I simply love attending Mahindra launches. Not that there would have been too many in the last decade — but I have been to the Scorpio do, followed by the Logan event and so on. Actually I have been attending car launches by different car makers for some time now and it is time I got bored out of my bones doing this. But as I said, Mahindra launches are special. Why? Because there is a certain degree of passion that rules things here. People at Mahindra love doing the entire gig — sneak drives, presentations, song and dance, press conferences, plant visits, sneak advertisement previews… the whole thing is a mighty celebration and you have to admit, a very honest one too. Right from the selection of names for the Xylo’s colours (Lucky Lilac, anyone?) to the passion with which Anand Mahindra defends his team for the four-year development span of the new car to the glitter in the eye of Pawan Goenka when he talks about the next two projects to the fullbodied excitement of Rajesh Jejurikar when he explains how the ‘era of sedans is over’ to the ‘calm-as-an-ocean’ look that Vivek Nayer manages just minutes before the launch… I am telling you, the stuff is infectious (you can see that the PR team and the event managers are bursting at the seams too with energy and the atmosphere here is more charged than that at a college election.
Needless to say, this team of professionals is extremely proud of the Xylo, and thankfully, the corporate masks that most car makers wear is now missing. Another four products down the line and Mahindra executives will start taking themselves more seriously. But as we speak, it is time to cherish and enjoy the simplicity, excitement and total honesty that comes only with hard-charging underdogs. To dismiss this enthusiasm as naïve would be a cardinal mistake,from an Italian design house ‘at the beginning’, and I dare say the ‘segmentbuster’ idea that may have looked smashing on paper has resulted in a car that will be known for being ‘different.’ The idea to have mix-and-match bumpers for some variants is not very noble and could have started only as an unreasonable request from a marketing team looking for distinctiveness. I guess the Xylo is the kind of design that will take time getting familiar with. Till then, it will share the same parking lot in my mind where I normally abandon Ssangyongs. All Ssangyongs.
INTERIOR AND COMFORT
When the designers say that this car was built inside-out, you better believe them. There is loads of space inside the car and the flat floor indicates clever packaging indeed. Let us, for a change, begin with the rear-most seats. I am taller and broader than most crash-test dummies and I found the rear row extremely comfortable over 100-odd km (yes, I did travel sitting there, just to find out). I have travelled extensively with my friends and their children and it is usually the little ones who get thrown into the deep end of the cars (everything from Innovas to Endeavours to Q7s, mind you). And despite the window that does not roll down, I wouldn’t mind volunteering to travel long distances in the back row of the Xylo. Sure, it is not a pleasant sight to see me get out from there, but to be fair on the designers, the captain seats in the middle row of the E8 variant that we were driving folded down without fuss at the flick of a well-conceived lever.
Needless to say, the front two rows are even more comfortable and there is enough space to get the seats to fold flat to make a ‘business class’ bed.Comfortable seats with armrests that can be adjusted for height and quality upholstery ensure that you don’t miss your sedan. The aircraft theme continues with drop-down trays that can hold your snacks and drinks. I am sure there is a well-thumbed book on ergonomics at the Mahindra design centre, and the driver and front passenger are put at ease almost immediately by using some clever thought processes. What is not so agreeable, though, is the fact that you get to see design bits that are absolute afterthoughts. Like the multi-function module that has been glued-on to a rather well conceived dashboard and the cup-holders since the end result is an extremely well thought out and well executed product that will be sold aggressively. Unfortunately, the job of a road tester starts when the launch venue is dismantled. So I hit the road with the Xylo and tried my best to find faults. Here goes.
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