Aug 25, 2014 11:16 AM
171927 Views
Why Xylo? Deciding which vehicle to buy nowadays is a time consuming process. People now rely on the internet auto reviews to a great extend as I did before I bought the vehicle. As personal requirements differs for everyone, a thorough thinking on everyone's requirement makes sense before buying.
As far as I am concerned I have a family with 6 adults plus my 3yr old kid. Before Xylo I owned a Fiat Palio Multijet 2008 last model(New one). Through these years we somehow managed to travel on Palio on short and long journeys.( I have posted a palio review on mouthshut.com in 2008). Multijet gave us satisfactory ownership experience. Although lack of space to accommodate 6 people on board was the main concern. After each and ever journey, my wife, sister, aunt, and mother who were the occupants of palio backseat started complaining about back and leg pains. Apart from this my wife's parents were also asking us to take a bigger vehicle so that they can also join us during our long journeys. So total seat required is now 8. Anyhow immediately changing the vehicle was out of my dream since I have the vehicle hypothecation on the Palio.
During that time I got a transfer to Mumbai and I got a chance to travel on my Boss's xylo E series. I was impressed with the space and performance of the vehicle. I shared the experience with my father who is also an auto enthusiast and we started dreaming of buying new vehicle. On March 2011 my kid came to our family, afterwards the need for space was climbing high.
When palio's loan repayment got completed on 2013, we seriously started thinking of bigger vehicle. By this time much to our delight xylo mhawk was launched. We decided not go blind folded on xylo alone, instead we started considering other brands also. This was due to some -ve reviews about xylo form taxi operators and internet reviews.(The bad reputation credit goes to D-series and E-series engines).
So we checked other alternatives. viz, Toyota Innova, Maruti Ertiga, Chevy Enjoy, Tavera, Bolero and Scorpio and we test drove Innova and Enjoy. Although Innova meets all requirements we removed it from our list due to high pricing. Later we visited chevy showroom when the enjoy was launched. When I first saw the vehicle and its interiors and I soon made a decision to settle on this vehicle until I test drove it. Enjoy is too noisy and powerless. Ride comfort is good and has good space to accomodate even 8 people. I have big expectation when enjoy was handed over to me for a test drive, but I ended the test drive with disappointment and the enjoy got removed from the list.
We later test drove Bolero and this also performed low on NVH levels. Engine noise is a big concern in Bolero. Although Robust build quality and low pricing is the attractions. Bolero is an ideal alternative or upgrade for Jeep owners and it is ideal for hill terrain roads. We didn't thought of test driving Tavera due to age old design and taxi image, and Nissan Evalia due to its boxy looks. Evalia’s body to tyre size ratio alone can be a deal breaker for many people.
One of my cousin told me his experience with Ertiga on his Cochin-Munnar journey with full load and the lack of power was his main concern. Most people are not aware of whether thier vehicle is front wheel or rear wheel driven. On highway runs you cannot notice the difference. But on hilly roads the rear wheel drive vehicle gives more confidence since the centre of gravity will move to backwheels. I have seen hatchbacks failing to climb the basement parking gradients when it stops on the middle of the gradient. The front wheel will keep spinning, but there will be no weight on the front wheels to keep it sticked to the ground for the grip.
I think Ertiga and Honda Mobilio is front wheel driven and with full load, entire mass will come to back wheel during steep gradients which will reduce the performance of the vehicle. The Mobilio was not officially launched when I booked Xylo. But test drive reviews of the Mobilio was available on the net, and most of them highlighted the engine noise issue and the space was available for only 7 passengers.
So we came to a conclusion that Xylo is ideal for us considering Kerala's hilly road. Our current seat requirement is now 8 and my kid is now 3yrs of age and is growing. Soon he will demand his own seat and only xylo can fulfil extra space requirements with ease. Considering these parameters we decided to go for the Xylo.
Exterior
Mahindra has done some welcome changes to the exterior design since its launch. Although the changes might be cosmetic, it really added the visual appeal. The main attraction is the blackened pillar areas and the front grill. I have to spent some extra for black strip cladding for the doors, alloys, fog lamps and under coating. The white xylo with blackend pillars gives an upmarket feel, although I went for the red one. Mahindra should have reworked their colour scheme since the black pillar blends very well with light colours. I have also added some chrome rims for the fog lamp which looks nice.
Interior(Features, Space & Comfort)
The interior looks and dashboard are basic and made for utility purpose. There is no sophistication and modern looks integrated in meter console and other areas. The tilt steering is an advantage and you can find your comfortable steering position. Second row seats can be reclined. The best spot for fixing religious Idols is in front of DDAS window and this will block the clock/DDAS. I have to spent for Music system and rear view parking sensors since this doesn't comes with H4. Rear view park assist is a must for xylo since you cannot see bikes and some cars parked behind you through the rear view mirror.
