Baleno v/s Scorpio Experience

rajaramk · 3rd January 2005, 16:56

I was wondering whether to post my experience as a (stock) Baleno owner in the Car review's section, but thought it best to relate it as an anecdote with something that happened recently when i was driving down from Mangalore to Bangalore.

I left Mangalore around 5:30 and was driving fast but carefully through the Ghats when I passed by a Black Scorpio. Soon the Guy caught up behind and started to tail me closely. I pushed the pedal and started to drive really fast through the Ghats. Now the problem I found with the Baleno is as follows,
A. With Stock tyres, especially when the road surface is bad, it skids all over the place when taking winding turns fast,
B. The gear shifting is not as slick say as in an Esteem or Ikon and it is very difficult to downshift quickly to increase traction...

The scorpio was right behind me and there was no straight stretch where I could lose him and after about 20 kms this way, his headlight reflecting into my side mirror started to blind me (He was riding that close behind and was a good driver to keep a Scorpio going that way in the ghats, although pretty rash I should add)... I braked purposely and let him go ahead thinking that I would tag him and pass by once we got down from the Ghats.. However, I soon let that Idea go, once I saw him overtake a big truck at a blind turn at full speed...

Anyways, i continued and once I reached the end of the Ghats I was able to keep a steady 120-130 kmph (except 140 once I had to overtake a Skoda).. No stress really since the road was smooth with some slight curves and there was almost no traffic...
(for anyone travelling to Bangalore from Mangalore, around 5:30 PM is the best time to leave since the roads are pretty empty once you leave the ghats - i did this trip in 5 hours flat with no risk at all).

Once I reached Nelamangala, about 30 KM's from Bangalore I bumped into the guy again... But this time it was a straight, smooth roads and it was a matter of a few minutes before he was tailing me, and a few more minutes before he was just a speck in my rearview mirror...

To sum up, if you have a Baleno with stock tyres - Drive when you have a good smooth road with few curves, you can really push the car beautifully..
Sit in the back seat with a careful driver in winding, bad roads, the ride is amongst the best in its class...

And if you encounter a Scorpio -- wait until you get a straight stretch, its no competition after that ...

shravan316 · 3rd January 2005, 17:07

Hmmmm..... interesting experience there u have rajaramk.....
But, from what i hear the Scorpio is a poor handler..... so IMO, it should be easier to lose it thru the ghats than the straight roads, that is, if you have a good set of tyres and a good car(such as a Baleno or a Vtec).

speedsatya · 3rd January 2005, 17:27

hey rajaramk,
good to see that u backed off.
bt was it a petrol scorpio.ru sure it wasnt a terracan.
abt the scorpio even i had a similar experience on the expressway once ,when i got into this race with a diesel scorpio with abt 8-9 people .inspite of doing 160 on my speedo without AC ,it was able to keep up with me and it seemd as if his AC was on as the windows were rolled up .
at times he even went ahead of me whenever i lifted slightly.

wats the top speed of the P/D scorpio.

rajaramk · 3rd January 2005, 18:25

Well Actually I am not sure if it was a Diesel or Petrol Scorpio, was getting dark by then... (While going from Bangalore, I actually tagged behind a terracan..)

My Baleno has stock tyres and is a very skiddy on broken surfaces.. Also as I mentioned the gear shifting is not very crisp and when it is difficult to downshift and get traction, I would have probably stayed ahed comfortably on my 1000!!!

Shan2nu · 3rd January 2005, 18:30

Ah, never indulge in such races. It was on that very road that i saw this Cielo, which was trying to race a Diesel Ikon took a blind turn for granted and ended up hitting an oncomming tempo, the Ikon which was following it couldn't stop in time and managed to nick the rear of the Cielo.

How lucky "I" was, as i had just backed out some 2 mins before this happened. I just knew it wasn't safe to drive like that on those tiny, twisty roads.

In the end, it was our Vtec that helped get those people to the nearest hospital in Hassan.

Shan2nu

rajaramk · 3rd January 2005, 18:35

I agree.. Precisely why I backed out and didn't bother following him, in fact after I let the guy pass (I braked on purpose to let him pass...) he took a blind turn overtaking a huge truck and was lucky not to have any oncoming vehicles bang into him..

BTW have you seen the way the IDEAL Volvo bus guy drives on this route -- If you happened to encounter him coming in the opposite direction at that point -- shudder...

speedsatya · 3rd January 2005, 19:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajaramk

I
BTW have you seen the way the IDEAL Volvo bus guy drives on this route -- If you happened to encounter him coming in the opposite direction at that point -- shudder...

hehehe,
why wats happened.????
not only IDEAL ,all the buses are like that .thats y i am a bigg fan of these missile launchers or bus drivers.
the way they drive these huge buses overtaking another vehicle only to miss the oncoming vehicle by mm is a sight to remember.the way the mangalore udipi XPress buses do 60kms of similar traffic in abt 1 hour speaks for them .
as in an issue of ACI,it seems in kerala the bus drivers seem to be very happy when they struggle with their steering on turns at hgigh speeds and shouting [COLOR=Red]SCHUMECARAAAAAAAAAAA[/COLOR].

