castaway
Active Member
Owning the Cheetah- XUV 5OhOh- an ownership experience
Owning a SUV is a dream every man cherish in his heart that has even a little passion for driving and love for automobiles.
29 December 2011,………. this day is a landmark in my life, this very day I drove home a shining new SUV, Mahindra XUV 5oo.
I recall that in mid October 2011 during the conversation with my brother in law, an automobile enthusiast himself, with memories of my trip to Leh in Honda City still fresh, I expressed my desire to purchase a SUV; I informed him that I have already TD TATA Safari and Mahindra Scorpio. But I was in a dilemma as Force Motors had just unveiled its SUV by the name of FORCEONE and on the papers and with the looks it looks like a promising vehicle.
The same evening he called back to inform that M&M launched a new SUV and I have to have a look. I immediately called M&M dealer and confirmed the news, He told me that the XUV is there for display…..next day we went to see the XUV and liked it much, we took a test drive and booked the Mahindra XUV 500……
And this day after 3 and half months and more than 7000 kms, I am writing this small article to share my experiences of owning and driving the XUV, but I can summed up my feeling even in a single sentence “ I am loving this vehicle more and more with each passing day”…..
Driving a large SUV is a different experience than driving a sedan or a hatchback, I am here not going to present before you an another review of XUV but a narration of what I felt good or bad about XUV and what are my expectations from a car of this range……
When I approach the XUV the first impression I got was that is a huge but well proportioned car, with straight bold lines with a modern and progressive look….( pouncing Cheetah inspired body lines)..you take a close look and find jaw like front grille, paw styled door handles, twin exhaust, alloy wheels, roof rail, fog lamps, power foldable and adjustable ORVMs, high intensity projection head lamp with a row of LED parking lamps……lots of chrome and plastic here and there,……
Con:…..there is a use of lot of plastic….an over do infect
Now you open the front door and see lots and lots of space…..ample of legroom and head space, front door opens up wide, driving seat is comfortable with height and lumber support adjustments…, tilt able and collapsible steering wheel
Con: I am a man of average height but to enter XUV I have to bend my neck a little more, as though there is enough head space but the height of door is a little less….
Con: The doors need a firm push to close properly
Now you fire the ignition and listen the growl of the cheetah, deep and powerful….give a little pressure on accelerator….engine responds beautifully….
Now you are on the road. Please keep the cheetah on control because every now and then you feel that it is trying to break free (powerful Turbo)
On the road enjoy the all round view…and get used to the attention of the passers by….yes….. The XUV has a road presence and a menacing look, the cyclists and auto rickshaw wallas just do not dare to cross the road in front of you…..most cars automatically move out of the fast lane when XUV closes in on them…
The drive is very comfortable, you can feel that you can drive it for hours and hours without feeling tired.
Con: The clutch is a bit hard and the play is more than average…if you want to press the clutch you have to exert pressure from whole leg instead of just foot and ankle…..
A.C. is silent but powerful with separate vents for middle and last row and separate controls for the back….
Multimedia touch sensitive console is good with GPS (Map my India)…now I do not have to research my route before hand……DVD player, Radio with AUX, Tyretronics, Average fuel consumption and other alerts
Con: Tyre pressure indicator gives too many false alerts without any reason…. They go away after a while without any intervention….
Con: The trip meters A and B shows reading only up to 999.9 kms, and after reaching that reading they just do not readjust themselves but stick on that reading only….
Con: The multimedia display goes blank some times giving an error massage….you have to restart the car to start the normal display…..
Are you enjoying the drive???
There is a red light, you apply the brake… slide to neutral and take away your foot from the clutch…the engine stops (Micro hybrid technology)...the engine starts effortlessly with a slight pressure on clutch…..
Con: Despite the disc brakes in back and front the braking is not that crisp. You have to give a little extra effort...
