[supertinu]

Hello folks, since my last Leh tlog I haven't really started a thread in almost 2yrs. About time and perfect life changing event for a Tbhpian to trigger and start one. Happy to announce the new member in the family our XUV700 D-AT AX7L AWD. I am not much for naming my cars and will refrain from it this time as well



Before I dive into the story of the new one, a short farewell to my previous XUV500 W8 MT FWD. Owned the car for almost 10yrs and in that duration it really spoilt us with its ability to munch endless miles, no dirth of space and comfort for 5 adults, luggage space and rock solid dare i say Fortuner equivalent reliability, and last but not the least extremely potent engine with very easy drivability. We covered every corner of South India in it over the years and also a Leh trip. Maybe because I bought the 1st gen XUV500 at end of its life cycle, all the kinks and issues were resolved by then and my ownership experience remained very satisfying, hence no hesitation in going for even more expensive Mahindra. Sharing a picture of the XUV500 when speedo was at 70K kms a month before I sold. Still looked as good as it could be




Why new car and requirements

I like keeping my cars for a longer duration, prefer buying something that can last a decade or more and shouldn't feel a compromise. Given that the running is not very high for me from a commute standpoint, I will probably end up putting 10K km per year. Originally the plan was to change car in 2025 once the 10yr mark was hit for XUV500 but then the news of upcoming slowdown in auto industry, clubbed with news of discounts starting on new cars (2 lac on XUV700), I anticipated even the used car market will show challenges. So decided to take the plunge. Requirements were fairly clear especially after owning a XUV500, in no particular order

- Spacious 5 seater with a 7 seater option for the occasional city use when extended family visits
- Preference for diesel mainly due to amazing combination of low-mid range perf & fuel efficiency. Even though I dont have huge running but still 6-8kmpl with petrol will hurt
- Engine performance in city and highways
- Top end model with latest bells and whistles
- Significant upgrade from XUV500 ride quality in the city
- Safety loaded + ADAS
- AWD, not a strong need but why not

Shortlist and finalizing process

Budget was anything south of 50 lacs. As you will realize that options get limited if you are looking for a 7-str. We did include few 5-str incase they are compelling enough. Listing the options evaluated and summary

Hyundai Tuscon - Lovely interiors, good diesel engine + awd with high levels of cabin insulation, feel solidly built unlike other hyundais, rides well. Only drawback I found was 2nd row shape allowed only 2 to sit comfortably and all touch controls. Wife found the car ok.

Skoda Kodiaq - High quality build, nice interiors though felt dated in 2024, most refined to drive with petrol engine, that canton audio, high levels of insulation, ride quality, good 5 seater, wife liked it the most. Only drawback was didnt feel worth investing 50lacs when new model was due in 2025 and limited on features on current one, even contemplated holding the purchase but the new launch will be easily 5-10 lac more expensive

Tata Safari - My bill has the pre-facelift DARK model which we loved. The facelift actually made the Safari more desirable in looks and features but took a step back in usability partly. Highlights were looks, good ride, jbl audio, good 5 str. What I didnt like was it felt bit bulky to drive, touch panels weren't very usable and fit finish wasn't upto the mark.

VW Tiguan and Hyundai Creta - were looked at for consideration but never taken up seriously

XUV700 - Lets accept it that I did have a bias towards XUV700 when the search started. Decent fit n finish (better than Safari but not rest), felt most easy to drive with torquey engine and light steering, good 5 str, ride among the best. What I didn't like was both engines P & D are audible on revving and slight vibrations at idle were felt inside. Tried 4 different test drive cars with varying degree on refinement.
2 lac discount and AWD made it a solid value prop to beat.

