[abirnale]

The bad part first: I discovered a niggle and a bad UI example

- The Car has a small rattle noise of two hard plastic panels rubbing against each other somewhere near the driver's seat. This can eas expected to have issues but didn't expect to discover so soon. So far it's not irritant and not audible to general occupants of my car!
- I keep seeing the ESP Tell-tale light blinking. As per the user manual, blinking yellow light means that ESP has taken control of the car and is working. But I fail to understand when all such things in the car are either white icons (passive mode/ standby) or green (Active/ engaged), why would ESP working sign be a yellow icon! A yellow thing on the MID console grabs the attention - is M&M just trying to tell me again and again that things are working and chill? You would do that in a better way too, please.

Now the good part, the car just crossed 930km. As soon as it crossed over 800kms, the scheduled service due alert popped on the MID. The 1000km service is just a inspect and top-up things kind.

Yesterday, out of blue me and my best half decided to drive out for a few km. And that turned out to be a nice 200km drive towards Mangalore highway. It's been a long time we did something like this (after having two kids and so much work, these things come across as much needed "we" time break!) I love such drives!

The best part of the drive was relatively higher speeds on the highway and exploring the features of the car. For the first time, I got a chance to use adaptive cruise control and the LKA system. While the AT box does most of the work for me, these new features were exciting to uncover. To use the ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go) you first need to enable AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking). The AEB generally stays switched off on my drives. It works in two different modes - you can pick warning only or full AEB. I have set the favorite option from the right controls on the steering, to exactly tender to such situations for minimum click activation of AEB. AEB ON, Cruise Control ON, rest is lazy driving! The car neatly tracks the objects in front of the car on the highway even with so much light and glare. It reads the lane markings perfectly and centers the car in the lane. So much so that, it's almost a creepy feeling that the car turns the steering itself to stay in the lane while on ACC and LKA active over a sweeping curve! I struggled a lot to let go of the control of steering to the car and watch it do its driving. Just to be safe, I was doing the speed of 60kmph in the left-most lane on the highway. While the feeling was great and a moment of awakening that this is the order of the future to come, I don't think I would be comfortable giving the car its own control and sitting back and watching it do its thing.

The car is super silent even at speeds of 100-120kmph! The street H/T tires probably had an important role to play here and smooth tarmac. We could whisper in the car and hear it - so much so that, I Noticed a small rattle/ plastic panel rubbing noise too Oh and the good part, the speed beeps at 120kmph and above are not very irritating. You can stay at that mark for some time - I would have preferred to get rid of that chime though.

In summary, a great high mile-muncher, a hoot to drive on the road (used Zap mode all-time), and an absolute pleasure to be in the driver's seat, this car takes the XUV experience to next level. Aptly carries the moniker 7OO over its predecessor 5OO.

Leaving you with just two clicks from the drive:





More updates when I get the first service done soon.

[normaltusker]

Originally Posted by abirnale

The bad part first:
In summary, a great high mile-muncher, a hoot to drive on the road (used Zap mode all-time), and an absolute pleasure to be in the driver's seat, this car takes the XUV experience to next level. Aptly carries the moniker 7OO over its predecessor 5OO.

One thing that I am curious to know, have you checked the Highway performance and mileage figures in the Zip mode? Does it make the car too sluggish or frugal?

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by normaltusker

One thing that I am curious to know is, have you checked the Highway performance and mileage figures in the Zip mode? Does it make the car too sluggish or frugal?

Zip is super light steering - I don't like it. So mostly not using. The Zip mode isn't underpowered in general, it definitely has the lower tune of power (155bhp) but that isn't in any way a deterrent to drive. It's good for city driving in any possible way you think of. The car doesn't feel heavy or nose-diving etc at any moment and hence this mode isn't too different than Zap. So far I have not felt it underpowered even when overtaking other cars in the city or highway.

Zap is the default mode - out of 930 km driven so far, 750 must be Zap mode. The overall FE numbers as of now are 12 kmpl with just about 250 km driven at highway speed and rest all in varying speeds between 0-80kmph.

The Zoom mode is the one that is easily noticeable and the engine behaves eager to pounce. The RPMs by default rev higher by at least about 300 revs more as compared to Zip and Zap. This will be my default mode going forward once the sabertooth is out of running-in period! Who cares FE

[SDP]

Hi Avinash,

Congratulations for the XUV7OO ! Very detailed and straight from the heart. I always loved your XUV5OO ownership thread because there were very frequent updates on it and I am sure you would keep this one also alive with regular updates.

