Average fuel efficiency on the highways hovers around 11-13 km/L while city driving sees the figures drop to around 6-7 km/L.
BHPian nickelniks recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Sharing my ownership experience till now
5000 KM ownership update
Model – AX7 P AT
Month of manufacturing – Jan 2022, delivery in Feb 2022
TL;DR – Mahindra R&D team has done wonders, I am a fan of the vehicle & always keep looking for a reason to go on long trips. There are some rough edges in the product, but they do not spoil the ownership experience.
Since this post is goin to be more on the positive aspects, I will list out the niggles first & get them out of the way.
Niggles
- The infotainment unit – Google map freezes up sometimes, it gets solved by reconnecting android auto. One time the unit got frozen up so bad that the radio was playing even after I switched off the vehicle. The radio switched off a good 2 mins after the car’s ignition was turned off. However this happened only once
- Brake sound – The brakes make a creaking noise when the vehicle is moved from standstill. It is more pronounced when the RPMs are high due to a cold start. It is annoying, but bearable
- Suspension sound – Not noticed. Only when the vehicle passes over large bumps the suspension makes a sound.
- Rattles – None noted till date. cabin is very silent & any lose item can make a sound which is audible.
- Glove box – The glove box in my car has a defect & gets stuck many times. I have shown this to the service center, & it will be replaced FOC in the next service. But this reflects poor QC by M&M.
- Football in the back – The vehicle makes a ‘dub dub’ sound from the back when the fuel tank is full & there is a sharp lateral movement of the vehicle.
- Fuel level indicator – The car shows low fuel alert when there is a good 18-20 ltr fuel in the tank. This results in frequent trips to the fuel bunk & a feeling that the vehicle is using up a lot of fuel.
Driving experience
City driving – Car is easily maneuverable. Changing lanes is easier than my previous car (i20). The gearbox is well tuned & need for manual shifts is not felt. Though I would have liked a little early upshifts in city driving, but the car upshifts only post 2K rpm.
Turning radius is decent & vehicle is manageable in U – turns. Only during parking the vehicle makes its size apparent & some planning is required for parking the vehicle in a busy area.
Fuel efficiency – 8-10 KMPL, short runs with bumper to bumper traffic 6-7 KMPL
Highway driving – This is where the vehicle comes into its own. It is a comfortable cruiser & doesn’t tire the driver or the passengers resulting in less frequent stops on a long run and less fatigue at the end of the drive. Power is always available & overtakes are extremely easy. You will never need to drive too fast & still arrive much earlier than the ETA shown on google maps. Max I have touched is only 120 KMPH on an open stretch of road. Long highway drives is what the car is built for & you would always be planning your next road trip.
Power is sufficient to keep up with the BMWs on the highway.
Fuel efficiency – 11 – 12.5 KMPL. 13.X on ACC.
Driving in the hills – Based on my experience with modest inclines of Nandi hills & Chikmagalur, the vehicle is never short of power with 5 people + luggage on board. However I felt on some of the inclines the car was very late to upshift from 2nd & 3rd gears (more than 2.6K RPM), I manually upshifted on these instances. Is it normal for the car to do this? Anyway to avoid this?
Cornering is well controlled & car gives a lot of confidence, however it makes it’s weight felt on sharp corners. So keeping an eye on the speedometer is essential, especially when going down hill. The FWD car is NOT an off-roader by any stretch of imagination. If you plan to go offroading make sure you by the AWD version or some other vehicle.
Fuel efficiency – On a recent trip to Chikmagalur the vehicle gave over all efficiency of 12.5 KMPL, did not get a chance to check it exclusively in the hills.
Other thoughts
I feel I have become a much more responsible driver after driving a bigger car. I no longer cut across lanes & prefer to drive in my own lane at a safe distance. The moment I see a rash drivers come close in the mirror, I give them space to overtake.
Alexa & Panoramic sunroof sound gimmicky features but they enhance the ownership experience. My sunroof curtain is mostly open & alexa is called upon as soon as my son gets into the car.
The vehicle is surprisingly fuel efficient for its size & power.
Mahindra service is far behind in terms of reliability & competence. While escalations do get taken care of & the service staff are worried about bad feedback. The staff is simply not having enough professional & technical skills to cater to this customer segment. Company needs to work on it big time.
Buying M&M stock on the next dip makes a lot of sense, they are making vehicles of international standard now and can certainly expect good growth in the future.
Some photos of the vehicle
The sunroof always makes the back seat more pleasurable
Keyword: Mahindra XUV 700 petrol: Overall fuel efficiency figures after 5,000 Km