks to get visibility. The good thing is Mahindra worked perfectly well when the pressure was mounted from top to bottom. I finally got the perfect visibility into the car and its delivery timeline. Once the car was loaded on the truck, the ball was in PPS Mahindra's court!

Since this booking had garnered a lot of eyeballs and escalations and probably fanatic followups in the last two weeks, everyone ensured that there are no more delays. The blessings in disguise - the time it got delayed from Oct to Feb - gave me a good amount of time to get my finances in order. While the delivery was not clear, I kept visiting various branches of PPS Mahindra and they helped with short test drives to keep my interest alive. I think that was a great thing done by them.

Here are a couple of pictures from test drive, booking, and intermediate visits to the showroom:

The first for me - my first Indian AT car maybe... that left hand and left feet need to be tied up together!


The driving experience -


Explored the drive modes - Zoom is where I might be staying all the time. I don't know the word FE.


This is how the ICE Screen was seen first time in person from inside the car -


With new me, I attempted to sit in the third row with my son and I was ok there. Won't be sitting there ever but the ones I want to revenge will be pushed in that row


View from the second row - felt a little less under-thigh compared to my XUV5OO and not so commanding view from the second row.


The Sky-roof is really large - I recall my XUV5OO sunroof breaking incidence from Himalaya trip... if this breaks, what would I do?


When you close the roof and see at it from the second row -


The cameras are a wonderful thing - on solo drives with the family, I would never again ask my better half to get down and guide me to the edge of the mountain to reverse!


The View from the third row.


We had multiple cars - the silver looked like everyday color.


The White somehow looked fantastic - PPS did not have Red color there while I was around, the red was getting washed and I never caught a glimpse of it.


My booking is actually with PPS Mahindra - Indira Nagar whereas the delivery will be done from the Kanakapura branch (it's closer to my home) while the complete support, services, PDIs, etc is done from their HRBR branch! I must appreciate their patience - while I was angry at the whole process, they kept holding on to their nerves and worked with me.

To summarise:

• Mahindra should have given more clarity to customers at all times.
• Changing dates is ok, but it should not be abrupt. And changing, again and again, is definitely not a good idea.
• When the customer care guys say, contact dealer, they better ensure that dealer has some info about it.
• The whole process is made the dealer personnel look like puppets.

But glad, I went ahead with PPS as they demonstrated extreme speed and flexibility when it came to their part of the game.

[abirnale]

PDI Formalities, Process and Dealer Experience

As a result of my follow-up, the regional Mahindra sales manager had told the tentative CPD (Customer Promised Delivery date) to be Jan 30th. Since there were no updates and no news, I started following up with the dealer as well as Mahindra. Again here, the dealer was only asked to make the payment on my behalf (billed to the dealer in the last week of Jan) but no further information anyone had. I had no clue where and when my car will be delivered. I patiently followed up with my dealer PPS Mahindra. The branch manager (Miss. Roopa) patiently used to answer the questions. Through my interactions, I realized that the information is missing with her too! Mahindra kept this as a top-secret - only they know why! After a few escalations within the Mahindra chain of command, I started seeing the development on my car. It was already manufactured in the last week of Jan but wasn't shipped out. The moment their systems were updated with VIN etc, PPS didn't waste a second to let me know that the game is ON. The piece of information still missing - when is the finale as they didn't know! Mahindra is holding their cards extremely close to their chest. The one thing that pissed me off badly is the lack of clarity and visibility. More than me, everyone who knew my car is "coming", were asking questions and I was very embarrassed to give them template answers.

Again, raised the hell (don't ask me how), got the things moving - PPS Dealer personnel again came to rescue. They started updating right from the day trailer picked the car and started to reach BLR. I was told the details of where exactly the trailer carrying my car is on every 6-8 hours basis! I am impressed. Even then, they were unable to confirm a date for delivery - subject to formalities, payments, etc. This is understandable. Now it is just a matter of a few days, I knew. Got a call on Sunday evening - that I should expect to do my PDI on Monday evening or Tuesday morning. Indirectly this is also an instruction to get a gunny bag with money ready Now imagine the online booking portal still showing the blank delivery date - what's going on?

