[Fauji]

As promised, updating pictures

The Alloys






In front of our home




On NICE road - Black is Beautiful!!





The beast in familiar surroundings!!

[himanshugoswami]

Fauji, these are hot looking alloys!

[getsurya]

Even though they appear ornamental, they are really quite useful in protecting the edges of the carpeted floor.

I agree with Vikram. Scuff plates are mandatory! Himanshu, kindly get them done!

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by anujmishra

Thank you. Both are good car and certainly Scorpio has edge over refinement section.

To be honest. I never felt need for ABS in my Safari. Just now I completed my 3600 Kms trip in all rains (Bangalore - Nagpur - Shirdi - Mumbai - Bangalore). It was very comfortable drive even on some non existent sections between Hyderabad and Nagpur and bad roads between Nagpur and Shirdi.

In all roads, I faced loads of rains and in those rains, I had to further control my speed. Even my family was traveling and their comfort & safety are above anything.

The reason what I felt is, I am sedate driver and I keep my speed limited to 100 Kmph in very good section and at the max I go 110 Kmph in very clean and wide roads. Never rush (In teamBHP terms RedLine) with my Safari knowing its capability (nor I want to do with any sedans also). In normal roads for me 60 - 80 Kmph for me is sufficient.

With this speed also I am able to do Bangalore - Nagpur in 16.5 hours.

Also, I had never got chance to do panic breaking during past 1 year of ownership.

This is my summary of experience with my Safari.

Edit: My experience doesn't mean that ABS is not helpful. It is always nice to have safety feature.

I agree to this. ABS is something like an add-on. It helps you brake better, but then you are the best judge at that moment. One of our TeamBHP members who is also my colleague owns a Safari without the ABS. He has driven 1,10,000 KMs till date and never missed the ABS on his Safari. He has done some major trips like Pune-Leh-Ladakh, Pune-Bhutan, etc. without any issues. Even on those extreme hilly regions, he did feel the need for ABS. But, if your budget permits, then no harm is getting a vehicle with ABS. Like I said before and as Anuj mentioned, its a nice-to-have feature.

EDIT: I forgot to add that this colleague of mine had owned two Scorpios before buying the Safari. He had got rid of the Scorpios in less than 40k KMs. But thats his experience. Probably the current gen Scorpios are better than the older gen.

[4x4addict]

@himanshu:

As a person who has owned a Scorpio 4WD for the past year and half and done about 43K miles on it including highways and offroad, my sincere advice to you is to consider another product.

The biggest plus point of the Scorpio is that it is generally well put together with few niggles requiring non scheduled service visits. I had one major issue which could have been a fluke or could be result of cost cutting/oor design by Mahindra.

What I cannot stand in the Scorpio is the very bumpy ride and extremely poor ergonomics. You will feel it more than me after having got used to the ergonomics/comfort of the Safari.

I suggest a long test drive over poor bumpy/undulating roads before taking the plunge.

I would also suggest you to consider a used Pajero 2.8 or Toyota Fortuner.

[himanshugoswami]

Ajay

thanks for you inputs buddy. I owned a safar for close to three years and loved it for the most part. the two things that got my goat were the constant niggles (clutch failure, ac failure, parts falling off, ECU malfunction) and the horrendous brakes. Mine was a 3.0 and i agree that the 2.2 is far improved, but all SUVs should madatorily have ABS since their weight and its front heavy nature renders it prone to wheel lock more than sedans and that can be scary given the high CG.

4X4,

buddy i hear ya! I am the first one to admit that the scorpio's ride is not in the same league as Safari- the Safari spoils you totally. But what to do....Merlin is being delyed yet again and will be launched at a price close to 11.5 plues OTR delhi which is beyond my budget of 10L....so I recognise that the Scoprio is a compromise at some level, but then i just gotta grin and bear it.

Thanks for your candid inputs.....appreciate them!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

hey, mudflaps are already standard with the car, isnt it?

Not necessarily, there are some manafacturers who balk at giving them away as stock. Either you fight for them to be included or pay for it additionally

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

@himanshu:

As a person who has owned a Scorpio 4WD for the past year and half and done about 43K miles on it including highways and offroad, my sincere advice to you is to consider another product.

The biggest plus point of the Scorpio is that it is generally well put together with few niggles requiring non scheduled service visits. I had one major issue which could have been a fluke or could be result of cost cutting/oor design by Mahindra.

What I cannot stand in the Scorpio is the very bumpy ride and extremely poor ergonomics. You will feel it more than me after having got used to the ergonomics/comfort of the Safari.

I suggest a long test drive over poor bumpy/undulating roads before taking the plunge.

I would also suggest you to consider a used Pajero 2.8 or Toyota Fortuner.

I second that.

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Ajay

thanks for you inputs buddy. I owned a safar for close to three years and loved it for the most part. the two things that got my goat were the constant niggles (clutch failure, ac failure, parts falling off, ECU malfunction) and the horrendous brakes. Mine was a 3.0 and i agree that the 2.2 is far improved, but all SUVs should madatorily have ABS since their weight and its front heavy nature renders it prone to wheel lock more than sedans and that can be scary given the high CG.

4X4,

buddy i hear ya! I am the first one to admit that the scorpio's ride is not in the same league as Safari- the Safari spoils you totally. But what to do....Merlin is being delyed yet again and will be launched at a price close to 11.5 plues OTR delhi which is beyond my budget of 10L....so I recognise that the Scoprio is a compromise at some level, but then i just gotta grin and bear it.

Thanks for your candid inputs.....appreciate them!

Something thats lurking inside your head before the purchase will become a Tumor after you buy it, You will always have this in mind, so do take some time out and make a decision. Are you in a Hurry...?

