Tall and Huge but still a 'Hatchback'!

Exterior It is necessarily a good looking car. It gives robust feel when you look at it. The rear door is very nicely crafted. The foot rests on the sides and oin the rear are very useful. The spare tyre sitting on the rear door makes it look longer than it really is and balances the look of this sub-four meter. The mirrors are big and give excellent rear view. The quality of paint is excellent and all the colors offered are very aristocratic. It is too big to be called as hatchback but if you think about the rear seats which can't be used for seating, It IS a hatchback.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Front two seats are very comfortable. The version I drove had armrests for driver and co-driver seats. The arm-rests can be locked at different positions to arrive at most comfortable driving position. More than sufficient charging points (3), bottle holders (5). The power windows are smooth. The edge of window sits at slightly above waist level making the view very enjoyable. It won't obstruct the view even for a shorter person. Lot of headroom making it comfortable even for a taller person. The steering wheel is big and has great grip. The driver console is big bold and clear to read. The in-built sound system is of good quality and not run-of-the-mill kind. Rear seat is broad and can accomodate three food-lovers comfortably. I found gear level to be slightly oddly located and is way to longer by what we find in now-a-days' cars. There are no rear A/C vents. This surely will make thrid row seats stuffy. The good thing is third row side windows can be slightly opened (remember: Premier Padmini's triangular windows besides driver window and co-driver window!) for ventilation. Rear two seats are not very useful for adults. Only kids below age 10 can be seated over there. They also get stuffy as there's a tall backside of the rear seat on one side and rear door on the other. Calling this vehicle a seven seater is in-justice to all true seven seaters. Xylo itself is a very great 7-8 seater and this car is necessarily a mini-xylo. Looking at those seats I wondered that when you cut a 7 seater short by 53 cms how can you get another seven seater? There is no boot space. Your rear seats area doubles up as boot space. If actually 5 adults and two kids occupy this vehicle then the luggage has to go on the top. The rear seats provide great lumbar support but the bad part is they are not sufficiently reclining. They are slightly too upright for longer drives. Reverse assist system and driver assist systems are good and functionally useful.

Ingress and Egress may be slightly problematic for people with knee problems or for older people.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine looks great on the paper. The engine is really smooth and does not make a typical 'Diesel Engine' noise. I was disappointed as it gave me a lag in the second gear. Considering that it's top torque between 1600-2800 rpm, it should not happen. Every time I slowed down and tried to rev in the second gear it gave me a lag. So much so that the showroom guy accompanying, couple of times felt that, by mistake, I am trying to pick vehicle up in fourth gear instead of first gear. Once above 2,000 rpm the engine exuberated it's power and the car shot like a bullet. Claimed fuel economy is 17.1 kmpl. Will have to wait till real on-road mileage is known. Gears are not smooth and as I said earlier the gear leaver is little too long. They could have made the gearbox much smoother than what they have intalled.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride quality is very good. The vehicle being taller it gives a majestic feeling. ABS works just fine and I could take sharp turns. Power steering is smooth. Fit and finish of the vehicle is nice.

Final Words The car is very powerful for it's capacityBuy this car as a five seater with loads of bootspace and you will get more than you can expect from a hatchback. If you need a sven seater - go buy Xylo.

Areas of improvement Mahindra can come up with a five seater version, without those two small seats in the last row. The gear rod should be shorter for smooth shift. Smoother gear shift required. Rear A/C vents would be a good idea.

Powerful Engine, Driving Comfort, Width & Shoulder Room, Robust BuiltNo rear A/C vents, Expensive considering that effectively it's a five seater