Listing the comparisons of the main parameters among these cars. Best to worst in that order. Just my subjective opinion

Interior Space - Safari = XUV700 = Kodiaq > Tuscon
Exterior looks - Safari > Kodiaq > XUV700 > Tuscon
Ride - Kodiaq > Tuscon = XUV700 > Safari
Engine - Tuscon=XUV700 > Safari (not including KOdiaq being a petrol and not fair comparison)
NVH - Kodiaq (petrol advantage) > Tuscon > XUV700 > Safari
Fun to drive - Kodiaq > XUV700 > Tuscon > Safari
Feature loaded - Safari = Tuscon > XUV700 > Kodiaq
Sound System - Kodiaq > Safari > XUV700 > Tuscon


Booking and delivery experience

Booked the car at Anant motors Marathahalli branch. Chose them as it falls on my office commute route. Also had discussions with INdia garage whitefield. Overall dealership and Sales associate experience was decent on both ends. Mahindra doesnt have the best dealership experience but its good enough in my view. Sales team shows enthusiam and tracks. I booked on 1st Sept was promised delivery within 4 weeks but eventually took 6wks to allocate the car. For some reason White AWD took longer. During that period SA offered me all other options like White FWD, Blue/Green AWD but we stuck with White AWD. White was the common preferred option in family and AWD was something I wanted to stick with. Dealer also enabled a PDI before allocating the car at their yard. I released all the payment post PDI. Dealer also did not insist on any accessories or insurance in any way, just gave me options. I pretty much got everything from outside except for few accessories from them. Delivery was smooth as such but quality of interior cleaning wasnt upto the mark but I ignored it. It was one of the wettest week in Bangalore during delivery time and I let this one slide given I had pushed for a morning delivery time.

Accessories taken

From dealer I took minimal set - Mud flaps, metal pedals, metal scuff plates and window mesh sun shades
From after marketing - Side step and Rear bumper guard (CTRack brand) & 3D mats

Upcoming item in future - Dashcam, uSD card in the ICE for loop recording, sound damping for doors, underseat sub

Ownership review

With 1000km drive done, mostly in BLR city traffic and about 300 odd on the highway, have a good sense of the car. Sharing some pics before I post my thoughts about the car.

Engine Heart of the matter. Absolute stonker and one of the main reason to choose XUV700. Extremely refined at idle and in an open space you need to pay close attn to make out difference between diesel and petrol



Exterior Pics Some pics before I got the side step and rear guard installed






Out on the highway for its 1st highway trip. Took a day trip from BLR to Lepakshi


Do note the AWD badge that I ordered from Amazon and installed. Matt black.


After market side step from C-Track. Half price from Mahindra's option


After market rear guard from C-Track


Interior Pics
First time I have got a car with non-black or grey interiors. As much as I like the look they will be tough to maintain. For now holding back my family from eating anything non dry in the car








Like the merc-ish single slab screen look and the layering of different fit and finish


Steering wheel is lovely to hold. Horn pad is bit too hard thought. Thank you mahindra for sticking with tactile buttons and not touch. So easy to use while driving without taking eyes off


Huge panaromic sunroof. never been a fan and not a major consideration if you are sitting on the front row. 2nd row passengers would really get the advantage of it.



Another major reason for choosing XUV700, buttons on centre console. I can live with touch screen as long as short cut buttons are available. The joystick toggle control next to gear level is very useful. The customizable favorite button comes in very handy both here and on the steering wheel


Decently large boot space with 3rd row down. Which is how it will remain 99% of the time


Tire and Rim I was initially contemplating upgrading to Michelins on day of purchase, but finally decided to hold back after the alloted car had Good years. Not the same league as Michelins but based on reviews and my experience so far seem better than Bridgestones and MRF. They are very silent and online international reviews on youtube also seem to suggest the same. OEM alloy design is okish, nothing great or bad.



ICE Few words around the digital real estate. The screens are crisp and decently usable once you get the hang of UI and layout. I love the full map view on front screen, even though its inbuilt maps but map my india has improved a ton and closer to google maps. Lot of customizations and well thought through things on front screen like wheel direction, warnings around charging pad, car related info.





Likes

- Extremely responsive engine and the drive modes do what they are supposed to do ignoring the funky naming zip-zap-zoom
- Coming from XUV500 the ride is very supple at low speeds and completely flat at on highway triple digit speeds. I found it next to Kodiaq in comfort
- Decent amount of cabin insulation at less than 100kmph
- FIt n finish is pretty good for most part. All touch surfaces are soft or cushioned. It wasnt too far from Tuscon in my view
- Space and comfort for front 2 rows, 3rd row would be ok for city uses
- Maybe its due to the car been in production for 3yrs, I havnt really hit any glitches with electronics in the last 2 months. FIngers crossed
- NVH of the new car turned out be lot better compared to test drive cars. Vibrations at idle still exist but are lot more muted. I measured with an app audio levels during idle between XUV500 and XUV700, and new one is less by ~5dB.


