Hi Superbad,
I usually change cars some 5 years after buying them. My earlier car was a Ford Fusion which too I found amazing considering its bigger tyres and upright view. It was almost a mini-SUV and in fact, helped me in deciding that my next car wud be a full-blown SUV. I was searching for one within my budget of around 10L for last 2 years.
I liked the looks of Tata Safari but founds its gear-shift cumbersome and the clutch a bit hard. Somebody then recommended trying a Scorpio for test-drive. I liked its pick-up but interiors were too rustic. My kids and wife rejected it as well.
I even tried Ford Endeavour. It was way beyond my budget but still I gave it a try. Its drive was excellent but feature-wise, too bland. I liked Chevorlet Captiva a lot but that it came as a CBU was a big let-down and parts-availability was a big issue as well.
Toyota Fortuner was way beyond budget and also looked Intimidating to me. I had heard that Mahindra was coming out with a SUV code-named W201. I then decided to wait for it. I had sold my Fusion around a year back and was making do with my wife's Automatic i10 till I found something suitable for me.
I remember XUV 500 getting launched somewhere in 1st week of Oct,11 and I visited a showroom nearby for a dekko on very 1st day of launch. One look and I was hooked, I already had driven Scorpio and they said XUV could only better that. Interiors and feature-wise, I was satisfied while the price was 'killer'.
I immediately reached out for my cheque-book and paid the Advance. Rest, as they say, is History.
No regrets, just enjoying every day, every Km with my XUV.
Don't know but I have gone till Agra and Jaipur from Delhi on it in last couple of months, I found it O.K. No doubt, not perfect, becoz sometimes the firm grip to ground seems missing but I drove till top-speed of about 150-160km, it was O.K.
I am driving to Chail, Shimla and Naldehra next month, lets see how it behaves there but overall, its a good package in this budget.