[redcandle]

Hi Guys,

My father in India wants to buy a SUV, which he has been longing for ages. He quite likes the Scorpio and even went to enquire about it. He says that it would end up costing around Rs.10 lakhs.

Although not up-to-date with the prices of cars in India, I am pretty sure that you can put in an extra couple lakhs and buy a much better SUV. If my father stretches to about 12 lakh OTR, what choices has he got?

He lives in Delhi and drives in busy areas. Wants ample headroom and minimum maintenance. He is not bothered about the safety because ABS, Airbags is just glorified equipment to him, but to me it will be crucial factor.


Apart from this just the overall feel of the car should be non tacky.

You guys have probably got most sensible and experienced all round views on what I/he should do.

All views would help.

Thanks

[rider60]

why not take a look at the scorpio mHAWK 2.2L loaded with all the features, and if possible get a 4X4 version of the same!

or the other option is the safari in that price bracket, others will cost more!

[bglsrini]

Hi,
Please check out these links and you can decide..........

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ts-safari.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ttle-2-2s.html

[suman]

There are a couple of options only in that price range - Scorpio & Safari; there is a third which is a MUV, the new Sumo Grande.

Only the top end Safari (VX) offers ABS, EBD & Airbags. The top end Scorpio (VLX) offers only ABS. The Sumo offers none of these.

[chaxy]

Originally Posted by bglsrini

Hi,
Please check out these links and you can decide..........

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ts-safari.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ttle-2-2s.html

Warning !! Those links maight confuse you or even scare you from buying a scorpio or safari.

Let you dad buy what he likes after he T Drives them.

[shankar.balan]

Hi,

Frankly you've got three decent choices in the SUV/MUV league in this price budget. 12 Lacs OTR stretch is not saying much, when the original budget itself was about 10 lacs OTR- because unfortunately, the choices are limited in this price range and those SUV type vehicles which will beautifully fit the bill for you are all priced much higher.

For example if you could stretch to about 17-18 lacs then without a doubt I would suggest the Chevy Captiva which is a great SoftRoader with a lovely Diesel engine, the Hyundai Tucson which is another great SoftRoader with a good Crdi Diesel Engine or even the Honda CRV if you dont mind a Petrol engine.

Therefore, in my opinion, your choices are between The Toyota Innova, The Scorpio 2.2 MHAWK, The Safari 2.2 Dicor.

My own recommendation to you is based on the following:
1. Delhi based and driving in busy areas. (Ease of parking, Turning Radius etc will therefore be one criterion.)
2. Ample head room
3. Minimum Maintenance

Given these three points you could consider the following in order of priority:
1.The Toyota Innova is the most "car-like" in terms of handling and is easily the most comfortable of the three for normal city use. Its nose to tail overall length and size could be a disadvantage at times in the city, but it redeems itself admirably by its "car-like" handling. This vehicle is not tacky at all. Reasonably powerful and sufficiently torquey engine for slow crawls in the city in low gear, but such a light car like clutch and gear box, that you will not feel driving fatigue. A good diesel engine, plush and comfy interiors with good headroom for a tall person, Toyota Quality everywhere and with their legendary reliability, you mostly will not encounter troubles in terms of niggles and servicing etc. However, this is more like a VAN type people mover and not really an SUV/ Soft Roader. Its looks are van like. Maintenance is minimal given Toyota's robust quality standards but spare parts are a little expensive, being Toyota. Fuel efficiency will sit at around 10-12 Kmpl in city with AC. After sales service from Toyota is good. Re-sale value of Toyota vehicles is absolutely first class.

2.The Scorpio 2.2 VLS (lower end variant to the VLX) because, though very powerful and big, it has compact proportions and is easy to handle within city areas, it has a good turning radius (5.6metre), a great 2.2 MHawk engine and since it is the lower end variant, does not have all the unnecessary expensive toys that come with the VLX. It is a tough macho looking SUV which is well put together- feels solid. Interiors etc are functional and comfy but do not feel like they have been cheaply put together. Good headroom for a tall person. Powerful and Torquey with a clicky gearbox, this vehicle can chug along in first and second gear with your foot off the accelerator in thick city traffic.This vehicle is excellent and comfy on highways and to really enjoy the engine, one needs to hit the highways and open it up a bit! Mahindra vehicles are generally very reliable, low on maintenance and can be rough used a great deal. Spares also are not expensive. Fuel Efficiency will hover at about 10-11 Kmpl in city with AC. Their after sales service is also good. Re-sale value is usually very good for most Mahindra vehicles.