Nitpicks

- ventilated seats work fine but the fans make a whiny sound
- Above >100kmp wind sound is fairly audible. In my car there is some resonance and its actually louder at 100kmph than at 110kmph
- Getting 8-9kmpl so far vs. 10-11kmpl I used to get in BLR city with XUV500. More powerful engine, awd and TC box have some impact
- Lack of powered tail gate
- Auto hold integration and timing when you press accelerator needs to be improved. Car always starts from still with a minor jerk cause brake release is delayed. I believe the high torque of the engine also makes it more pronounced
- Brakes have extremely good stopping power but seem over boosted, take sometime to get used as only a mild pressure is enough to generate lot of stopping power

Needs improvement

- Engine sounds a bit noisy at around 2K RPM at low speeds on the inside just before TC switching from 2nd to 3rd gear. In all other situations its not a bother
- Connected car features depend on 4G connection and ICE reception isnt great in basements where cell phones work fine. I have never been able to use any of the features when car is in basement
- Phone charging ports are all extremely slow. 2nd row typeC is probably 10W and i use that with a longer cable
- WIreless charger heats and throttles phone badly, typeA ports are very slow upfront
- Only 1 12V socket in 3rd row makes installation of Dash cam more challenging or faster phone charging
- Poorly calibrated start-stop system. For one it cuts in too early even before car comes to complete standstill, 2nd car restarts the moment you release brake. The whole point is lost if you need to keep pressing the brake. My prev XUV500 with MT had it much better calibrated and was usable. 3rd and worst part is it comes on by default at each start

ADAS

I travel international a fair bit due to work and most of it is to US. Been driving in US for 20+yrs and have tried all kinds of cars and SUVs. REcent years pretty much all cars I have rented had ADAS L2 and its works very effectively in US conditions. So i was definitely wanted this feature but wasn't sure about its usability in India. Listing my experience for the main features

- Auto Emergency Braking (AEB) - > Very well calibrated for India conditions and works fine. Not intrusive even at normal setting in BLR driving conditions and triggers when it really should
- Lane assist - Works fine when its marked. Useless in city but great for highways
- Adaptive cruise control - This feature works fine as well but in Indian conditions it mixed bags. Primarily since avg speed on road is very different between a car and a truck, so if you don't switch lanes in time the system will triggers major braking to reduce speed

ICE & Sound quality

ON the audio front the 12 speaker system is certainly distinct from others from a sound staging standpoint. I am big fan of surround sound and sony DSP is very accurate. I usually stick to party mode where I feel music has most clarity and separation. Highs and mids are very good and donot distort. Only gripe with the system is that sub isnt powerful enough. It is more prominent on 2nd row but effects at lower volume are reduced upfront as it doesnt move much air volume. It also has a limited freq response range and isn't very tight either. Need to increase volume to get the sub to have its effect. I am planning to install an underseat subwoofer that i took out from my previous car to complete the music for the front seats. Also plan to add damping at a later point.

Niggles

Car is due for 1K service checkup. Only issue I want to report is

- high beam throw of right HL is not focussed enough and spreads too much
- IRVM dimming toggle works half way
- Booster high beam adjustment
- I hear some mild ticking sound on highway from under the floor in quiet environment. I presume the AWD drive shaft maybe, lets see

Overall, very promising start to a new ownership. Will keep this thread updated periodically. Feel free to post your questions. Hopefully I will do justice to the car and its AWD system.

[Aditya]

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

[mukeshc18]

Very well written. Resonate with most of the points as we both coming from xuv 500 to 700. I have not got the chance to drive much and only able to drive 100 Km so far.

Ride quality is definitely a big plus and that sound quality is amazing (atleast for me).

[Aryan.M]

Very well written Sir. Appreciate the details covered in the post. This car brings a grin on my face every time I take it out for a ride.

I would like to know the brand of the 3D mats fitted in your car and the cost involved.

I am a bit surprised with the mileage that you have mentioned. I don't actually remember getting such a low mileage ever in the 700. Maybe the engine will open up now, after the run-in period and the mileage will also increase. Also do insist for the Ultra V4 engine oil and do not use the normal Ultra engine oil.

Enjoy your new ride.

