My Red Highway King: Mahindra XUV500 W8 Ownership Review


Thread Starter #16

mayankdixit

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XUV is breaking up my cemented parking floor!!
All of the last 7 years I was happily parking my swift and ritz in my driveway.Wife suggested putting tiles on the cemented floor.I refused,saying,cemented floor is strong enough and it wont crack like tiles under the weight of the cars.How wrong I was.Now there is 1 by 1feet crater thanks to the wt. and big wheels of XUV.On the other hand I should feel happy,because had it been the tiles,changing a particular piece and fitting it with exact matching would had been a headache.[:D]
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Thread Starter #17

mayankdixit

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Is the stock headlamp setup in XUV really that inadequate for night drive?
No I do not think so.I have done 7 different night drives on the highway, during last 1 year.I wouldn't have been successful had the stock setup failed or underperformed.I was surprised over the amount of criticism on the net,over the poor performance of OEM setup.After reading multiple reviews and compairing with my real time experience here is what I have to say :
1. High beam is really good and lightens up the highway for a long distance.
2 .Low beam with projectors,suddenly decreases the visibility distance,forcing the driver to revert to high beam again!!
3 .To get the proper light on the highway, play a little with the headlamp levelling device.Personally I found level 2 and 3 suits me best depending upon the load conditions.When I am travelling alone with light wt., position 2 does the trick for me and no more I have to toogle between high and low beams for proper visibility.
4. I have been in more than a few sedans,hatchbacks and muvs(read innova).None of these cars boasted of any extraordinary lightening apparatus.All of these cars performed just adequately in night drives.Why then single out the XUV for this?[roll]
5. Is there a chance of improvement? Yes, definitely.But why screw up the factory settings by installing HID,which is most likely to void warranty.It may also spoil the reflectors,and discolour the headlight glass,which may not have been designed for extra high temperatures generated by HIDs.[;)]
 
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Hi Mayank,

There are some points to which I disagree.

Is the stock headlamp setup in XUV really that inadequate for night drive?
No I do not think so.I have done 7 different night drives on the highway, during last 1 year.I wouldn't have been successful had the stock setup failed or underperformed.I was surprised over the amount of criticism on the net,over the poor performance of OEM setup.After reading multiple reviews and compairing with my real time experience here is what I have to say :
1. High beam is really good and lightens up the highway for a long distance.

Totally agree. The high beams are good enough for night drives on the highway.

2 .Low beam with projectors,suddenly decreases the visibility distance,forcing the driver to revert to high beam again!!
True again.
3 .To get the proper light on the highway, play a little with the headlamp levelling device.Personally I found level 2 and 3 suits me best depending upon the load conditions.When I am travelling alone with light wt., position 2 does the trick for me and no more I have to toogle between high and low beams for proper visibility.
Position levelling is based in the load in the vehicle. Normally it should be at 0 if only driver and one passenger is there, at 1 when there are 2 rows of seats full, at 2/3 depending on the weight of the luggage + the above situation.

4. I have been in more than a few sedans,hatchbacks and muvs(read innova).None of these cars boasted of any extraordinary lightening apparatus.All of these cars performed just adequately in night drives.Why then single out the XUV for this?[roll]

None of the Indian cars at sub 15 lakh rupee range comes with adequate low beam for night highway driving (period)

5. Is there a chance of improvement? Yes, definitely.But why screw up the factory settings by installing HID,which is most likely to void warranty.It may also spoil the reflectors,and discolour the headlight glass,which may not have been designed for extra high temperatures generated by HIDs.[;)]

HIDs installation if done properly will not void your warranty i.e. no cutting or splicing of stock wires. as long as the HIDs are of the same power output 55W in this case it will not spoil the reflectors, discolor the glass as the HIDs as HIDs run cooler than the Halogen bulbs.

I have been using HIDs in XUV projector from more than a year now, and no problems whatsoever same is the case with my bike. I had installed HID(without projectors) in the stock headlamps almost 4 years ago. no issues till date.
BHVM can put some more light(LEDs) on this [;)]
 
Thread Starter #19

mayankdixit

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Small yet significant trip to Dalhousie.XUV performs admirably again.
There was a window of opportunity during the vacations,and I grabbed it with both hands.Trip to dalhousie was finalized,and in no time we were on the highway,with our highway king.The roads on NH1 are all dug up for the 6 laning work.Numerous times I heard boot of low slung sedans crash on the mountain speed breakers,made just before the diversions.At one time I lowered down the windows just to make sure its the sound of figo and manja bottoming out on those speed breakers.Those cars were moving alongside us,and frankly the cars suffered for no fault of theirs.
Salient points of the trip are:
1. XUV,as usual,performed with elan,and I was not scared to drive over potholes with some speed.
2. In the mountains,xuv was overtaking other cars with ease.Even when fully loaded,I never felt the need to downshift beyond 3rd gear,on the inclines.Only when starting from a dead stop did I need the first two gears.
3. I went till chamba,via khajjiar,and the roads were not in the best of conditions.At many places they were too narrow,and I feared how will I make a narrow hairpin bend without reversing 2 times.My fears were baseless.Turning radius in xuv is never an issue.
4.Xuv on the return journey covered 1150 kms in a single go!!.I drove from 5.30 am till 12.30 am the next day,driving non stop for 17 hrs straight.The engine was turned off only once for a tea and lunch stop at karnal.Then ,at last it was turned off,after idling for 5 min. at kanpur only.
5.XUV returned a fantastic mileage of 18,all through the journey.Another happy and satisfied owner.!
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Thread Starter #21