Being one of the first XUV7OO ownership threads on the forum, a lot of people would be looking forward to your experience to make their purchase decision. Your frank and balanced view would definitely help those folks.

Congratulations once again for the red beast! Looking forward to bumping into you soon!

[Mudhalaipatti]

Originally Posted by abirnale

I am going to spend some on underbody protection if at all. The only accessories I bought are footmats! Nothing more as of now.

I'm a little late to this thread @abirnale. Congrats on the purchase and happy miles.

You put it aptly - this beauty is ravishing in it's own form that adding accessories like foot rest, back crash guard spoils the natural beauty, in my opinion.

Few questions if you don't mind.

How often does the reverse camera NOT come up. For me it's erratic and there's no pattern. Perhaps once in 15 days.

Offlate the irate volume issue is spreading. Turning the rotary dial or the steering mounted controls don't work. I have figured out a way (i.e in swipe down from the top and there's a volume option, which seems to work). Have you experienced this issue ?

What is the software version on this vehicle after your first visit ?

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

Few questions if you don't mind.

How often does the reverse camera NOT come up. For me it's erratic and there's no pattern. Perhaps once in 15 days.

Offlate the irate volume issue is spreading. Turning the rotary dial or the steering mounted controls don't work. I have figured out a way (i.e in swipe down from the top and there's a volume option, which seems to work). Have you experienced this issue ?

What is the software version on this vehicle after your first visit ?

Hey, thanks! The Red is always beautiful to my eyes

I do not have any issues with the software - The camera comes up instantaneously. The front camera as soon as I slot in D, Reverse Camera as soon as I slot R, flawless. The quality is superb, crisp display too.

The ICE doesn't have any issues with volume too. It retains the last state - the audio source, volume level. If it was stopped in the last cycle, it doesn't auto-start at default volume. The same applies to navigation settings too - the volume, voice preference, etc are retained. By the way, there are these User Profile Settings on the ICE, I have configured my profile twice and linked each with the keyfob. So probably the settings get restored as soon as I start the car with that profile - I do not know for sure. But it works and I suggest you to give it a try if you haven't already.

The below is current firmware snapshot:



By the way, there is this niggle (?) to deal with and there is a workaround too. See the image below:



I have noticed that either this or ESP-related error will flash on the screen whenever you do not allow the startup sequence to complete in the morning (or after long rest for the car). So I found the solution to work whenever I allow the MID and ICE screens to fully do the dance, light up, and then crank the engine. If I crank the engine before the ODO/ Tacho needle completes its sweeping rotation or the ICE screen comes to the home screen display, there will be some or the other error randomly. Not always - only when you skip the routine for the morning. I imagined this to be the curse of having too many chips and too much computer in the car. If all the chips are put to power-nap and you wake them up from their slumber without allowing them to open their eyes clearly, some guy is going to ask this question - where am I? and throw the error Anyway, the routine for turbo-idling is to be modified with an additional step for chips to warm up and be ready to take commands too!

And our fun times continue with the car: It's rarely possible for us to enjoy these scenes on a weekday - but the new car makes you sneak out an hour around lunchtime to take that quick detour to a nearby lake and enjoy the scenery! Bangaloreans are blessed with such opportunities - while the entire IT fraternity is out on the farms doing WFH, we get such quick trips done in the middle of the day!











By the way, now exactly at 1000 km mark, tomorrow Sabertooth goes for the first service.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by abirnale

- I keep seeing the ESP Tell-tale light blinking. As per the user manual, blinking yellow light means that ESP has taken control of the car and is working. But I fail to understand when all such things in the car are either white icons (passive mode/ standby) or green (Active/ engaged), why would ESP working sign be a yellow icon! A yellow thing on the MID console grabs the attention - is M&M just trying to tell me again and again that things are working and chill? You would do that in a better way too, please.

ESP/Traction Control lights are always lit up in yellow in any car, that is the universal code. It would be a way of hinting the driver to maybe tone down a bit. In many powerful cars, you can see it lighting up to glory when you do some hard acceleration in lower gears due to wheelspin.

[appupandya]

Originally Posted by abirnale

Yes, thanks. Glossy black from 3M. Considering matching alloy paint and red brake callipers, maybe someday soon.

