Nothing Else Will Do - Here comes part II - Scorpio Refresh SLE 2009

[manson]

Some of you are aware of my reasons for buying another Scorpio to replace my previous one, and are very much in the know of how much in awe I was of my older Scorpio.
It had done some 110,000 hassle free kms, and with minimum expenses inspite of the workhorse duties it carried out all through the five years I had it for.
The Refresh was a welcome, espcially since I had been contemplating to buy one even when the SLE came with the older CRDe motor. There was nothing I wanted to put the money down on besides the Laura, but then the recent eruptions changed my mind.
A dealer I have known for a while made me a reasonable offer for my previous Scorpio Dx, and my plans were concrete soon after.

The excitement level wasn't really up there as things were not going to be very different, infact initially I had even booked another black one till I later discovered that M & M had lost their mind and had two toned the black colour scheme to a black & silver. Soon enough I had the colour changed to white. Ironically back in 2004 Mahindra did not provide white as an option and hence I chose black then, this time around they did not provide an all black as an option and hence I had to settle for white.

Getting to the point now:

Design
There is lots posted on the forum already, and looks are most definitely subjective but I am of the opinion that Mahindra could have done better.
The grill has sort of grown on me and the black accent on it alongwith the mirrors and front bumper makes it look nice.
The Cladding is just plain ugly, wonder if that is going to grow on me too.

Interiors
Trust me, Mahindra had done some serious cost cutting on the interiors from what they were on my previous Scorp. Everything plastic screams cost cutting, right down to the keys to the vehicle. The interiors are certainly more functional with the numerous glass holders, mobile holders, charging points, the works, but the quality should not have gone donw to the level it has. The earlier Scorp was a lot better built.
Mahindra claims that the new seats are a lot better, I'm yet to come to terms with them though. They seem a little confused, and I haven't found that perfect adjustment in the last four days, or maybe I'm just spoilt due to from the Innova-Ikon ways that I used the last few weeks. Guess time will tell.
Gotta hate the beige and tan colour scheme for the interios, I wish they offered the black interiors even in the SLE.

Engine
I have not really gone past the 80 kmph mark just yet, its only 300 kms on the odo, but the front end does feel less front heavy than the older Scorpio with the SX2600 engine. The turbo whistle also seems more prominent.
I have driven the previous generation Scorpio VLX with the Mhawk motor, and it definitely is a scorcher.
The option of upgrading to Pete's post warranty is a bonus.

ICE
I really wanted to get a double din HU for this car, but nothing in the budget (upto 10-12K) looked bling enough and performed too well. The Pioneer 6050 looked drab in person and the Sony some nice looking HU apparently would not read instantly. The speakers had to go to the OE locations as luggage is often an issue otherwise, so no sub either.

I finally settled for the following setup:
Pioneer 5050 HU
JBL 608 front compos
Lightning Audio 4 x 6" rear fills
Sony 222 amp for the JBL compos

The USB feature is simply superb, and I wasnt really aware of how simple it would be to make use of, infact I doubt I'm gonna have any CDs in the car for a long time.

Accessories
Tints
Matting - I yet have to get mats for the boot, any suggestions would be most welcome.

Wheels
I really want some nice wheels for this Scorp, infact they are the reason I cut down on the ICE budget. Have visited the regular places around my place, but there is absolutely nothing fab. I will post a design I liked in my next post. Suggestions welcome.

Staff
The staff is what Mahindra needs to 'refresh' more than anything else. Thei causal attitude to acquire a booking was alarming. Laid back would be an understatement to describe the attitude. I'm sure the Xylo numbers must have been a huge reason for the same. And, the same applies for the company owned showroom, NBS international too. This for a repeat customer not only for the vehicle but also the dealership.
They took over a week to get back to me about the slightest of things, and that what made them lose my business, had the car delivered from G3 at nerul instead.

DSA
Addis marketing had provided me the best offer the last time for the Innova, and I simply got back to them with the best scheme I had got and they beat it by quite a margin. Their representatives have been quite aggressive mostly, and had the paperwork complied within a day or two. I'll defintely be going back to them for my next car.

Dealership
I had Addis book the car for me froM G3 motors, Nerul. The staff here again was quite casual. I had arrive a couple of hours earlier than schedule, so looked around and even test drove the Xylo E8 in the meantime.
I should mention that one should avoid taking delivery from G3 on a friday, they are based in the Industrial area and have a power cut on fridays. Hence, it was quite hot the two hours I was there, as the invertor seemed to only power cabins of senior personnel at the dealership. And I thought customer is King.

Teething Issues
The aircon does not chill like a new car should, especially at speeds beyond 2,
infact the 2nd speed is beyond accepatable.
The reverse gear sometimes engages with a grinding noise, makes me feel like I'm not using the clucth pedal efficiently, any other Scorpio owners facing a similar issue?
Gotta hate the new gear know, it just does not provide adequate feel, slotting it takes some effort, but then the mech had done a superb job of the previous Scorpio gearbox and that is probably why i feels crap.
The car was delivered with a slight scratch on the cabin mirror, and I seemed to have ooverlooked that till I drove a few kms.

Bhpian Suggestions
Would existing Mhawk owners suggest buying the extended cover, what essential parts are covered?
Any suggestions for the wheels, I'd want to stick to the stock size though.
Any suggestions on the run-in?

I'll leave you guys with a couple of pictures I clicked using my phone camera.

manson.

[benbsb29]

A repeated customer, Guess that says it all about the brand.
Why dont you check out the Scorp pics thread? Will give you some ideas about the alloys you could get for the Scorpio.

