[Puffdamgcdragon]

Yup Girlie on wheels. Aza talks sense. I live in the mountains and I should know. The Scorpio is really cramped and the body rolls like hell. Fantastic Engine but U can hardly use even half it's potential due to the body roll and crappy brakes.In the twistys, it feels really dangerous. It looks macho, though..... I'd much prefer a Bolero and save the extra cash. Didn't find anything too different in the Scorpio.
The Safari looks good and it's mighty comfortable but a real hassle to drive in town. Gearing's bad and it loses steam too early. U find urself revving and changing gear again and again to be in the power band. And Overtaking as well as going up inclines are really painful. Plus Quality issues galore....
The Toyota Innova, in my opinion, looks really bland. Esp from the side view. But it is one hell of an accomplished machine. THe engine D4-d Deisel is really good and handling and ride unsurpassed in the MUV/ pseudo-SUV sector. Plus it's really comfortable with the best quality. Very good Safety ratings too.
If it's too expensive, U could always buy the Chevy Tavery. Also a pretty good vehicle. Better than the Scorpio (although not as powerful, but much more spacious and sorted out) and the ancient Safari.
My brother has a New Scorpio CRDe. I drive it quit often and it sucks, big time. Much prefer my Baleno.Uncle's got an old Qualis and is in love with it. thinking of going in for an Innova. Good decision, IMO.

Me, I'm waiting for the Fortuner / RAV 4.
Cheers,
Puffy.

[Ram]

A large car is stabler and handles better than any SUV. Examples: Used Octavia or Lancer or one of those large, even upto twenty-year-old imported cars.

SUVs are very trendy. They have rugged styling. But the fact is that we neither do serious off-roading over large boulders nor cross streams in them, whatever the TV advertisements claim. Most of us only commute between work and home and occasionally carry relatives/friends.

It is a false stereotype to assume that an SUV is safer than a car.
Truck-based SUVs like all the Mahindras including the Scorpio and all the Tatas including the Sumo, Sierra and Safari were never test-proven for crash protection. They have inferior handling, inferior braking, poor fuel economy, high entry height and high rollover risk.

We just have to realize that there are many other vehicles that not only get better fuel economy, but are actually safer as well. (e.g. Toyota Innova). Reality is that a good car is always safer than a SUV. I don't mean small car though!

In the rare emergency that we encounter, we are highly likely to involuntarily wrench the steering wheel. While a good large car will tolerate that, every SUV will roll over and cause injury!

If safety is a concern, Large cars are safer than small cars and safer than SUVs.

Very safe cars are the large cars, example: an old used 1976-1986 Mercedes-Benz W123 car is much safer than any SUV.
A car like this will fit your budget, be very safe, fun to drive and give you savings to spare.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by ram

A large car is stabler and handles better than any SUV. Examples: Used Octavia or Lancer or one of those large, even upto twenty-year-old imported cars.

SUVs are very trendy. They have rugged styling. But the fact is that we neither do serious off-roading over large boulders nor cross streams in them, whatever the TV advertisements claim. Most of us only commute between work and home and occasionally carry relatives/friends.

It is a false stereotype to assume that an SUV is safer than a car.
Truck-based SUVs like all the Mahindras including the Scorpio and all the Tatas including the Sumo, Sierra and Safari were never test-proven for crash protection. They have inferior handling, inferior braking, poor fuel economy, high entry height and high rollover risk.

We just have to realize that there are many other vehicles that not only get better fuel economy, but are actually safer as well. (e.g. Toyota Innova). Reality is that a good car is always safer than a SUV. I don't mean small car though!

In the rare emergency that we encounter, we are highly likely to involuntarily wrench the steering wheel. While a good large car will tolerate that, every SUV will roll over and cause injury!

If safety is a concern, Large cars are safer than small cars and safer than SUVs.

Very safe cars are the large cars, example: an old used 1976-1986 Mercedes-Benz W123 car is much safer than any SUV.
A car like this will fit your budget, be very safe, fun to drive and give you savings to spare.

Agree with you 100%. What you havent mentioned here is the comfort factor of the SUV. Given the state of roads in our country, buying an SUV makes sense if you can afford one. The comfort on the Safari over long distances, bad roads and places without roads is something that no car can match. The fact that you actually sit in an SUV and not crouch is another contributing factor.

Add to the fact that your view of the road is much better on an SUV, allowing you to be proactively safe instead of reacting to last minute views. In case of frontal impacts, the higher stature of the SUV can save your life where a car might fishtail into the underside of larger vehicles. Therefore there are two sides to the safety coin as well.

Ultimately no one vehicle addresses all issues. You will need to evaluate the pros and cons and go for the one that has pros that meet your requirements. If you travel long distances or spend long hours in a vehicle, I would suggest an SUV without a second thought. Your back, your legs and your neck will thank you.

