[mooza]

Originally Posted by madhkris

Mooza, really a good report and I went through it in one go. Rated thread as excellent. I am researching on an SUV and was helped by your detailed review. Am planning to buy a used scorpio now. Can you tell me in your opinion, for city rides and occasional touring, which year and above model should I be looking for? What were the things you considered before buying the vehicle? Any tips on checks to be done?

Thanks, Madhkris, considering my budget of 4.25 stretchable to 4.75 lakhs, this was the best deal I could strike at the time. If you are at the right place at the right time, with a bit of luck it is possible to get a decent deal on used Scorps in Bangalore. In case you need, I could PM you the details of my used car dealer, who showed me at least 3 vehicles to choose from, within 3 to 4 days.

It would help if you could provide some more details of your needs. In general, it is advisable to look at models from the year 2006 onwards, as these come with CRDE engines and better suspensions. The 2006 CRDE model of which I had a TD last year (with 66k on the odo) was being quoted at Rs. 5.75 lakhs at that time. Since it's been a year now, you might get a deal on a similar vehicle now for a bit lower price, I guess.

[Damu]

Hi Mooza,

Great write-up! Read it through at one go.

Your details of the mods made this more interesting to read.

I agree with your opinion that even after driving an Ikon, the Scorp is a pleasure to drive. I drive my friend's Scorpio mHawk quite often on long distance, and I am totally hooked on to it.

Have you written a report for your Ikon?

Cheers!

[mooza]

Thanks, Damu !

My Ikon had 35k kms on the odo when I bought it, has touched 70k now. Been a good ownership experience of 6 years. Will try to post a review shortly.

Yes, I have heard a lot about the Scorpio M Hawk's superb engine, never had the chance to drive one, though !

[mooza]

Originally Posted by mooza

The results were very good after adding a leaf to the leaf spring set. The body roll had lessened further.

The ride felt a bit more hard (but firm and planted), when driving alone. So I reduced my tyre pressures from 32 to 30 psi, and the ride comfort in the beast had improved further.

To reduce the hardness of the ride (at 32 psi) a bit, I got the added leaf trimmed by 2.5 inches from each end (5 inches of reduction on the total length on the added 6th leaf), greased all the leaves, and assembled them back at my FNG last week. After driving on all roads, I feel the mild harshness has reduced, and the small bumps & ridges are getting absorbed better, without noticeable increase in body roll. These observations are after increasing my tyre pressures back to 32 psi ! So now I am all set to hit the highways end of the coming week with the right tyre pressures.


Went to my ASC yesterday for gear oil change, engine oil change, wheel alignment and general servicing (90,000kms).

The bill amount for the above at the ASC : Rs. 5,200/-

[jeeva]

Thats a well maintained Scorpio Mooza.
All it needs now is some nice alloys and chunky rubber.
If you aren't a big fan of chrome, please remove that grille ornament.

[shankar.balan]

I would suggest you look at a late 2006,2007,2008 Model because these come with a more comfortable rear suspension than the old leaf spring one. Also these will have the Crde Turbo 2.6 engines which are better than the old engine in terms of refinement and FE. If you can afford it, buy a late 2008 model or even a 2009 or perhaps an early 2010 model, then you will truly be happy because these all came with the 2.2 Mhawk engines and have a significant improvement in ride and handling when compared to the earlier ones. For example a 2.2 Mhawk of 2009 is definitely a significantly improved vehicle, in comparison to my April 2008 2.6 Crde. Both in terms of engine as well as ride/ handling.

There are lots of things you need to look for while buying an used Scorpio so I suggest you browse the many threads on this forum which deal with this. You could look at Devdath's thread when he acquired his used Scorpio HARIYA - around a year back. There are lots of inputs on that.

Originally Posted by madhkris

Am planning to buy a used scorpio now. Can you tell me in your opinion, for city rides and occasional touring, which year and above model should I be looking for?

