Mahindra Verito D6 (First report)

Four months and 11,000km. And that's mostly from home to office and back, with the occasional trip to Lonavala or Pune at the most. I'm glad I have the Verito; I can't remember any other long-termers (including the previous ones I have used) being as comfortable as this one.

See, unlike the others in the office, it is important for me to have one car to use steadily. That way, I can buy a ₹1,200 pass at the Thane toll gate and save money. Speaking of saving money, the Verito has been giving me a steady 16kpl on my mixed highway and city run to work and back. It even gave me 19kpl once, when I decided to drive it extra carefully to check how much of a difference it would make. But surely no one can be that careful all the time. It was just a test for myself. Sure, the engine may not be very powerful, but it more than makes up by being responsive and easy to drive (especially on the most crowded stretch from Chembur all the way to our office at Parel). What I also like is the car's great all-round visibility, which helps me drive it through all that traffic. And the fact that the mirrors are powered - this is quite a wide car and I imagine stretching across to adjust a mirror would be quite a pain. The improved ergonomics in the Verito are a plus point compared to the erstwhile Logan - which was a long-term car I used previously for a while. The window buttons have been shifted to the driver's door from the centre console, which makes them so convenient to operate. Another nice feature is the wipers, which sweep to the right corner of the windscreen - the opposite direction from what we're conventionally used to. I'm sure this will provide better driver visibility when the monsoon sets in. The car has a great ride and the softer suspension setup compliments my easy driving style, soaking up all the road surface abnormalities along the way.

The Verito has also found itself a fan in my six-year-old daughter Anaia, who loves that the music system has a remote control. She gets in, takes command of the remote, and the rest of any journey with her is spent listening to what she likes to hear. Over and over again sometimes. The light grey fabric seats give a bright and lively feel to the interiors. Having said that, the fabric stains quite easily and also collects hair, fibres from clothes and dust. I'm now thinking of getting an interior shampooing done to get it to look like new. Then again, an all-black interior would heat up like crazy too. Maybe I'll try red interiors next time.

I recently gave the car in for its second free service to Mahindra's Milestone authorised service centre. It so happens that the workshop is only a 10-minute walk from the office, so it's really easy for me to drop it off, walk to work and then pick it up in the evening when the service is done. For the second free service, all the filters were replaced and the Verito got fresh engine oil as per the service manual. The whole lot only amounted to ₹3,366 minus the labour costs, which I thought was surprisingly wallet friendly.

It has not given me any other trouble so far, and I hope it stays that way. Till the next report then.

ASHLEY BAXTER