With easy coordination over WhatsApp itself, the PDI was scheduled and completed on Tuesday. I took a bunch of pictures and put them into the video below:

https://youtu.be/kW8ldZSciZ4

PPS wanted to wash the car and keep it ready for my PDI but I insisted on not wasting water - the SUV should look dirty. It has its charm. And this is not even close to being dirty - so why bother! That also saved an extra hour for us all.

Here are some pictures to sum up the PDI checks:

It seems like there were similar stickers around the windshield and other glasses - a standard practice I was told as the fittings stay like that until the dealer PDI is done.


The first thing Robi noticed inside the cabin -


A confirmation that its an AWD!


The engine bay is so tight that you can't even see the Battery serial number easily.


The car came with an older software version - needs flashing.


The MID View -


The 360-degree cameras - crisp displays


Oh, by the way, the car came with these MRF Ecotred tires -


The Odometer at the time of PDI - 44 Kms


Continued checks as per the sheet above:




And finally done!


Note - the AWD doesn't have any badging -


For the PDI, I used the below checklist: courtesy of my XUV5OO friends (they are known as TORC - Tribe Of Royal Cheetahs). The PDI is inspired largely by TBhp PDI checklist posts.

[ATTACH=Mahindra XUV7OO - PDI Checklist.pdf]2271142[/ATTACH]

For the actual PDI, had my dear friend and TBHPian robimahanta and TORC member and TBHPian ajaycherian accompany me. The observations and guidance helped me make PDI accurate. The overall PDI will easily take about 45-60 minutes. All well - PDI cleared!

My sales manager/ PPS Indira Nagar branch manager was personally making sure that things are done in a timely fashion. I ensured that I complete all paperwork and payment formalities within a few hours of PDI clearance. We both were happy. She never directly promised the delivery date - kept saying 5 days when I insisted on Thursday (That is exactly the third day from PDI). The car needed software flashing, accessories fitting, registration formalities, etc. I had asked for getting the car the number from my old garage!

The one thing that comes across very well in this entire episode is the willingness of PPS Personnel to go the extra distance. not even once I heard them complaining, bugging, or being troublesome. Not even once they took my comments negatively. When Mahindra lined up their personnel to get me the updates, PPS Went a step ahead of them and did the best they could. I truly felt this experience to be extraordinary! I have now ended up referring another 3 friends of mine to book their cars with PPS, especially with the Indiranagar branch!

The car was picked up from their stockyard outside town and brought to the HRBR showroom/ closest to their mega service center on Tuesday morning. Roopa personally traveled from the Indiranagar branch to HRBR to be around when I was doing PDI. And they said the car will be delivered to Kanakapura showroom - which is closest to my home so I don't have to waste any more time on city commute! Who thinks all these things nowadays? In the excitement and so-called adrenaline rush, I was actually ready to go to Chakan to pick up my car, Kanakpura is like my living room then!

The major cost heads for the final OTR price is as below:

Rs. 22,89,000 - Sale Invoice Price (includes close to 7.5 lakhs of GST and Cess!)
Rs. 04,77,280 - RTO Taxes and Cess
Rs. 00,80,000 - Insurance (IDV of 22,60,788)
Rs. 00,22,890 - TCS
Rs. 00,27,139 - Extended Warranty
Rs. 00,08,691 - Fastag, Accessories, Other expenses etc.

Total: Rs.29,05,000 (Rounded)

The accessories ordered are just bare-bone: Mudflaps and the Carpet Mat. I will pick the stuff over the next few weeks looking around with stocks and quality.

Anyway, now waiting for the delivery!

[abirnale]

The Delivery Day experience

Thursday, Feb 10th was the day I expected the car to be delivered whereas PPS personnel had earlier told me to get on 12th Feb But then the customer demand triumphed the PPS schedule! Thursday being the work week, I was occupied with work and did not have enough time to travel from South Bangalore to Indiranagar. The Sales Consultant Sathish and Indiranagar Branch Manager Roopa, personally took this as challenge - got the car readied and brought to their Kanakpura showroom which is about 20 mins away from my home!