lamborghini · 6th January 2005, 01:15

intresting drive ..
going by the story it seems that you were trailing a petrol scorpio ..
it really irratates me when these rash guys drive specially in the beginning of the expressway ...
one day i will have to teach them a lesson i.e after i get my license

anoops · 6th January 2005, 11:30

hey on the way back from goa i overtook a black scorpio (kerala reg) in my little 1.2 palio....got a good streatch on the karvar road...he really went for it...when i took him i was doing 130...had my heart in my mouth for a few secs....then totally lost him...guess he backed of.

rajaramk · 6th January 2005, 12:25

I am not sure it was a Petrol Scorpio... The speeds were close to but below 100 for sure in the Ghats (more like 70-90 in the curvy sections) --
But I am wondering if it makes a difference in the handling i.e Would a petrol Scorpio handle better than the diesel one???

Shan2nu · 6th January 2005, 15:53

Actually the diesel would be faster on tight roads as it has tremendous torque, which helps launch it from low rpms.

Power wise, the petrol has just a 7 bhp gain over the Diesel.

Shan2nu

karthik247 · 26th April 2005, 22:06

hey guys...off topic but is a car with more torque better than a car with more bhp in a city drive?

aveek · 26th April 2005, 22:23

Well, it doesn't really make that much of a diff, but I'd say a torque-y car would be better. Maily cause you could start the car in second/third gear, which means one lesss shift... though thats about it... all the torque-y car will do is propel you quicker through a small stretch, while a BHP filled car (so to speak) will have a much quicker top speed, though maybe not as good an (initial) accn as a torque-y machine...

Just my 2c...

speedsatya · 26th April 2005, 22:26

a car with more torque in the lower end and mid range will mean that u need not have to frequently shift gears.
u cud do 30-100+in the 5th gear.thus u have more drivability .

for car that is performance oriented and having the torque band at higher revvs ,you will have to downshift to be in the usable revv range.so it can be a pain to drive such a car in city traffic and also the fuel consumption will be on the higher side.

SLK · 26th April 2005, 22:40

Yes a car with more torque can deliver its power much better. So in case of a diesel and a petrol car with similar bhp, diesel would deliver more usable power . b'coz there's more torque.

BTW beating the diesel scorpio is no cake walk, this car can do 150+ so with equally aggressive driver both sides you need at least a 1.5-1.6Ltr petrol car to beat it comfortably.

3rd January 2005, 16:56	#1
rajaramk Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11 Thanked: 0 Times	Baleno v/s Scorpio Experience I was wondering whether to post my experience as a (stock) Baleno owner in the Car review's section, but thought it best to relate it as an anecdote with something that happened recently when i was driving down from Mangalore to Bangalore. I left Mangalore around 5:30 and was driving fast but carefully through the Ghats when I passed by a Black Scorpio. Soon the Guy caught up behind and started to tail me closely. I pushed the pedal and started to drive really fast through the Ghats. Now the problem I found with the Baleno is as follows, A. With Stock tyres, especially when the road surface is bad, it skids all over the place when taking winding turns fast, B. The gear shifting is not as slick say as in an Esteem or Ikon and it is very difficult to downshift quickly to increase traction... The scorpio was right behind me and there was no straight stretch where I could lose him and after about 20 kms this way, his headlight reflecting into my side mirror started to blind me (He was riding that close behind and was a good driver to keep a Scorpio going that way in the ghats, although pretty rash I should add)... I braked purposely and let him go ahead thinking that I would tag him and pass by once we got down from the Ghats.. However, I soon let that Idea go, once I saw him overtake a big truck at a blind turn at full speed... Anyways, i continued and once I reached the end of the Ghats I was able to keep a steady 120-130 kmph (except 140 once I had to overtake a Skoda).. No stress really since the road was smooth with some slight curves and there was almost no traffic... (for anyone travelling to Bangalore from Mangalore, around 5:30 PM is the best time to leave since the roads are pretty empty once you leave the ghats - i did this trip in 5 hours flat with no risk at all). Once I reached Nelamangala, about 30 KM's from Bangalore I bumped into the guy again... But this time it was a straight, smooth roads and it was a matter of a few minutes before he was tailing me, and a few more minutes before he was just a speck in my rearview mirror... To sum up, if you have a Baleno with stock tyres - Drive when you have a good smooth road with few curves, you can really push the car beautifully.. Sit in the back seat with a careful driver in winding, bad roads, the ride is amongst the best in its class... And if you encounter a Scorpio -- wait until you get a straight stretch, its no competition after that ...
	() Thanks

3rd January 2005, 17:07	#2
shravan316 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,029 Thanked: 9 Times	Hmmmm..... interesting experience there u have rajaramk..... But, from what i hear the Scorpio is a poor handler..... so IMO, it should be easier to lose it thru the ghats than the straight roads, that is, if you have a good set of tyres and a good car(such as a Baleno or a Vtec).
	() Thanks

