Mahindra TUV300 Ownership Review: Taming the Tough


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TUV300 Ownership Review: Taming the Tough

Hi All
I own a TUV300 from 30/12/2015 and I hope this TUV300 ownership review will help you to get a better idea about the vehicle.
Search for a new car
My car search started in 2015 October. I wanted to upgrade from my Zen which was driven 72000 km in which 37000 was my contribution[glasses]. My height is 6.2, hence Zen was compromise ,though it had decent legroom when driver seat is pushed back to maximum. However long drives and drives with more than three passengers were problematic. Still I love this car for its peppiness and reliability. One major criteria for new car was excellent leg room and thigh support. I stay in Bangalore outskirts and there are number of bad stretches of road. For this reason I preferred a SUV or a car which can perform well in bad roads.

Initial criteria
I would like to mention it as my initial criteria, since the preference keep on changing after test driving each vehicle[:)]
Budget : 6 to 8 lakhs
Fuel preference :petrol (since my average monthly use is 1000km)
Brand: Any
Features : My preferences were in the following order. First comfort then reliability then mileage then looks then resale value and finally maintenance cost.

Options considered
I believe that the major reason for rejecting these cars is that I was comparing the throttle response with that of Zen. I was expecting the same throttle response with each of these cars, whereas many of them failed in that Area. Do a gentle push on the zen accelerator and it zooms ahead (thanks to a low 790Kg lkerb weight and 1000cc engine which is not tuned for fuel efficiency). I generally do not rev up the engine hard as well. So whenever I mention that the pick up is less, that means the pick up is not as good as zen with a gentle push on accelerator [:D]

1. Hyundai i20

I liked this car’s looks, all online reviews were also good. For the same reason my expectations were too high when I took the test drive.I must say the test drive was very disappointing. Pickup was not as good as I expected. Suspension was average. I was expecting the old i10 kind of smooth suspension but I could feel most of the bad roads inside cabin. I guess they have a slightly harder suspension setup for i20. Legroom was better than many other cars but not adequate for my height..Hyundai’s costly maintenance was another concern.

2. Figo aspire

This car’s interiors was nicely designed and it looked premium.The driver seat was very comfortable with excellent thigh support. Only negative factor in the interior was that the head room was very less, my head was almost touching the roof. I also did not like the exteriors of the car, especially the Aston martin inspired grill. Ride quality and driveability was decent except the suspension set up. It was too shaky; I had the feeling that the car will not be able to handle bad roads.

3. Ecosport

I always felt that this is a car made to look like an SUV. The driver seat was too cramped and the headroom was also poor. I did not find it worthy to spend 10 lakhs+ and buying Ecosport which will not be that comfortable for a driver with my height.

4. Tata Zest

Like i20, expectations were high when I took test drive. It is a feature rich car. Handling was really nice with the very light steering, pick up in sport mode was good. I liked the design as well. Interior design was nice but the dash board plastic and seats looked cheap quality. My wife did not like the interiors. Driver seat thigh support was also not good. Resale value and after sales service was another concern.

5. Duster

Out of my budget. I would have pushed the budget if I did not come across the following reviews. More car / crossover like; the monthly sales figures showed that it is losing popularity so I was worried about the resale value.

6. Baleno
Rejected mainly because of the popular baleno accident picture on net. After owning a Maruti for three years I was not very impressed about the safety standards of Maruti. I had very bad experience when my zen collided behind a Chevrolet Beat at 15 KM/hr speed. The beat had minor scratches on its bumper, but my car was trashed. I had to replace bumper, headlights, grill, front bonnet, radiator and AC condenser. After this incident, I had decided not to buy a maruti again. I knew Baleno was an impressive package at that price, but after reading the aforementioned news I did not even test drive it.

7. Safari
From childhood it was my dream car. Since I drive mostly in city roads in bumper to bumper traffic, I thought it will not be a good idea to own a Safari. Resale value was another reason not to buy it. Otherwise I would have considered pushing my budget.

8.Used Punto or Linea was another option considered but when I decided to buy new car, I did not consider these Italian beauties.


