Mahindra KUV-1OO Diesel & Petrol Review


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Akash1886

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Except ICE details,(I know, there is a video, but that was too noisy!)

Now, here are some questions/observations based on the review.

1. Is that gear lever really that tiny or you did some optical illusion stuff to make it look so small?
2. How about operating A/C controls? Does the gear level intrudes in the way?
I'll ensure next time, on a review I'll further make a better video and mention on the quality in detail. About the gear lever, indeed it is 2 finger long. For AC Buttons yes, if you are driving the car and want to switch on the AC then you'll have to reach out since these buttons are not placed conventionally. At Times you might have to ask the front co-passenger to operate it since the buttons are vertically placed on the left side.

Regards

Akash
 
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A good review.In the south,market is not picking up for Mahindra. Even TUV's are very rare.Got a call from the dealership for a test drive. The car is big compared to the other cars in this price range.Still,the boot is small and the petrol engine is very depressing.Got the price list here in Bangalore.Attaching here.One note,look at the handling charges..
 

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I'll ensure next time, on a review I'll further make a better video and mention on the quality in detail. About the gear lever, indeed it is 2 finger long. For AC Buttons yes, if you are driving the car and want to switch on the AC then you'll have to reach out since these buttons are not placed conventionally. At Times you might have to ask the front co-passenger to operate it since the buttons are vertically placed on the left side.

Regards

Akash
Why Mahindra did that? Whats wrong with conventional dash layout? What is a person driving alone just want to operate A/C. Even if he take his eyes for a second, it'll be a disaster at speeds!
 
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Akash1886

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Why Mahindra did that? Whats wrong with conventional dash layout? What is a person driving alone just want to operate A/C. Even if he take his eyes for a second, it'll be a disaster at speeds!
Well for one, Pininfarina has been involved so major credit goes to them for this creative idea. Second, Indeed future owners have to be bit careful surely as it's going to be a distraction for sure no matter how much any further reviews claims it to be a easy operating thing.

Regards

Akash
 
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Well for one, Pininfarina has been involved so major credit goes to them for this creative idea. Second, Indeed future owners have to be bit careful surely as it's going to be a distraction for sure no matter how much any further reviews claims it to be a easy operating thing.

Regards

Akash
I don't think it will be a major distraction. The owners will get used to it in time. May be yes, for the first time, it will surely be distracting.

P.s. Driving with manual ac in my city, I find it extremely difficult to adjust with the Auto Acc in other cars(Including in the new city). I have to take the eyes from road to adjust the AC settings.
 
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Mahindra KUV100 test driven - Unofficial - short review + test drive

Hi All,

One of my cousin's has returned from USA & he is looking for a good hatchback main criteria being
1. Power
2. Space
3. Moderate maintenance costs (Maruti preferred)
4. Hatchback (inclined towards Ritz)
5. ABS & AIR BAGS MUST.

So we went out and test drove a lot of cars - Maruti - Celerio (Petrol & Diesel), Ritz (diesel), Wagon R, Hyundai - i10 grand and a few more.

Then we saw the launch of KUV100 and visited the Mahindra showroom on Airport road (near Yelahanka) great customer service when we visited, but could not test drive as it was post 6pm. They promised to arrange a test drive at our home - Nah, they never bothered to call us.

So we went to the Mysore road showroom, near the metro station and we took a test drive. It was a 5kms test drive (trust me, its more than enough to weigh this car).
My review will also be a partial comparison between this car and many other similar price bracket cars. I will not be commenting on the looks - as that is a subjective thing.
All images are from google search & belong to respective owners*. From my next test drive I will make sure, I carry a good camera along.

bigimg03.png
--------------------------------------------------------------What I liked are:--------------------------------------------------

Interiors -
  • Spacious cabin for 5
  • Good AC & legroom is ample for all 5 occupants
  • the 6th seat serves better as a handrest
  • Underseat storage in front is a nice idea (safely store your camera/ipad/wallet etc)
  • It has a flimsy but purposeful carry away bucket too (with 2handles to it)
  • Nice textures on all plastics (interiors), top end and mid variants get Piano finish on some parts os dashboard & door pad trims.
  • Rear seat gets a neat integrated arm rest.
  • Small storage space below carpet (rear seat area) where u can easily store a pair of 9size walking shoes
  • Gear lever finish is awesome - makes you feel you are buying a premium segment car
  • HVAC controls are top notch - positioning of these controls is nice
  • Gear shifts are effortless - reminds me of Chevy Enjoy
1.jpe
The engine bay, body & wheels -
  • 3rd gear & turbo kick = best time to enjoy in this car
  • Engine bay is spacious and most parts are spaced out - no jugaad style fitting or last minute welding ideas etc
  • The ENgine bay has a strong horizontal beam at the front that can take care of most of the sub 50kmph bangs, more than that - no idea.
  • The engine mounts & their positions are such that in a crash, the engine falls down on the road and will not enter the cabin/firewall area (as told by sales rep)
  • Thicker sheet metal used everywhere (way better than Ritz, swift, beat etc)
  • Doors close with a nice thud sound and no where you will feel cost cutting in terms of metal parts
  • All variants comes with 185/xxR14 - unlike the competition switf & ritz that come with 165/80R14 for lower variants and 185sction for higher variants
  • Optional Airbag offered for 20K extra on any variant of your choice - no compulsion to buy only top end