Amazon seller cheated with bad quality number plate frames, and Mahindra ASC riveted them! About to take them off and replace with Orbiz. (ordered, awaiting delivery.)

Can you please share the cost of getting the 3M wrap, I am planning to do the same for mine.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by appupandya

Can you please share the cost of getting the 3M wrap, I am planning to do the same for mine.

From 3M, they used 2080 Wrap series for Dual tone - gloss black was about ₹28k.

[abirnale]

First Free Service Update:

The SaberTooth had its first free service scheduled yesterday. That is 30 days after registration or in 1000km on the odometer. Keeping the tradition of munching miles alive with this car, the servicing is done yesterday - 2 weeks ahead of calendar time and right on time at 1025 Kms.



First things first - the first service is literally free! You do not need to pay anything, literally. And what best way to resume my relationship with Chrome Motors than heading to their Mysore road setup. The best drive on NICE road, not much traffic and easy to work with folks there. This time Prasad is on vacation, so Zubair took the car and as usual Edrish did whatever was needed.



As soon as the car entered the ASC, I was attended without a second's delay. Chrome Motors is setting up new bays for XUV7OOs with dedicated parking and attention!

The first service is just checking if things are fine, fluid top-ups and tightening a few bolts here and there. The mechanic can finish this job literally in 15 mins. That's all. They wrap the car seats with extra covers to avoid them soiling. It took more time for these formalities than actual service - it's a protocol to ensure the car is clean or mechanic/ technicians greasy touches!



It still took me good 2.5 hours for this service to be finished - you must have guessed that I asked them to ensure they trace the HHC error I mentioned earlier and the ESP blinking lights that come on when apparently there is nothing demanding ESP to work.

The diagnostic scan found the errors logged in the history for MBFM (Mahindra Body Function Module) and ESP system. I was told that the car has multiple ECUs and chips - they communicate with each other and do things right. Sometimes they fail to talk to each other and those communication errors translate into the HHC kind of errors. Whatever that may be, I think it's the case I said in an earlier post - some lazy chips waking up at their own leisure and missing the transmitted orders from main guy

When the checks revealed that some of the ECUs needed to be flashed. (The firmware and software versions are the latest as shown in the earlier post pictured, so nothing is needed there). Each ECU when gets flashed, the car need to be shut down completely for 40 seconds and then start the process all over again - connect OBD port, connect the laptop, start the car, start the scan, detect changes, apply flashing, shut down software, car for 40 seconds. And all over again for the next flashing! This is tedious. So much so that, the first service felt like 95% done by computer guys (Called as CoTek in Mahindra language) than the one who carries spanners!

Anyway, things are finally flashed, all error codes reset and then the car was taken out of the service centre without any payment!

Ready for the next 9k Kms - hopefully, I don't have to go back to ASC soon (with an exception if they roll out Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto, I will queue up immediately!) I think Chrome Motors is also getting ready with a lot of renewed focus on the "new premium" customers - XUV7OO! This will be my go-to ASC - not because there is any issue with PPS but Chrome guys and I have built a relationship that I want to continue to grow and ensure SaberTooth is taken care of in a similar way as was Orange Cheetah!

And while I was there, I got this AWD sticker to stick to the boot - just like that! It costs Rs. 50, I paid in cash as the bill was already done and had nothing to do with servicing.



More updates to follow about today's long drive!

Originally Posted by abirnale

First Free Service Update: The SaberTooth had its first free service scheduled yesterday.

I missed adding two points.

Service Mode:
Every time we give the car for servicing, we should enable the service mode - see the image below. This can be set using the ICE > Settings > Vehicle option.



Not sure if it was because of this setting or otherwise, none of my settings, data were lost - all retained between flashing too. The only flip side is - if you forget to revert back to the service mode, the trip history will not be saved. See below - The car moved 100+ km without realizing that I had the service mode still enabled. I found this because the car was parked outside in the sun and I wanted to remotely cool it down before we get in. And the Adrenox App did not get me control of the car as it was in service mode!



Spare Tyre TPMS:
None of the XUV7OOs have spare tire pressure and temperature enabled in the car. Wondering why? Because they don't have the TPMS sensor in them. The spare is a donut and hence not tracked on the system. See below - that is the view you get - without a spare tire.



The option is to buy a new TPMS sensor from M&M and fit it into the space and then enable it in the MBFM software is their iSmart technician's app. Or buy a proper full-sized alloy as applicable to your car and then fit the sensor and then use it!