As for "They have inferior handling, inferior braking, poor fuel economy, high entry height and high rollover risk." you cannot expect an SUV to handle like a car, but that said the Safari isnt what you might call "inferior" as far as handling and braking is concerned. Fuel economy is about 10-11 kmpl, which for me is adequate given the weight being lugged around. You cant really blame an SUV for having a 'high entry height' because that like blaming an Elephant for being more difficult to mount than a horse.

[Boom Shiva]

If you're buying second-hand, try out the Chevrolet Forester. It's got really good handling and safety, and while it is an SUV, it;s not too big either, so is convenient for city use.

I'm not sure about spares and maintenance, but the car itself is really good.

[tsreekaranrao]

Chevrolet Forester for 150 kms a day ???

[Boom Shiva]

Yeah why not? I would rather drive a Forester for 150kms a day than any of the other mentioned "SUVs". It's far more responsive, safer and better handling. More fun to drive too.

Fuel preference (diesel vs petrol) hasn't been mentioned as a factor here, which is why I suggested Forester.

[toy car]

u cn also go for toyota innova...!!!
[SIZE=2]and if u want it to be modified.. the company gives the body kit to you..[/SIZE]

[toy car]

the body kit cn cost u around 50k..

bt iff.. u dont wanna apply body kit then without it.. this car still roks..!!

[naveendhyani]

frankly getting an SUV just for safety concern might b a myth. good cars like optra & skoda wud b far superior to a scorpio in case of an accident. plus skoda diesel is a wonderful vehicle. u cud get a second hand vehicle giving all u need whether for city or highway travel.

[kewlferrari]

If you can get over the looks I would say the Innova. It's a far more superior alternative than the Scorpio & the Safari.

If yu want road presence go for Scorpio, if you want a comfortable, safe & efficient ride go or the Innova.

[khamsinmerak]

If you are not too worried about economy the best buy is a used Chevrolet Forester.A good example should be priced below the new Dicor VX.Its safe in all sense,got all wheel drive,high score in EURO NCAP crash tests,rally bred handling.You can be sure of hubbys safety and comfort.It comes loades with all goodies too

[Steeroid]

Out of curiosity - have you bought a vehicle yet?

[tsk1979]

you want safety and comfort.
1. Scorpio is not crash test proven, Safari takes the cake here when you compare to scorpio. Tata atleast has an in house testing facility
2. Stability on highways. Scorpio sucks at that badly though the new one is better. Safari is also prone to high body roll.

So if you are worried about safety go for a good saloon, some modern design. If you want room to go with it, Innova is the right choice. It handles almost like a car, has loads of room and is a very very safe car.
Toyota reliability is also more than both tata and mahindra.

[girlieonwheels]

Hi.. thanks a lot for your replies guys. As of now I have not bought any vehicle so far.. I guess I will wait for the Fortuner / RAV4 or maybe I would go in for a good used Safari / Forester in the meantime..

[rks]

Originally Posted by girlieonwheels

Hi, I am planning to buy an SUV, and need some technical advice on that.
- My basic reason for buying an SUV is safety for my husband who drives around 150 kms everyday for work, and at times he drives in the night. Since I do not trust delhi driving I want him to shift from his current car (Ford Icon) to an SUV.
- Second reason for buying an SUV is that we do a lot of highway driving, mostly every second week and many a times we drive at the night, so SUV is of course a better option. And everytime we travel, our 6 months old lab retriever is along with us. Though he is ok in a car also, but SUV would give him more space to stretch his legs in a 12hour long journey. [...]

In addition to the various excellent opinions already offerred, the crucial questions on my mind are: What kind of roads does your husband drive on, during the daily 150 km grind as well as the fortnightly highway driving, what are the traffic conditions like and at what speeds does your husband drive? If these are good roads that are pot-hole-free and your husband likes to drive at higher speeds, then a big sedan would be preferable from many points of view. SUV's are not only less stable at highway speeds, they can also be a major pain w.r.to driving, parking, overtaking, etc. on our generally narrow roads that are infested with all kinds of slow-moving vehicles (especially heavy vehicles). Not to mention the high maintenance/fuel cost associated with an SUV. A sedan will out-run the SUV on our relatively narrow, traffic-infested roads and will save your husband valuable driving time and money, besides being reasonably comfortable and safe. On the other hand, if your roads are not too narrow, but bad and pot-hole ridden (e.g. in the monsoon season), an SUV may be more comfortable and durable for the kind of driving load you mention.

If I may offer some more advice -- if at all you have a choice, ask your husband to avoid night-driving on the highway whenever possible. If routine night-driving is absolutely necessary, try to figure out and plan in advance what your response will be to various possible emergencies, such as break-downs and accidents -- e.g. where is help available at night on your husband's route, what are the phone numbers, etc. And needless to say, religiously follow the company-prescribed maintenance schedule for your vehicle, go to an authorized dealer, and don't cut corners in order to save money. If your budget is 7-8 lakhs, you should definitely opt for a new vehicle.
Regards, rks