Mahindra and Mahindra are interested in the feedback of the consumer, which helped them develop the Xylo (nee Ingenio). They conducted clinics, offered select laymen test drives during the development process, and put that feedback into the Xylo. Does it work? We took a short test-drive yesterday to find out.
The Xylo's looks have received flak from some corners, but we think that the looks will grow on people - we are the same public that embraced the original Santro, after all. This car is big - make no mistake about that. It's tall as well, and that translates into a massive amount of interior space. Even the third row had no complaints from our test-driver, who is over six feet tall. This was achieved with a lot of thought and smart packaging: even the engine bay is as small as possible to maximise interior space.
The car's ride, like the Scorpio's, is well-sorted, but without the Scorpio's 'Noddy' tendencies. We couldn't test the car's handling, but what we can tell you is that the car's turning radius is surprisingly small for such a big car. The seats in the top-end model have height adjustment and the steering wheel tilts and telescopes. There are a lot of features in the Xylo, from alloy wheels to a display that will show you ambient temperature, humidity, current fuel consumption, distance to empty and greet you with a religious greeting should you so wish!
The Xylo comes across as a competent, well thought-out product to us, and we're eagerly awaiting a closer look at the vehicle. Watch this space.