--------------------------------What I dint like--------------------------------

Interiors -
  • The roofline drops towards the rear of vehicle, so anyone above 5.6ft will have to bend a bit to get into back seat. Or you are sure to hit forhead. This aint a WagonR/Nano that you walk into the rear seat.
  • The dashboard height is too much, driving in ghat roads etc will need a bit of neck movement and spotting kids/huge stones/street dogs will be a challenge sitting inside this car.
  • The handbrake plastic handle feels a bit cheaper than rest of all plastics inside the car
  • Stock music system is a screamer and lacks bass completely (Dapic feels better than this)
  • Dikki/boot door gets a partial cardboard cladding with felt cloth stuck to it - no full size plastic cladding here
  • The stepney wheel has to be lifted to your hip height, in order to put it inside the boot (lifting a R14 wheel in hot sun/rain wearing good \clothes - is not easy)
  • The sixth seat is a joke, if at all someone does sit there and you happen to slam the brake the gear lever would really do severe damage and the lap belt wont do much to save the passenger in terms of a frontal collision.

Body, wheels
  • Uneven paint finishing on most panels(inner sides) - open the boot door and the area above the tail lamp lacks proper paint coat. Same thing follows in engine bay, stepney wheel area etc - faded paint effect.
  • The engine options are the biggest let down, both petrol & diesel come with 3cyl only - big car with a small engine.
  • I never bothered to test drive the petrol, the diesel disappointed me as it lacks the punch it needs to move a car of this size.

Actual Drive:
  • The car with 3adults in it struggles to move in half clutch (unlike ritz/swift - You will miss that 1.3MJD big time)
  • The turbo kick is felt around 2300rpm and loses steam at about 3500rpm
  • If you are loaded fully (4 or 5 adults) the car has to be ripped in each gear or too much of sluggishness will be felt.
  • The engine noise is audible inside the car, post 2800rpm the sound is actually noticed by everyone in car (not as bad as a celerio D)
  • With 3 adults on a flat road, I could not use 5th gear @ 55kmph, turbo lag is very evident
  • Slow drivers, who prefer slow gearshifting and mileage oriented driving will not like this car as it jerks a lot.
  • The rpm rises quickly from 1500 to 3500rpm, but the minute you touch clutch pedal, the rpm drops way too quick, if you are not quick in shifting gears, everyone will feel the jerkishness in the drive
  • The car definately deserves the bigger 1.5D that does duty in Verito, in fact the enginebay does make you feel like they are testing the market with a tinier engine than required.
  • Engine is not refined like a Fiat/Hyundai - Vibes from the 3cyl engine will be felt in bumper to bumper traffic. If you keep the engine @ high revs then yeah feels smooth.
  • Coasting slowly in second gear in peak hour traffic is impossible!
  • The power steering assist is a bit more than needed, even at 40kmph the steering does not weigh well. Feels too light.
  • The brakes are good - nothing to complain about (neither are they great - like grand i10)

Mahindra-KUV100-Tail-lamps-65551.jpg

Thanks for reading.
 
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Re: Mahindra KUV100 test driven - Unofficial - short review + test drive

Did you have any chance to test petrol variant, it seems like engines are a letdown for new drivers.

The rpm rises quickly from 1500 to 3500rpm, but the minute you touch clutch pedal, the rpm drops way too quick, if you are not quick in shifting gears, everyone will feel the jerkishness in the drive
This point alone will push away potential customers, If you can't get major component of your product right, it'll fail.

This car is supposed to be in competition to Figo but where's the horsepower?
 
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Re: Mahindra KUV100 test driven - Unofficial - short review + test drive

They did offer the petrol for test drive too, but since we are inclined towards buying diesel car & the diesel itself lacked pull (low end torque). We just dint feel like going for the petrol. I had my doubts about the diesel engine, 1200cc and 3cyl pulling such a tall & heavy car (Engine is not relaxed and needs revving). I am not against Mahindra, its just that the car has the wrong engine options.
 
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Re: Mahindra KUV100 test driven - Unofficial - short review + test drive

and M&M is trying to position it as SUV. In my opinion, if ain't no 4*4; then it ain't SUV. It only looks good from front and am afraid we are going to see lot of this hideous thing on our roads.
 
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Re: Mahindra KUV100 test driven - Unofficial - short review + test drive

As it's a 3cylinder Mill thus the performance.

However the mileage should be good.

Not a good vehicle for enthusiastics or I would say it's a hatchback for lookalike SUV lovers.
 
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Nearly 3 months from launch, and no KUV1OO on TAI?

I'm surprised, as lot of people I think took a liking for this, or all are waiting for the TIAGO to launch & then take a call?
 

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