Then enters the Tough (TUV three double O')
I did not have any plan to buy TUV till I test drove it. Even the test drive was done after trying all the aforementioned cars. But the test drive changed everything. I was very impressed with the following factors

  1. Excellent leg room and thigh support
  2. Excellent head room
  3. Good road presence and driveability
  4. Decent pick up
  5. Bad roads were not at all a problem for the TUV. I could drive at 40 km/hr in very bad stretches of road without much trouble
  6. Interior was decent and all basic features where present.

First I test drove the manual version. Gear lever vibration and engine noise at high rpm was a concern. The sales executive gave me the reason that the vehicle was driven harshly that too by people having different driving styles. Then I tried the automatic version after a week. I had to wait for a week since the auto-shift version was not available with Sireesh Auto, Silk board at that time. I asked them to get the vehicle to my apartment since I wanted to try the parking. I was worried whether this bulky car will fit in our moderate parking slot. However parking was not a difficult task. The AMT version was very smooth and did not have the vibration or engine noise. After the second test drive I decided to go for TUV. I wanted height adjustable seats and arm rests which were available only in the top end model. So I had two options, T8 manual or T8 automatic. price difference was Rs. 80000 in Bangalore. I was already pushing my budget and hence decided to settle for T8 manual. After a lot of debate and voting, me and wife decided to go for white color. I liked the blue followed by white and she liked the orange followed by black and then white. So white was a compromise which satisfied both of us.


Booking
It was already December 3rd week when I made up my mind to go for tough. My plan was to buy 2016 model but then I got a very good deal for my Zen and sold it immediately. It as 40% more than what Mahindra offered in exchange. So “OLX mein bhej diya”. Me and my wife loved our zen and it was a mixed feeling to sell it. The day after, I walked into the Mahindra showroom expecting that I can get the vehicle in 10 days time which was the promise they made during test drive. Sales team told me that the production of 2015 model is stopped and I should wait till Jan 20th.[frustration] I was in dilemma since it is too difficult to manage one month without a car. Mahindra also did not have an option to loan a car till delivery. So I told them the fact that I may not buy TUV if I have to wait for another month. Then Mr. Jnanesh the sales team lead came to my help and told me that he can Arrange a white T8 within a week. This vehicle was already in transit from the production site, it was booked by someone but finance settlement was going to take more time.That's it, I immediately booked the vehicle by paying 15K.

There was no discount offered since it is a new launch. I also did not spend much energy on bargaining. They gave me a good discount on the bumper to bumper insurance. But since I opted for extended warranty and on road assistance the on road price remained almost same. Including everything the price on road was Rs.1032416. Mahindra arranged the finance from SBI. I had to visit bank once for sanction and later for submitting documents after registration. Overall the financing process was smooth.

Delivery
I was still doubtful about the one week time frame they promised for delivery. So I did a follow up and he promised me everything is going as planned. After 5 days he called me saying that tank is in Bangalore.I wanted to do a PDI and went for it next day.The vehicle was driven only 13.2 km. There was only a minor white paint spill on B Pillar, which they fixed. Everything else looked fine. He told me that I can take the delivery next day after temporary registration. So one week after booking, I had my tank delivered as promised. I spent only 30 min in the showroom on delivery day. Did one more round of checking to ensure that everything is fine. They had placed one small Ganesh Idol in the dashboard and also kept a garland in bonnet. Basic accessories like carpet was provided free. The also gave me 8lt diesel voucher.

I must say that I was very impressed with the Mahindra sales team, they were very professional in their approach and ensure that everything happened as planned. Big thumps up to the team.

I was little scared to take the tank on road that too in peak traffic. However driving this bulky vehicle is not at all a difficult affair. Thanks to the big OVRMs, driving position, reverse park sensor and responsive steering. On the way to home we did a pooja in temple near our home.

