[lohithrao]

Thanks Benny, i did consider Scorpio LX aswell but as you pointed out it was no where close to Safari in terms of features.

On the hawks, well am not sure if am a sedate driver but considering the size and the type of vehicle am upgrading to i might very well be sedate.
the truck will be mainly used on hiways, good roads, bad roads, no roads and since i leave on the coast during the monsoon i plan many long drives so want the tyres to be behave good on wet condition..

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Thanks Boruwa.
Lohith, thanks a lot for the wishes.
I was following your thread on the Bolero vs Sumo Grande, and realized you had decided on the Safari LX. In terms of features you get, the Safari LX beats the Scorpio LX big time, no doubts about that.

As for your question on the Apollo Hawkz, from what i understood based on your requirements in that thread, they should be fine for your kind of usage, which includes sedate highway speeds and city driving. Since my usage is similar, i dont seem to have much issues with it. These are anyday better than the JKs.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

On the hawks, well am not sure if am a sedate driver but considering the size and the type of vehicle am upgrading to i might very well be sedate.
the truck will be mainly used on hiways, good roads, bad roads, no roads and since i leave on the coast during the monsoon i plan many long drives so want the tyres to be behave good on wet condition..

I totally concur with the part of no roads (ORR Bangalore, perhaps?!), bad roads and highways - all these are part of my regular terrain. After we bought the Scorpio, we go on drives which are pretty much off the beaten track. I had also mentioned in a previous update on this thread about the trail driving we undertook during the trip to Palakkad. Such conditions are part of the regular travails we subject the vehicle to.

With respect to these, the Hawkz have not disappointed me. However, driving at speeds in the wet is something i have not tried so far, so cannot comment on that as yet.

[condor]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

On the hawks, well am not sure if am a sedate driver but considering the size and the type of vehicle am upgrading to i might very well be sedate.

Will wait & see .. People happily do triple digits in the Safari.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

..driving at speeds in the wet is something i have not tried so far, so cannot comment on that as yet.

Will wait .. need to see your feedback on this aspect. Will have to start planning to replace my OE Duellers later this year.

[M.R.Boruwa]

The info is a bit subtle on the site. I located it here :

New Mahindra Scorpio 2012 | 4 Wheel Drive Vehicle | Best SUV in India

Scorpio Models -> MOdels at a Glance

Check Box Compare -> "LX" and "SLE" and on the comparison page it shows the seating

[benbsb29]

The Scorp went in for the 3rd free service which was scheduled around the 15,000 kms mark this week. While the odo read about 14,743 kms, i decided to get this done in anticipation of a long trip which is scheduled.

Issues going in for service? Hardly anything new.

Minor things such as the rear cabin light not consistent in coming on when opening the rear door and the pending wheel alignment check. The last time i got the vehicle serviced at the Marathalli branch of Sireesh Auto, they didnt have the wheel alignment machine installed, so couldnt get this done. This time round, i called them up in advance to check the same, and getting an answer in the affirmative, went ahead with them.

As part of the 3rd free service, there are no major works to be carried, save for checks and topups.

Service feedback :

• The vehicle was deemed as ready by 3:30 PM, with a bill reading Rs. 0.00.
• The rear cabin light switch was checked, and seemed to be functioning regularly when i took delivery of the vehicle. I was told that in case the issue persists, the switch would be changed.
• While it is early to comment, it appears that the slight drift of the vehicle to the left has vanished, but fingers crossed.
• Wash quality was average, and nothing great to praise. My neighbourhood car wash guy does a better job with the exteriors.

With the completition of the 3rd free service, all free service coupons have been exhausted. The next service is due at 20,000 kms, which would be a paid one.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

With the completition of the 3rd free service, all free service coupons have been exhausted. The next service is due at 20,000
kms, which would be a paid one.

How come so quick service intervals, is that how it is in M&M? within 5k kms you have the next one is it?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

How come so quick service intervals, is that how it is in M&M? within 5k kms you have the next one is it?

Thats what! The free services are at 5k intervals. Then from 20,000 kms onwards its at 10k intervals, IIRC. As you can see, most of these 5k free services have hardly anything major to be changed, however the vehicle gets a wash.

With the way the odo is ticking on my vehicle, 5k is too little, and too soon. I totally detest having to empty the vehicle every time i give it in for service.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Thats what! The free services are at 5k intervals. Then from 20,000 kms onwards its at 10k intervals, IIRC. As you can see, most of these 5k free services have hardly anything major to be changed, however the vehicle gets a wash.

