[1100D]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Yesterday, in commuting inside my town, I used 4H twice. At both situations, in a 2WD, I would have to reverse back for quite a bit.

And then this in 4L.

One clarification, won't there be any balancing/alignment issues if I pull vehicles? You seem to be rescuing quite a lot of damsels in distress

Nothing if you use the right tow points.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Sheel

In 4WD Low, it pulled away so cleanly, I didn't even feel that I was pulling something weighing over 2 tonnes. Ecstatic moment indeed.

Towing in 4 Low is so easy. Once we had to remove a wrongly parked Wagon R with Handbrake engaged and First Gear slotted, the Rexton we had that day towed it in 4 Low & First gear at idle speed without even touching accelerator.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Nothing if you use the right tow points.

And you are right, nothing happened. Drove it for some 200kms after that. No issues.

I am thinking to keep a thick rope in the car & do this social service whenever an opportunity comes & I am sure I can pull this off. Won't bite more than I can't chew. And also for situation Anshu mentions.

Truck [w/o me] is off to a 700kms round trip with parents & chauffeur.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Towing in 4 Low is so easy. Once we had to remove a wrongly parked Wagon R with Handbrake engaged and First Gear slotted, the Rexton we had that day towed it in 4 Low & First gear at idle speed without even touching accelerator.

Imagine the looks the Wagon R guy would have given once he/she was back.

Throttle input was required only to pull it off from rut + mud combination.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Sheel

I am thinking to keep a thick rope in the car & do this social service whenever an opportunity comes & I am sure I can pull this off.

Keep a pair of D shackles, a tow rope certified for 4 tons and a pair of gloves to keep your hands clean. The tow rope will use lesser space and will be more reliable compared to a general purpose rope.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Keep a pair of D shackles, a tow rope certified for 4 tons and a pair of gloves to keep your hands clean. The tow rope will use lesser space and will be more reliable compared to a general purpose rope.

And then you have to have a look at my location.

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Had a fun-filled ~450 kms monsoon drive yesterday.Route It was continuous rains throughout. Bridgestones really held up well. Though it is evident that they won't stick much when you go off the road. I will have to look around for an AT tire next time round.

Had the most horrid FE till date. A tankful to reserve in some 425kms. Roads were the culprit. Very bad roads to roads with lots of curves having good surface, pushing pedal to metal.

Another trip lined up this Tuesday. Till then...

[anshuman_v]

Sheel sahab, came upon this thread a little late - allow me to offer my congratulations nevertheless. Have subscribed to this thread now - always good to keep reading your experiences herein.

[caged_nomad]

Hi Sheel, congrats on the trip. Clearly some nightmarish roads.

I gathered from your post on the route's section that you drove a fair bit in 4H. with one wheel on the road and the other on dirt.

1. Any pictures of the same
2. Did you face any issues regarding transmission wind up?
3. What was the total distance you traveled in 4X4 H.

I am guessing that the 4X4 H mode also must have guzzeled fuel as the Explorer seems to have returned only 8kmpl.

Cheers!
Abhi

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by 1100D

In short, the drive experience of the new 4X4 scorpio was brilliant, and this coming from a Ford Ikon 1.6 nxt driver.

This SUV has a very car like handling, the steering feels more direct, body roll is almost non existent, has a very planted feel on the twisty highways. Only thing is that, there is sometimes an upward kick on some potholes, that too only if you lift off the A pedal. The 4WD in even the new guise, is way ahead of the 2WD. Now one may ask, why the difference this time (earlier gen had a different front suspension altogether between the 4WD and the 2WD, but not this gen, sharing similar front suspension parameters). The answer probably lies in lowered center of gravity due to the extra 4WD hardware (front diff, transfer case, front drive shaft etc) sitting low down on the chassis, giving it a much more planted poise.

I completely agree to your observations. I drove the new Scorpio 2wd last week and what a massive change in road behavior.



Here is a quick comparison with XUV-

Firstly the Steering has become a lot more direct and quicker, its close to XUV's steering in terms of feel now but a bit heavier. The new XUV sourced steering wheel in Scorpio feels much better to hold compared to the old car.

Then, the new Scorpio has new found agility that was missing on the old car. Along with the responsive steering, its actually fun to throw the new Scorpio around. Its easily one of the most fun Chassis based SUVs now, even the Fortuner feels bulky in comparison when shifting the weight around.

The ride quality has improved a lot again, feels a lot more settled at speed and the top heavy feel has mostly been done with. With softer suspension and long travel Scorpio gobbles up bad roads much better than XUV, but not a match once the speeds increase XUV stays much more flat. But its as good as it gets for a Chassis based vehicle and i have nothing to complain.

The Ergonomics have improved in some places, others remain the same. My biggest worry is seats placed too close to the doors, and the seats are nowhere close in comfort to XUV.

The shorter gearing makes up for the weaker state of tune compared to XUV. In traffic Scorpio actually feels better due to shorter gearing. But out on open roads its no match for XUV, which is not only much faster but also more relaxed due to taller gearing and one additional gear. Both the low end and top end in XUV are much stronger.

All in all i came back impressed, if i were in market i would not think twice before buying a Blue S10 4wd with Captain seats.

EDIT: Shocking fact, the new Scorpio rides, handles and has better steering feel than the much more expensive Rexton.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by caged_nomad

I gathered from your post on the route's section that you drove a fair bit in 4H. with one wheel on the road and the other on dirt.

3. What was the total distance you traveled in 4X4 H.

I am guessing that the 4X4 H mode also must have guzzeled fuel as the Explorer seems to have returned only 8kmpl.