I am considering the full-size alloy procurement soon - will wait for some soul to change their 18" wit aftermarket and hopefully I will get the spare alloy to use on my car - helpful on the long drives. By the way, Orange Cheetah never ever used spare even during the Himalayan drive. So this expense on accessory/ upgrade isn't urgent as of now.

[abirnale]

An impromptu drive today - we visited Ranganathitu Bird Sanctuary and took a longer road to home. It was about 375 km circuit to take the Odometer closer to the 1500 Kms mark.



Few important notes about RBS:

• The park opens at 8.30 am, only then the cars and people are allowed entry into the sanctuary.
• The restaurant inside the RBS premises would start serving only around 9 am. So plan your breakfast accordingly.
• You will need to take a Car parking ticket, Entry tickets, DSLR tickets and if wish you to take a boat ride, take those tickets too. There is a shared boat ride and also a private (Special Boat).
• Parking ticket is at the main entrance. Rest all tickets need to be purchased from the ticket counter located at the faraway corner of the parking lot.
• If you had connected with the boatman a night before - he can get you all tickets ahead of time and allow entry I the park by 6.30 am itself - best for bird pictures.

The Bangalore Mysore road is under construction (widening, flyovers, etc.) and yet not very cumbersome. It takes about 2 hours nowadays to reach from NICE road exit to RBS gates.

Closer to the RBS, you get a lot of fresh coconut water stalls too. And of course a lot of eatery options all the way!



We sighted a lot of birds at RBS - it's the nesting season for pelicans and Storks. (Details for some other post on the relevant thread).

Since we finished the birding trip by 11 am, we decided to take the long road home. Took a pit stop at Sagarkatte Bridge and explored the KRS backwaters.

















And then the road back to home via Holenarasipura and Hirisave was the usual video game drive. Thus ended the weekend!

[Mudhalaipatti]

Originally Posted by abirnale

First Free Service Update:

They wrap the car seats with extra covers to avoid them soiling. It took more time for these formalities than actual service - it's a protocol to ensure the car is clean or mechanic/ technicians greasy touches!

That's a nice practice. I should let my ASC follow this protocol. As you had rightly observed XUV700 mechanics are now with laptops, rather than spanners and wrenches.

Originally Posted by abirnale

Connect OBD port, connect the laptop, start the car, start the scan, detect changes, apply flashing, shut down software, car for 40 seconds. And all over again for the next flashing! This is tedious. .....

I wonder why they have to disconnect the car battery every time they flash though !

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

I wonder why they have to disconnect the car battery every time they flash though!

To imitate the same effect as to shut down the electronics - power recycle. 30-40 seconds is sufficient for the system to completely shut down. It will ensure as part of the shutdown routine, the memory is dumped/ stored appropriately as well as clear cache, etc. A typical software thing!

Disconnecting the battery isn't really required - this is just your overcautious co-tek guy doing stuff.

Anyone who worked with IoT devices or mobile apps that connect with peripheral accessories would know how the BT connections over BLE behave. The situation becomes complex with every additional communication channel, the endpoint, or non-responsive IoT device. When you flash the firmware, you are trying to write the software/ code on its memory that should last beyond just one power cycle.

[abirnale]

Unwanted ASC Visit No 01 - Visit that could have been avoided!

If you can recall the ESP blinking telltale sign on the MID console had something in me set off and I started observing things more keenly. And it happened twice after the first service visit. Both at a strange time - low speeds around 10-15kmph and lasted for about 2-3 seconds. Whenever ESP kicks in, note that you can control A input and the car takes control of dynamics. Even though it is for 2-3 seconds, it's not a great feeling of not having A input work! Hence visited ASC to have them diagnose the error codes through their scanning tool. Apparently, they found some errors related to ESP and could relate to the TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) already issued to them by M&M. The recommended actions are - to flash the MBFM (again with one more revised version), and also disconnect/ reconnect the couplers for Front Radar Module, Camera Module and ESP Can connectors.

And while at it, they also flashed the ECUs/ Modules related to EPSL - electronic power steering lock and MBFM and something else. After the flashing, we took a test drive for almost about 30 minutes and never saw the error pop up on MID again. Strangely though, the diagnostic tool again picked up the error code related to ESP. Now, this is strange and ASC wanted to escalate this to M&M to seek their intervention. This is a great proactive step - even though I don't see any issues, errors on the console, they want to keep the job open and get to the bottom of it - this also means, most likely there will be one more visit to the ASC for the very same reason!