[mooza]

Originally Posted by jeeva

Thats a well maintained Scorpio Mooza.
All it needs now is some nice alloys and chunky rubber.
If you aren't a big fan of chrome, please remove that grille ornament.

Alloy wheels is something I will install immediately provided they also help in improving the ride comfort. I do not know if there is any noticeable improvement felt immediately after their installation, feedback will be welcome from Scorpio owners, on this.

For the looks, yes, I am sure the alloys will add to my Scorp's looks immensely, am considering the same in the future

The chrome grille almost came off alongwith the bullbar, but the family's consensus was to retain it, so there it remained

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I would suggest you look at a late 2006,2007,2008 Model because these come with a more comfortable rear suspension than the old leaf spring one.

Precisely. I too would recommend a coil spring version if you can afford it. Also, I differ from Shankar in the choice of engine. I prefer the CRDe engine to the MHawk, especially if bought pre-owned since the initial MHawks had a few issues discusssed elsewhere and M&M, like all other Indian manufacturers used its initial customers as guinea pigs.

Originally Posted by mooza

Alloy wheels is something I will install immediately provided they also help in improving the ride comfort. I do not know if there is any noticeable improvement felt immediately after their installation, feedback will be welcome from Scorpio owners, on this.

You will not notice any noticeable improvement in the ride quality by installing alloys. In fact, they tend to be stiffer than steel rims and hence the ride will become a bit harder in principle, though you cannot notice it.

I prefer steel rims to alloys though I like the way alloys look.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by mooza

Alloy wheels is something I will install immediately provided they also help in improving the ride comfort. I do not know if there is any noticeable improvement felt immediately after their installation, feedback will be welcome from Scorpio owners, on this.

I am not a Scorpio owner, I drive a Bolero. Trust me, if alloys and better rubber can make a noticeable difference to the ride/handling and steering characteristics of the Bolero, then it should do much better for the Scorp. Since, you already have the Bilsteins, it would make a remarkable difference.

[madhkris]

Thank you all for the advice. I too was thinking in terms of a 2008-09 model. I will go through the suggested threads before buying one.

[mooza]

Thanks to Devdath and Jeeva for their frank perspectives on the alloys !

@Jeeva, did you change your tyres and wheels at one go, or did you do the upgrades one by one ? Would really appreciate some more details on your tyre and wheel upgrades, in case you have not posted the same already. If already posted, kindly provide me the link.

My suspension tuning (shocks / leaf springs) is on the stiffer side now. The main benefit of the stiffer setting is that the boat effect (swaying) has practically disappeared. The ride quality is very good at highway speeds on good roads, the vehicle feels absolutely planted at 100 kmph.

But the ride is a wee bit stiff (jarring) on broken roads. The setting has now been made slightly less stiff by reducing the length of the added leaf, which has helped soften the ride a bit.

Maybe as Jeeva feels, in the present stiffer suspension setting, the alloys could help reduce the roughness / harshness on account of reduction in the unsprung weights.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

If you can afford it, buy a late 2008 model or even a 2009 or perhaps an early 2010 model, then you will truly be happy because these all came with the 2.2 Mhawk engines and have a significant improvement in ride and handling when compared to the earlier ones. For example a 2.2 Mhawk of 2009 is definitely a significantly improved vehicle, in comparison to my April 2008 2.6 Crde. Both in terms of engine as well as ride/ handling.

I took a test drive of the 2.2 MHawk a few weeks ago, and was mighty impressed with the refinement of the engine. However, the forward pitching effect when braking, even under gradual braking is something i didnt like. Wish M&M would do something about it.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by mooza

@Jeeva, did you change your tyres and wheels at one go, or did you do the upgrades one by one ? Would really appreciate some more details on your tyre and wheel upgrades, in case you have not posted the same already.

