We were very impressed with our test drive, and wifey was more impressed than me, so we decided that it will be the XUV700.
BHPian kachamohan recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Pre car buying:
Our hunt for a new car had started when my 2010 Ford Figo Diesel Titanium started showing its niggles one after another.
The major issue was with the injector starting to give troubles with almost zero use during this lockdown life.
So, instead of making the diesel machine sit idle, I sold it in June 2021 and thus our hunt for a new car began.
I was very keen on getting a petrol car this time, as my running is only around 6000 to 7000 odd kms per year that too mostly on highways.
And of course it had to be an 7-seater SUV since the family got extended after my marriage and could not accommodate in hatchbacks/sedans.
So, the price range was initially kept between 15L to 20L. The requirements were:
- The car needs to be a 7 seater SUV.
- Punchy petrol engine.
- Manual / automatic gearbox – prefer manual since most of the running would be for highway/hill trips.
- Should have a 5-star rating with minimum 6 airbags with additional safety features.
- Should have decent number of features.
The cars which we shortlisted were:
- Toyota Innova – Priced too much for the offering.
- Tata Safari – Not available in petrol variant.
Around June 2021, Mahindra started teasing the features of the XUV700 one by one which seemed to be very attractive and was scheduled for launch on Aug 15, 2021.
We were in no hurry, as we already have a Swift at home. So, me and my wifey decided to wait till the the vehicle is launched, but me being a motorhead used to check the XUV700 YouTube channel every week eagerly to see if any new teaser has come.
Finally, the vehicle got launched and there were lot of positive reviews trending online from Autocar India, Team BHP, etc. and our eagerness towards it increased further.
I was invited for unveiling on Oct 1st by Zulaikha Motors since I had registered with them, but could not make it and informed them that I will be available for TD the next day.
Booking:
We were very impressed with our test drive, and wifey was more impressed than me so we decided that it will be the XUV700. However, we did not book it at that time with the dealer.
I myself booked AX7 MT petrol through the Mahindra website on Oct 8, but Mahindra was kind enough to offer me first day price protection since I had it in my cart before (gone with MT since most of the running would be on highways and since no L pack available in MT Petrol, settled with the AX7).
Car Buying:
Now, the car was booked and with Mahindra going with top tech firms for the delivery algorithm, no one was aware about the delivery dates. Fingers crossed.
On 27th October, I received a mail from M&M that estimated delivery on 28-Nov-2021. Everyone was happy to see this, and my dealer too confirmed the same.
The dealer called me on 15th of November stating that vehicle has been allotted and will be in their yard in next 7 days.
Pricing and discounts:
Ex-Showroom: Rs. 17,59,000 (1st day price protection for AX7 P MT).
TCS: Rs. 17,590.
Incidental charges: Rs. 7,080 (I insisted that this not applicabl,e but did not stress upon it as the dealer gave 10L of petrol free during delivery as well as more than 10+L of petrol was present in tank while taking delivery. The dealer also arranged pooja, etc.).
Registration charges: 2,72,350 (Here’s the catch. RTO charges in TN is 15% of ex-showroom + 2500 green tax, but we would not be charged for 17,59,000 ex-showroom but for 17,99,000 as this was the price registered with RTO ).
Insurance: Rs. 61,257 (Dealer quoted me around 1L+ initially and I showed the insurance got by mudalaipatti for the same model which was around 72k (thanks mate). At the same moment, the dealer said they will arrange for discount and quoted me in the same range of 75k HDFC 1 OD + 3 TP including all RTI, tyres, consumables, engine protection, etc. and another 50% NCB for OD that was carried from my previous vehicle Figo – which I don’t own now).
Yes guys, if you had owned a vehicle which had NCB when you were selling, please get the NCB claim letter from the insurer which will be applicable for 3 years from the date of issue. NOTE: NCB is given for the owner and not for the vehicle. Since, I had NCB of 50% for my previous vehicle, it saved me 14k.
2 years extended warranty: Rs. 24,189 (I never knew that we can do it ourselves using the Hamesha app, so I paid to the dealer who is yet to apply for it . Expecting it to be done next week. So, you can apply this yourself from the Hamesha app).
Fasttag: Rs. 600.
Accessories: Dealer insisted on 25k basic but I wasn’t willing so dropped it.
Requested for PDI before handing over the cheque to the dealer. They arranged it promptly, and I could not find any defects with manufacturing date being November. So I went ahead with the payments.
Finally the D-Day, on December 9th 2021, we were done with all the formalities and drove the Blue Bolt to our home happily after doing a small pooja.
Having driven our Blue Bolt for a month now and 1200+kms, here are the likes and dislikes.
Likes:
- The engine has excellent drivability. Best in class.
- It is a looker.
- Spacious first and second row seats.
- Free 3 years maintenance.
- Welcome seats with memory function, LED sequential turn indicators, auto headlamps with booster, panoramic sunroof, sound staging and oh yes, the big touch screen infotainment.
Dislikes:
- The blue color gets soiled easily and adding to this, the white interiors are very hard to maintain
- Door handles: Since this is the AX7 and not L, we have only manual door handles. At times when someone tries to open when the car is still locked, it gives me a heart attack.
- I’m not going in depth about the software niggles as there are many which themselves need a separate thread and hope M&M fixes them soon.
- Mechanically, the car feels good, but I did face an issue with the 1st and 2nd gear shifts being hard which was mentioned in the 1k service. The service advisor did some adjustments but I haven’t tested it yet. More updates on this soon.
Drivability:
FE: I wouldn’t call myself a aggressive driver, not a sedate driver either and the FE is roughly around 11 km/l. I expect the FE to improve further, somewhere around 13 km/l or at least that’s my wish.
Acceleration: The 2.0 litre turbocharged engine really makes you live the adrenaline rush.
Braking: Good but not as excellent as in the Figo.
Suspension: On highways or other well paved roads, you feel like you are actually floating on a ship. The suspension is so smooth that our 85 year old grandma did not even feel tired after a continuous 6 hour trip to Bengaluru.
Haven’t taken the Blue Bolt on potholed roads much, so cannot comment.
Here are few clicks from our trip to Bengaluru:
Keyword: 1 month and 1200 kms with my Mahindra XUV700 AX7 petrol MT