To be honest, I have never been that a big fan of Mahindra. The only vehicle that impressed me was the Scorpio, but even she had her own problems. So when I first heard about XUV 500 I remembered not to get my expectations too high and at that time I had no idea what Mahindra had in store for us. And then I saw their advertisement that only showed a cheetah running towards us making me wonder what the resemblance would be, but when I first saw the picture of XUV 500, I understood the resemblance it had with the cheetah. And boy wasn’t it good looking. What Mahindra did was way above what I expected from them. And this vehicle looks great from top to bottom and side to side. The whole stance off the vehicle is like a cheetah that’s about to jump at you. And I am pretty sure this vehicle will do great in the global market. And something inside me whispered that this vehicle’s ride will be as better as its looks.
Even at the first look XUV 500 is really attractive and aggressive. This SUV will impress you in its first look and will make you fall in love with it. With no doubt, XUV 500 is Mahindra’s most important SUV. It looks really modern and can attract any generations or gender. And this SUV is the first Indian to be built under the monologue chassis. The suspension is very much car like and while on the road, this beast doesn’t feel like a SUV at all. Another plus point is that it has plenty of space. And when I say space, trust me, its massively spacious. The wheelbase is 2700 mm which is really long. Now, under the hood, there is a 2.2. Litre MHawk engine that we saw in the Scorpio, but this SUV gets a variable geometry turbo charger. Mahindra promises this vehicle will produce a maximum of 140 bhp and torque of about 333 nm. The engine is really refined and produces mid range power that feels sufficient. Moreover, engine is really responsive and strong. And once you get to 1500 rpm, you feel that amazing turbo kick that adds icing on the cake. The performance between 2500 rpm and 4000 rpm is effortless. The 6 speed transmission is also really good. Once you pump your foot down the odometer just zooms forward with absolutely no effort and cruising at three digit speed is a piece of cake. Mahindra promises a class leading 15.1 kmpl (!) mileage which really needs an exclamation mark here. This SUV is equipped with 2179 cc engine that produces about 140 bhp at 3750 rpm. The torque is about 336.5 mm. It has a 6 speed manual transmission. The length of the vehicle is 4585 mm while the width is 1890 mm. the height is 1785 mm with a total wheelbase of 2700 mm. XUV 500 comes with standard 17 inch alloys which is about 135/655- R17. It also has disc brakes at both the front and the rear.
Overall, this vehicle shows a lot of promise and it feels like this car is going to bring some crease on the forehead of its rivals.
This vehicle is equipped with McPherson struts up front and multilink independent set up at the rear that provides a luxury saloon like feel to this SUV. The vehicle feels highly stable in straight line and the steering gives us an air of confidence. Low centre of gravity and longer wheel base makes us feel very comfortable and secure. This vehicle has a new technology from the Mahindra called full time all wheel drive system that can detect the wheel spin and direct the torque to the wheel that has the grip helping you to drive through any sticky, sloppy roads. Unlike many other Mahindra, the drive is really good. Mahindra has improved a lot in the aspect of cornering and vehicle feels very safe and good while taking any corners. Having said all these, this SUV is not something that you can call ‘hardcore- off roader’. And there is no low range transfer case in this car too. But this car has a differential lock and hill descent control for light off road duty on the four wheel drive versions. Even though the car feels a bit of pliant, it is really comfortable for a Mahindra.
The real talking point about this car is its styling. The car really looks modern and strong. It is attractive in its own way with its cheetah inspired look. This vehicle has more of a weighty look. The long wheelbase, tapering roof and rising belt lime makes this car quite dynamic and modern. And the nose of this SUV has too many cuts. The wheel arches are a bit oversized. There are fake strokes on the D pillar. The back slightly reminded me of Evoque especially the rising belt line and blacked out pillars. The whole styling is really modern and will attract many people even in the first look.
The interiors are as attractive as the exteriors. They are really tough build and quite impressive. Steering is a typical large Mahindra wheel (almost like Xylo) and feels good to hold on to. The two detailed deep dish dials are attractive and good to look at. The V shaped central console has a touch screen on top that works well and responds to your touch. Another great thing about the car is that it has plenty of storage space in it. The wheels are really large and feel very much comfortable and supportive. The look of the wheels even compliments the whole look of the car (even though I didn’t exactly like the standard alloys that Mahindra is providing). The cabin space on all the three rows is phenomenal and a person of almost 200 cm might not have any problem with the space when it comes to his feet. I feel like this car will be great to spent lot of times in especially those long drives with the family or the friends. The second row is not mounded on rails and maybe that’s why it can’t give third row much space. The floor is really flat and the central vents or console doesn’t intrude to the middle passenger space. This gives more leg room and comfort to the middle passenger. When the whole three rows are up there isn’t any room for the luggage at all. But that problem can be dealt by folding the third row which will give you plenty of space. And believe me, the interior is mind bogglingly loaded. But on the other hand, even though every single thing in the interior works well, the attention to detail is a bit of a disappointment and so is the fit and finish. There are plenty of shiny plastics around and some poorly made buttons that can be a let off. The top end version or the so called W8 gets a voice command for the audio system which is unique in its class (yes, we did see the same in the new fiesta. Looks like a lot of manufacturers are bringing in this feature). Features like reverse parking sensor, air condition vents on all three rows are also available in this vehicle. A very good and apt Bluetooth connectivity and touch screen with satellite navigation is also made available. And this satellite navigation comes with a voice navigation which is available in eight regional languages. ESP, Anti skid control, Pressure monitoring 6 airbags, alloys, remote locking are also made available to protect and pamper us.
I bet you guys will agree with me that this car is absolutely loaded. Most of the features are standard and that’s a great thing by Mahindra. This is such a huge leap by Mahindra and it looks like they’ve leaped to where they wanted to reach. This vehicle, despite of its meaty look, it handles and drives like a car. It looks modern and this car will be an absolutely treat for SUV lovers like me. And when you hear the price, you might write a check just now and buy this SUV. This car is spacious, comfortable, and attractive. But the best thing about this car is its price. When you look at all the features that you get at the price, this will obviously become the best thing. The two wheel drive base variant or the W6 is priced around 10.8 lakhs ex showroom. The high end variant of the two wheel drive or W8 cost about 11.9 lakhs ex showroom. However, the most costly one is the four wheel drive W8 which costs about 12.88 lakhs ex showroom. The recent information suggests that the price may go up in the coming months. So if you are planning to buy one, be quick before the price go up. The main pros for this car would be its unbelievable price, the long list of equipments and features that you get and a very strong engine. The only cons that I could find were the fussy styling that might not be appealing for everyone. And it’s hard not to notice that this car doesn’t exactly match the global standard as this SUV is for the global market.
So, what is the verdict? Should you buy it? My answer is why not. If you are thinking about buying a vehicle under 15 lacks, why not consider buying this SUV. It is not every day you get a SUV at the price of a car. This vehicle has all the luxury features and it drives well and like a car. This is the best vehicle that Mahindra has built, yet and that goes for the drive too. With such low price, expect to see many XUV 500 on the road from now on.
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