Every thing set and we were asked to reach delivery venue by 5.30pm! The excitement and joy had no bounds! The past few days of activities are about to culminate into yet another beautiful memory of our lifetime. My son aptly summarised my state of the mind in the picture below: we handed this over to PPS folks - the entire family is involved in the celebration!



We take a Ola cab after many many weeks once again. The family is ready, ahead of time at to reach at delivery venue by 30 minutes!



The PPS folks had arranged for everything - the cake, specially silk draped car, fully decked up!



As soon as I reached the venue, I was taken into the formalities completion - documentation closure, payment receipts etc. And just exactly when I was about to be given the keys, the Adrenox was activated! Talk about just in time!

A great feeling receiving the car keys!



The happy family with the red sabertooth - an elusive (actually extinct) cat coming to life! A sparkle on the road to be, The Red Sparkle.



Post delivery, first thing we did is drove the car straight to the temple for seeking blessings of lord Ganesha. A fun, exciting and greatest moment of the day was to drive the red sparkling sabertooth on the Bengaluru roads and seeing the heads turn momentarily. This isn't a heartthrob like harrier IMO but it has that "love me or hate me, but you can't ignore me" looks.

Here are some moments into a video to sum up the delivery day: WARNING - mute the sound video please, not a great background score. I am yet to learn to pay attention to these minute details.

https://youtu.be/SusQ74Gf8E4

Thus comes home our new beloved car The Red Sabertooth!

[abirnale]

The highlights of the car - Likes and Dislikes

It's been about two days with the car roughly. Have driven it around in town and to work. Also took it to some bad roads in the outskirts to visit our usual lake for birding too. The engine is strictly in running-in mode still. I hope to complete the 1000km mark in another 2-3 weeks. There is also going to be some work happening on the aesthetics - I will highlight it in the subsequent post.

Dislikes:
For now, here are the glaring miss I find compared to my old flame:

• The presence: XUV5OO first generation was the "beast" looking, most butch in this lineage. The XUV7OO is very very tamed. More like XUV5OO is stag while XUV7OO is a married middle-aged man with 2 kids and a couple of mortgages.
• The inadequate badging: not for the show-off, but it's easy to mistake the car for a petrol or diesel, FWD or AWD. The problems that can arise due to this can be severe.
• Luggage Space: The third row doesn't close flat. There will be a gap between folded seats and upright second-row seats. There will also be a small gap between the tools styrofoam tray and folded third-row seat base. I am sure someday I am going to lose my keys or phone there when I am in rush to load or unload something.
• In cabin lighting - is inadequate at night. Doesn't have mood lighting too, especially in the footwell. The rear door light is a big miss.
• Space for knick-knacks: The glovebox is big and the small so-called hidden slit above it doesn't hold anything other than a small book or a couple of phones. The bottle holders on the door are typically smaller in volume than my old car but can easily hold the one-liter bottle. The extra space on the last row (third row - side had one hidden storage space where the passenger can rest their elbow, is missing in this one. The dash-top storage isn't there anymore, taken by a speaker I think. The storage under the arm-rest is much shallow than the orange cheetah. I am actually not excited with the space that XUV7OO offers for knick-knacks compared to XUV5OO. The old was gold.
• Interior theme: The pure black and white theme on the floor and roof/ seats is good looking and extreme pain to maintain. Piano black looks cool but is a dust magnet.
• Driver Seat comfort: Even with memory functions, power adjustment and tilt-scope steering adjustment, it took me a little while to find my best seating position. I used to rest my right elbow on the door pad/ switch cluster. Maybe I am grown slim and the car is wider and it's a stretch now. I can't rest my arm in the base of the window glass as it's no more flat/ horizontal. It starts curving upwards to A-pillar.
• The blind spots: I think the A-pillar on the left almost blocks my view for a full auto-rikshaw-sized object. And thank god for the surround view system, I just won't live without it now. The "IRVM" is tiny, though covers the rear glass barely, appears on your face due to radar housing being behind it. We are typically not used to seeing a huge black object there on the windscreen with just a super tiny viewing area!
• Seating space on the second row: It is optimum. Mostly occupied by kids and family. No one complained so far except my tall daughter who said the under-thigh support is a little lesser. I think she is right.
• Easy Entry& Exit: for the driver isn't really easy. Takes an awful lot of time as the seat travels too long backward. Almost squeezing the knees of the passenger sitting behind.
• The most important: this car is one heck of a complex machine. XUV5OO taught me up to PU/ 10+2 curriculum. XUV7OO is sure to get me a Ph.D
• Adaptive Cruise Control is only available if you have enabled Automatic Emergency Breaks - I guess I must purchase the rear crash guard now!
• ICE Features - not everything is enabled and working as expected. The Apple and Google aren't still happy with Mahindra? A lot of features on the APPs doesn't work. I don't want a horoscope but I would love to see what Travel Explorer - thrillophilia has to offer! And by the way, I cant remove these default apps that I don't like!