First impression

IMG_20160110_122402.jpg

After driving the vehicle for first 100 KM I realized it is not going to be difficult to tame this tank. It is very easy to drive.
  • Pick up is awesome till 80, road visibility is also awesome.
  • Gear ratio are perfect for city drive. 3rd gear has a good range from 20 km/hr to 45 km/hr.
  • ESS is a very good feature but I am not sure whether the frequent switching on/off of engine is good for battery and engine. So I stopped using it.
  • Eco mode is very sluggish and I did not like it for city drive.
  • Reverse parking sensor is of decent quality, did not observe any major problem with that. Sometimes I feel there is a slight delay in updating the distance to obstacle on screen. I am yet to confirm it.
  • Bluetooth hands-free is one feature I use a lot.
  • Storage is sufficient, though my 5 inch screen phone does not fit properly to the storage near gear lever. SoI have to keep it on the space provided on top of dash.
  • Engine is almost silent till 1400 rpm above that till 2500 there is acceptable level of noise creeping in to cabin. Above 2500 engine becomes little noisy and vibrating.
  • I did not travel in back seat yet, my friend who travels regularly on ecosport gave the feedback that the back seats are more comfortable that ecosport.
  • I am getting a mileage of 13 in city. I expect it will increase slightly after first service.
  • It is better to drive the vehicle at 30-40 km/hr in bad patches, if you go slow the vehicle shakes more
  • There is body roll while turning at high speed but it is manageable not annoying.
  • AC eco mode is another useful feature. It helps in saving fuel. TUV has a very powerful AC and hence eco mode is more that enough for Bangalore climate. Even in eco mode I keep the cooling level the first quarter.
  • An advantage of the high riding position is that during night drive you are saved from high beams of other vehicles except heavy vehicles.
Conclusion :for this price, it is a great package and you will not regret buying it.

First long drive
My first long drive was after completing 500Km. Destination was Belur channa keshava temple. Did not push vehicle above 3000 rpms since there is a drive in period of 1000km.
@3000 rpm vehicle reaches 115 km/hr. I drove it at 120 km/hr (~3200 rpm) for few seconds. Reaching till 100 km/hr is very smooth after that it not as easy to hit 120 km/hr. Above that I am not sure yet :). For your information I was driving the vehicle keeping AC eco mode on.
I drove 550 Km in one day and did not have any problem or fatigue. Drive was very comfortable and enjoyable. drove around 150km at night. I found eco mode very useful for night drives when I want to limit myself from overspeeding. With a regular push on accelerator the eco mode gives speed in 75 km/hr range. If you push hard, even in eco mode it is possible to reach 100 if you push hard. When you climb a hill in the eco mode vehicle lacks power. So I had to push to normal mode whenever there was hilly area to climb. My co passenger also like the long drive on our tank. The armrests, seat and steering height adjustment are really helpful in long drives.

IMG_20160110_145548.jpg

I will keep updating the review once I complete the first servicing. Thanks for reading
 
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Re: Taming the Tough - TUV300 Ownership Review

Congratulations for your new ride, hope it's gonna be a fantastic one!

By looks, TUV looks like a beast ready to take on it's prey. The only downside, in my opinion, is the number of bhp's given to it. Injustice at it's best!
 

bhvm

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Hello and welcome to the First tuv on tai!
how did you find the performance of tuv esp after 120-130 on highways?

I've seen tuv does only 140 max and gets very noisy /strained after 100.
 
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Welcome to the form TR, most and I in particular were eagerly awaiting a TUV3OO ownership review.

Any mods planned? like door cladding etc.

Enjoy your Tough

regards

vinod
 
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Congratulations for owning TUV300.I liked you have specifically mentioned about Mahindra 's sales team.You were lucky you got your Tuv in 1 week.
 
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Re: Taming the Tough - TUV300 Ownership Review

Thanks mashy46, $@ndy, Nanofreak, mikemk91, Ambylovers, abhijit.

Congratulations for your new ride, hope it's gonna be a fantastic one!

By looks, TUV looks like a beast ready to take on it's prey. The only downside, in my opinion, is the number of bhp's given to it. Injustice at it's best!
Yes I agree the BHP is less but the dual turbo and gear ratio compensate it up to 110 km/hr. After that you can feel the engine's trouble inside cabin.