There are steering wheel mounted control for music system, voice control and cruse control…there are some knobs on door panel….power windows, power adjustable and foldable ORVMs…
I want to give a special mention to static bending projection head lamps, it makes night driving very safe and comfortable. A row of LED parking lamps too..
Con: The right front window glass is automatic only for down slide which is very irritable some times. I wish they would give one touch up/down in both front windows.
If you move your eyes all around you find many tits bits of accessories, many spaces to keep our things…very user friendly utilization of space indeed…cup holders, bottle holders, umbrella holder, goggle holder, mirror to talk to passengers, chilled box, coin holder, light on vanity mirror etc etc etc…..
Con: The glove compartment is lighted, it is divided in to two, a lap top is supposed to fit in (as per brochure). But it is very cramped suitable only to keep a tablet PC.
Now if you take a look on average fuel consumption, it is very healthy, in my case it is giving more than 15 Km/liter on mixed driving and now after the first service it is touching 18 kms on Noida- Gr. Noida expressway( on 6th gear, cruse speed 100 kms)
Con: The fuel consumption gauge does not show real time values, it just shows average fuel usage, before first service it used to touch 15 kms and just stay there but now it goes up to 18 kms.
Now if you have the opportunity to take a look to inside of the car…
The middle row has a very decent leg space, the patterns is 60:40 splitting, both seats are reclining, there are cup holders on the arm rest, there are separate AC vents, reading lights, cigarette lighter, magazine holders on seat backs etc..
The third row seats are foldable, a little cramped for a person of more than average built…but great for kids….
The other cons include a more than necessary lateral body roll, the inability to install front bull bar ( monocoque construction), less luggage space if you use it as 7 seater,
There are lots of other pros also which you can find in brochure..
Like air begs, ABS, hill descend control, 2.2 liter M hawk engine, 140 BHP, 330 Nm torque, all wheel disc brakes and so on…….
To sum up I can say that XUV is a great leap for M&M, great power, superb riding comfort, spacious interiors and a long equipment list, frankly, the XUV 500 makes nearly all other SUVs looked overpriced….
Ik
Owning a SUV is a dream every man cherish in his heart that has even a little passion for driving and love for automobiles.
29 December 2011,………. this day is a landmark in my life, this very day I drove home a shining new SUV, Mahindra XUV 5oo.
I recall that in mid October 2011 during the conversation with my brother in law, an automobile enthusiast himself, with memories of my trip to Leh in Honda City still fresh, I expressed my desire to purchase a SUV; I informed him that I have already TD TATA Safari and Mahindra Scorpio. But I was in a dilemma as Force Motors had just unveiled its SUV by the name of FORCEONE and on the papers and with the looks it looks like a promising vehicle.
The same evening he called back to inform that M&M launched a new SUV and I have to have a look. I immediately called M&M dealer and confirmed the news, He told me that the XUV is there for display…..next day we went to see the XUV and liked it much, we took a test drive and booked the Mahindra XUV 500……
And this day after 3 and half months and more than 7000 kms, I am writing this small article to share my experiences of owning and driving the XUV, but I can summed up my feeling even in a single sentence “ I am loving this vehicle more and more with each passing day”…..
Driving a large SUV is a different experience than driving a sedan or a hatchback, I am here not going to present before you an another review of XUV but a narration of what I felt good or bad about XUV and what are my expectations from a car of this range……
When I approach the XUV the first impression I got was that is a huge but well proportioned car, with straight bold lines with a modern and progressive look….( pouncing Cheetah inspired body lines)..you take a close look and find jaw like front grille, paw styled door handles, twin exhaust, alloy wheels, roof rail, fog lamps, power foldable and adjustable ORVMs, high intensity projection head lamp with a row of LED parking lamps……lots of chrome and plastic here and there,……
Con:…..there is a use of lot of plastic….an over do infect
Now you open the front door and see lots and lots of space…..ample of legroom and head space, front door opens up wide, driving seat is comfortable with height and lumber support adjustments…, tilt able and collapsible steering wheel
Con: I am a man of average height but to enter XUV I have to bend my neck a little more, as though there is enough head space but the height of door is a little less….
