Phew.... somehow sorted it out, saved in txt. form and cut pasted it here....
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BACKGROUND:
Been waiting for the Eagle for 2 months; the stories of its
release is going on long enough; thought enough is enough and
bought the Scorpio LX Turbo 2.6 CRDE. Either way M&M wins.
I’ve been eyeing the Scorp for some time, did test drives of
the Thevara, Safari – Dicor, Verna (different story) and
Scorp, about 50 KMs each, in town and highway and fell for
the Scorp. I thought, I’d take the base version LX , upgrade
it on the after the market and make it at par with the DX
version, the saving in costs would be about 50 K.
This Scorp is the 3rd upgrade in 6 years; from Santro LP to
Ford Fusion to the Scorp. Though I have driven Tata Sarafi,
Gypsy on the Scorp league and lots of other hatches and Sedans
for short / long drives, this is also the first distance
drive of the Scorp.
Trip Log of 19-08--07
http://www.geocities.com/ramkya1/triplogs/LOGAMBAJI07.htm
The photos are uploaded on the URL here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ramkya1/AmbajiTripAug07 DAY ONE – 10-08-08.
Most of my office colleagues looked at me pop-eyed when I
drove into the office parking lot; I felt like “jabba the hut”
driving an earthmover!!! I decided to stir the pot;
distributed sweets to everyone on my floor with a note “want
to share the joy of owning a safari ”, in about an hour, I
got 30 calls, “you have taken a Scorpio ?????”, sounded more
like, “are you OK?”
Now, I’ll narrate the, “slings, arrows (and joys) of
outrageous fortune ……..”
LOOKS:
The macho front steel nose, the side claddings and new tail
lights looks great. Seen some remarks how these looked ugly to
some eyes; guess, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and I
wonder to which car these dues are comparing and to what
budgets? It has yodels of road presence and I’ve seen people
craning their necks to see the full length of this truck.
Anyone buying the base model LX and upgrading, do up the
claddings from a good work shop.
They have to drill at least 250 holes on the body to fit it, the clads
are just spring fitted, pushed in. If the holes are not properly
primered and painted, rust is a sure thing. I stood near the guy,
made sure every hole is hand painted with primer and then sprayed
with black paint again, the edges are bolted along with the spring
clips etc., its a lot of work, well worth the effort.
RIDE, HANDLING:
When I CLIMB into the truck, it looks overwhelming!!!! The
view from the top is great; I’ve to look down to see other
cars. At first jab, the engine kicked in and settled down to a
drone, with the windows down the noise is audible, with them
up, it’s quieter inside the cabin. Even on full clip on the
highway, the noise is not bothersome; only if you put your
hand on the gear shift you know the beast is roaring away
inside the cage.
STEERING
The steering wheel is large, no chance of putting an extra
grip on it. Turning is easy enough, surprisingly easy for a
truck this size; I was expecting it to be difficult, guess the
EPS is honed well. In traffic too, if you get the width and
length sense, you can dart in and out of traffic. I’m more
worried about the others than me, if I hit somebody I could do
more damage to them. I used the left lane to overtake only
when I am pretty sure of the gaps; in traffic too, I could
handle the steering with one hand while the other was shifting
the gears. The tilt steering allows you to down it near your
lap, a great comfort on highway driving.
SUSPENSION + SPACE + BRAKING :
Small pot-holes, flat rumble strips and bumps are swallowed on
the stride, sharper ones need for you to stop, treat them with
respect or else there is this wicked bounce for the passengers
and a whip-lash for the 3rd row. I took one at 30 kmph just to
test out, pretty hair-raising for a baldy like me, the back
wheels practically flew out of control; I will NEVER, NEVER
try it again. I was alone fortunately; the occupants would
have strangled me………. this story would have been untold. On
our recent 400 KM trip, my family felt bounced, said it was
more bouncy than the Fusion on rough roads, on the highway, it
was OK.
The best part is the space, for a family of 4, each person had
one whole seat. When the middle row is pushed back there is
great comfort; this closes out the last row as a sitting
option and makes it a great sleeping option – if you break
hard, the guy sleeping on the last row will not slide
forward and fall into the gap between the seats. The last row
is ideal for children and people built lightly. The co-
passenger in the front also has lots of space to stretch and
relax. If you have all 8 occupants, there isn’t space for
luggage inside the truck, only option is the luggage rack on
top. There would be space for 2/3 medium sized suitcases
behind the last row and some space under the seat for small
suitcases. If you are carrying only 5/6 passengers, you can
still manage to squeeze in big suitcases on the last row.
The middle row seats can recline fully as well as slide back,
the last row’s reclining is limited by the rear door. You have
the option to take out the last row; only a click, shove and
a pull to remove the seat completely and a cavern opens up
for you to stow luggage or what have you.
The plastic inside is passable, only space for bottles are
near the hand brake, 4 bottles can stand on it. Nifty little
place under the rear A/C vents; can keep 2 glasses or cans of
beers and keep it chilled. I need to fix brackets or bottle
holders some place. The back of the seat covers were helpful
for keeping books, maps and newspapers as they have pouches.