Hello and welcome to the First tuv on tai!
how did you find the performance of tuv esp after 120-130 on highways?

I've seen tuv does only 140 max and gets very noisy /strained after 100.
Since the vehicle was still in running-in period (first 1000 km), I did not push it beyond 100.(Except for once up to 120). Vehicle could easly reach 120 with AC eco mode on ; but after 110 the engine was noisy. I would not say it was annoyingly noisy.


Welcome to the form TR, most and I in particular were eagerly awaiting a TUV3OO ownership review.

Any mods planned? like door cladding etc.

Enjoy your Tough

regards

vinod
No modifications planned as of now. Usually I like to keep the vehicle as it is. Grill guard is one option that I am considering. I read somewhere that when there is serious impact, it will harm vehicle's chassis . So I am yet to finalize the plan, still doing research.

Congratulations for owning TUV 300.
Do post some more external and internal pics of your tank.
Sure I will do that in the next update.
 
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Hi Tough Rider, did you get a recall for the 3 components replacement?

Please do update
Dear NanoFreak, unfortunately Mahindra is not doing call back. They are waiting for first service to happen. My Tank had two defects which they rectified during first service. I had long drive and I was lucky enough not to get into trouble. I will explain the details in next message .
 
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First service of the tank is done; also the another (quite) long drive is completed. Read ahead for more details.

Long drive Summary
  • Distance covered: 1350 km
  • Route: NH7, NH47
  • Load: 300+kg ( 3 passengers and ~100kg luggage)
  • Time taken : 24 hr 30 min in which 3 hr 30 min breaks
  • Fuel efficiency: 14.75
  • Max speed: 145 km/hr [clap]
  • Average speed (2hr city drive included): 65 km/hr
  • AC usage: Always in eco mode.
  • No: of drivers: 1
  • Post drive Fatigue: negligible
  • Driver satisfaction : 10/10
  • Driver and passenger comfort : 9/10 (1 less for the body roll at high speeds)

First servicing summary
  • Done at: 3150 km
  • Agency: Sireesh Auto, Silk board.
  • Total cost: 6100 in which 3000 was for under body coating and engine coating
  • Quality of service : Fair enough (8/10). No niggles after service. (2 less since they made my seats dirty and did not clean the exterior properly until I asked them to do so)
  • Customer friendliness : 9/10
  • Timeliness : 7/10 (delayed by two hours but informed in advance)
  • Mahindra After Sales Service department: Disappointing. No call back even when they know that the vehicle has a defective part which can cause potential risk. Also no response to issues reported on their toll free number even after multiple follow up.
Problem and rectifications
  1. squeaking noise on clutch press - replaced resonator. (covered under warranty)
  2. co driver seat noise - Fixed by tightening the seat (covered under warranty)
  3. front door rattling noise at high speed - Fixed (covered under warranty)
  4. Coolant hose clamp not tight - Mahindra knows about it and they replaced the part. (Covered under warranty)
  5. Cabin light was not coming up in auto mode - Fixed (covered under warranty)
    *Since all these work were covered under warranty, they did not charge me.