Likes:
The good news is, this list is about to grow into a long one over time! For now, listing prominent ones:

• The official review thread has a lot of details here https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5128042 (Mahindra XUV700 Review) And I agree with many of them.
• Intended audience: The car is more for those who use it and less for the public. This may not draw your attention on the road but when you step inside, it's a world of difference. The car exteriors are for others to look at, you sit inside and enjoy the car!
• Advancements comes as non-intrusion: You can always switch off all complex things in the car and just drive it! That's the basic thing this car always satisfies, no matter! I have kept some ADAS features switched off. When I drove out of the showroom, I did not use anything more than just D mode on the stick and A-B pedal. And I was super comfortable with it.
• Automatic Gearbox: This thing is first for me. I reversed the car from a parking spot, and as usual, put it in first gear (read P) and kept wondering why the car did not move This thing is going to make me lazy. The driving experience in the city is great - super-light steering, easy to zig-zag, and weave in and out of tight spots. The zoom mode on the drive map is really peppy. This is exactly when the adrenaline will be pumping non-stop!
• ICE Experience: is amazing. I am no audiophile by any standards. The default settings, available music setups are more than sufficient for my likings. The BT phone quality (for a receiver as well as a caller) is very good. No speaker jarring or similar issues. The ICE screens are super responsive. No software hung up yet. The profile detection and reverting settings to a specific profile take a few seconds though.
• The drive experience: Too early to really comment decisively, but I think this is definitely a better one compared to my old car (XUV5OO). The zip and zap are not inspiring, but FE folks will love it. Zoom is where the beast in the car comes alive. That theme I relate to being a car that doesn't ask for too much attention and all of a sudden surprises the audience! It's like the wolf in the sheep's clothing at that moment.
• The red color is amazing - in pure sunlight, it's a delight to see. I alternatively wanted to name it as "Red Sparkle" - a real eye-candy when it's clean and moving swiftly on the roads! What a rush to experience!
• A SUV, technically: Guess what, this one is not a poser with just a body type and high GC. It does have AWD!
• Overall feel inside cabin is great. The ride is nice and comfy. Gobbles up the potholes easily. The cabin isn't a rattlebox, yet! The NVH is far better than my outgoing car. A lot of light comes into the cabin due to the large sunroof. The AC is super effective, powerful. I feel better than XUV5OO as the air-vents are on the middle seat are perfectly positioned. And the dual-zone helps too!
• At some places, you can easily observe the attention to detail - the seat belt holders on pillars, the rubber strap inside the glove box (there were magazine holder rubber bands in XUV5OO doors), a ticket holder inside the glove box as well as a place on the sun-visor. These are good things.
• Overall great package! There are some things missing and some exceed your expectations - the best part is, mechanically the car is good, creating a great feeling too. Fun to drive!

