My previous two cars were the Toyota Corolla and Honda Jazz, both in manual guise.
BHPian appupandya recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Got delivery of My car 20 days back and have got done with the first service as well. Mine is Diesel AX7 L AWD AT. Color Red Rage
It’s only been 1200 km so I would like to call it an initial impression of the car and not really an ownership review.
My search for a new car started way back in December 2020. I had a Toyota Corolla and Honda Jazz both were manual transmission and were showing age slowly. Dad and Mom with their age getting in and out of Corolla and Jazz were becoming difficult with every passing day. Automatic transmission was a must! Diesel was the preferred fuel option considering my monthly usage plus long drives at the shortest opportunity! Considered and booked Seltos, Creta diesel automatic but was never happy with the overall engine transmission experience. Maybe my hunger for more power was the issue. Other vehicles considered were, Harrier, Safari and Compass. Came very close to buying the Compass but Dad found it cramped. The Compass still remains my first choice though!
Showroom experience:
I bought the car from the showroom Bhurawala Motors at my native place in Gujrat. Except for their staff not knowing all the features the experience was satisfactory in terms of updating me on the car etc. overall satisfied with the overall experience. Unlike showrooms of Mumbai like NBS who may not know the feature or may not have the correct answer still bluff and give any stupid reply to questions asked.
The Good:
- Fantastic Engine, be it city or highway. Torque is addictive!! Great mile muncher as you are under 2000 rpm at cruising speeds of 100 to 120 km/h.
- Good road manners
- Suspension is sorted and flattens the road very well without making much noise. FSDs and independent multi-link, are way better and more sophisticated than safari or other competition.
- Interior looks and feels from at least 2 segments above its class
- Comfortable seats, long drives won’t be an issue for anyone (5 people on board)
- ADAS, ACC LKA are just addictive if you are on a designated express highway like Mumbai Pune or Baroda Ahmedabad. Just sit back and relax!
- Safety is 5 stars without ADAS and 7 Airbags.
- Good to have apps like Zomato and others, adds to the overall user experience
The Bad:
- Almost no boot space
- No headroom for last row passengers
- Sunroof should have 3 separate buttons for 3 different functions
- No dedicated volume controller for passengers, no remote control as well. (The rotary knob can either be volume controller or menu shuffler and is essential for driver)
- Tyres should be A/T for AWD variants at least. You expect one to pay 2 lacs extra for AWD but have the same set of H/T tyres as the regular model, unacceptable.
The Ugly:
- The Door handles is something I hate. One must dig into their pockets and get the keys out to unlock the car, the whole point of keyless entry gets defeated.
- No sliding middle row seats! And then you call it a seven-seater. No, it’s not a seven-seater by any means of imagination. It’s a 5-seater + two kids for short in city drives. For longer drives with luggage, it’s a pure 5 seater at best!
My previous two cars were Corolla and Jazz, both have given me a fuss-free experience. It’s not true for Mahindra though in the shortest of ownership experience I have had. Mahindra has delivered a fantastic fundamentally sorted vehicle. Engine, transmission, suspension, steering is simply fantastic, but to sell more they have included too much tech which in my opinion, is beyond their expertise and forte to handle. Software glitches are almost a given in every vehicle delivered to date.
I am a little old school who gives engine transmission suspension safety etc. more weightage. So overall I am satisfied with my purchase and looking forward to lots of happy mile-munching ahead!
Here’s what BHPian Vashanis had to say on the matter:
Congratulations on your new ride! But why do you have to dig into your pockets for the keys to unlock the car. With keys in your pocket, you can unlock (option of driver door or all doors) simply by pushing the driver door handle inward till you feel a click! The handle(s) will pop out. That’s it. And to lock doors just push the driver side door handle till you feel a click. Just confirming it’s an AX7L AT?
Cheers!
Edit: You can set the Intelli-control knob to control both volume and menu shuffler. Set the rotary to volume and use the knob like a joystick to toggle through the menu.
Here’s what BHPian neel911 had to say on the matter:
Congratulations on your new ride. Wishing you many miles of happy and safe driving.
I see that you bought the vehicle from a different state than where you are residing. Was the registration done in Mumbai or you registered it in Gujarat (not sure how strict the cops are when they see outside state license plate)?
Since the weight of the car would be on the higher side due to AWD, is there any noticeable lag when accelerating in city/bumper to bumper traffic?
Keyword: 1200 km with my Mahindra XUV700 diesel AWD: Good, Bad & Ugly