3rd January 2005, 17:27	#3
speedsatya Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: bangalore/manga Posts: 3,169 Thanked: 738 Times View My Garage	hey rajaramk, good to see that u backed off. bt was it a petrol scorpio.ru sure it wasnt a terracan. abt the scorpio even i had a similar experience on the expressway once ,when i got into this race with a diesel scorpio with abt 8-9 people .inspite of doing 160 on my speedo without AC ,it was able to keep up with me and it seemd as if his AC was on as the windows were rolled up . at times he even went ahead of me whenever i lifted slightly. wats the top speed of the P/D scorpio.
	() Thanks

3rd January 2005, 18:25	#4
rajaramk Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11 Thanked: 0 Times	Well Actually I am not sure if it was a Diesel or Petrol Scorpio, was getting dark by then... (While going from Bangalore, I actually tagged behind a terracan..) My Baleno has stock tyres and is a very skiddy on broken surfaces.. Also as I mentioned the gear shifting is not very crisp and when it is difficult to downshift and get traction, I would have probably stayed ahed comfortably on my 1000!!!
	() Thanks

3rd January 2005, 18:30	#5
Shan2nu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnata Posts: 5,533 Thanked: 125 Times View My Garage	Ah, never indulge in such races. It was on that very road that i saw this Cielo, which was trying to race a Diesel Ikon took a blind turn for granted and ended up hitting an oncomming tempo, the Ikon which was following it couldn't stop in time and managed to nick the rear of the Cielo. How lucky "I" was, as i had just backed out some 2 mins before this happened. I just knew it wasn't safe to drive like that on those tiny, twisty roads. In the end, it was our Vtec that helped get those people to the nearest hospital in Hassan. Shan2nu
	() Thanks

3rd January 2005, 18:35	#6
rajaramk Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11 Thanked: 0 Times	I agree.. Precisely why I backed out and didn't bother following him, in fact after I let the guy pass (I braked on purpose to let him pass...) he took a blind turn overtaking a huge truck and was lucky not to have any oncoming vehicles bang into him.. BTW have you seen the way the IDEAL Volvo bus guy drives on this route -- If you happened to encounter him coming in the opposite direction at that point -- shudder...
	() Thanks

6th January 2005, 01:15	#8
lamborghini Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,113 Thanked: 5,760 Times View My Garage	intresting drive .. going by the story it seems that you were trailing a petrol scorpio .. it really irratates me when these rash guys drive specially in the beginning of the expressway ... one day i will have to teach them a lesson i.e after i get my license
	() Thanks

6th January 2005, 11:30	#9
anoops BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: bangalore Posts: 183 Thanked: 3 Times	hey on the way back from goa i overtook a black scorpio (kerala reg) in my little 1.2 palio....got a good streatch on the karvar road...he really went for it...when i took him i was doing 130...had my heart in my mouth for a few secs....then totally lost him...guess he backed of.
	() Thanks

6th January 2005, 12:25	#10
rajaramk Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11 Thanked: 0 Times	I am not sure it was a Petrol Scorpio... The speeds were close to but below 100 for sure in the Ghats (more like 70-90 in the curvy sections) -- But I am wondering if it makes a difference in the handling i.e Would a petrol Scorpio handle better than the diesel one???
	() Thanks

6th January 2005, 15:53	#11
Shan2nu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnata Posts: 5,533 Thanked: 125 Times View My Garage	Actually the diesel would be faster on tight roads as it has tremendous torque, which helps launch it from low rpms. Power wise, the petrol has just a 7 bhp gain over the Diesel. Shan2nu
	() Thanks

26th April 2005, 22:06	#12
karthik247 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR, HYD Posts: 2,710 Thanked: 30 Times	hey guys...off topic but is a car with more torque better than a car with more bhp in a city drive?
	() Thanks

26th April 2005, 22:23	#13
aveek BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 294 Thanked: 2 Times	Well, it doesn't really make that much of a diff, but I'd say a torque-y car would be better. Maily cause you could start the car in second/third gear, which means one lesss shift... though thats about it... all the torque-y car will do is propel you quicker through a small stretch, while a BHP filled car (so to speak) will have a much quicker top speed, though maybe not as good an (initial) accn as a torque-y machine... Just my 2c...
	() Thanks

26th April 2005, 22:26	#14
speedsatya Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: bangalore/manga Posts: 3,169 Thanked: 738 Times View My Garage	a car with more torque in the lower end and mid range will mean that u need not have to frequently shift gears. u cud do 30-100+in the 5th gear.thus u have more drivability . for car that is performance oriented and having the torque band at higher revvs ,you will have to downshift to be in the usable revv range.so it can be a pain to drive such a car in city traffic and also the fuel consumption will be on the higher side.
	() Thanks

26th April 2005, 22:40	#15
SLK Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: DL XX XX XXXX Posts: 1,634 Thanked: 1,011 Times	Yes a car with more torque can deliver its power much better. So in case of a diesel and a petrol car with similar bhp, diesel would deliver more usable power . b'coz there's more torque. BTW beating the diesel scorpio is no cake walk, this car can do 150+ so with equally aggressive driver both sides you need at least a 1.5-1.6Ltr petrol car to beat it comfortably.
	() Thanks