3.The Safari 2.2 EX Dicor is a very good spacious vehicle and you get lots of electronic and electrical toys and gizmos at a real VFM price but its disadvantage is that it is cumbersome and big, tougher to handle in busy areas in terms of parking, navigating narrow lanes, heavy traffic conditions etc. Also in my opinion, cheap-ish plastics and fiddly bits takeaway to an extent from its appeal. It is however an extremely comfortable vehicle with lots of headroom and a handsome looking SUV. Power and Torque etc are great but it has a squashy mushy gearbox which can be irritating. Some Turbo lag also exists in second gear. Ideally one should do lots of long distance cruising and highway driving to get the most enjoyment out of it. This 2.2 is the latest Tata offering and clearly is their best offering as a Safari variant. However, you could possibly run into niggles and irritants with the reliability of some mechanicals and the electrical/ electronic stuff in this vehicle and frankly Tata Passenger Car/ vehicle After Sales Service is not the best as of now. Fuel efficiency will generally hover around 10-11 Kmpl in city with AC. Re-sale values are not clear on this particular variant because it has been in the market only about 9-10 months, but the earlier Safari's did not enjoy high re-sale values at all.

Without mincing words I would say bluntly that it comes to a straight shootout between the Innova and the Scorpio in this case.

However, bearing in mind your father's daily requirement on his commute, I would heartily recommend the INNOVA if you and he dont mind its "space-wagon" looks -you and he certainly wont regret it.

Apart from the above three, I would also say that at a pinch you could even consider the FORD FUSION PLUS 1.4 TDCI Diesel with ABS at Rs 8 lacs odd.
Some Advantages: Diesel with ABS, pretty comfortable headroom,compact proportions, SUV/Station Wagon stance and looks, good ground clearance, Diesel engine, very responsive and easy to handle in the city with good low end torque for those interminable first and second gear bumper to bumper crawls, spacious inside, decent interiors, excellent Fuel efficiencyin city (about 14 Kmpl with AC) and 18-20 Kmpl on highways, relatively low on maintenance unless ill treated consistently.
Some Disadvantages: Ford Service, general cost of spares, relatively high acquisition cost of the vehicle considering its overall size and value package.

I hope this helps you to decide.

However, I would certainly suggest that you test drive all the above and ask your dad to test drive all these himself to see which he is most comfortable with. If possible do a peak hour test drive and another one at low traffic time as well. You'll see the different aspects of the same vehicles better this way.

Cheers and all the best.

[tsk1979]

For your budget there is only Scorpio and Safari.
If your dad is driving in congested areas, then the Scorpio is a no brainer. I don't think you need 4x4.
The scorpio VLX mHawk will cost you around 10 on road. But only ABS. Currently there are some 10-15K cash discounts in Delhi for the same.

Another MUVish option is the Innova, but many people get turned of by looks and "taxi image".
Don't bother with the Sumo As its in a lower price bracket.

[suman]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

The scorpio VLX mHawk will cost you around 10 on road. But only ABS.

Ex-showroom is around 10 (9.94 in Delhi & 10.08 or something in Mumbai), on-road would be higher...........

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by suman

Ex-showroom is around 10 (9.94 in Delhi & 10.08 or something in Mumbai), on-road would be higher...........

Suman your right. Generally, on-road price is 12% of ex-showroom price. I take that as a thumb-rule

[rider60]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Suman your right. Generally, on-road price is 12% of ex-showroom price. I take that as a thumb-rule

after this congress government and the vat being branded every where the 12.5% has surely become the rule of the thumb!

[Steeroid]

Your father likes the Scorpio, and there are no other UVs in that price range other than the Safari and the Innova.

Get him a Scorpio. If you want an overall non-tacky feeling however he is better off with the Innova which is streets ahead of the Safari/Scorpio on that count. But, he clearly likes the Scorpio - no reason why you shouldnt get him one.

It is interesting how some of the suggestions are carefully worded, though.

[tsk1979]

Delhi on road price is around 7% higher than ex-showroom

[dadu]

From the drivability factor Sumo Grande looks better with lesser turning radius (U-turns) and smaller length (less parking space) and even the width is lean (for narrow lanes).

The Mhawk is same in dimensions as 2.6 except for the GC and weight, which I could not find out. Do a TD of the shortlisted one's and decide.

[an_and]

In addition to the overall width etc, can someone also post info on interior dimensions, comfort in the rear seats etc...

[shankar.balan]

i disagree for the following reasons:

1.Width of Sumo Grande is not lean really - it can be a bit of a pain in heavy traffic conditions compared with the others.
2. Sumo Grande comes with archaic leaf spring suspension in the rear - it is pretty bumpy - my colleague has one and we drove it around on bumpy roads and the back seat is certainly not as comfy as the Innova, Scorpio, Safari and Fusion since these four vehicles have much better and improved rear suspension.
3.My colleague also found his Grande very difficult to reverse and park on narrow lanes so he went and fitted a reversing camera on the vehicle! He never needed such an aid in the other vehicles he has owned till now.

however, I suggest that the prospective owner gives all these suggested vehicles a fair trial before deciding for himself what suits him best.

cheerio

Originally Posted by dadu

From the drivability factor Sumo Grande looks better with lesser turning radius (U-turns) and smaller length (less parking space) and even the width is lean (for narrow lanes).

The Mhawk is same in dimensions as 2.6 except for the GC and weight, which I could not find out. Do a TD of the shortlisted one's and decide.

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