[Sheel]

Few pictures.

Got the mid captain seats removed and fixed in regular seats, it was an issue on longer hauls. Besides, the captain seats of Scorpio is not as comfortable as the ones on an Innova.

Got the glovebox damped from inside and now post these 2 changes, the rattles [whatever were] have stopped. The rattle was from one of the captain seat and one from the glovebox which I think have been taken care for good.

[Sheel]

This dude is helping the Scorpio to take things easy and this too is almost a driver's delight. A NA petrol, all goodies [Car Play/LED headlamps, parking camera etc]. Has done ~6,000 kms in approx 7 months.

This goes everywhere and Scorpio comes out only if there is a longer haul and there is some distance to cover.

I am just glad, I did not go for a 3 cylinder K-series engine, the torque is pretty decent at low end and there is a raspy roar post 4K all the way to red-line.

[Sheel]

Hastily a program was made and the Scorpio went to North Bengal. We stayed at a nursery cum home-stay with amazing views.

The first sun-rise of 2019 was amazing to see. The trail up this place was nice with one tricky left hander.

[Sheel]

Excuse this post, but with over 4 years and over 70,000 kms spent with the Scorpio, its time to reflect and time to think what makes sense if one wants to buy a SUV within this price range [I am not parting with it, heck, the bond grows stronger nor got any money].

At the time I got the Scorpio home, I had only other 2 vehicles in mind, the Storme 4X4 and Duster AWD.

Even today, if you wish to get a SUV with 4WD for under 20L OTR, you don't have much choice. And I would still chose either this Mahindra or the Tata, but the Duster will not make the final cut. I am appalled at the way Renault is doing business and at the way there are injector issues as well as few others which I keep reading either in Duster AWD thread or the Duster thread. But Duster, as a product is a brilliant SUV, very comfortable ride, good handling, wish the seats were a bit accommodating though.

The prices have increased as well. I got mine for 14L+ OTR and now, it is at 19.5L OTR. The only two things which has changed from then to now is, the Storme was priced a bit above the Scorpio and now it is cheaper, almost by the same amount. And that, I have not gotten any richer .

[lazy]

Originally Posted by Sheel

The prices have increased as well. I got mine for 14L+ OTR and now, it is at 19.5L OTR. The only two things which has changed from then to now is, the Storme was priced a bit above the Scorpio and now it is cheaper, almost by the same amount. And that, I have not gotten any richer .

hey Sheel,

Maybe you should experience the Strome as well - you'll save money, you'll get 4x4 H/L and get the bragging rights to have used the most iconic of Indian SUVs.
All wins, I say.

cheers
lazy

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by lazy

Maybe you should experience the Strome as well - you'll save money, you'll get 4x4 H/L and get the bragging rights to have used the most iconic of Indian SUVs.

The single biggest reason I'd pick up the Safari over the Scorpio today is it's better build and safety. The Scorpio has become flimsier over the years.

[adzegeek]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Excuse this post, but with over 4 years and over 70,000 kms spent with the Scorpio, its time to reflect and time to think what makes sense if one wants to buy a SUV within this price range [I am not parting with it, heck, the bond grows stronger nor got any money].

At the time I got the Scorpio home, I had only other 2 vehicles in mind, the Storme 4X4 and Duster AWD.

Even today, if you wish to get a SUV with 4WD for under 20L OTR, you don't have much choice. And I would still chose either this Mahindra or the Tata, but the Duster will not make the final cut. I am appalled at the way Renault is doing business and at the way there are injector issues as well as few others which I keep reading either in Duster AWD thread or the Duster thread. But Duster, as a product is a brilliant SUV, very comfortable ride, good handling, wish the seats were a bit accommodating though.

The prices have increased as well. I got mine for 14L+ OTR and now, it is at 19.5L OTR. The only two things which has changed from then to now is, the Storme was priced a bit above the Scorpio and now it is cheaper, almost by the same amount. And that, I have not gotten any richer .

I recently exchanged my 2009 Vlx 4wd with 2019 S11 4wd scorpio. With 10 years of experience let me give my view on this

What was 10+ lakhs in 2009, you can get at 18 lakhs OTR with minor differences in scorpio. 4wd still feels more planted and assured that 2wd. If you look at the Value of money in 2009 vs what it is now, a 6% y-o-y increase is what we are looking at - Fair enough.