Few interesting facts for the tank lovers
  1. AC eco mode effectively works 1/3rd of the total distance travelled. For example if you drive 30km with AC Eco mode on then the trip AC meter shows 10km.
  2. Few 2015 batches have the following parts replacement needed. In which two and three can potentially trouble you since it can cause engine warning light to come up.
    • Resonator
    • Coolant hose clamp
    • FDM
  3. If you want good mileage, keep the rpm under 1900.That will be a max speed of 90. You can achieve a mileage of 17 easily (with moderate load and AC Eco mode)
  4. TUV can be pushed to 120+ easily. Don’t go with the online reviews, the few second difference in reaching 120 compared to Eco-sport is not much visible on road. I did not feel noticeable vibration or cabin noise at this speed. Wind noise was high.
  5. Remember when you push above 120 the mHawk 80 engine literally gulps the fuel like a thirsty beast. Do not expect a mileage more than 10. You can see the DTE Meter running down two times faster than the odometer running up. Probably this is an indication that the engine does not like pushing too hard. IMHO TUV delivers good power with a smaller engine at the cost of fuel efficiency.
  6. TUV has very good control at these high speeds.
  7. It is very difficult to lock the handle after switching off the engine. You can develop some muscles by doing this on a daily basis.[:D]
  8. Engine noise disappears once engine becomes hot.Immediately after starting the engine, there is a noise audible in cabin. That is till the engine temperature gauge shows 4 bars. It takes around 10 min for the engine temperature gauge to show 4 bars. Once the engine heats up the noise vanishes.
  9. For Tank owners, keep the DTE meter on while refueling, you can see the DTE meter instantaneously updating the value as the fuel-tank gets filled.
  10. Reverse parking sensor acts crazy when it is wet. It always ask you to stop. Experienced it only once. I will get it rectified if it happens again.
  11. In small potholes and speed breakers, do not slow down too much. It is best to drive at 40km/hr, you will get good ride quality. If you slow down below 20 km/hr, then you feel the tank shaking a lot.
  12. While climbing uphill the heavy beast is starts slowing down as expected, you need to push a little harder on accelerator to maintain speed.
  13. Where ever you go, kids are most excited to see TUV. Thanks to the Bahubali - Prabha’s TVC in which he rescue a kidnapped boy. Nice strategy Mahindra, kids are a good way to get parents attention.

That’s the summary, if your time permits then read ahead for details.
The long drive in detail
Source: Bangalore, Karnataka
Destination: Alleppy, Kerala
Route: Koramangala-Sarjapura - Hosur - Salem - Palghat - Cochin - Alleppy
Distance: 675 km
Time taken: 12 hr 15 min
Drive time: mostly night drive
Departure time:21/1/16 4.15 pm
Arrival time: 22/1/16 4.30 am
We started from Koramangala Bangalore at 4.15 pm. Since I had to pick my wife on the way , I took the Sarjpaur route to reach Hosur. We both were excited to start our first drive home . We knew that our parents are eagerly waiting to see the tank. There was heavy traffic till Sarjapura and it was 5.40 pm when we reached Hosur. From there it was quite smooth drive till Salem. Reached Salem by 8 pm. Again there was huge traffic block in salem; we lost another 20 min in a traffic.It was 8.20 when we escaped from the block and crossed Salem. The tank was zooming for around 4 hrs now without a serious break. Though only 210 km covered in 4 hrs engine was on full time. The work horse looked ready to continue the course but we choose to have a good break. We let the tank rest and cool down while we had our tasty masala dosa and kuthu poratta from the Adigas. After dinner, I cleaned the vehicle windshield and filled the windshield washer tank. We resumed the journed at 9pm. Next checkpoint was coimbatore by pass which is 150 km away. Road was really good and traffic was moderate, the tank covered this distance in 90 min; by 10.30 pm we reached coimbatore. The tank was driven at a speed of 100-120 continuously. I got company of a Scorpio and Etios, we three were driving along at this speed till coimbatore. The roads and companions made me remember my NFS addict days during college. I was happy to realize that the tank is don’t really lack power and could compete head to head with both these machines.

From coimbatore again the delays started. Between coimbatore and Valayar there are around 6 toll plazas. Funny part is that you have to pay 30 rs in the first plaza, from there onwards, in all the remaining 5 plazas you have to stop and show the bill. Each of this plaza had enough traffic and the single lane road added to the delay. Once we reached Valayar, there was another block and 15 min were lost. I could see cars which came behind me driving through the wrong side of the road to escape traffic,we crazy Indian’s are notorious for it. I get a chance to see educated Bangaloreans doing it everyday in the Sarjapur road. I did not want to violate rule and drive in wrong direction, so I waited. Then finally I realized that police itself was asking cars to drive in the opposite lane to avoid block. Traffic in opposite lane was very less. Hence with the blessings of Kerala police, me too become a traffic violator. It was my first time driving in wrong lane[frustration].

