2011 Mahindra Xylo E4 review

I’d done a short test drive of Mahindra Xylo during its early days (review here), however didn’t have a chance to take it out for long drive. That changed recently as I rented it for 3 days and drove over 1200 kms (Chennai-Chittoor-Kadapa-Gandikota-Belum Caves-Kadapa-Horsley Hills-Talakona-Tirupati-Chennai). Below is the quick review of the popular vehicle from Mahindra stable.

Luckily this time I got  a decent vehicle (read about my first gen Scorpio experience couple of months ago, if you’ve not read it yet). It had all critical components in place (no issue with rear view mirror, head lamps or insurance)

What I drove was a Xylo E4, the middle variant and not the fully loaded E8. E4 has same mEagle 110PS engine, had wheel cover, power windows, keyhole illumination, couple of courtesy lamps, follow me home head lamps and other basic amenities, but misses alloy wheels, reverse sensors, DDAS, ABS and other features found on E6 or E8. Even without those luxuries, E4 was quite good enough as a package- we didn’t seriously miss any of the equipment during our road trip.

The Xylo we drove had logged 44k kms and was 15 months old. It is operated by a travel company and not an individual, so expected to have been driven by different people with different driving styles and not much of personal care and attention. The poor maintenance, coupled with not so good quality of plastic and craftsmanship was evident at couple of places- the holder which houses door lock release knob came off on one of the doors, a bulb that provided lighting for rear number plate was hanging loose, door speakers stopped working at times and would work again after a tight slap (of the door) etc.

Poor maintenance was also audible on the suspension. Once loaded with 7 people and their baggage, Xylo was very expressive and made groaning noises while clearing speed breakers or potholes. We could hear the suspension letting out its displeasure of not getting its lubricants on time and having to negotiate bad roads with 7 people on top of it. Bit of oiling would have given lot of comfort to the rugged vehicle.

Mahindra Xylo E4- Space & Comfort

Xylo is far more spacious than Scorpio. Fellow travelers (almost all of them were with me during the Munnar trip 2 months ago in a 2005 Scorpio) found Xylo far more comfortable to sit, than the Scorpio. In fact “Happy Legs” is the USP of Xylo on which we can have full flat bed experience. So space was generous on all 3 rows and 7 people managed without any issues, baggage included.  Luggage space is minimal, but multiple ordinary backpacks could be stored without much of an issue (expect we had to be careful while opening the door, lest they fell off). E4 also gets additional AC vents, height adjustable headrest and front facing last row seats, all contribute to passenger comfort.

Mahindra Xylo E4-Drive & handling

Xylo drives well. Xylo handled bad roads around Talakona and other places without any hesitation (remember there were 7 people on board). Touched 120kmph max (couldn’t go further due to non availability of straight roads). Gear shift is not as smooth as Innova and needs some muscle action, particularly for 1^st, 5^th and reverse gears. Steering is not feather touch and needs some effort, which is manageable (You can rotate ford Endeavour’s steering with one or two fingers, can’t do that on Xylo)

Saturday evening suddenly headlamp wasn’t switching on when I started the xylo. For a moment I froze, thinking at the prospect of having to drive without headlamps. However switched off the vehicle and switched it on again (Ravi’s suggestion), headlamps came back to life. It didn’t give any trouble thereafter. There were no stupid bumper guards like that Scorpio, hence visibility was good.

Mahindra Xylo E4 Fuel Efficiency (Mileage)

We drove about 1200 kms over all and had to fill in diesel worth Rs 5500. At an approximate avg price of 51 Rs /litre (Diesel price was 50.25 per litre in Chennai, 50.05 in Kadapa, 51.8 at some other place and so on)  that’s 107 litres. I am sure some 5+ litres were still in the vehicle when I returned it. So nett mileage is approximately 12kmpl, which is at par with ARAI certified 11.8kmpl. (note that we had 7 people on board for about 800kms and AC was used for about half the time)

Overall Xylo is a well packaged and aggressively priced people mover. It doesn’t have the greatest power/pickup/top speed to boast about, but when it comes to going out on a road trip with family/friends, Xylo will be much better choice compared to sedans which have low ground clearance and less space. If no of Xylo taxis on road are any indication, mileage and maintenance is surely not a concern. The 2012 model of Xylo also comes in an E9 variant, which has Scorpio’s 120PS engine. Low spec D2 and D4 variants are also available, mainly for taxi segment with intention of competing with Tata Sumo.

Most of the photos clicked by Shande

Go to top * Scorpio mHawk Vls review * Maruti A-Star Review * Wayanad Trip in a Scorpio *Chennai-Mysore in Skoda Octavia * Fiat Linea Review * Xylo vs Innova 2009 * Tata Aria