There is some space below 2nd and 3rd row seats which can be utilised for medium size travel bags. The second row is so spacious that 4 average size adult can be seated for short journeys. The 3rd row doesn't have reclining facilities and the occupants here have to sit a little bit upright. There is no problem with legroom and seat comfort, but people who loves to sleep on long journey might find it hard sleep on 3rd row. Space behind 3rd row seat is minimal which can used for 2 medium size travel bags.
There are 2 AC modes viz high AC and low AC. Low AC is powerful enough to chill the cabin within minutes. Overall xylo's interior comfort is great.
Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox
My Odometer has just crossed 1K mark recently. So I haven't pushed the vehicle above 80Kmph. Xylo Mhawk owners will never complain on Engine performance and power. At idle speed there is little bit of diesel clatter which is not annoying. you can hear the mild diesel engine until 70-80kmph. From 80 onwards I noticed that engine gets dramatically silent, I got a chance to experience this on Trichur -Kochi highway. Anyway I will be stretching the xylo's legs to triple digits once I cross 2k mark. (This is not company specified running in period.)
The inherent advantage you get with xylo is the road presence. Small hatches, sedans, Auto rickshaws, pedestrians, two wheelers will give some space when they see a xylo coming against them. I am currently getting 15 kmpl mileage which is very good for a 2.2 Litre engine. Transmission noise can be heard in 1st gear on very narrow roads if the windows are open. Gear shifting has improved a lot compared to the m-eagle.
Ride Quality & Handling
Xylo is famous for its soft suspension and comfortable ride. But this suspension set-up will misbehave sometimes. When you are restricted by the pothholes to drive at walking speeds on some bad roads the xylo will reveal its true weakness. The vehicle will swing sideways violently due to its high seating. The window side passengers might hit thier head on the window glass. This happens only at very low speeds and once speed catches above 10-15kmph the violent sideway swing will reduce. This is the only complaint I faced with the xylo. I think other vehicle such as SUVs which has xylo’s height do experience this violent sideways swing on very deep potholes.
I also expected the xylo to misbehave on curvy roads. But to my surprise xylo performed well than my old Palio. On my Palio I experienced g-forces on curves at 60 KMPH, even if you are sitting very low. But on Xylo even if the VOLVO effect is there you doesn't loose confidence on the curves. With xylo's weight and driving dynamics the race driver inside you has to be cautioned. But on highway when you start stretching Xylo’s legs others has to race with you to keep up. Xylos ride and handling improves with full load.
Xylo will definitely give you a commanding driving position with good view on the road. You will get a clear view of the road ahead upto a good distance if there are only ordinary sedans and hatchbacks infront of you. i.e., your vision is not obstructed by these sedans. This in turn will help you to preplan your overtaking moves. You can easily overtake few cars in a row with the height and long vision advantage. Although I have only 1000 kms driving experience of the xylo, I started moving to the right lane of the road too frequently at medium revs due to torque advantage engine response and long vision that altogether helps me to stay ahead.
Earlier when I was driving Palio my mother used to warn me continuously if I am going above 70kmph. On Xylo you will not get the sense of speed and unlike Multijet, Xylo accelerates in a linear way. This will help in relaxed long distance cruising.
Public Opinion
During one of our city drives we stopped for shopping at a retail outlet. At the same time a police vehicle came and parked just in front of us and it was a Xylo.(Kerala police is using Xylo D-Series for thier higher rank officers). The police driver who was generous about xylo came to me and just analysed the exterior of my xylo and came to a conclusion that the only difference is the size of the tyres. He is not aware of the Mhawk engine and other parameters. With his D-series xylo experience he asked me why didn't you buy the innova instead of Xylo. The same question was aksed by some of my friends and people who were met casually.
The D-series and M-Eagle to some extend created a bad reputation and public opinion for the xylo brand. This situation will haunt you even when you are driving an Mhawk Xylo. People usually see the D-Series taxi xylos on the road with ugly small tyres and majority of the public doesn't know the H-Series Xylo. If Mahindra could have launched the xylo with Mhawk engine alone from the beginning itself, the bad reputation could have been minimised.
Some reviews and people have raised concerns about the Mahindra service and I am awaiting for the fist service to happen at 5k mark to comment on this.
Final Words
Xylo definitely makes sense for a big family. Xylo will give you commanding driving position, powerful and refined engine and value for your money.
Areas of improvement
Dashboard plastic quality
Dashboard colour theme
Seat fabric colour design
