Tata Storme vs Mahindra XUV5OO - Which One To Choose?

[Gurrala74]

Hmm,

Thats good buddy, its nice to hear that such activities happen at the colleges around Hyderabad. BTW where is this college located.

So what was your impression about Storm and XUV on the show

[MudduV7]

when they announced storm ,it was like what they do that bold looking suv, and mahindra's xuv was a big hit anonymously, XUV should compete with ARIA and there is no version of this where XUV stands above storm.

The Storm was driven by a pro, so did perform and xuv on the other hand was put in solitary, and i believe there are more than 10 bookings( as heard from people) from my college after the show.
and Mr.Rajesh malik will be pleased to here this.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by Gurrala74

I wonder is XUV is capable of doing such things, except that advertisement, I have never seen such a video of XUV

No, the XUV wont do such things because it has a lot of safety features like ESP and roll over mitigation to keep it under control.

experts driving Xuv 500 - YouTube

[Gessler]

Somehow I feel Storme would be a better success if they re-designed the
exterior a bit. It should have been able to compete with likes of Rexton & Fortuner,
but costing under 20 lakhs. Changes I would suggest -

1) A raised hood-line. I feel as if the hood is too low for a vehicle that tall,
it may be just me...

2) A fully redesigned front bumper. The present one is rather non-awe inspiring (!).

3) The headlamp cluster (especially the blue projector lamp) is flawless as
far as my opinion is concerned. It is so attractive...all thats needed is to take that
god-forsaken chrome strip away from the top of the lamps. Let it settle in between
the two headlamps' upper portions on the sides and the grille to the bottom,
but don't let it cut across like that.

4) Maybe...a fully functional hood-mounted air dam, like that on Fortuner & future
MU-7 to add to the macho feel. Not really necessary but good if added.

5) The back-end is simply bad. The chrome is good, the matte grey patch is good
(and refreshing) but the tail lamps are are not really great to say the least, and they
spoil the rest of the look too. Tata should consider replacing them with something more exiting...like those of the new Range Rover.

6) The sides need some polishing, they should remove all the clutter and give it
a simpler and smarter and more modern look, I don't mind fine design lines running
across, but they've dug AC canals there!

7) Coming to the interior, the dashboard is simply unexiting. Its way too simple
for a car costing well over 10 lakhs. They should add a hell lot of more features
to sex it up.Add more buttons, a touchscreen interface, 2-DIN music system, and
some chrome detailing on the inside.Streeing-mounted audio controls should also
be good if added.

It appears to me that Storme cabin is exceptionally well-built, quality is the best
among all Tata vehicles built to date, only fault in that this is simply too plain for
a car meant to be driven around 21st century India...and to fulfill the 21st century
Indian's desires.

8) The 1st and 2nd row seats are very comfy and no problem with them at all,
Ive sat in the rear seat in a showroom Storme and found it best among similarly-priced SUVs.
They should add leather seats option on the top variants.

The problem however lies with the 3rd row. The jump seats are ugly and impractical. They need to be replaced with seats similar to the 2nd row, or atleast bucket seats. I like the 2nd row "chairs" you get in one of the Xylo E9 trims, Storme should have something like that in the 3rd row. They may need to strech and play around with the vehicle's dimensions quite a bit in the meantime but since it's based on the Aria's X2 platform, streching it may not be a big problem.

9) Weight. It weighs over 2,000kgs. I feel as though it needs to get the 156bhp engine fast to compensate for the weight and make the 0-100kph figures closer to the XUV500. It currently takes some 15 secs to achieve 100kph from 0.

10) While Storme is much better than XUV off-road (atleast I think so), it needs to get some improved Hill Descent Assist features and the like. Tata should make use of Land Rover's expertise in this area.

Given all the changes I suggested, Storme my cost some 17-18 lakhs or more, but would still be great value given the legendary SAFARI image and features that could compete with the likes of Ssangyong Rexton, Toyota Fortuner, Chevrolet Captiva, Isuzu MU-7 all of which cost well above 20 lakhs and ofcourse, the Mahindra XUV500, the Storme's VFM rival in the Indian market.

[singh890]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

No, the XUV wont do such things because it has a lot of safety features like ESP and roll over mitigation to keep it under control.

+1..But can Storme do this? Just a question?

[TSIVipul]

Originally Posted by singh890

+1..But can Storme do this? Just a question?

Well, in that case(not loose surface but on tarmac with normal tyres having some grip in them), Safari can do this if pushed that much as XUV's are being pushed in that video. Indeed I am doubtful if an XUV can do this as easily as a Safari/Storme can do:

[Gurrala74]

@Raj, Ah that was a simple thing on XUV video Storm is made to do that easily !!

@Vipul, yes both will do that if Vipul is driving them

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by Gurrala74

@Raj, Ah that was a simple thing on XUV video Storm is made to do that easily !!

Point made is - both are designed for different purposes. Storme cant match the XUV's balance on road and XUV cant match the Storme's prowess off road. In other words, Storme cannot handle corners like the XUV and XUV cannot climb a mountain like the Storme 4x4.

Regarding Storme's video (first one), to be honest, there is nothing special about it. On loose sand, any car can be made to slide, especially if its a rear wheel drive. Even a Nano can do that.

Lets appreciate where it demands to be. For that matter, even the XUV's video is nothing to talk about (if you were coming to that!), but the video is just a reminder to re-instate the fact that both cars are built for different customers.