Few kilometers after Palghat I refilled the tank. Average mileage received was 14.75. Thanks to the wasted Salem coimbatore race, otherwise the mileage would have been above 15.5. As I mentioned in the summary, if you push the mHawk80 hard, it gulps petrol like a thirsty beast. When you drive at 120+ you will be surprised to see the speed at which the DTE meter races down. (By this time I had developed the habit of keeping DTE meter in dashboard on. Tank has four options, you can keep any one of them on, Trip meter A, trip meter B, Trip AC meter and DTE. It). It is fun observing the DTE meter. DTE device is quite responsive and and it recomputes distance to empty quickly to the driving styles. It is so responsive that if you keep it on while refuelling, you can see the DTE meter instantaneously updating the value as the tank gets filled.

After palghat there was a bad stretch of road with lot of potholes. Since I was confident on the tank suspension I was driving at 40km/hr. My wife started noticing the squeaking noise whenever I press clutch or accelerate. She brought this into my attention and we realized that something is wrong. From the sound we felt that it is not something serious, because it was feeble sound audible only if you listen carefully. Odometer had touched 2000km by this time. Later I realized that this was caused by the faulty resonator. I continued my remaining 1000km journey leaving the problem un attended. Thank god nothing bad happened. When we reached trichur, Kerala police gave us another surprise. They were serving free chukku kaappy ( local ginger coffee ) to night drivers. This coffee is believed to keep the sleep away. Thumbs up to the Kerala police. We had the tastey coffee and a short breank. It was around 1.30 am when we continued the journey. At cochin there was slow traffic because of the on going metro construction. Crossed cochin at 2.30 am. I was feeling very sleepy. Destination was only 100 km away but I did not want to take chance. So we parked the tank in road near a hotel and had a quick nap for 20 min. Continued the journey at around 3 am. From cochin, till my home it is single lane road. You won’t believe that NH47 is single lane for around 250km. One of the dangerous roads in South India. There were many trucks and buses coming against me with high beam on. Thanks to the high seating position of the tank, the high beam was not causing any harm. This is a big plus I found in TUV, your eyes does not get strained in night drives. In kerala max speed allowed is 90km/hr and I was trying to keep the vehicle under 90 as much as possible. Reached home at 4.30 am. Parents were excited to see the white tank. Trip meter showed 675 kms. Tanks was quite heated up. I could feel heat radiating out from the front grill. Unloaded the luggage from tank and went to bed.Next day I got up at 10.30 and there was not much fatigue. It was an exciting ride , it would have been more enjoyable without the traffic blocks.

The white color was giving a tough time cleaning. There were a number of dead bees and dirt sticking to bonnet and windshield. I had to do a shampoo wash and it took nearly 3 hours clean the interiors and exteriors of the tank.



Next day I had to attend a function and got an opportunity to load the tank with 7 adults and Kid. Tank was pulling nicely and even touched 110 mark on speedometer without trouble. My wife tried the back jump seats and her feedback was quite positive. Everything was fine except the lack of seat belts. It was a 100 km drive with 8 passengers. Now I was more impressed with my tank. It is a great package at this price. Thanks to Mahindra.


I will update the return journey and the servicing details in next post soon. Excuse me for keeping you wait. Also I beg your pardon for not attaching many pics. I was not very keen to take snaps this time. Next time I will do it.
 

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bhvm

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that is a well penned and quite comprehensive update!

I am aware about nfs feeling. if you have nice, enthusiastic vehicles along the road it gets the blood circulating. very nice feeling. it's great to see the tank able to do 145 easily. does it go beyond that? or simply hits a wall there? didn't you have any issues with cops or traps at those speeds?
 
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Thanks Santhosh for the in-depth review, to the minutest detail (to keep the ACC "ON" to see the DTE while refueling, super) you have all the base's covered.

Just a tip: to escalate a ASS problem if not attended to your satisfaction, mention it on their respective FB page, as well as email to customercare to the relevent Auto company, 9 out of 10 times it works.

regards

vinod
 

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