[abirnale]

The glitter - ICE Features deep dive, Adrenox App

As I said, this car is 50% mechanical and 50% gizmos! Trying to please both the clans - the enthusiastic driver and his beloved wife who wants some entertainment in the car or the curious kid who wants to show off the modern connected car features!

The ICE actually plays an important role to uplift the cabin experience. Every person who sat in the car made the comments on how nice it looks - this boosts the owner/ driver's ego and lets Mahindra slip in a few bugs underneath this. Simple isn't it?

The ICE current runs 7.x version and still does not have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay enabled. The several features on the ICE are still not completely enabled - for example, all applications. One will definitely take a week or more to just discover the features - the car will remain new until such time! I have not yet set up the SD card for the video recording and am not sure how good that will be - I might just refit my old thinkware dashcam. I still haven't figured out what format the ICE will read the USB photos so that I can set a family portrait as wallpaper! User manual won't tell me this in simple words - probably they don't want my wife and kids to know that I am that overjoyed kid who would love to show I love my family

The basic functions of the ICE - sound, radio, BT music, Phone call work flawlessly! The voice clarity on the phone is awesome - to the receiver as well as the caller! I am going to spend more time in the car taking my calls it seems and our beloved Gadakariji is making BT phone calls as formally accepted use in law! The preset sound settings are more than enough for my liking. I played some classics, some English and local songs - all songs, all beats, and feel was good for a non-audiophile user like me!

The navigation works fine - isn't perfect like google maps (or it's just me trying to get used to this). The default maps also have traffic updates and most latest map info - it's been years since I used anything different than G maps. The mini or macro maps displayed on the right side MID is cool. I know a friend of mine who uses MG Hector cant run Google maps on ICE because his wife wants to have a full console of music options always available. Had he bought XUV7OO, both those needs would have been satisfied

The ICE can connect with more than one phone at a time. I haven't tried using this for incoming calls and don't know the behavior yet - more on this as I experiment in the coming days.

Here are some pictures of the ICE:

The superb animation to lift up your mood:


The ICE left side home screen:


The top and bottom drawer menus:




Some of the functions are not working - also you can't delete the apps you don't want - for example, I don't want a horoscope!


Note one thing - the Adaptive cruise control always needs AEB enabled or else even the normal cruise control won't work :(



The Adrenox App is a fantastic thing - adds that bit of extra rush into the owner's ego!

I am thinking - Adrenox is nomenclature derived from some MBA fella in Mahindra - adrenaline Rush and Blackberry QNX system fusion with android frameworks used in the framework.

Android + QNX + Adrenaline = Adrenox!

Some screenshots from the app on my phone brought here for reference:








Note that when you use the remote - the long-press lock will also lock the car and roll up the driver's window as well as the sunroof. The other windows don't get these features. Maybe for a future release when Mahindra adds one touch-up or down features on the other windows, it will work!

The remote command center works like charm - sometimes takes time to connect with the car though. The engine start-stop, window operation, etc. is such a comfort. The summer will be bearable when you have your car cooled itself and waiting for you to come in! The car when started remotely does not unlock itself - so you don't need to worry about someone taking it away from you The worst part is - when you come to the car and unlock using the remote/ touch sensors, the car shuts down the engine! That means you need to start again after getting inside to drive away. Or I am missing some sequence here that Mahindra thought I should be doing!

Oh, and you can do a bunch of settings in the app -


And locate it remote too!


The convenience the apps allow for journey planning and navigation is an absolute joy. Now I can remotely set the route, send the destination to the car, and also ask it to remind me when to leave from home to be able to reach the destination in time.






Some statistics would be easy to maintain: no need to use different apps to track such things:




A bunch of other features like document vault, extra Adrenox profile usage, etc may not be used much unless the car has two prominent drivers.






I think this entire app and ICE exploration would need special programs by Mahindra to make us learn - I can imagine the digitally not-so-savvy users would get the shock of their life exploring the features! I can definitely tell that this is one heck of a complex system.

