Mahindra XUV700 (AX7L D AT) Ownership Review: The Silver Surfer

[A.G.]

Another day, another surprise

The AdroneX Connect app has again gone haywire

Travelled back from home from Delhi covering 192 Kms in approx. 3 hours but what that’s not what the AdrenoX Connect app recorded. Sharing a screenshot of the Trip summary from AdrenoX Connect app

25 Kmph average speed for covering 7.4 Kms in 3:02 hrs - the math simply doesn’t add-up. Travelling 192 Kms from Delhi (5:47pm) to Roorkee (6:05pm) in just 18 minutes - that’s almost like flying

 

[A.G.]

3rd Service of 30,000 Kms

The service reminder came-up at 29,800 Kms and before scheduling the service, checked if Mighty Mahindra had the new Ultra V4 oil in stock. After confirming with stores, the service was scheduled. Only issue I noticed was on the day of the service, checked the Engine oil level in the morning and found the level to be higher than the max mark – discussed the same and was informed that it is normal due to regen process.

Oil level in the morning prior to service

Due to heavy rush that day, including that of water affected vehicles, the bay allocation took some time. As usual, most of the time was spent in waiting for washing & cleaning which took almost twice the time in which entire service with update was done.

In the service bay with brakes being cleaned

The new Ultra V4 Oil (again no specs on the oil can)

Finally reached the lift for washing

I was against the latest silver box update which robs the offline navigation and switches over to subscription based MAPPLS navigation. However, Mahindra has cleverly disguised this update as a recall which is not reflected on the RO copy I have but it was reflected on the RO copy for the shop floor. By the time I noticed this when the oil was being issued, it was too late and the USB drive with update was already plugged-in and doing it’s job.

The total service bill came to Rs. 7,739/- which included 10L DEF (taken in sealed condition to be filled later) and cabin filter as well.


The after effects of Silver Box update

Sharing a picture of the version installed

The first thing to be noticed was that despite having eSIM signal strength, both Alexa and MAPPLS stopped working – the latter was just displaying white screens despite having view of multiple satellites

https://youtube.com/shorts/XZ92PwDH8LM


On checking the debug menu, found this DTC

Waited for a Day for it to start working but when it didn’t work even on the next day, disconnected and reconnected the battery which made them both come alive. Notice a couple of quirks.

A. When playing songs on Alexa, the song plays as usual but neither song name appears nor the duration slider moves. Also the Previous, Pause and Next buttons are rendered useless.

B. If the MAPPLS app is not opened once after ignition cycle on the center screen, going to navigation menu on the instrument cluster results in blank space (both with dials and when using full page maps)

With Dials

Full Screen Maps

C. When the navigation app is opened on the center screen, it starts working automatically on the instrument cluster as well but always shows ‘0m’ on top which earlier used to appear only when a route was set.

Maps working on both screens

‘0m’ displayed as if constantly navigating in background

Some other observations after covering 30K Kms:

1. Since the 20K service done 3rd week of April till the 30K service in 3rd week of August, there had been only 03 unscheduled visits (all with-in 3 weeks from service) for sunroof not closing, brake noise and steering angle calibration. This does not include the additional visit for collecting the number plate.
2. The noise from the front brakes (referred here) is back post the service – I fail to understand what the issue is since this time the brakes were clean.
3. Post the rains, there is a squeaking noise from what I feel to be coming from the rear doors whenever there is body flex.
4. The other persistent noises bothering as of now are from DEF / fuel tank and the Engine cover which rattles have found no solution yet.

 

[anuraagshenoy]

The noise from the front brakes (referred here) is back post the service – I fail to understand what the issue is since this time the brakes were clean.

I feel this is not related to the pads. I feel you need to skim the rotors at any reputed lathe. Remove the two front rotors and skim them. You'll be charged around Rs 200-300 per disc. Try it out it should work for you.

4. The other persistent noises bothering as of now are from DEF / fuel tank and the Engine cover which rattles have found no solution yet.

Try adding some insulation pad or damping material in between the body (metal) and the fuel/DEF tank. Should give you some respite.

Also came across this thread on the forum - XUV700 Recall. Have you got any calls on the same?

 

[A.G.]

Got the recall done – in my case the gap between the mount and harness was quite less and now the added plastic sleeve and rubber are pretty close, almost touching. Good to see Mahindra going to the extent of inspecting and taking corrective action in each and every XUV7OO as part of this voluntary recall.

 

[A.G.]

Completing 01 Year

With the odo just a few Kms short of 33K mark after exactly a year, it’s really been a great year with the XUV7OO. Whether it was covering back to back 1400+ Kms trips in 2 days on consequent weekends or just pottering in the city on daily basis, there has been no major breakdown – the mechanicals atleast are sorted.

Revisiting the Good, the Bad and the Ugly after an year:
The Good:
G1 – Drivetrain continues to impress with it’s power and frugality.
G2 – Ride & Handling balance is spot on.
G3 – ADAS works pretty flawlessly.
G4 – Cabin doesn’t fail to impress with it’s modern and luxury quotient.

The Bad:
B1 – Vibrations at idle in D / R with foot on brake.
B2 – Various noises (the famous football-in-boot, Brakes especially when cold), squeaks (from door rubber seal) and rattles (unable to pin point but somewhere from front).
B3 – AdrenoX has improved a lot but still basic issues (like wireless Android Auto connectivity, random blank screen) persist.
B4 – Sony sound system leaves a lot to be desired.

