1.8 lakh kms with Scorpio GLX!

[raj_5004]

Here i would share the ownership experience of my old workhorse - the Scorpio 2.6 GLX, non CRDe. The odo reading now shows 1.85 lakh kms.

The engine has become noisy, acceleration has suffered a bit & some amount of vibrations have creeped in (i suspect the engine mounts). But otherwise the car is running fine with absolutely no issues whatsoever. The car has been put to a lot of rough treatment, has travelled over the worst of roads which explains the condition of tyres (the tyres are to be changed next week). Still there is no rattling from anywhere, even my new mHawk had some rattles! The AC blower squeaks sometimes, but thats it. I had thought about adding alloys to the car but considering the rough treatment it goes through, alloys is a bad idea. As you can see from the pics, the wheel caps are fully scratched & the alloys, if installed, will meet the same fate.

this scorpio is the non-CRDe model & was bought in May 2003. At that time, the vehicle was very refined & boasted of 0-100 kmph time of 18 seconds, impressive during those days. for example, the innova still does it in 17 seconds & the tavera still does it in 21 seconds! we have done many outstation trips in this vehicle as it used to be the only & default choice for any family trips, we dint have the innova then. this car has seen places kerela, bangalore, gujurat, tamil nadu etc...

talking about issues, here are a few i remember:
1) a blown fuse means power windows & AC stopped working simultaneously! it was a horrifying experience!
2) somewhere on the outskirts of karanataka, we ran low on fuel & had to forcefully fill in diesel from a very shoddy pump. that day the car started belching smoke as if it was vomiting! that day onwards, the engine started making more noise & lost it's acceleration to quite an extent. even a fuel pump service could not solve it.
3) a broken leaf spring was replaced for Rs. 350! the leaf spring broke because i raced the car over a road under construction!
4) brake pads have been changed 4 times & front suspension bushes have been changed twice.
5) AC blower noise was rectified once & has now re-surfaced.
6) alignment issue has resulted in improper wear in the tyres.

the car was in mumbai till 2008 when we bought the mHawk. since it was not giving any issues, we did not want to sell it & sent it to kerela where it got re-registered. in mumbai, its life was not easy in our hands. i used to drive like a maniac then! scaring cars & autos, swerving at speeds, changing lanes as if i own the road, braking hard (that explains the brake pad changes!)... all were the norm for me! it has seen the worst of mumbai floods- 26th july when i was returning to mumbai from pune. the water level was so high that a bit more speed & water would have flown into the cabin. still it bought me home safely without a complain. it has seen many off roading sessions like hill climbing, mud plugging & 'divider crossing' even though its not a 4WD! you maybe thinking what is divider crossing? whenever i was stuck up in a jam, the scorpio was made to jump over the divider to the other side & race to the first position scaring the oncoming traffic! yes, i was a nerd! it has met numerous shunts too, but never in my hands. my driver first dashed an endeavour from behind, then a biker from behind, then a wagon R from behind & then a biker from front! i am not talking about the countless minor touches which happens in mumbai city. zens, tavera, cyclists, rickshaws have all kissed my scorpio umpteen times! touch wood, it has never needed a body work, painting work or even a minor touch up even after all these! of course, the collision with the endeavour & biker from front meant that the front guard was broken! then it was gifted a new guard.

after it was shifted to kerela, there it is facing more trouble! the driver there rear ended a tempo & broke the guard. again! the guard shown in the pics is new & it already has a dent in the middle. it was as the same driver hit a pole at slow speed! so till now, the car has seen 3 new guards! now you know why this scorpio has such a ugly looking guard! it serves the purpose!

even after all this, i can still call the car utterly reliable as it has never stranded & always start with one crank. the AC chills & when it comes to load pulling ability, it surpasses every test. that this car has gone though rough treatment would be an understatement. it has gone through the worst treatment & i have never seen it complain. this ascertains the fact that i'll never sell it.

i can vouch for this car's build quality as till now i have never heard it rattle or squeak. some roads in kerela arent too good & the driver there does not seem to care about potholes or bumps!

Kudos to mahindra for the scorpio, i love it.

[@400Kph]

Well 1.85 Lakhs !! Seems like you have made quite a lot of trips. Indeed kudos to mahindra for building such a sturdy machine.I remember the stir that scorpio had caused when it was launched although never owned one i feel it a good choice if you have big family.