mayankdixit

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Hi,
Bajaj Chetak Image shows it can be used in many ways. I believe we can get that model scooters with in 4000 INR.
Dear sir,thats not a bajaj scooter.Its a L.M.L vespa.I know because I owned one (now sold)for 16 years.Just pay attention to the nose,the cowls,and the dikki.
It was a nice piece of machinery,alas sold for 1500 inr only.Reason :It gave an average of 25 only !!Moreover it was the down payment money for the discover 125 Dtsi bike,which I am driving till today.
 
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Hi mayank congrats on the your new SUV. You have decribed the things perfectly especially how you can take care of the vehicle from the day it is offloaded from the truck. You are getting a superb mileage of 18. can you tell us more on your driving habits so that it may help others a well
 
Thread Starter #23

mayankdixit

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Hi mayank congrats on the your new SUV. can you tell us more on your driving habits so that it may help others a well
Thanks for the congrats.
XUV is a big diesel engine tuned for city as well as highways. My driving style is as follows.
1. I drive mostly between 950 to 2000 rpms.
2. I never wait for the turbo to start spooling,to shift gears. XUV turbo starts at 1600 rpms.I usually upshift at 1200 rpm.
3. I avoid sudden acceleration and sudden braking at all costs.Usually I try to anticipate the braking distance as well as effort ,beforehand ,by looking at the scenario on the road.
4. I feel XUV turbo starts at close to 1150 rpms. But the full boost is achieved from 1600 rpms,which actually is mentioned in the manual.
5. Unnecessary and prolonged idling with AC on at full blast ,should be avoided as it leads to fuel wastage.
6. I don't baby the xuv to extract that mileage.Neither am I a softrider.Its a robust and strong diesel engine,and not a chinese doll,and it should be treated likewise.[:D]
 
Thread Starter #24

mayankdixit

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After seeing the PM ,enter the oath taking ceremony area,on a SCORPIO ,I am feeling very proud to own a Mahindra product.
Long live INDIA!!
Long Live DEMOCRACY!!
Long live Mahindra ,and the scorpio and the XUV!!
 
Thread Starter #25

mayankdixit

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First broken Love is akin to first scratch on a car,in more ways than one :Both cause the maximum pain in heart,and both are etched in your memory forever.
I never forget whenever I got the first scratch on any of my cars in past.My whole day is spoilt.That sensitive I am.Fortunately, it can be mended,unlike a broken heart,and here the similarities between the two end.[;)]
I have nobody to blame for this fiasco.Funny thing is, it did not even take place on the roads.It all took place in my parking gallery!! The fault was all mine.I was reversing this 6 feet broad XUV(1890mm to be precise) when I misjudged the pillar on my left,and the result:BANG.[frustration] After keeping a car this big ,scratchless on the Indian highways,and after doing 2 separate and eventless trips to dalhousie and vaishnodevi,I end up with a scratch in my own home with nobody to blame but myself!!
Moral of the story:
1. Every car while reversing behaves in a really very different way as compared to while moving forward.
2. Never cry over spilt milk.
3. No Matter how many kms and how many years you drive on the roads,you never become an accident-proof driver.
4. Never take photos of newly scratched car, it renews the pain in your heart every time you zoom in and zoom out in the camera.


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I dont think you can repair the scratches on the black plastic apart from may be rubbing some of them off but yo might be able to remove the scratches on the bumper by some rubbing compound.
 
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3. No Matter how many kms and how many years you drive on the roads,you never become an accident-proof driver.
Very sorry to see that scratch bro I really understand your painand I really imagined my first sractch which was a pani puri wala banging in my right door.

But yes I truely agree with you on the million dollor point
 
Thread Starter #28

mayankdixit

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Why should there be any rusting in a brand new car at all.??

I started finding new places of rust every few days in my new XUV.What can be the reason behind it.? We as customers pay our hard earned bucks, only to find our cars rusting away to glory.I am not singling out only M&M for this.My other maruti cars also suffered from this problem.I dont know about other makers though.My other esteemed members on this forum can comment better on this aspect.I can understand that no car is rust proof,but rust at this early stage can't be digested by me. I will post more pics and solutions to this rustication problem ,as I call it, in my next post.
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Thread Starter #30

mayankdixit

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How to cure my XUV of rust!?
Continuing from the previous post..
There was only one solution which came to my mind: search for rust spots like a detective ,sandpaper them and add touch up paint on that area.Rust was popping up at the most unexpected of areas, viz. petrol tank flap,silencer can and tow hooks.Since XUV is huge ,it will take some time in searching and covering all the areas,but this work must go on.
Meanwhile,I am still searching, for the answers to the single most important question : Why rusting, in a brand new vehicle?

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