At last my dream of owning an SUV is realized by Mahindra XUV 500. My opinion of SUV is always a 4 wheel drive. Had a test drive and found that from Oct 2013 they have made changes to clutch, suspension, brakes and few little things. I think this is the best value for money SUV available after comparing with TATA Storme, TATA Aria in similar price range. It has all bells and whistles without automatic transmission.
Things we liked:
1. Ample space
2. No center floor hump for the middle seats.
3. Great leg room for all seats except the last row (fine for kids).
4. Good pick up with 140 bhp power and 330 Nm torque
5. Great visibility
6. Micro Hybrid (start stop of engine), cruise control, Auto head lamp and Auto wipers
7. 6 airbags, ABS, EBD, ESP, Hill hold, Hill Descent, disc brakes on all wheels, Static bending headlamps
8. Intelligent All Wheel Drive Technology by Borg Warner
9. Monocoque construction
10. Automatic Dual HVAC
11. Cool box, Lounge lighting (my kid loves), conversation mirror (my kid hates)
12. Good ground clearance with 17″ wheels
13. Multi information touch screen entertainment system with Blue Sense.
14. 70 litres of Diesel (approximately 945 Km)
Things we want to improve:
1. Rattling sounds here and there have to be sorted out (dashboard, middle seats and doors mostly from plastics)
2. Simplified center console
3. More precise brakes
4. Ability to change personal info on the central infotainment system
5. MapmyIndia Navigation is way behind Google maps
6. Service personnel need to be more interactive and precise on their solutions (no repetition of same issues)
7. The concept of Purple club is great but not much of buzz on the same.
8. Overall service satisfaction need to be addressed immediately
We had many trips. The longest till now is 1400 Km. Tested the maximum speed to be around 195 KM/Hr. The mileage is around 13.5 KM/Lt. The best mileage I had is 14.6 KM/Lt and worst is 10.2 KM/Lt.
My wife likes the Auto Lamp function. With our earlier car she faced the battery drain issues twice as she forgot to switch them off. With XUV she puts it in Auto Lamp mode and when she gets into the basement of the parking lot they switch on automatically and switch off when the engine is off. I also like the feature that does not allow the video to play unless the vehicle is halted with gear in neutral and hand brake engaged.
Overall I am satisfied with the vehicle except the small niggles here and there. Hopefully the service guys will solve them soon.
Planning to get the 3M paint protection sealant done.
Please share your views on XUV 500 W8 AWD.
Sreedhar Saraswathi 
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