I would not suggest you any others, but please do a little bit of research, AGAIN and make a decision, So as to avoid the dilemma of a ""Compromise"" as you've been mentioning.

Hope i am not sounding BIASED......

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

I second that.



Something thats lurking inside your head before the purchase will become a Tumor after you buy it, You will always have this in mind, so do take some time out and make a decision. Are you in a Hurry...?

I would not suggest you any others, but please do a little bit of research, AGAIN and make a decision, So as to avoid the dilemma of a ""Compromise"" as you've been mentioning.

Hope i am not sounding BIASED......

Pavan, i totally understand where you are coming from....if my posts depict a yearning for the Merlin, thats because I am yearning for one and have been waiting for over a year to get one! but the trouble is that I have reached a point where I have to pick a car no later than 10th Oct at 10 L OTR Delhi, and alas, the Merlin doesnt fit the bill in both cases.

I tried to negotiate with Tata dealers in delhi for the GX, but no one is willing to come down below 11L...... hence I am stuck.

So the thought is to buy the scorpio and keep it (hopefully) till the time the all new safari is launched 3 -4 years down the line and then pick up teh all new Safari.

[shankar.balan]

I second 4x4's opinion. I used to like my Scorp a lot when I got it first. Now 3.5 years down the line I dislike it a lot on account of the reasons stated by 4x4 plus the lack of safety kit and modern stuff! However, it is in general a tough, reasonably well put together and reliable machine. No complaints on that front from me.

4x4's suggestion of taking a drive along a bumpy road may indeed change your mind about buying the Scorpio.

Used Pajero 2.8's are available between 11-14 lacs here in Bangalore. They look very good indeed. However they are not for me because they are just too big for daily use.
Fortuners are also available but since the first hand market is also starving for them, they command rather ridiculous prices even in the used market. Eg: a 2009 Fortuner sells for as high as 22.5 lacs!
To me, this vehicle is also too big for daily use.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

What I cannot stand in the Scorpio is the very bumpy ride and extremely poor ergonomics.
I suggest a long test drive over poor bumpy/undulating roads before taking the plunge.

I would also suggest you to consider a used Pajero 2.8 or Toyota Fortuner.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Not necessarily, there are some manafacturers who balk at giving them away as stock. Either you fight for them to be included or pay for it additionally

What I meant is Scorpio comes with mud flaps as standard, since that is the vehicle under discussion.




@ himanshu: I do agree that the scorpio is a little bouncy & lacks space, especially when compared to safari, but again, i think its not all that bad. After all, its rocking the sales charts. But still as everyone recommended, take a second thorough test drive of the car, just in case you are confused or in second thoughts.

You know, you should not repent after buying the car, as it spoils the whole ownership experience.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

@ himanshu: I do agree that the scorpio is a little bouncy & lacks space, especially when compared to safari, but again, i think its not all that bad. After all, its rocking the sales charts. But still as everyone recommended, take a second thorough test drive of the car, just in case you are confused or in second thoughts.

You know, you should not repent after buying the car, as it spoils the whole ownership experience.

Thats a good piece of advice !

Himanshu, though I know you like SUV's over Sedans but, honestly do the double check as there is a prime example that I can outline

Zen91 ( whom you know quite well) sold his Ford Ikon and bought a brand new Scorpio last year and ever since he bought the scorp his interest to join for TBHP drive meets started waning away purely because according to him there is 0 pleasure in driving

So within 10 months, he sold the scorpio and couple of months bought a Fiesta S and that wide grin on his face is back again.

Bottomline is some are SUV guys and some are Sedan guys. Just double check that aspect as we wouldnt want you to have an unhappy ownership experience

[himanshugoswami]

Hey Avi.....thanks buddy!

As you know I am a hardcore SUV guy- heck when i moved from an SUV to a sedan, the only sedan i could consider was the SX4 which is a quasi SUV in itself

Brajesh is a hard core corner carver in a sedan- me? I like the laid back appeal of a diesel SUV where i can ride the torque wave. So i am pretty sure that I want an SUV over a sedan.

As regards teh ride of the Scorpio, I agree that it is a tad more unsettled over the Safari, but I will primarily be driving in Delhi and the highways of north India, which are generally super smooth roads, so that kind of settles things for me.

So like I said, unles TML launches the Merlin at a starting point of around 10 L in the next three weeks, I have pretty much finalised on the Scorpio SLE ..... wheter good or bad only time will tell

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

So like I said, unles TML launches the Merlin at a starting point of around 10 L in the next three weeks, I have pretty much finalised on the Scorpio SLE ..... wheter good or bad only time will tell

Himanshu, don't worry too much on the ride of the Scorpio. It certainly is not sofa like which the Safari has but is not unacceptable either else the Scorpio would not have outsold the Safari consistently all the time. Which dealer have you chosen to buy it from?

The captain seat version, if that is what you are going for, is the most comfortable variant of the Scorpio in terms of interior space.

Just have faith in your decision and go for it. You will like it.

[zen91]

I second 4X4addict and Shankar.balan's view on the Scorpio.

How we wish we could have roads like the GQ everywhere in India to avoid the unsettled ride characteristics of the Scorpio.

Himanshu Bhai, as I had mentioned ealier, I liked the Scorpio for its MHawk engine only. Very refined and powerful but atleast for me the vehicle was never a pleasure to drive in the city or the highway, specially the NH9 and state highway types. Hyderabad/Balgalore NH7,which is a part of the GQ was still manageable.

The Scorpio is still the best entry level SUV and we have a lot of members who still swear by it. I doubt if you,MC and Getsurya would ever buy a sedan.