[rroy92]

Originally Posted by supertinu

...
..
- Phone charging ports are all extremely slow. 2nd row typeC is probably 10W and i use that with a longer cable
- WIreless charger heats and throttles phone badly, typeA ports are very slow upfront
- Only 1 12V socket in 3rd row makes installation of Dash cam more challenging or faster phone charging
- Poorly calibrated start-stop system. For one it cuts in too early even before car comes to complete standstill, 2nd car restarts the moment you release brake. The whole point is lost if you need to keep pressing the brake. My prev XUV500 with MT had it much better calibrated and was usable. 3rd and worst part is it comes on by default at each start

....

Congrats on your new steed. The FE will get a bit better after another few thousand kms on the odo.

I did not want to mess with the fuse box and opted for a OBD2 powered hardwire kit for the dashcam.

I too use the usb c at the 2nd row with a 90 degree cable (looks better and does not protrude into the leg space of the middle passenger in my opinion.)

One more major miss I feel is the lack of 3 point seatbelt for the 2nd row middle passenger. This is available in the international models.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by mukeshc18

Ride quality is definitely a big plus and that sound quality is amazing (atleast for me).

Hey MUkesh, glad that you got your car as well. I didnt mean the sound quality wasnt good, it definitely is one of the best OEM systems in this range. Just pointed out where I found something lacking. All my prev cars have had after market systems with good sound quality.

Originally Posted by Aryan.M

Very well written Sir. Appreciate the details covered in the post. This car brings a grin on my face every time I take it out for a ride.

I would like to know the brand of the 3D mats fitted in your car and the cost involved.

I am a bit surprised with the mileage that you have mentioned. I don't actually remember getting such a low mileage ever in the 700. Maybe the engine will open up now, after the run-in period and the mileage will also increase. Also do insist for the Ultra V4 engine oil and do not use the normal Ultra engine oil.

Enjoy your new ride.

Thanks a lot Aryan. WIll keep the engine oil input in mind during servicing. Low mileage could be cause its still 1st 1000km and also my commute in Bangalore involved outer ring road during rush hours, I do avg 10kmph for 8-9km over 40-50min range. Ppl in BLR would relate more

I will check on the 3D Mat brand and confirm back. Saw it in person and chose based on perceived quality. The after market shop quoted 6999 for 3 rows and boot. I bargained a combined rate for side step, rear guard and mats together and paid 25K.

Originally Posted by rroy92

Congrats on your new steed. The FE will get a bit better after another few thousand kms on the odo.

I did not want to mess with the fuse box and opted for a OBD2 powered hardwire kit for the dashcam.

I too use the usb c at the 2nd row with a 90 degree cable (looks better and does not protrude into the leg space of the middle passenger in my opinion.)

Good point about the OBD2 powering. Will keep it in mind. Which dashcam are you using ?

[rroy92]

Originally Posted by supertinu

....
Good point about the OBD2 powering. Will keep it in mind. Which dashcam are you using ?...

I am using Redtiger F4 4K with OBD2 Kit
I absolutely love the actioncam-esque aesthetics. The picture quality is decent.

The best part is that OBD2 port hardwire kit has a switch to choose the minimum battery voltage value between 12.4 V and 11.6 V. I set it to the former. This prevents the kit from draining the battery down to levels which might get you stranded.



(Do note this camera will not record in 4k after you connect a rear cam. I think the max was 2K 30FPS. You can ask for it separately from the seller at added cost. I did along with a extended rear camera wire, so that I can install with the wire coming down and going to the back from below the doors and not interfere with the side curtain airbags. I am yet to install the rear camera though.)

ChrisFix made the most In depth Dashcam Install Guide. Do watch it before you proceed.

https://youtu.be/lQtZF0g51Ak?si=YM0y2yl4HC5TV__H&t=1181

This is where I hid the controller.


Passed the wires through the IRVM hole in ADAS module.


Not a very good picture to demo the final results. But this is what I found at hand.



Seller Details I got it from the site chat option:
REDTIGER INDIA
+91 92897 80777

[__viking]

The XUV700 sounds like a solid upgrade from the 500. Ten years with one car is impressive! I'm curious about your long-term experience with the AWD, how does it handle in tougher conditions? Also, that beige interior is gorgeous, but I bet it's a pain to keep clean.

