Upgraded to the XUV 400 from my Honda City: 7 likes & 8 dislikes

The range is easily 275-280 if you drive down to Zero % at my estimate, however since I've never gone down below 10%.

BHPian parasparmar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The XUV 400 is a beast of a car and I'm pleased as punch with it. Although, I'm pretty experienced having driven a wide range of sedans, SUVs and light trucks. My 10+ years love affair with the Honda City came to an end with this Lady Beast.

The points are listed below in no order of importance, of which you very well may know of some already. You got to forgive me for some of the language, but here goes.

1. Quick on its feet, massive acceleration and performance. And that's the lowest "Fun" level, I dared to open up "Fast" on an empty highway and it gave me the willies at the bottom of my stomach. It felt like a massive airplane when taking off. Bit hard to shake off that speed and control the line and length of the takeoff. Now, to come back, you have to compulsorily progress to the "Fearless" level and that felt insane, trust me I have never seen cars being driven away from you at high speed; come barelling down on you so fast. You have to positively brake so fast and dance light on the pedals. I promise never to do it again. I now equate "Fearless" with insane.
2. Braking is a bit soft, but I like that. Unlike some cars, it comes to a stop a a dozen or so centimeters after my previous Honda City ZX (Dolphin) used to, sigh!. Now I dont drive so close to the driver in front of me. Let me assure you, I've never hit anyone with this beast but I do drive bumper to bumper with the rider in front. In Mumbai, everyone understands this.
3. Family is pleased as soft kittens lounging on a nice large, warm, shared basket. They positively purr when we drive an absolutely silent, noiseless, firm and large beast through the nice roads we have in our neighbourhood. And trust me, obtaining this level of appreciation from any family that counts you as its bloodline is extremely bloody difficult. Absolutely spoilt lots they have become. My young one at seven now wants me to take him out for a drive alone. He sits on the Captain's seat on the left and extends his legs on the dashboard. The rest dont move out of the home unless the XUV400 is under their warm backs. You know what I mean. Given, that its a bit bouncy, having a variable but good amount of damping at high speeds on rough roads and a slight bit of understeer on corners coming at you on speed, but hey I do sometimes drive like a race car driver and my experiences are coloured by 10+ years on a very agile, sporty Honda City.
4. Bright Lights for the night, sedate running lights for the day. Auto dimming rear view mirrors that save me the frustrating hassle of toggling them for drivers who keep flashing at me.
5. Extremely cheap, dirt jugaad cheap cost of operations. 70 % charge at Rs. 325/- (From 30 to 100%). I charge now at 30% which is a good 88-92 Kms left on the tank, er..odo? Whatever we call that range which is still in reserve.
6. The range is easily 275-280 if you drive down to Zero % at my estimate, however since I've never gone down below 10%. The one time that I did was an exception, the first day when the dealer had given me the bare minimum to reach home. I will be safe and say 245-250 Kms till you reach 10% and limp mode kicks in.
7. I keep my records on an app known as Fuelio and you should too. I know everything that is to know about range, cost, time and distance and I credit this Fuelio chap with the mentorship.

Ok, and... here's the rub.

1. I acknowledge that the range is ultra-short if you travel intra-state. However within the state or the equivalent ranges it is an absolute delight to drive, clean, charge and operate.
2. The charging is frequent at 3 days after a daily 70 KM ride but the flip side is that it will be at home. No more visits to the Petrol Pump. You are free of that bit of drudgery.
3. The rear ride is very different, it's quick and can cause motion sickness if someone is on the screen, whether laptop or mobile. Although my younger brother experienced the same symptoms on the Captain's seat after a 3 hour ride through stop and go traffic while he was dealing with some stress from the office on an open laptop and a consistently busy phone. He's never experienced that except on a ride on a giant ferris wheel. Oh! well...
4. I've had one ocassion when I burnt out a fuse on the 3rd day and had to ask for Mahindra's Roadside assistance. They have a whole truck with a ramp that is used for the purpose and its a joy to watch the care they take to load your car on to it. Oh! its free as well. And that just adds to the joy. The Service Center is an absolute delight and were able to fix this overnight. Courtesy Mahindra Technicians. That was free again.

Boy! I'm going to be spoilt if this is the treatment. I do realize that it may have been exceptional, but still. What treatment!!

And that my folks is an honest opinion on the love affair I fell into.

I'm competely biased now and I've never been happier. So please form your own opinions and make your own decisions.

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