Impressions from test drive

My impressions are based on my test drive at @ 2:30PM, on 25th Nov 2012, of the W8 (FWD) which the executive said is from the "first batch" of vehicles released by M&M. Remember that they had a host of issues from music system , software to transmission system and brake pads. I drove for about 25 minutes on roads with speed breakers (large and small) and pot holes, as well as road which was newly done and was pretty smooth. I asked the executive to drive for the another 10 minutes while I was sitting in the second row (diagonally opposite to the driver). The car had 3 adults and 1 child (my family and the Mahindra guy), seated in row 1 and 2 only. In didnt bother much to experience the last row.

The car costs between 14.5 to 17.9 on-road in Bangalore. Optional accessories are extra. So its not what they released it last year and is expensive.

Exterior I love it. Thats why I bothered to test drive, else I would not have wasted my and Mahindra's time. Its easier to enter the vehicle (row 1 and 2) compared to a tata-safari. All side doors were a little hard and take a bit of arm power to open/close. The rear wihdshield is a bit compact. Could have been deeper (more height) to give better rear view, especially at night.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Drive quality (for the driver), is good. Since you are seated well above the road, you can rest your head back on the head-rest and drive. Driver seat is 8-way adjustable. Pretty good. Steering is telescopic and tilt. Nice to have.

Placement of the gear stick is a bit awkward. This causes the 2nd gear movement to take your left arm behind your body and constant use may result in sprain or other injuries. Thats for me, 5'8" in height. Someone taller may find it a bit easier. It needs to be a bit to the right and an inch or so closer to dashboard for a perfect drive. Donno how Mahindra missed such simple ergonomics. The clutch is bit hard and needs full press for the gears to engage smoothly. Also the gear stick shifts needed more effort than I was expecting. And no, I am not going to take the argument that SUVs are meant to be like this. Not at all. Its just a plain simple ergonomics and design issue. SUVs can be just as fluid to drive as the best cars out there. Mahindra can do it. But it didnt. Improvement needed.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine is powerful. We all know the specs and I am not going to repeat them. From a "feel" perspective, I am pretty satisfied. You can literally start moving the vehicle in the 2nd gear. Not that I am recommending it.. :). Pickup is good. There was a bit of low amplitude noise somewhere in the engine all the time I was driving. The Mahindra guy too didnt know what it was. There was a bit of squeaks from underneath the driver seat, but that could just be the seat springs not oiled properly.

Fuel economy is great as everyone tells me around here. Doesnt apply to this review as its just a test drive.

The first batch of XUVs had some sort of transmission problems and break pad issues, which the executive said have been addressed.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride quality is OK. I definitely expected a better suspension. Most indian city roads give you the same experience as "off roading". So Mahindra needs to work on the suspension and make it more comfortable especially in row-2. On speed bumps, I could feel the jerk betting thru, especially the small abrupt bumps which are the real problems. Small pot holes too showed up as sudden jerks which isnt expected if I pay 17-18 lacs. May be they can have a city varient like XUV500-C (c - city) :-) with a tuned up suspension.

What was most concerning was a consistant vibration in row-2 on the smooth road. I know it wasnt from the road as I travel on it in my car every day. So there was something wrong with the suspension. Not sure what/where.

Row1. While driving the waterfall model dashboard with music system et all, reflects in the front windshield and is quite annoying at times. Probably putting a black duct tape on the shiney sides may help.

The colors combinations used inside make it look cheap and plastic. Also no choice to select your own combinations. Infact a combination is mated to the outside color. So for instance, I cant choose a black and brown for a car thats white. Pretty bad...!

Seats are comfortable though could have been a bit mor so. Leather qlty looked fine.

Final Words 15-18 lacs is no economical. Mahindra needs to listen to its customers, experts and act on improving. They have launched Xuv in Australia in mid 2012. There will be some valuable inputs from those customers too.

Work on build quality, comfort and ergonomics rather than fancy features. Perhaps provide one more varianet with all the fancies.

With the launch of more SUVs and crossovers next year, Mahindra will have a tough compitition if they continue at this price point and the problems/requirements arent addressed.

Areas of improvement

- Suspension.

- Gear stick placement.

- interior plastics and build quality.

- overall build quality.

- Automatic transmission variant is needed.

As for me, I have decided to wait for some time till I get to test the offerings from the compitition next year.

External styling, engine power, mileage, feature packed, spaceRide comfort, suspension, interior build quality