2017 Mahindra TUV300 AMT for Rs 5 lakh: Buy or avoid?

The SUV will complement our other cars in the garage, which include a Tata Tiago & a Honda City.

BHPian tyroneshoelaces recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am looking to buy a pre-owned car for some time now and yesterday came to know about this 2017 TUV300 T8 AMT dual-tone which apparently is in great condition. The car has done about 65,000 kms and the owner is firm at Rs 5 lakhs.

I was hesitant about the test drive as the locality has narrow lanes with quite a bit of foot traffic, but the owner insisted that I do a short test drive. He drove the car to a very pothole-laden, undulating and unpaved road and I liked the suspension quite a bit. My father was in the back seat and he liked it a lot as well. For reference, our daily city drive is a Tiago and our highway runs are done in our Honda City. So the TUV will complement our existing cars very nicely. Anyways, the owner then insisted that I drive the car as that road is quite wide. I agreed and drove it for about 10 minutes, never exceeding 35 km/h. I liked how it drove, the pickup and the response. I then gained enough courage that I drove back to his home through the narrow lanes.

At the time of the test drive, I was not aware of the reports in this forum about the AMT issues, the lags, jerks, sudden acceleration and braking response or the lack thereof. I did not experience any of these in my short test drive, but I never drove it fast or in a bumper to bumper traffic or on an incline. It was very illuminating reading all these reports and experiences of other members here and to be honest quite disheartening, as I really liked the car, and especially the colours, creamy white with black dual tone. But if it's going to give me trouble in the near future, I better avoid it. Reliability is my first concern as without that peace of mind is gone, I cannot trust the car outside of the City, money-draining to fix the issues and wasted time.

I looked for long-term reviews here for the AMT but only found some for the MTs. Some members here have advised other members to not go for the AMTs. So with these in mind what should I do? Is the price right? Is it worth the hassle?

I will really appreciate it if the knowledgeable members here please chime in and guide me in the right direction. A couple of months back, I posted here about EcoSport and got really great guidance and did not pursue the car any longer. I am hoping I get the same great guidance and help.

Thank you.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Absolutely avoid the TUV300, it is a horrible match. The AMT is jerky & terribly unreliable. A BHPian or two got so fed up that they sold the car prematurely.

The TUV300 otherwise is a very good car, especially in the "plus" guise where it got the bigger 2.2L diesel engine. I'd say it's a superior car to even the last-gen Scorpio.

Here's what BHPian Kosfactor had to say on the matter:

The MT is very good, light clutch, easy controls and a very tractable engine. You should go for the 100 bhp version if at all it comes your way - MT only, no AMT please.

AMT is to be avoided as per the technician from M&M.

Here's what BHPian anjan_c2007 had to say on the matter:

Around 2009 or so Mahindra offered an AT variant of the Scorpio MHawk. The gearbox fitted was sourced from Australia. A friend who owned one was stranded in his Scorpio AT in a snowy tract in J&K. The SUV was taken in a truck to the ASC and post repairs, it was sold soon after.

And now the TUV 300 AMT issues have surfaced. Most other car brands offer AMT but we rarely read about the malfunction.

The lesson we can now draw would be to train ourselves to keep a long distance away from such Mahindra AMTs.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.