[Aryan.M]

Originally Posted by __viking

I'm curious about your long-term experience with the AWD, how does it handle in tougher conditions? Also, that beige interior is gorgeous, but I bet it's a pain to keep clean.

Weicome to the forum mate. It is great to see someone from BHILAI - my home town.

This is AWD and not a pure 4x4 - so the performance does vary greatly. But this is sufficient to overcome 99% of the situation that a normal person would face. It is sufficient to take you out from snow and mud conditions where a normal FWD car would struggle.

The white seats provide an airy feeling to the interior - it is indeed difficult to maintain and one has to be very careful but not really too much of a pain.

Originally Posted by supertinu

- Auto hold integration and timing when you press accelerator needs to be improved. Car always starts from still with a minor jerk cause brake release is delayed. I believe the high torque of the engine also makes it more pronounced.

Normally I disengage the EPB manually before I press the accelerator. That way the jerk can be avoided.

Originally Posted by supertinu

- Poorly calibrated start-stop system. For one it cuts in too early even before car comes to complete standstill, 2nd car restarts the moment you release brake. The whole point is lost if you need to keep pressing the brake. My prev XUV500 with MT had it much better calibrated and was usable. 3rd and worst part is it comes on by default at each start.

Earlier batches of XUV700 does not have this feature, as this was introduced sometime in late 2022 or 2023. You can try to find if this has a dedicated fuse - which can be pulled out to disable this feature. I am not sure this will work - just a suggestion which can be explored.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by __viking

The XUV700 sounds like a solid upgrade from the 500. Ten years with one car is impressive! I'm curious about your long-term experience with the AWD, how does it handle in tougher conditions? Also, that beige interior is gorgeous, but I bet it's a pain to keep clean.

The whitish grey interiors so far have held up fine in 1.5 months but will need maintenance surely in the long run.

For AWD I dont think its a major concern in the long from reliability standpoint, for most part car remains FWD and its AWD incase of need only. You should track Abirnale's thread, he has a munched tons of kms on his AWD.

Originally Posted by Aryan.M

Normally I disengage the EPB manually before I press the accelerator. That way the jerk can be avoided.

Earlier batches of XUV700 does not have this feature, as this was introduced sometime in late 2022 or 2023. You can try to find if this has a dedicated fuse - which can be pulled out to disable this feature. I am not sure this will work - just a suggestion which can be explored.

EPB I have also started to disengage before accelrating, however its not the smoothest release incase of Auto hold as well which is used a lot in bumper to bumper traffic.

I will learn to live with the start/stop system for now. Getting used to turning it off each time I use the car.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by Aryan.M

I would like to know the brand of the 3D mats fitted in your car and the cost involved.

3D mats were a brand called GFX

[mpksuhas]

Congratulations on the new car, been seeing your query on 700 threads and was expecting this to happen soon

Regarding the responsiveness of brake pedal, I understand what you are mentioning. However, I guess that is since the 700 pedal has a more linear output from the pedals compared to that of 500 where there is sufficient play (though the bite was good past that)

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Congratulations on the new car, been seeing your query on 700 threads and was expecting this to happen soon

Regarding the responsiveness of brake pedal, I understand what you are mentioning. However, I guess that is since the 700 pedal has a more linear output from the pedals compared to that of 500 where there is sufficient play (though the bite was good past that)

Thanks Suhas.

Regarding the responsiveness its actually not the case. The brakes are over boosted. I have a figo diesel which in my view has really good linear brakes where pressure applied coorelates well to stopping power. In XUV500 you really have to exert lot of pressure to get stopping power esp at higher speed, where as on XUV700 even a a slight nudge on pedal gives considerable Gs, takes some getting used to in my view.

[mtnrajdeep]

Congratulations on the new car! I had the chance to drive my colleagues XUV700 and I loved it. But my remapped XUV feels so similar except for the steering & suspension. I really liked the ADAS tuning though.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by mtnrajdeep

Congratulations on the new car! I had the chance to drive my colleagues XUV700 and I loved it. But my remapped XUV feels so similar except for the steering & suspension. I really liked the ADAS tuning though.

Hey Rajdeep, yes a remapped 500 wouldnt be too far off from 700. Infact I never had any concern with lack of power in stock 500 either. From my perspective the top 3 things that are better in 700 are Suspension, NVH and plusher interiors.