[prince_pervez]

Congrats Manson! I'm yet to see a repeat customer for a Safari though! :P
Do we have one the forum ?

[Jaggu]

Congratz manson, great car! I really like the white from the scorp line up, next to it comes the greys.

Regarding run in:
- Be gentle during the first 350-400 kms
- From then on raise the RPM with proper loading in all gears
- Keep shifting speeds and revs in all gears
- Avoid hard acceleration and deceleration
- By 1000 km you should have explored atleast 75-80% of engine's usable revs. Go for an oil change
- By 2500 kms you are ready to go as normal, though expect the engine to completely open up only after 10-15k kms.

Happy Mhawking!

The issues apart from AC i think should sort out as the jeep runs more. Do a grill temperature check for the AC to rule out any issues. Maybe the new AC's are downgraded for the new engine, better FE etc.

[ashthedivx]

I have seen very quite handful of people who even think upon going for the newer version of car they are using. Some are indeed exceptions and you are the one

Congratulations mate !! Scorpio is indeed a value for money for the price offered.

[amtak]

Congrats Manson! Scorp looks really a beast in white. Happy motoring.

[badboyscad]

Congrats Manson on your repeat buy . Please consider switching to some machine finish black & silver combo alloy wheels.

[manson]

Thanks Pervej, ash, amtak, badboycad, appreciate the wishes guys.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

A repeated customer, Guess that says it all about the brand.
Why dont you check out the Scorp pics thread? Will give you some ideas about the alloys you could get for the Scorpio.

Thanks ben, I have looked up that thread in bots and pieces, but was looking for something more fresh a design.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Congratz manson, great car! I really like the white from the scorp line up, next to it comes the greys.

Regarding run in:
- Be gentle during the first 350-400 kms
- From then on raise the RPM with proper loading in all gears
- Keep shifting speeds and revs in all gears
- Avoid hard acceleration and deceleration
- By 1000 km you should have explored atleast 75-80% of engine's usable revs. Go for an oil change
- By 2500 kms you are ready to go as normal, though expect the engine to completely open up only after 10-15k kms.

Happy Mhawking!

The issues apart from AC i think should sort out as the jeep runs more. Do a grill temperature check for the AC to rule out any issues. Maybe the new AC's are downgraded for the new engine, better FE etc.

Thanks for the wishes and inputs Jaggu.
I have been maintaining an upper limit of 2000 rpm for upshifting, materialising to a maximum 80 kmph in the fifth gear. I was intending to go this route till 1000 kms odd.
The manual indicates the first service at 5,000 kms, you recommend changing the oil at 1,500 kms and then another change at the 5,000 service?
Could you be more indicative with the speeds/rpm for the first 5,000 kms?

manson.

[bhp1]

Congratulations Manson on your fabulous new buy!
White color looks the best.
Enjoy your ride!

[architect]

Congrats, I was following your other thread quite regularly and I was wondering whether you would end up buying the Magnum or another Scorpio or "something else will do".

Well, I never liked the new Scorpio's looks, I found the second generation better. Sad to hear that interior quality has reduced. But I suppose the engine more than makes up for it!

[Red Liner]

Regarding run in: Variate your odometer speed - but do not jump beyond 2000 RPM on your rev meter. On the Odo, do not go beyond 100 kmph. That should say enough for the first 1000 klicks. Change gears at about 1800 RPM or thereabouts. I never changed my oil until 6000 kms, and honestly these engines are built to last every bit of abuse you throw at them. So dont go on and waste 1200 bucks of engine oil after 1000 kms. Thats just my perspective (unless you are running in a Ferrari). Moving to Synthetic makes superb sense only after about 50k klicks, once you are sure you will not sell her and will retain her until 100k. All that extra money down the oil drain is useless if you are not going to enjoy her until 100k.

Secondly, yeah my reverse gear engaging has the same issue and many others too. The reverse gear/clutch engagement has a damn mind of its own. I have eliminated this by not engaging the reverse gear quickly. Press the clutch in fully, and engage the reverse gear slowly but surely just so you can avoid that grinding noise. I had a bit of play in the clutch and I adjusted that. Check how much mm of play is there in your clutch before it engages. About 5 mm should be good enough.

Thirdly, just grab the extended warranty. It covers almost all the engine and mechanical parts (not electric stuff). For 10G extra, you cannot go wrong.

Enjoy your ride!

[architect]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I have eliminated this by not engaging the reverse gear quickly. Press the clutch in fully, and engage the reverse gear slowly but surely just so you can avoid that grinding noise.

Same problem on my Palio Multijet and the Alto and same solution: Press clutch pedal, wait for 2 seconds, bingo!- butter smooth shift into reverse. Sorry for going O.T.

[manaa45]

Congratulations Manson, A good buy indeed.

[badboyscad]

Originally Posted by manson

Bhpian Suggestions
Any suggestions for the wheels, I'd want to stick to the stock size though.

My suggestions:(Click on the links to go to respective wheel page)

Mag Wheels,Automotive Wheels,Aluminum Alloy Wheels,Car Chrome Wheels,Supplier


Mag Wheels,Automotive Wheels,Aluminum Alloy Wheels,Car Chrome Wheels,Supplier


Mag Wheels,Automotive Wheels,Aluminum Alloy Wheels,Car Chrome Wheels,Supplier


Mag Wheels,Automotive Wheels,Aluminum Alloy Wheels,Car Chrome Wheels,Supplier


Alloy PopUp


Alloy PopUp


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[sammyboy]

Hey Manson, congrats on the Scorp. Looks like Mahindra has resorted to a lot of cost cutting.White does look nice. Wish you a wonderful experience.
Cheers