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My Mahindra 3XO completes 1500 km in 1 month; 10 pros & 10 cons

17th July 2024, 10:03 by Rahul Nagaraj

My 3XO AX5 variant can be compared with Nexon Creative Plus, Sonet HTX Plus, Venue SX Turbo and Fronx Alpha Turbo.

BHPian redrango recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I bought the Mahindra XUV 3XO AX5 Petrol Manual Red colour variant one month ago and here are my observations and feedback after crossing 1500 kms in this turbo petrol beast.

Likes:

The 110 HP engine is very responsive, with minimal turbo lag. 200 NM of torque, which is 30 NM more than similarly priced turbo petrol engines from Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet is very thoughtful from Mahindra to tackle the higher kerb weight and as a result, makes the drive experience super fun.
Absolutely feature-packed for its aggressive pricing. Every comfort/convenience feature that one can think of for a mid variant, has been offered in AX5 and more. Push button start, auto folding mirrors, auto headlights, auto wipers, LED headlights, massive 10.25-inch infotainment, fully digital 10.25-inch instrument cluster with navigation display support, wireless android auto (wireless Apple Carplay is still pending as of July 2024, which is discussed more in dislikes), wireless charging, cruise control, illumination of all power window buttons without any cost cutting, rear seat armrest, all three headrests, front armrest, rear AC vents, sunroof, HD quality reverse camera with adaptable guidelines, adjustable driver seat height, rear wipers with defogger.
It is a safety cocoon. Let me explain what I mean by that: it's built on a global NCAP 5-star rated platform, has 6 airbags, all 4 disc brakes resulting in confidence-inspiring braking, solid build quality overall and very stable at high speeds. The suspension set-up is beautifully customised for Indian roads. Just glides over potholes and uneven Bangalore roads without any issue whatsoever. Approach angle, departure angle and ground clearance are spot on and deserve praise for such attention to detail.
Super spacious for a sub 4M crossover/SUV. It has the highest width among the competition, even surpassing the width of cars from the segment above. 1821 mm width makes for comfortable seating for 3 adults. Creta and Seltos have a width of 1790 mm, for reference. Enough and more leg & knee room in the rear seating because of a segment-leading wheelbase of 2600 mm. This is again on par with sales leaders from the segment above. Creta and Seltos have a comparable wheelbase of 2615 mm. Grand Vitara has matching 2600mm and only Honda Elevate has significantly more, at 2650 mm. Effectively, the day-to-day use for a family of 5 - being good knee room and width to seat 3 adults is comfortably taken care of in XUV 3XO. Boot space is decent enough for my usage and has not felt lacking or deficient.
Very impressive first service experience with PPS Mahindra in Kanakapura Road, Bangalore. A major concern for a lot of buyers of Indian brand cars is the quality of service or rather lack of training and professionalism displayed by service centre people. A lot of stories are often heard about the terrible experiences at the Tata service centre. Fortunately, the 1st month of service was taken care of amazingly well by the Mahindra service technicians & customer relationship manager assigned to my vehicle and overall it was a very satisfactory experience. Initial niggles that the car faced were addressed with enough care and resolved for the most part. Currently, happy to say that the car has few to no issues/niggles.
The infotainment layout and dashboard looks are worlds apart from the old XUV 300's interiors. High quality, crisp, very responsive and zero lag experience with the 10.25-inch infotainment screen. It is very well laid out, easy to use and the software on board is very well designed. Kudos to Mahindra for working on the initial issues faced in XUV 700 and rectifying most of them. Haven't faced any screen blackout issues or non-responsive or self-restarting while driving - issues that the first batch of XUV 700 owners faced. Wireless charging combined with wireless Android Auto is a match made in heaven and both work seamlessly.
Offering big chunky buttons and rotary knobs for AC controls, volume controls and hazard light controls needs appreciation at a time when few manufacturers are preferring touch-enabled controls for these crucial elements. One of the reasons I rejected Tata Nexon is because it has touch-enabled control for AC and a few other controls. Mahindra has done a good job by retaining physical buttons where needed the most.
Stock LED Headlights have enough throw for night highway driving. Connected tail lights look stunning at night time. Explains why it is a big trend nowadays.
Very well put together cabin. Close to the perfection we see in Hyundai and Kia cars in terms of quality of plastics, minimal panel gaps and minimal rattle noise. XUV 3XO has the best of both worlds between a Hyundai and a Volkswagen. It has the solid build quality you expect from a VW and the feature-rich, easy-to-drive feel that you get from a Hyundai. Kudos to Mahindra for finding the right balance.
When connected to Android Auto, the fully digital 10.25-inch instrument cluster displays navigation from Google Maps. This is such a nifty feature and makes it feel like a car from a much more expensive price bracket. Works seamlessly without any lag or hiccup.