The machines are taking control of our lives - in the literal sense and not just mechanically enthuse us!

Oh, by the way, I would have loved the Adrenox app and ICE to use exact same color of my car on the UX instead of silver car - I chose Red, give me red! And you would have noticed that the inverted Adrenox sticker is taken away - when I peeled the plastic cover on the screen and checked, the sticker was an easy-peel off.

[abirnale]

The Mechanics - Engine, Transmission, Suspension and Performance - Driving Experience

Here are some pictures of the engine bay:

The Hood is heavy and has good damping too. It does not come with struts, instead, an old-style stick that you take out from the hood clip and use it to hold in place.


The Engine Bay is super compact - XUV5OO was similar!


The best part is - the left part and right part have easy access to change the light bulb - earlier in XUV5OO, this was painful. One needed to adjust the battery, the coolant tank to reach the bulbs. This one seems to be easier. But then the car has enough lighting, so we don't need to fiddle with the lighting system anyway.




By the way, the lights are more than sufficient for most users. They have good throws, are bright, and either work o switch off high beams themselves or allow you to override and dazzle coming traffic!

The vehicle is mechanically almost perfect. The driving feel inside the City is as easy as it gets on a hatchback on stilts. The diesel mill has these options to pick the drive modes - Zip, Zap, and Zoom. This technically activates three different engine maps with Zip being modest to allow only 155bhp for best FE may be. Zap seems to be optimum for the day-to-day routine. Zoom is where the engine comes to life. With each mode, the steering feel and dynamics change. Suspension isn't something that changes on the fly but braking and steering have a noticeable difference. Braking may be just ESP doing its trick, I don't intend to test this with distance and more scenarios. This could just be me feeling that way, so ignore it. The steering for sure shows a great change as you change the modes. The AWD comes with AT and it is my first time using the Diesel TC AT box. The first reaction is - I miss MT from XUV5OO very much. But then I am learning to modulate the pedal and teach this Sabertooth how to pounce when I loosen the leash or step back when I tighten it. Meaning, when you lightly tap the accelerator and/ or hold it steady and start pushing down without taking a pause in between, the gear shifts behave differently. I am thinking, I don't need to worry about AT or MT as long as I figure out how to use this A pedal modulation to make the car behave the way I want. And then there is kick down too. Use Zoom mode and kick-down. The AWD is awesome help here. I tried to keep the Car Info menu with AWD torque display active on MID and then drove a little aggressive without crossing 2500 RPM. The display flashed 2 bars on the min side of torque distribution - that means for that moment AWD did its part! And the torque steer was nil - unlike my XUV5OO FWD. This I think is a simple advantage of having AWD - should be handy-work when I climb up the western ghats without breaking in sweat

The suspension system has been a sea of change so far - the feeling is like you are riding a sofa. The car gobbles up the potholes like anything. I sometimes hear a small thud or movement from the rear where the feeling is as-if something is touching somewhere. I have to investigate this - there are a lot of things lying in the car and while experiencing this, there were family members in the car - I can't risk my marriage by telling them to help me try to figure out the noise. So, for now, ignore and wait for a better time to observe this.

Some items that remain on my wish list is:

• Allow the driver to set default Drive Mode to their liking, instead of defaulting to Zap every time car starts
• The physical button on the center fascia console should rotate the mode selection as you continue to press again and again.
• Can I have a Zoom selection as my favorite menu on the rotary knob, please? So one click - I zoom off from whatever mode I was on

I have not started recording the FE numbers or the DEF levels etc yet - depending on the car to tell me what to do when things come closer to the min levels. For the time being, the car will focus on completing at least about 2000 kms on odo without crossing 2500 RPM mark and giving it all kind of roads, driving scenarios to let it learn and be ready for prime time.

[abirnale]

Let the fun continue - joy is to be shared with friends!

While I continue to bring you the latest updates, more observations, learnings, and questions - I want to leave you with a few clicks from recent short drives around town:





















I plan to add some accessories and take the car out for little longer drive. Stay tuned for more updates.