On the GQ, NH-8, I could take large curving turns at 100, no
problems, I did not face any roll on any turn. I was lucky, I
didn’t have to do any sharp turn/brake which are reported to
be dangerous on a Scorp. I think the new multi-link
suspension has improved the handling and breaking to a large
extent, felt pretty sure and safe. One time, I slammed the
brakes when a cow jumped into the road, I was doing 80+, truck
stopped in time; my son from the 2nd row flew and fell on the
gear shift, nothing serious, could have happened on any other
car. Important thing here is; the truck stopped, nothing
scary; my sense is, up to 120, you can break hard without
serious problems, the disc in the front and drums in the back
will do the job.
One need to be alert, it’s a 2.5 ton truck; though side
intrusion and safety bars are in place, for people not
strapped on, hard braking or impact can be lethal. I would not
put the hard bull guards up front, it’ll transmit shock
straight into the vehicle and takes away the cushions of the
bumper and safety zones which are planned to dissipate the
energy of an impact.
THE A/C
The A/C is powerful, we had to tone it down and close out one
vent in the back; the option to close all of them helps
plenty. The new rear openings now are slanted up hitting the
face and roof rather than freezing the genitals of occupants
as it earlier used to do. The front joystick vents are useful
only for the rear occupants, it cannot hit the driver’s face,
at best you can aim it chest down. The vent on the extreme
right hits drivers fingers, they become numb after some time,
I closed it out 50% all the time. The Low and High A/c
options are good, we used it on low all the time.
OTHERS:
The roof lights are functional and adequate. If you have to
find something under seats in the last row, you’d need a
torch.
The jack fits in under the co-passenger’s seat compactly; M&M
says the new jack is better and capable of lifting the
Scorpio. The Jack handles are stowed loosely under the mat at
the rear.
The power window switches just behind the hand brakes are OK
for the driver and co-passenger. The middle row passengers
have to lean forward and stretch to access the switches, wish
this was fixed on the doors where it would be user friendly.
I think M&M out did itself when it gave away the power window
and tilt steering on the LX model.
The hazard warning triangle light, kept in a red case under
the co-passenger’s seat in the front makes an aweful clatter.
I had to pack it properly with newspaper to stop the noise.
THE GEARS
The gears are surely notchy, not smooth like the fusion or
Santro, needs getting used to . The Thevara and Safari were
more or less same (also Wagon R), only the Verna is better.
Verna Diesel is a different class altogether, the VGTA felt
like a Saturn rocket strapped on your back, for me, it failed
in many other parameters.
POWER AND PICK UP:
Very powerful 2.6 CRDE, climbs the sharp ramp of my flat on
2nd, could cruise at 60KMPH on 4th, great engine. Nudge the
tacho above 2, the turbo kicks in with a whistling sound;
feels more like being inside an aircraft, the turbo power is
perceptible. Very happy with the power, even after a 200 KM
run, engine came back to idle pretty quickly and felt solid
and durable. If you down the front windows, the heat from the
engine hits you though the cabin is pretty well insulated from
sound and heat.
FE:
Used 40 Ltrs of Hi speed diesel for 407 Kms = 10.17 KM/ ltr.
Guess that’s ok for a truck this powerful and heavy. People
say the CRDE should give better mileage than non CRDE ones. I
think if you speed above 100, mileage is the victim.
EXTERIORS:
Tubeless tyres are cool and bite the tarmac enough. It also
gives you added security and sense of safety.
The R & L external wire controlled rear view mirrors are big
enough to give you a clear view. The L mirror is difficult to
reach, you have to lean way over to adjust it or instruct the
co-passenger to fiddle with it till its OK.
I’ve tried the 3 sensor led reversing contraption, didn’t
work. Tried the fish-eye camera and monitor on the RVmirror,
at 7K it’s not value for money (the camera about 1.2 K can be
stolen very easily), settled for a mirror on the back, great
value for money, very functional, you can see the rear for 2
feat clearly.
ICE:
After market JVC – DVD player, Original JVC speakers, 2 in
front and 2 on the rear door pumping out 50 Wper channel. I
haven’t selected the LCD screen, want a 9” screen, evaluating
options, the rage varies from 4 K to 11 K.
SAFETY:
Fixed a Guardian keyless entry system from the accessory shop,
works OK with all standard features. They refused to put the
immobilizer on, said they will have to cut the wire silo near
the ignition and that would make the warranty void. Checked
with the M&M guys, they said best option is the manual
steering+gear lock to deter thefts!!!!!
MISCELLANY:
Accessories given by the dealer Free of Cost (Costing as per
their price list)
Fog Lamp – 2.2 K
Combination Switch – 0.8 K
Wheel Caps 4 – 2.2. K
Maxi Care Engine + Seat Protection – 2 K
After market Paid Accessories
Side Claddings (AFB – Original) Full set – 9.5 K
DVD Player – JVC – 8 K
JVC Speakers – 4 – 4 K
Keyless Entro – 3.5 K
3 M Film – 3 k
Seat Covers – Swede with choice design – 5 K
Rear Mirror – 0.5 K
Mats – Transparent high grade PU – 0.9K
SS – Scuff Plates – 4 with Scorpio embossing – 0.7 K
Under body coat with epoxy + black Paint 1.8 K
Mud Flap set to synchronize with claddings- 1.8 K
Foot Rest corner claddings – 0.5 K
Front SS Grill Plate – 0.8 K
Total – 40 K
Its still early days; will be posting more updates on the go.
Hope this is useful to people evaluating the Scorpio.
Happy Driving,
--Ramky
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20th August 2007, 22:29
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