" a blown fuse means power windows & AC stopped working simultaneously! it was a horrifying experience "

Isnt this kind of dangerous ? I mean what if the fuse is blown and the doors are jammed for some reason , what then ??

[Fordmanchau]

Hi Raj,
That was a lot of rearending to read all through the posts. Not at all a safe way to drive by crossing the divider and scare the oncoming traffic, putting their as well as your life at risk.
Anyways, glad that your scorpio has not given you troubles all through it's life.
Do try and drive safe and do not scare others on the road with your SUV.

[shankar.balan]

this is one reason why I prefer manual central locking and less electronics in my vehicle.
of course one can carry a hammer and knock one's windshield or driver side window out and get out but there also must be some kind of manual over-ride system to free up people who get trapped inside.
worth checking with the experts on the forum as also the Mahindra Service chaps.
cheers

Originally Posted by @400Kph

" a blown fuse means power windows & AC stopped working simultaneously! it was a horrifying experience "

Isnt this kind of dangerous ? I mean what if the fuse is blown and the doors are jammed for some reason , what then ??

[prince_pervez]

Wow thats quite a report. 26th July mumbai floods are still fresh in my mind. And it pulled through safely. 1.8L kms, will take time to sink in but Congrats on the beast.

[deep_bang]

Nice to know the reliability of Scoprio!!
Drive safe and dont scare others is all that i can say!!

[NFS2024]

Why do SUV owners always think they own the roads?

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

scaring cars & autos, swerving at speeds, changing lanes as if i own the road, braking hard (that explains the brake pad changes!)

...

you maybe thinking what is divider crossing? whenever i was stuck up in a jam, the scorpio was made to jump over the divider to the other side & race to the first position scaring the oncoming traffic! yes, i was a nerd!

....

my driver first dashed an endeavour from behind, then a biker from behind, then a wagon R from behind & then a biker from front! i am not talking about the countless minor touches which happens in mumbai city. zens, tavera, cyclists, rickshaws have all kissed my scorpio umpteen times!

1.85 lakh kms is quite a lot and a good writeup too.

But the lasting impression of your writeup has left me with the impresion of you and your driver driving really really rash, without a care for others on the road, and by the writing tone, you seem a bit proud of mentioning it.

Maybe something to do with the Scorpio becaue most of them that I have come across on the road are driving rash.

[shankar.balan]

@NFS
@Gomzi
I suggest that you dont make general statements like you have done in your posts.
Its like saying all Indica, Qualis, Sumo, Auto and 2 wheeler drivers/ riders are rash/bad/ think they own the road/ have no manners etc.
Statements of this kind are certainly not true because there are good and bad drivers everywhere regardless of whichever vehicles they may be driving at particular moments in time.

[ashthedivx]

1.8 Lakhs kilometers !!! Kudos to Mahindra for creating such a reliable vehicle !! Looks like you have all engine variants of scorpio in your garage

Can you share service cost of the said vehicle ??

[sudev]

Outstanding review of the reliability.
You said that the acceleration has slowed down - How much? What is the current 0-100 time? What FE does it give now? And most importantly is there any engine oil consumption between service intervals? How much?
The body panels and build looks very good for a car that is six years old. One this which I have held against M&M vehicles (Bolero/Armada) is rusting but your car shows that in Scorpios this has been addressed.

[akshay4587]

Nice

My bolero is Closing in to a figure of 1.65L kms and its still goin on
and drives pretty well too,no rattles and all.
though engine is quite sluggish(though compression is still good and she aint drinking oil).and Power steering has developed play.
@Sudev sir there are no signs of rust in my bolero even after 8+ years

[007]

Bravo. Mahindra..!

Mahindra knows the India best..
So they offer us the reliable beasts..!

Hows that

[4x4addict]

Raj:

A cousin of mine in Bangalore has a very similar Silver Scorpio. I think it is from the first model year. Leaf springs at back and BA10 gearbox. It has done 1.6 + lakh kilometers in Bangalore traffic and still runs fine. No major isues other than routine maintenance. Will post some pics of it on my next bangalore trip.

[Ramsagar]

I was in a assumption that only Toyota/Honda car last for ever,now our very own Hindustan manufactures can also vouch for this.Hats off to Mahindra.

And also congrats on wining in Brazil too.