As per manual, you can engage/disengage 4H at any speed and at any time. Transmission windup shall happen if you engage 4L & flog it.

I drove for 5-10 kms on intervals in 4H. When there was no need, I used to go back to 2H. More than 4H, it was roads which resulted in poor FE.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Firstly the Steering has become a lot more direct and quicker, its close to XUV's steering in terms of feel now but a bit heavier. The new XUV sourced steering wheel in Scorpio feels much better to hold compared to the old car.

And the 4WD's steering is heavier, infact yesterday while I was in the hills, I had to make effort to steer it. Ze Germans

The ride quality has improved a lot again, feels a lot more settled at speed and the top heavy feel has mostly been done with. With softer suspension and long travel Scorpio gobbles up bad roads much better than XUV, but not a match once the speeds increase. But its as good as it gets for a Chassis based vehicle and i have nothing to complain.

The shorter gearing makes up for the weaker state of tune compared to XUV. In traffic Scorpio actually feels better due to shorter gearing. But out on open roads its no match for XUV, which is not only much faster but also more relaxed due to taller gearing and one additional gear. Both the low end and top end in XUV are much stronger.

EDIT: Shocking fact, the new Scorpio rides, handles and has better steering feel than the much more expensive Rexton.

You just got to drive the 4WD to up your wow equation. It carries forward where the 2WD leaves. I have been saying, its pretty close to the Pajero SFX and that says a lot.

I just have two issues which if M&M wanted, could have fixed. First being brakes, they could have added rear discs.

And then, the engine tune. Just look at the XUV flying, even I have driven it, at places where these trucks hit a wall [Storme owners, forgive me] the XUV has just shifted into 5th and accelerating.

[Sheel]

Car is closing on 8,000 kms and did its first tire rotation and alignment yesterday. There was some steering vibration [minor] at highway speeds and since inception it appeared that car was pulling [oh so lightly] towards the left.

Hope the automated tire changers are easy on tire's sidewalls as fitted the new one to the front & the only plugged tire to the spare.

I think now, I can make some claims on fuel economy [100% AC] If you keep the SUV at ~90 [below 100 though], expect the economy to be in range of 15kmpl.

Fast highway runs + hills + traffic = 12kmpl. Not bad.

Very bad roads + local traffic = 10 or below.

Car sure has long legs, at places where I used to get tired driving [kms/hours] in this I feel fresh & wouldn't mind doing double the distance.

For next 2 months, the Explorer won't get to explore much besides city's landscape. Hope to resurrect it properly from mid August/September onwards.

Pictures of detailing session shall follow in few days time

[jaysmokesleaves]

Superb detailed user review Sheel. Thanks for sharing. Have you had the opportunity to go for a proper offroad excursion yet where you could use 4L and 4H for extended periods?
How is the performance of the electronic transfer case on the Scorpio. A friend who owns a 4wd Scorpio Vx has had a lot of trouble with the transfer case and Mahindra service has not been too supportive in solving his issues. There seems to be a lack of awareness about 4wd with Mahindra service centers.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Superb detailed user review Sheel. Thanks for sharing. Have you had the opportunity to go for a proper offroad excursion yet where you could use 4L and 4H for extended periods?
How is the performance of the electronic transfer case on the Scorpio. A friend who owns a 4wd Scorpio Vx has had a lot of trouble with the transfer case and Mahindra service has not been too supportive in solving his issues. There seems to be a lack of awareness about 4wd with Mahindra service centers.

Thanks Jay

No. I haven't taken it to a proper OTR and I don't intend to either. This is the only car I own [as of now] so can't afford to compromise it by subjecting it to OTR's but you can bet, I am not babying it either. This for me [as titled is an Explorer] and I intend to keep exploring places with it. I have tested the car for its offroading prowess at few places so that I can know that if it can handle a certain situation or not and I am yet to be disappointed.

Have used 4L twice as of now and 4H? Almost daily. 4H was used on that drive for extended periods and the best thing is, it engaged in the very first attempt [till date] The switch back to 2H is smooth, you don't need to reverse either.

I have tried to cover almost all aspects, in case you need to know about any other, please feel free to ask.
___________________________________________

Drove a Safari 2WD VX yesterday for a good 100kms. Driving position, ergonomics you can't pick either till you get to braking. Braking is super on the Safari as well as the Storme.

[caged_nomad]

Originally Posted by Sheel

As per manual, you can engage/disengage 4H at any speed and at any time. Transmission windup shall happen if you engage 4L & flog it.

Hi Sheel,

Apparently transmission windup will happen even in 4h if you are on a hard surface.

You may want to go through this thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-te...-how-done.html

Cheers!
Abhi

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by caged_nomad

Hi Sheel,

Apparently transmission windup will happen even in 4h if you are on a hard surface.

Thanks for the concern buddy but I do not go by manual here. My friend and a BHPian, 1100D has suggested as to what to do and I follow the same.

When engaging 4H, I come to a stop and don't move till the 4H symbol become static. Come to a standstill again when I disengage & wait for the icon to disappear. On that day, my RH or LH side was on mud/water and I was traversing between one rut to another but not steering to full effort for the 4H to provide resistance.

To engage 4L, apart from the above, I press the clutch go to neutral, keep pressing the clutch as well as the brakes and let the 4H icon become stable & later shift it to 4L and let that flash & be stable. To disengage, follow the same procedure. Don't go from 4H to 2H in one go, do it step by step.

[navpreet318]

How is the car keeping up with the onslaught of monsoons? Also any squeaks, sounds, vibrations from the vehicle? Like suspension, chassis, body, plastic parts?
What tires are stock with the vehicle? Adequate?