XUV300: A nice car, missing basic features and stinking customer attitude!

The XUV300 gives a comfortable ride for the longer distance trips with enough power even in its 6th gear to pass cars on freeways. It is a pity the company gives itself a poor image through a misleading presentation of information on the models in the brochure and poor attitude toward customers. Buyer beware is a phrase that comes to mind with this vehicle and manufacturer. Thoroughly check every basic feature you expect is present on the model you are buying. The feature may be on the almost-identical model being advertised or reviewed but not on the model you are about to buy, and you will only find out after taking delivery. When it says the XUV300 ‘range’ has a feature, it’s most likely only on the top model. Unless if you specifically check if the vehicle has a cab light, you may find after delivery that even that has been left out! There are no fog lights, no daytime running lamps, no reversing camera and no light or power plug in the boot. You will not even find the usual strings to lift the boot cover lid when you open the boot door! You can overcome the lack of USB and 12V power plugs in the front of the car by using adapters on the single units that are provided, but for a light in the boot, you might need to buy battery powered lights. The same goes for the driver’s cab as there is only a ceiling light at the rear and not one in the front! One only realises how dark parking garages are after buying a car that has no front cab light! The steering column stalks show automatic windscreen wipers and lights but these also, are missing, as are the fog lamps! Watch out for the car automatically unlocking when it is turned off. If you want to stop the inevitable ‘visitor’ climbing into your car uninvited to take your belongings, you need to develop a reflex to re-lock the car as soon as you turn it off. The car has lurches and jerks just after releasing the clutch when pulling away due to the turbo suddenly kicking in. I found it is often better to first increase the engine revs to above 2000 RPM before starting to release the clutch so as to reduce the lurch in power as it goes from have the power of a “noddy car” to a very responsive car. The engine is surprisingly powerful and responsive once the turbo has engaged. Gear change from 1st to 2nd has been grating and clunky. It feels a bit like the gears are ‘crashing’ together unless if the gear change is done hard (forcing the change hard). When asked at the first service, I was told to push the clutch to change gear! The other gear changes seem fine. The XUV300 is said to have a 5-star safety rating, which is strange given that only one model has 7 air bags, and the others have 2 airbags. It’s strange that cars with 7 and 2 air bags can have the same safety rating but that what they say. I found two small pieces of plastic on the body of the car under the rear door and asked about these at the service. I was told it was from the pre-delivery (that they were not removed) but the dealership still did not remove them. When I removed them, I found out the paint was damaged underneath the tape – and of course too late to complain any more. I now understand why the dealership had not removed it! Mahindra is not doing itself any favours with its misleading brochure and the lack of information provided in the pre-sales phase. It is frustrating to find features that are standard on an old car, to be missing in a new car and staff who do not seem to know what features are missing on what models. And when the customer says they will retro fit a missing feature, the company representative should not then threaten cancellation of warranty if the missing features are added! It makes customers feel like they have borrowed a fleet car rather than being the owner of a product for which Mahindra must provide service.

Mahindra needs to learn to respect its customers and provide for customer satisfaction, not ignore the issues or make threats! I would definitely have to recommend against Mahindra products because the issues experienced seem to relate to attitude and ethics which seem unlikely to be fixed. All in all - A nice car, missing basic features and stinking customer attitude!