And since we are anyways fooling around -

Proof that all it takes is loose sand or similar slippery surface and RWD for an SUV to drift -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qX93t_3lT0

And since you asked whether an XUV can do it -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t_gVCMJIDo

The Storme cant do this -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFdUjcaF2H8

The XUV cant do this -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAGa1jW-yTI

[MudduV7]

Every vehicle has its saturation points and now it comes down to people to make their choice by the way they use the vehicle .
In The above it gives the differentiation between the two SUVs.

[Gurrala74]

@Raj

My aim is not to ignite a war between XUV and Storme here very clearly, but they have their own USP and a true buyer will understand them properly and choose one

[zengetz]

Originally Posted by Gurrala74

@Raj

My aim is not to ignite a war between XUV and Storme here very clearly, but they have their own USP and a true buyer will understand them properly and choose one

RK if you may, I would like to re-quote what you have written:

A true buyer will understand his needs properly and choose one :)

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by Gurrala74

@Raj

My aim is not to ignite a war between XUV and Storme here very clearly, but they have their own USP and a true buyer will understand them properly and choose one

I know mate... there is no war happening. This is just a response to whether XUV can do that or not.

Quoting you here - "true buyer will understand them properly and choose one" - I have always said and maintained this from day one.

At the same time, though we auto enthusiasts believe that an SUV like the Storme 4x4 and a crossover like the XUV belong to different segments and cater to different customers, for the mango people (aam junta) both these cars are just 7 seater UVs. Especially when priced similarly, both these cars along with the Innova and Scorpio are considered in similar category. Its about which fits the bill for more people.

Here is where, I had mentioned that the XUV with bolder styling and more features appeal to more number of people than the Storme. Reason? It is seen as maximum bang for the buck.

[S Class]

Part 1 -

I know it's too late, but finally its here. First let me inform that despite being sedan lover, in this comparo, I didn't drive or sat in any sedan for entire 6 days (except for Vista) to get proper feel. All the distance covered was in & around Nagpur, MH. I had categorically informed in advance that I will be requiring XUV for max journey time & it was arranged accordingly.

Following is the distance I clocked in 4 days on work (2 days were spent within city relaxing, meeting some friends & relatives & visiting temples) -

XUV W8 = About 160 kms,
XUV W6 = About 120 kms,
Vista = 800+ kms (had to drop nice sedans as I wanted feel of XUV thoroughly).

XUV W8 (4x2)-

Specs are already known, so won't comment.

Pros -

* Many gizmos, features,
* Don't need foot bar or whatever it is called to get in & out,
* 3 seats in 2nd row seat comfortably, thanks to flat surface as there is no axle as it is FWD,
* Design of dash is contemporary,
* 6 airbags,
* Nice all round aircons.

Cons -

* Though dash is contemporary, plastics are cheapo,
* Looks very flashy (personal opinion),
* Last row is useless, good for small kids only,
* With 6 persons, there is no boot. I would have liked if boot would have been similar to Aria,
* Though seating position is good, steering felt small for the size of this truck,
* Visibility isn't very good, the A pillar blocks lot of view which isn't good for sharp turns, ghats etc. ,
* Ride quality isn't great. Can feel vibrations of rough tar road inside the vehicle, so is the tyre noise. Something needs to be done on this issue, including NVH levels,
* GPS is very slow & lethargic. Seems it was sourced from Indian Govt ,
* Under thigh support & lower back support for seats isn't great. Found Vista seats to be better for lower back support, especially front ones. Its no joke I traveled 800+ kms in it,
* Braking issue with W6,
* Egress from front seat isn't great. Found Audi Q5 far better than this. I am not comparing the 2, but think XUV door could have been planned better.

So will I buy XUV ? Well no, because somehow it didn't appeal to me and since there already are 3 XUVs, my interest is in any case gone. I think Innova is far more comfy than XUV in terms of ride quality & seating arrangement, Storme wins hands down though. Storme review coming below.

Pictures have been attached below. The interior pics are all of W8 4x2 (white is W8) while last 3 external pics are of W6 (silver). Interiors of W8 are better than W6, not only quality of cushions but colour combination too.

[S Class]

Part 2 -

Apart from this rides in Nagpur, time when I was at Nagpur was also when 'Advantage Vidarbha' was going on, to promote Vidarbha region as industrial hub for auto & aviation. It was held at hotel Centre Point & many state ministers & corporate heads were present. Attaching a pic taken here of Maharashtra CM, Prithviraj Chavan & Tata Group Chairman, Cyrus Mistry.
BTW, I was disappointing with Cyrus speech, it was all written on paper & he was reading it like children in school do, not great speaker like Ratan Tata. JRD though was a master in oratory.

Some pics of Vista, city of Nagpur taken from car & the conference pics.
BTW, the road pic above taken from XUV, another road just adjoining to it has turns. A Congress MLA died in an accident few months back when his Toyota Fortuner toppled & turned upside-down. He was alone & was driving. Some say he was drunk, but Fortuner turning turtle made me ask the driver of XUV to drive at speeds lower than 100 kmph !! But this incident made me realise than UVs aren't great for handling. And yes, even when XUV was around 100-105 kmph, on same road, a Hyundai Verna fluidic overtook us & vroomed passed & we never caught it later on entire stretch. This was the time I really felt Honda Accord missing in which I would have been travelling had it not been for XUV.

Will post Storme review with pics tomorrow.
@ mods, please don't delete any pics. My humble request.

[Tornado]

I seeing Mr. prithviraj Chavan second time on xuv/storme thread , first the pic was posted by Raja to show that he uses Safari as his official ride.

BTW , m& m production is suffering due to strike at their various plants at Chakan, Nasik , Jahirabad etc. It is a sad news during recession .