Dislikes:

The first and most important disappointment I have faced so far is the absence of Apple Carplay in the AX5 variant in any form. Even wired carplay is not available yet. Lower variants like MX3 and MX3 Pro already have wired Carplay at least I believe. But the AX5 variant currently only has Android Auto (wired and wireless both working perfectly). Mahindra has done a blunder by not communicating this clearly to buyers. Showroom folks confidently mentioned that wired carplay is available and that only wireless would be available as a software update later. This has resulted in a lot of inconvenience. If Mahindra's official product team is reading this review, kindly ensure to release of the Apple Carplay update on an immediate basis. We all saw how long it took for XUV 700 to receive Apple Carplay. And the same should not be repeated for XUV 3XO.
Minor rattle noise from the infotainment area. Happens during the lower gear or higher gear vibration. The service centre hasn't been able to resolve this issue and can get mildly bothersome when driven without music.
3-cylinder vibration is felt on the gear knob quite strongly in lower gears. At higher RPMs on highways, engine noise is slightly noticeable inside the cabin. Not too bothersome, but an observation made during highway drives.
Adrenox functionality is not as seamless as expected. The app takes its sweet time to load and many times just fails to connect. When it does work, it is in fact useful though.
Inbuilt navigation from Map My India is as good as useless but needs a lot of improvement. Mahindra could have as well skipped on this feature and saved some cost. Current GPS location doesn't update most of the time because of infotainment's SIM network being patchy and many locations are not even listed in Mappl. Google Maps is any day a 100 times more useful.
The metal around disk brakes is already rusting which is quite shocking to see in a brand new car. Since it is made of cast iron, the Mahindra service team informed us that it is to be expected and that it won't cause any issue in braking in any way. Taking their word for it, but would have expected no rust in a new car within a month.
TPMS is not 100% accurate. It is usually off by 2 points and as a result, keeps showing the low tyre pressure notification in the instrument cluster. The service centre recommended getting the tyre air-filled to 34-35 instead of 33 as a solution.
Gear change from 1st to 2nd gear and downshift from 5th gear to 4th gear is not smooth. Doesn't slot perfectly on certain occasions. 1st year/10000 kms service is expected to check the gearbox in detail and ascertain if it needs any replacement or if it is a trait to be expected in new cars until it gets seasoned.
The only infotainment screen issue faced was impractically longer time taken for initially starting up and to start working (took more than 1 minute 20 seconds during the daily morning first engine start) but found a workaround for it. Starting the car with a push button without pressing the clutch (the engine doesn't start yet) results in infotainment starting within 15 seconds. Then, press the clutch and start the engine.
Design is very polarising, no denying that. While the rear profile looks great, the front design is not what you would call attractive. Because of the front design choice and angled cut for headlights, the car looks better in person than it does in photos or videos.

Summary:

Overall, Mahindra has done a phenomenal job with the XUV 300 facelift and the name change to 3XO feels justified going by the number of changes done to the design aspects, both exterior and interior. While the XUV 300 interiors were majorly criticised for having the look of a 2000s car, the XUV 3XO's biggest change is in the infotainment layout and updated dashboard. It now has the modern and 2020s car look that it so richly deserved. Boot space is far better now, but could have been even better if you travel with a lot of luggage. For my usage, it is plenty.

Pricing is where Mahindra has really won with the XUV 3XO. Whichever budget you are in, each variant feels like it is insane value for money. AX5 variant can be compared with Nexon Creative Plus, Sonet HTX Plus, Venue SX Turbo, and Fronx Alpha Turbo, all of which are at least 1 to 2 lakh more expensive on-road. It is a complete package which has a lot more positives than negatives and is a total bang for your buck. The importance being given by Mahindra to the service experience is an icing on the cake.

Having now used the car for 3 highway road trips in Karnataka and using the car within the city regularly, it has an exceptional ride quality. Suspension tuning stands out and justifies as a car that is Made in India and Made for India. An absolute breeze to drive in Bangalore's bad roads. To conclude my review, it is safe to describe myself as a very satisfied customer and looking forward to munching more miles in this magnificent machine!

Here are a few pics of the Red Rango.