The Ugly:
U1 – Suspension noise (despite Lower Control Arm replacement) is prominent.
U2 – Number of visits to the service center in just 01 year is alarming.
U3 – Mappls update doesn’t work most of the times and robs a feature (offline maps functionality).
U4 – Random errors (even like EPB not disengaging) magically vanishing with a system reboot (i.e. Battery disconnect & reconnect).

Fuel stats for the year of ownership (the max figure was by no means a hypermiling drive)

While there is an itch to change the tyres due to increased road noise and extremely poor wet performance, they still look good for another 10K Kms atleast with tread depth of 5mm minimum

Some parting shots from today’s TLC

 

[A.G.]

General inspection before a trip (Rear Brake Pads changed)

Before heading out on a family trip, it was wise to get the XUV7OO also inspected. Visited post Diwali break and upon inspection, the rear brake pads were found to be almost at the minimum thickness mark. With the trip ahead, got them changed. The Brake discs were also suggested to be skimmed to even out the minor undulations. I was pleasantly surprised that the service center used Procut machine which didn’t require removal of discs for skimming and performed the job in hardly 10 minutes on one disc.

Getting on the lift

Old Brake pads (Rear) - thickness was around 3mm

With new Brake pads

Procut disc skimming machine in action

Skimming done

After road trial, the general checks were performed and the air filter was cleaned. The total invoice came to Rs. 7,503/- with Rs. 1,350/- + taxes being charged for skimming and rest being for rear brake pads.

 

[A.G.]

4th Service of 40,000 Kms

During the general check-up and rear brake pad change, I updated about the upcoming travel (detailed here in link) and had enquired about the delay allowance in service. Getting the confidence that I can get the service done prior to 41K Kms mark was a real breather as it didn’t disrupt the plan. It also meant I didn’t need to rush for service immediately the next day upon return.

A day after returning back, I enquired about the rush and was advised to come the next morning for service. While this meant that I would not be in office for another day after an already a week’s gap, it turned out to be beneficial.

Getting the job card opened @ 40.5K Kms

In the service bay

The new Ultra V4 Oil (again no specs on the oil can)

This service required Brake Oil replacement which took most of the time. After brake oil replacement and brake bleeding, a road trial was done and the pedal kept on sinking. The bleeding process was repeated once again.

Waiting for the second round of test drive

The test drive tech himself was not happy with the brake pedal feel and once again bleeding was done. Finally the bleeding was done post a service procedure being run via the laptop and in a different manner – it was done diagonally as recommended by the service tool with Rear Left then Front Right followed by Rear Right and then finally Front Left.

Bleeding being done post running the service procedure via the laptop

Hoping this to be final round of test drive

Finally both of us were happy with the feel of the brake pedal which regained all it’s lost sharpness. Glad they had called me in the morning.

The only sour point was the vehicle was taken to the washing area where it was numbered and put in a que. Yet a technician drove another XUV7OO and tried to cut the que by moving mine across over to the side where all the accident waste was dump – the situation become a bit tensed as it was run across broken glass before I or the other’s present on spot could intervene. Luckily there was no damage to the passenger side tyres but it’s shameful that people don’t have any regret for their dumb actions. And yes the que was still not followed despite numbering.

The heart-in-mouth moment (this was captured after backing up as it was driven even beyond the blue cap in bottom right)

Finally reached the lift for washing with the mats being removed for through cleaning

Washing in progress

The total service bill came to Rs. 9,859/- which included 10L DEF, Fuel Filter, Oil Filter, Air filter and cabin filter apart from Brake Oil and V4 Ultra Engine oil.

Since the 30K service done in 3rd week of August till the 40K service in 4th week of November, there had been only NO unscheduled visits barring the general check-up before the trip. Hopefully the persistent issues of Android Auto frequent disconnections and the foot-ball in boot noise are addressed by Mahindra soon to elevate the ownership experience.

 

[ashikawa]

Congrates on SUV 700. This one car is so comfortable and easy to drive among cars i have test driven. Did not finalise due to some feedback from friends and also due to the fact that it was a little over my budget(AT3 petrol AT).
This must be most comfortable 5 seater i feel.
Congrates again.

 

[Iron Rock]

happy mile munching on the xuv - how does it overall compare to the endy experience (difference vehicles i know) but cudnt resist asking :P

 

[A.G.]

happy mile munching on the xuv - how does it overall compare to the endy experience (difference vehicles i know) but cudnt resist asking :P

The comparison is inevitable.

With this being a joint product of Ford & Mahindra, you really see Ford's DNA in ride & handling all thanks to the EPS & Control Blade rear suspension straight from Ford's parts bin. On-road, the overall experience with the XUV7OO is far better than Endeavour in terms of driveability, comfort and frugality. Highlights are the lack of body-roll and superb suspension.

What I miss coming from the Endeavour is the rattle free experience, road presence, sheer space it offered with some usable features like sliding middle row and auto-dimming IRVM. All these were deeply missed in the recent family trip to MH. Once you go off-road, there is no comparison and the Land Rover's DNA shines through in the Endeavour.