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This is Mahindra XUV500 ownership review. Covering buying, ownership and maintenance experiences.
Firstly I would like to thank TAI members for their continued support on my research choosing a best suited car.
Special thanks to bhvm, _Ankit_, raj_5004, superbad (to name a few)
Please note: All the views presented in the post are absolutely "In my opinion"
Story of Honda city
My initial thought to buy a new car started with the launch of New Honda city Diesel 2014, the so called ANHC. I was waiting for the launch in Jan. But after seeing the car in showroom really got disappointed . With a price tag of ~14L for Vx variant (Bangalore) it doesn't seems to be value for money.
pros:
- piano black interio
- Touchscreen for AC
- High fuel efficiency
- Soft seat cushioning.
- Honda brand, value, after sales service
- Mainly reliability
cons:
- No value for money
- Very cheap roof lining - You can peel off the roof lining from any corner, sun roof cover thickness less than a cardboard
- No centralized driver information system (the big touch screen is only for mp3)
- Low powered engine
- Too much engine noise in cabin
- Under 1500 rpm engine wont listen to the way you want to drive
- Small wheels, basic design for alloys
- Trunk is not covered from inside
- few millimeter increase in ground clearance doesn't solve the purpose
- Reverse gear position is risky (chance of engaging reverse by mistake)
Conclusion: Honda city diesel is nothing but a top end variant of Honda Amaze!!
Why not SUV?
Further looked for other options like Hyundai Verna, VW Vento but didn't like those for one or other reasons. Finally thought of going for a SUV. For the same budget, there are options to buy a premium SUV. I like the JEEP grand cherokee, it came in news about the launch in India and obviously it is outttt of budget.
But something little similar in look came to my mind ringing..XUV500..
Jeep Grand Cheroke
XUV500
I too was the one waiting during the launch to see the car and my head turns towards it whenever i see it on road.Now what are the option? I went through visiting popular SUVs, taking test drives and below are my feel and opinion based on my requirements.
1. Ford ecosport - Good design for urban drive, very compact SUV, seems to be a hatchback with 200mm groud clearance.
2. Innova - Suspension is too good. Seems like more good to be for chauffeur driven car, engine noise, plain exterior and interior
3. Scorpio - No interest shown by family members
4. Duster - No VFM, Interiors not attractive, didnt like exterior much (personal taste), Interior doesn't look premium but suspension and ride quality is good
5. Terrano - Exteriors i liked, interiors are too odd, suspension is very good, Rear leg room is average, good mileage, but no VFM
6. XUV500 - Exteriors and interiors i liked a lot, very well equiped with lot of options, VFM, Seating comfort is good. But compared to terrano ride quality and suspension is poor.
Terrano or XUV500 ?
Finalized these two cars considering its engine, looks, permium feel, features etc.etc.
XUV500 vs Terrano Refer to post for more details http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/automotive-shopper/16282-mahindra-xuv500-nissan-terrano.html
XUV500 wins heart for the reason being, powerful engine, features, space and VFM.
XUV500 which model?
Started with W4 variant, later choosed W6 since we didnt like seat fabric of W4 and interior plastic quality.
Later moved from W6 to W8 with some inputs from our TAI members and after thoughts.
So finally finalized W8 Pearl White.
XUV500 important highlights which i feel worth mentioning
- 140PS engine power
- Proven reliable mHawk engine
- Auto AC + 2nd and 3rd row AC vents designed to be at convenient places
- No hump on the floor
- Premium consoles, touch screen, GPS
- Centralized Driver information system, tyre tronics, service reminder, Alerts etc
- Cruise, voice command etc etc
- Drive seat adjustable in 8 ways
- 2nd Row seat inclination, reading lights
- For me it is a 5 seater car, so 3rd row is additional option provided in case required
- Less engine noise
- 6 airbags, side beams, ESP, ABS, EBD for safety
- Projector headlight, auto headlamp, auto viper
- Flip keys, lead me home and puddle lamps
- very good built quality
exhaustive list...