I had upgraded to alloys and geolanders at one go. The alloys are HRS (8J with ample negative offset) and the tyres are 235/75/R15 Yokohama Geolanders. The correct upsize is 235/70/R15, but then those were out of stock at the time I got it.
My observation is that the steering has become lighter and responsive (better than the dead feeling with the steel discs and crappy apollo amazers it came with) and the ride has become smoother. I believe its the negative offset coming into play, but now, I feel much more confident to take on the curves. The vehicle feels very much stable and planted.

As far as the Bilsteins go, someone I know has the same Bilsteins and alloy/tyres (Michelin) combination on the Bolero and he vouches for it. He is closely associated with Petes and according to him, the Scorpio is much more benefited than the Bolero coz of this set up. Hope this helps.
Have send you a PM.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Precisely. I too would recommend a coil spring version if you can afford it. Also, I differ from Shankar in the choice of engine. I prefer the CRDe engine to the MHawk, especially if bought pre-owned since the initial MHawks had a few issues discusssed elsewhere and M&M, like all other Indian manufacturers used its initial customers as guinea pigs.

That is news, coz from what I have read on other forums and personal experiences from Mhawk owners, the Mhawk's were much more refined and was one helluva engine. Deciding factor for me to put my money on the Mhawk.
You find lemons in different shapes and sizes, but then the amount lemons in the disguise of the Mhawks are quite less.

Originally Posted by mooza

My suspension tuning (shocks / leaf springs) is on the stiffer side now. The main benefit of the stiffer setting is that the boat effect (swaying) has practically disappeared. The ride quality is very good at highway speeds on good roads, the vehicle feels absolutely planted at 100 kmph.

But the ride is a wee bit stiff (jarring) on broken roads. The setting has now been made slightly less stiff by reducing the length of the added leaf, which has helped soften the ride a bit.

mooza that's how an SUV should behave on highways, however you cant have the best of both worlds. Handling and softer suspension.

Originally Posted by mooza

Maybe as Jeeva feels, in the present stiffer suspension setting, the alloys could help reduce the roughness / harshness on account of reduction in the unsprung weights.

I don't think so unless you can source magnesium/aluminium alloy wheels.

After adding alloys you definitely can notice the change in the steering feel while taking a sharp turn/trying to park the vehicle in a tight spot.
This is because any unnecessary un-sprung weight which you add to the SUV affects the grip and with these light rims/wheels you will feel that it increases the grip rather than decreasing it.

This again only if you can source proper magnesium/aluminium alloy wheels.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I took a test drive of the 2.2 MHawk a few weeks ago, and was mighty impressed with the refinement of the engine. However, the forward pitching effect when braking, even under gradual braking is something i didnt like. Wish M&M would do something about it.

ben you can expect a 2.5 ton SUV to behave and stop like a car when you hit the brakes.

[mooza]

Originally Posted by jeeva

I had upgraded to alloys and geolanders at one go. The alloys are HRS (8J with ample negative offset) and the tyres are 235/75/R15 Yokohama Geolanders.

As far as the Bilsteins go, someone I know has the same Bilsteins and alloy/tyres (Michelin) combination on the Bolero ...Have send you a PM.

Thanks for your reply and PM, Jeeva, I would definitely be interested in having a look at your friend's Bolero after I return from my Bangalore - Mumbai trip in my Scorpio, in the first week of November !

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

mooza that's how an SUV should behave on highways, however you cant have the best of both worlds. Handling and softer suspension.

...This again only if you can source proper magnesium/aluminium alloy wheels.

Thanks for your inputs, Rjstyles, yes, I definitely prefer the planted feel at higher speeds with the stiffer suspension setup, so I do not plan to soften the suspension any further !

Regarding the alloy wheels, I have been quoted 26k for the alloy wheels at the ASC (Sireesh Auto), for the "company alloy wheels", as he called it. I presume these company alloy wheels are made of magnesium / aluminium, to have the desired improvements in handling ?

However, my Service advisor was not keen on fitting these alloy wheels as he says my older model Scorpio is designed for 15 inch wheels, whereas the Alloys he has are all of 16 inch size .

Some inputs on this would be welcome !