This is something no customer really wants - the silver lining is, M&M, as well as ASC, are super cooperative so far Now, let's see how things unfold in the coming days. I am not going to rush to ASC unless this becomes a bigger nuisance.

By the way, ASC folks also flashed the ICE firmware/ software to the latest which added android auto support: see below -















I am not an android user but have a spare Pixel phone. So I play with it for some time to see how it does - better than XUV5OO but not great! My observations from the update are as below:

• Not the entire ICE screen is used for AA Screen, unlike the MMI default maps.
• I don't know if this is a flaw or issue with lag on new software, some of the console buttons (physical) take time to respond.
• The AA needs a cable to connect the first time. Play with its settings, and next time onwards it's wireless! Fantastic!
• The navigation hints are not the same as MMI default maps on the MID Console for drivers. Instead of a full map, they're just the hints of the next instruction. Similar to what you see in the heads-up displays (HUD).
• In AA, there is a hidden games app - you can choose to enable it if you like. I did not try it - I have enough gizmo to scare my life - games is the last thing I want in the car.
• It takes about 30-45 minutes to flash the ICE for AA. You need to keep the car running (burn that diesel!) and ensure that no subsystems push the interrupt events to the car. Meaning, don't operate things with the car that create alerts to ICE like door close/ open, etc. And once the flashing is done, disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes and connecting or leaving the car shut off for 5 minutes and then starting again will ensure things are done well with a cycle of power on and off. If anything is missing in the sequence, it will need the whole process to be done again! And hopefully, the ICE doesn't go into the infinite update loop as a result of those repeated attempts! Else only M&M will need to get on the ground for you! So allow uninterrupted time to the CoTek to finish his job without skipping any specific steps!

My wait for Apple CarPlay continues - not very excited with Android Auto but nevertheless, it's fine and works for all normal scenarios. Things to explore further are - will the Radio Seek buttons work while on the AA Screen? It wouldn't in my old XUV5OO. I don't have Alexa enabled, so not sure if Alexa and OK Google will fight among themselves!

[abirnale]

Weekend visit to nearby lakes!

It is the exam time and preparations are in full swing at home - yeah, that's how it is for families in March who have school going kids! So no long trips or overnight journeys yet. The car still needs to stretch its legs and the driver/ owner need to spend some time to get to know the car too

So we find an excuse to roam around - this time it's just me and my son taking these small opportunities to hit nearby lakes and easy treks. We spend Saturday morning visiting Gudibande Fort for trek and Sunday evening to a random trail around Muninagara dam/ lake closer to Kanakapura Road.

The Saturday early morning, I saw this warning on the MID console. Using the portable tire inflator simply topped up the air and continued with the drive. So far, haven't fixed the puncture (most likely as the air keeps reducing and I simply keep inflating and driving). I will attend to this tomorrow or the day after.



Other than this the weekend was peaceful and fun-filled. The Red Sparkle a.k.a The Red Sabertooth crossed the 2100 km mark

Pictures from Saturday:







Pictures from Sunday:



















And the good thing is - the ESP thing has not shown up on the MID console so far after the last week's Silver box flashing and nothing to write about niggles yet.

Some folks asked me over PM about a few things, here are the answers:

• I do not use Alexa purely because I am not an Alexa user anyway, other than Amazon orders, I don't need it. So I did not try using it too. I have observed that when I disconnect the phone (the same button also used for triggering Alexa), the ICE screen shows a message that I cant use Alexa while the car is in motion. Other than that, didn't pay attention to anything related to Alexa - this is one useless feature for me.
• I am yet to use AWD purely on the trails. Most of the drives on the rough roads or unpaved roads show the AWD kicking in on the MID console widget but for a very small duration. When I force AWD mode by pressing the driver switch bank button, it does use the power to almost all bars on the rear wheels depending on the inclines or road conditions. I can't control "how much" but I can force to make use of rear wheels for power. I have not driven the car with AWD on for more than a few minutes and never beyond 20kmph speed. I DO NOT intend to use AWD forcefully without really having such need - in a typical daily routine, I don't need it. I will be doing some trails soon though and this will be used. I will post a detailed account of that when I do.
• I have some brake noise on the rear at low speeds but nothing bothers me unless I am paying attention to it.

More updates as I explore the car, will continue to flow in. Have a great week ahead.