Scorpio gets too much bad press - I have not found a better compromise in terms of usability, driving pleasure, butch looks (I can see how it turns heads even now when I take the black S11 waxed out in night) and pretty decent fuel economy. Practically I have to give lift to a lot of people who work in fields - and any car where I have to do calisthenics to fold seats to get them inside is just too much work.. Towing capability has remain undiminished - it still lugs a lot of stuck 2wd cars / SUVs (esp Innovas) with ease. NVH (big issue with Duster) is contained better now. In the end, if you know how to manage this horse (the engine is just a gunner) - it is no-nonsense car. The monocoques and pretending to be SUVs seem a flimsy to me in the current market.

Safari vs Scorpio - choose your poison and get comfortable with it.

PS: My kids now grown hate me for picking this again - they prefer to ride the endeavour - I just use the Scorp.

[Sheel]

A small update. Scorpio has breached the 75,000 kms mark.

The only small issue is, AC acts weird if stays parked in the sun the entire day, elaborating, to really cool the car quickly, I have to keep the temperature at 24/23 degrees instead of the usual 26/27.

Has plenty of runs planned in June. Almost 100 kms a day or somewhere near.

[hserus]

Q

Originally Posted by Sheel

The only small issue is, AC acts weird if stays parked in the sun the entire day, elaborating, to really cool the car quickly, I have to keep the temperature at 24/23 degrees instead of the usual 26/27.

Change the AC filter every 10k km and also switch from those plastic ones Mahindra oem provides that can be cleaned and replaced to much more efficient use and throw paper ones from Purolator. Those especially with dusty highway runs you can change at 5k itself.. It is a diy job after taking out the glove box and you can buy it at any parts store or Boodmo.

https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-cabi...ilter-6758305/ is the Purolator one and there are also links to the Mahindra oem as well as alternatives - not terribly good ones - from Zip, Elofic and Lumax.

After that get the cooling coil cleaned and gas levels checked at some trusted ac mechanic. Scorpio's clean the AC filter every 10k and replace every 20k is not really conducive to AC longevity.

The other thing is, check your coolant level and if you haven't changed it in the past three years, change it out - drain and refill.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by hserus

The other thing is, check your coolant level and if you haven't changed it in the past three years, change it out - drain and refill.

A curiosity question - so if the coolant level is fine, but it wasn't replaced in a while; does it have any impact on the coolant's efficiency for engine cooling? It should be quite negligible if any I think?

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

A curiosity question - so if the coolant level is fine, but it wasn't replaced in a while; does it have any impact on the coolant's efficiency for engine cooling? It should be quite negligible if any I think?

Becomes more acidic and loses its rust retardant properties over time - you might even see a color change in really old coolant.

Diluting by repeat distilled water topups also causes issues as the coolant volume reduces. Topping up with tap water just leads to a clogged radiator so don't do that.

See what your vehicle manual advises on coolant grade and change frequency and stick to it.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by hserus

Q

Change the AC filter every 10k km and also switch from those plastic ones Mahindra oem provides that can be cleaned and replaced to much more efficient use and throw paper ones from Purolator.

At every 10K, except diesel filter, I change AC & air-filter. I did check on the AC & air-filter and it looked fine. Since inception my Scorpio is using the paper type filter which has layers [gel based] and you can't clean it.

AC gas doesn't need a refill unless there is a leakage. Cooling coil accumulating dust? Maybe, will check on that.

Needless to say, coolant was changed at 60K as per part of periodic maintenance.

Issue is odd one, has happened 2 or 3 times, but at the same place and in same conditions. It hasn't troubled me since past few days, though Scorpio is in idle mode now.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Sheel

AC gas doesn't need a refill unless there is a leakage. Cooling coil accumulating dust? Maybe, will check on that.

The cooling coil if it gets dusty will also slowly develop leaks. My previous Scorpio's went at around 56k km, possibly because the previous owner stuck to a 20k cycle and oem filter at the Mahindra ASS.

There was a huge oil stain on it when it was removed - by then cooling had dropped alarmingly.

[Sheel]

Cooling coil replaced
Some valve replaced

In total 4 parts were supposed to be replaced, but the condenser couldn't be as a smaller unit [used in S11 or later S10's came despite VIN being used to order]. A compatible unit is being ordered but as per technician, that was not at fault.

Then what was? Issue remains unresolved.

[Kosfactor]

Some info on the AC filter: From 2013 model year onwards, at least what I have seen is that Scorpio uses Purolator paper filter as OEM for AC, both our Scorpios 2014 and 2016 came with this. Customers used to complain about the 500+ INR that they need to pay during every service for replacing this filter , some were changed to the washable plastic ones because of this. There was also a maxi clean or some nonsense AC package that used to swap out OEM cabin filter with plastic filter as well, some may have had this swap during 2014.

I use OEM filter and AC is on its 5th year untouched.