It took me 2 test drive and lot of hard looks - to ensure that this is just not the thing I wanted. Why? At 8 lakhs plus on road in Bangalore(8.42 or so for the mid-variant - 40 k more from its launch price in Jan) - it seems like a good alternative to a sedan.
Big - oh yes this thing as oodles of space. The 3 row was comfy for my stout driver too.
Bad - Cheap plastics all around. Inflexible seating options - why the heck cant these guys do split seats on the 3rd row. Felt like I was sitting on an elephant. Bulgy and black(the interiors of the top end that I tested). Tardy engine. And everything inside felt like it was all going to come aprt. Second class compartments are designed better. Strangely this car also had not a shade of quality anywhere - this level of consistency in ensuring a cheap blob is really commendable.
Ugly - Oh yes! One look at it and I didnt want to see it again. Looks matter - I’m paying for it damn it! Since when did the logic of beauty not being skin deep creep into motown? So much has been talked about how these guys at Mahindra seem to have penny pinched - and not does the Italian styling that got them the honors for yet another average car - the Scorpio. So here’s the XYLO that neither has the looks nor the performance. And of course if these guys had to hike the price by 40k in a recessionary launch - who are they kidding. Not for me. Not for my enemy. It’s not as cheap as it should be - I won’t take one even if it is free