I have been using a XUV 500 W8 now for 1 year. I have used it 80% for city driving and 20% for highway driving. Overall, here is my feedback:
PROS:
Space: The car scores on space. It has great space in front and middle rows.
Looks: goes without saying that external looks are among the best in this segment.
Fuel efficiency: the car gives me 14.5 kmpl consistently for 1 year for Pune city driving. For highways, I always get 18kmpl. Not bad for a car this size.
Resale value seems to be good. I have got offers for almost the same money as I paid last year(partly because cost of car has increased)
Features: Hill hold/descent, start stop of engine, touch screen, cooled storage, double glove boxes, GPS, video, bluetooth, steering mounted controls, Cruise control, tiretronics, rain sensors, turn lights etc. worked FLAWLESSLY for last one year and I am happy with these features. These are great features to have in a car that cost me less than 14 lakhs last year.
The car however has serious issues.
Cons:
Third row space: The space in the third row is terrible. Only kids can sit here. Adults will suffer with leg pain. I dont know why Mahindra didnt make the second row movable so that space could be internally adjusted as needed.
Dealer service: Service of Mahindra, in general, and Silver Jubilee motors Pune, in particular, is probably the worst I have seen. I have earlier owned, Hyundai, Maruti, Fiat, Chevy cars. Nothing comes even remotely close to the terrible quality of service of Mahindra. During servicing, when they fix one issue, they will ALWAYS introduce another issue and the cycle goes on. The car is rarely cleaned while servicing and almost always, they wont give you the vehicle on the day they promise. The staff is seriously untrained. Cant imagine this service for a car that costs 16 lakhs now.
Service is THE MAJOR area of improvement for Mahindra.
Plastics in the car give the feeling of a really cheap car.
Clutch: This is another MAJOR area of improvement. The clutch gives the feeling of driving a 1990’s truck. VERY tight and lot of pressure required to be applied: be prepared for knee pains if you plan to use XUV for city driving.
Fibre: The car uses excessive fibre making the car less safe than other competing cars.(bumpers, side supports, rear supports, etc etc). nearly 45% of exterior seems to be of fibre.
Overall, the car has several pros and its major USP is COST. At the low price point, this is a value for money car.
If someone is looking to buy this car, I would suggest you wait until Mahindra fixes its service quality and dealerships, clutch issues and other issues. The car would be well worth the money then.