Con: The doors need a firm push to close properly
Now you fire the ignition and listen the growl of the cheetah, deep and powerful….give a little pressure on accelerator….engine responds beautifully….
Now you are on the road. Please keep the cheetah on control because every now and then you feel that it is trying to break free (powerful Turbo)
On the road enjoy the all round view…and get used to the attention of the passers by….yes….. The XUV has a road presence and a menacing look, the cyclists and auto rickshaw wallas just do not dare to cross the road in front of you…..most cars automatically move out of the fast lane when XUV closes in on them…
The drive is very comfortable, you can feel that you can drive it for hours and hours without feeling tired.
Con: The clutch is a bit hard and the play is more than average…if you want to press the clutch you have to exert pressure from whole leg instead of just foot and ankle…..
A.C. is silent but powerful with separate vents for middle and last row and separate controls for the back….
Multimedia touch sensitive console is good with GPS (Map my India)…now I do not have to research my route before hand……DVD player, Radio with AUX, Tyretronics, Average fuel consumption and other alerts
Con: Tyre pressure indicator gives too many false alerts without any reason…. They go away after a while without any intervention….
Con: The trip meters A and B shows reading only up to 999.9 kms, and after reaching that reading they just do not readjust themselves but stick on that reading only….
Con: The multimedia display goes blank some times giving an error massage….you have to restart the car to start the normal display…..
Are you enjoying the drive???
There is a red light, you apply the brake… slide to neutral and take away your foot from the clutch…the engine stops (Micro hybrid technology)...the engine starts effortlessly with a slight pressure on clutch…..
Con: Despite the disc brakes in back and front the braking is not that crisp. You have to give a little extra effort...
There are steering wheel mounted control for music system, voice control and cruse control…there are some knobs on door panel….power windows, power adjustable and foldable ORVMs…
I want to give a special mention to static bending projection head lamps, it makes night driving very safe and comfortable. A row of LED parking lamps too..
Con: The right front window glass is automatic only for down slide which is very irritable some times. I wish they would give one touch up/down in both front windows.
If you move your eyes all around you find many tits bits of accessories, many spaces to keep our things…very user friendly utilization of space indeed…cup holders, bottle holders, umbrella holder, goggle holder, mirror to talk to passengers, chilled box, coin holder, light on vanity mirror etc etc etc…..
Con: The glove compartment is lighted, it is divided in to two, a lap top is supposed to fit in (as per brochure). But it is very cramped suitable only to keep a tablet PC.
Now if you take a look on average fuel consumption, it is very healthy, in my case it is giving more than 15 Km/liter on mixed driving and now after the first service it is touching 18 kms on Noida- Gr. Noida expressway( on 6th gear, cruse speed 100 kms)
Con: The fuel consumption gauge does not show real time values, it just shows average fuel usage, before first service it used to touch 15 kms and just stay there but now it goes up to 18 kms.
Now if you have the opportunity to take a look to inside of the car…
The middle row has a very decent leg space, the patterns is 60:40 splitting, both seats are reclining, there are cup holders on the arm rest, there are separate AC vents, reading lights, cigarette lighter, magazine holders on seat backs etc..
The third row seats are foldable, a little cramped for a person of more than average built…but great for kids….
The other cons include a more than necessary lateral body roll, the inability to install front bull bar ( monocoque construction), less luggage space if you use it as 7 seater,
There are lots of other pros also which you can find in brochure..
Like air begs, ABS, hill descend control, 2.2 liter M hawk engine, 140 BHP, 330 Nm torque, all wheel disc brakes and so on…….
To sum up I can say that XUV is a great leap for M&M, great power, superb riding comfort, spacious interiors and a long equipment list, frankly, the XUV 500 makes nearly all other SUVs looked overpriced….
Ik
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............... not at all like a cheetah in charge.....in control