[abirnale]

Some more pictures and observations:

The lovely animations on Headlight DRL and Taillights - these things grow on you over time.



The bottle holder in the door pad is perfect for these 1 liter Tupperware bottles. Anything smaller in diameter or smaller in size will make noise as you move the car and the object keep moving around.


Like this 500ml bottle keeps making noise.


The seats from all rows when folded make this flatbed - but mind the small gaps between the rows. If you plan to use these as flatbed for those quick naps, you need to spread some cushion/ bedspread on these:


When just the third row folded:


And there is a slight gap between the folded row and the styrofoam box that holds the tools:


The cover that sits on top of that styrofoam box is not hinged to the base - instead, it is a free-moving thing.


The view of tools storage - neatly tucked in. I removed all plastics from the tools and wrapped them in extra lint-free towels - doubles up when I need to clean the car away from home as well as no tingling/ rattling noise.



By the way, when you raise the third row, you can still stow in that Taparia 16" toolbox! This should be able to hold a small cabin bag easily or a laptop bag with a camera lens etc too.


The thoughtful seat belt clips keep the belts in place and not hit stuff in the car to cause that rattling noise.


There used to be a storage space on XUV5OO, its missing in XUV7OO:


The view from the boot when all row seats are raised:


The interior looks classy when at night - the cabin lights throw the optimum white light all over and the seats in white add the extra touch of class to them. These for sure will lose the glitter over time as we soil them but for now, they are fantastic.

[Vid6639]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[robimahanta]

Lovely detailed review Avi. Glad I got the opportunity to check it out with you during PDI. Congratulations again and wishing you a million happy miles. Hopefully we will catch up for some drives soon.

The XUV7OO seems to be a great value for money car in the sub 30 lac bracket. Especially for what it offers in terms of mechanicals and gizmos. Probably the best single car solution in India now for a family with a budget of 30 lacs. Really happy that PPS went out of their way to help you with the delivery process.

[dailydriver]

I have followed the journey of the Orange Cheetah and its owner for a while now; both have been pretty interesting.

While the car kept on munching miles and fattening its odo figures, the smart owner did the exact opposite.

Truth be told, that your next car would be a 7OO was no secret, at least to me. The AT part is a bit of a surprise, but since it is conjoined to AWD, it is quite understandable.

Heartiest congratulations on bringing home the Sabertooth. Hope the journey with this beautiful beast will be much more rewarding than the one you had with its predecessors.

Nice review, by the way. Will be waiting to see regular updates on the thread.

[Dark water]

Interesting, informative and comprehensive review, many congratulations to you and all the best.

[Dr.AD]

I was eagerly waiting for this thread, @abirnale, and I knew this was going to be a treat to read. I have followed the journey of your Orange Cheetah closely (and on a few occasions when we did road trips together, followed the Orange Cheetah itself as it leaped and sprinted on and conquered all terrain).

I must say this turned out to be even better than I imagined. This is an awesome thread. This could have easily been a very emotional story, but you kept it very objective while still sharing your emotions! You gave all details that we would usually find in an official review. This is as good as the best of the official reviews.

Heartiest Congratulations on your lovely Red Sabertooth, and thank you very much for taking efforts to write this detailed report. BTW, if I am not mistaken, this is the first XUV7OO AWD on the forum! Congratulations on that too.

Your Orange Cheetah was inspirational. It has inspired me from time to time and I am sure many others here would feel the same. I am sure this new beast would be equally inspirational. Looking forward to the updates and your trip reports now.

I know you enjoyed every km of that 150,000km you drove on the Orange Cheetah. Wish you even more happiness with Red Sabertooth, and wish you even more happy km on this one.

And finally, welcome to the Red Club! Can't wait for an opportunity for a Red photoshoot now.

[Sandegov]

Congrats @Abirnale, wish you and the family loads of memorable miles. The red stands out in a sea of whites and midnight blacks

Thanks for this very comprehensive and detailed thread - a treasure trove of information for folks waiting on their 700 delivery like me. Look forward to your journey.