The Tavera offers a very good ride quality. Inside the city, small potholes don’t transfer judders to the passengers and the car feels planted at high speeds on the highways. Even spirited driving doesn’t upset the behavior of the Tavera. Body roll is within bearable limits and the steering responds to the driver’s inputs well. The 205/65 R15 tyres are adequate for the kind of use the vehicle will be subjected to most of the times. The Innova, as mentioned earlier, not only feels like a sedan from the inside but also drives like one. The perfectly weighed steering responds with a positive feedback and the impressive suspension set-up does not get unsettled over bad roads. The Innova will not only take on the worst of rush hour traffic, but also pothole ridden state highways. Even with a load of five, while overtaking traffic on single lane highways, dropping two wheels off the road didn’t shake the balance of the car. It also feels solid at speeds of over 130km/h on the highway exuding confidence in its braking and lane changing capabilities.
The XYLO is the tallest of the lot and it shows. At low speeds, the suspension silently chews up undulations, however as speeds build up, the XYLO makes its relatively unstable dynamics evident. The wide tyres ensure that stability in a straight line on smooth roads is not an issue, but show the XYLO even the mildest bends and it resents being driven around them with loads of body roll. The off-roading abilities of the car are good but the passengers get thrown around a lot. Over bad roads, this isn’t the car for those who have a tendency to throw up. With a load of just one driver, the suspension also tends to bounce a lot over bad roads. On highways, the powerful engine allows it to cruise happily at over 120km/h, and at these speeds, the XYLO feels quite stable, but only on straights. High speed directional changes lead to a disturbing amount of body roll and it does take some time for the driver to get used to the behavior of this car. Even braking hard causes the XYLO to dive a lot and it can be a hair-raising experience with a full load of passengers.
Pricing has always played a vital role in deciding the fate of new vehicles in India. Both the Tavera and the Innova are similarly priced for the top end variants. The latter is also available with airbags and ABS for additional money and is a very welcome feature. But at close to Rs 10 lakh (ex-showroom), both cars seem expensive when you consider the XYLO’s sticker price. The base models are cheap but sans a lot of equipment. The two cars are due for an upgrade soon which means dealers are more than happy to offer hefty discounts. The XYLO, on the other hand, seems to have redefined the meaning of value for money. Before the launch of this vehicle no one in the industry could have thought of such a competitively priced offering. At fewer than eight lakh rupees (ex-showroom) for the top end E8 model, not only is this Mahindra close to two big ones less than the other two cars here but also undercuts a lot of premium sedans in India. It comes loaded with goodies to the brim and features never before seen on a MUV in India. The pricing alone makes this a very tempting buy, but will it be enough to stir the competition?
Â