Finally value for the money.
Firstly I would like to thank TAI members for their continued support on my research choosing a best suited car.
Special thanks to bhvm, _Ankit_, raj_5004, superbad (to name a few)
Please note: All the views presented in the post are absolutely "In my opinion"
Story of Honda city
My initial thought to buy a new car started with the launch of New Honda city Diesel 2014, the so called ANHC. I was waiting for the launch in Jan. But after seeing the car in showroom really got disappointed . With a price tag of ~14L for Vx variant (Bangalore) it doesn't seems to be value for money.
pros:
- piano black interio
- Touchscreen for AC
- High fuel efficiency
- Soft seat cushioning.
- Honda brand, value, after sales service
- Mainly reliability
cons:
- No value for money
- Very cheap roof lining - You can peel off the roof lining from any corner, sun roof cover thickness less than a cardboard
- No centralized driver information system (the big touch screen is only for mp3)
- Low powered engine
- Too much engine noise in cabin
- Under 1500 rpm engine wont listen to the way you want to drive
- Small wheels, basic design for alloys
- Trunk is not covered from inside
- few millimeter increase in ground clearance doesn't solve the purpose
- Reverse gear position is risky (chance of engaging reverse by mistake)
Conclusion: Honda city diesel is nothing but a top end variant of Honda Amaze!!
Why not SUV?
Further looked for other options like Hyundai Verna, VW Vento but didn't like those for one or other reasons. Finally thought of going for a SUV. For the same budget, there are options to buy a premium SUV. I like the JEEP grand cherokee, it came in news about the launch in India and obviously it is outttt of budget.
But something little similar in look came to my mind ringing..XUV500..
Jeep Grand Cheroke
XUV500
I too was the one waiting during the launch to see the car and my head turns towards it whenever i see it on road.Now what are the option? I went through visiting popular SUVs, taking test drives and below are my feel and opinion based on my requirements.
1. Ford ecosport - Good design for urban drive, very compact SUV, seems to be a hatchback with 200mm groud clearance.
2. Innova - Suspension is too good. Seems like more good to be for chauffeur driven car, engine noise, plain exterior and interior
3. Scorpio - No interest shown by family members
4. Duster - No VFM, Interiors not attractive, didnt like exterior much (personal taste), Interior doesn't look premium but suspension and ride quality is good
5. Terrano - Exteriors i liked, interiors are too odd, suspension is very good, Rear leg room is average, good mileage, but no VFM
6. XUV500 - Exteriors and interiors i liked a lot, very well equiped with lot of options, VFM, Seating comfort is good. But compared to terrano ride quality and suspension is poor.
Terrano or XUV500 ?
Finalized these two cars considering its engine, looks, permium feel, features etc.etc.
XUV500 vs Terrano Refer to post for more details http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/automotive-shopper/16282-mahindra-xuv500-nissan-terrano.html
XUV500 wins heart for the reason being, powerful engine, features, space and VFM.
XUV500 which model?
Started with W4 variant, later choosed W6 since we didnt like seat fabric of W4 and interior plastic quality.
Later moved from W6 to W8 with some inputs from our TAI members and after thoughts.
So finally finalized W8 Pearl White.
XUV500 important highlights which i feel worth mentioning
- 140PS engine power
- Proven reliable mHawk engine
- Auto AC + 2nd and 3rd row AC vents designed to be at convenient places
- No hump on the floor
- Premium consoles, touch screen, GPS
- Centralized Driver information system, tyre tronics, service reminder, Alerts etc
- Cruise, voice command etc etc
- Drive seat adjustable in 8 ways
- 2nd Row seat inclination, reading lights
- For me it is a 5 seater car, so 3rd row is additional option provided in case required
- Less engine noise
- 6 airbags, side beams, ESP, ABS, EBD for safety
- Projector headlight, auto headlamp, auto viper
- Flip keys, lead me home and puddle lamps
- very good built quality
exhaustive list...
Finally value for the money.