With the way the odo is ticking on my vehicle, 5k is too little, and too soon. I totally detest having to empty the vehicle every time i give it in for service.

Wow, 5k intervals is too soon for a modern Diesel, yes even though the first 2 in case of Tata its just a wash. Thankfully Tata has provided a 4th Free at 20k after the 3rd free at 10k.

I guess its a ploy to get quickly onto paid service to get labour charges started

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Thats what! The free services are at 5k intervals. Then from 20,000 kms onwards its at 10k intervals, IIRC. As you can see, most of these 5k free services have hardly anything major to be changed, however the vehicle gets a wash.

With the way the odo is ticking on my vehicle, 5k is too little, and too soon. I totally detest having to empty the vehicle every time i give it in for service.

Stay with the 5k regular service schedule for the mammoth. You never know when you will run into issues pertaining to the clutch pedal which needs to be lubricated every 5k kms. I had posted about this in my ownership thread.
Check here (Somebody's home : Voila its the MHawk " 5th service done) :

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Stay with the 5k regular service schedule for the mammoth. You never know when you will run into issues pertaining to the clutch pedal which needs to be lubricated every 5k kms. I had posted about this in my ownership thread.
Check here (Somebody's home : Voila its the MHawk " 5th service done) :

I do remember reading about the issue with your Scorp, Riju. I shall keep a lookout for anything unusual on that front. That said, since the maintenance of the vehicle is done by the lease company, i dont think they would approve deviations from the maintenance schedule as prescribed by the company.

I have been asking around quite a bit to get hold of arm rests for the Scorp, but to no avail. The service centers dont stock it, and even after market ones are hard to come by.

[condor]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I have been asking around quite a bit to get hold of arm rests for the Scorp, but to no avail.

Benny, suggest you get a base fabricated, and the hand-rests mounted on this. This approach can avoid any work on the seats itself. The arm rest I have seen in some of the Scropio's were sagging towards the front, indicating a less than ideal support inside the frame of the seat itself.

You could also think of a flat top surface for this, at elbow height. To get a better idea, think of the utility box I have in the Sumo, between front two seats. You can have something similar -but not a box itself. One that has supports at the sides, and a horizontal plate to rest your elbow on.

[benbsb29]

Back from another Kerala trip, and the Scorpio has not failed to amaze. Road conditions varied from the 4 laned highways, to ghat roads as well as rock climbing.



On the way to Kerala, we travelled with quite some amount of baggage, and the difference it made in the handling was quite easily observed. The Scorpio was a lot more composed going around the bends, and felt more planted as well. It reminded me of the ballast which Shankar.Balan had as standard on his CRDe Scorpio.

On this trip, the highlights of an SUV were as follows, which i had also put up on the SUV vs sedan thread:

• Vehicle easily cruised between 80-120 kmph on the 4 laned highways
• Packed in about 9 family members on our way to a catch a movie
• Did some rock climbing to get to some scenic locations
• The Scorpio went about without a fuss on the ghat sections around Kumily with about 6 people and the A/C turned on. No sweat.
• Start from dead stop on the inclines was child's play owing to the excellent low end torque.
• I got off the road without much concern about damaging my vehicle to make way for heavily loaded trucks and state buses climbing the ghats.

We took the Scorpio rock climbing a bit at Paruntumpara, which was done rather easily considering the slope was not too steep.

The Scorp has now completed over 16.800 kms, and counting.

Complaints ?
Well, nothing much except the rattle from the plastic covering the speedo dials. I would need to spend some time putting in some packing to stop it, but didnt get around to doing it as yet. That aside, the switch which activates the cabin door on opening the rear hatch continues to work intermittently. This has been so right from the time i bought the vehicle. At each service, they spray some WD40, and it works for a while, and then goes back into its intermittent working mode. Will demand to
get this replaced under warranty.

Some pics from the trip:

[Irish]

Very good write up with all the details.

All three snaps in the previous post are just wonderful. In the last snap - Your bull seems to be the second vehicle on the newly built road?

Or may be you are making your own roads!

Cheers!
Irish

[WhiteKnight]

Hi benbsb, I'm sorry I have been following the thread but never made the effort to say congrats . Since you cover more or less the same road to home as I do, I would like to ask a few questions

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Vehicle easily cruised between 80-120 kmph on the 4 laned highways

How comfortable are you at those speeds, compared to your "Mike". On NH7 before Dindigul, I was overtaken by a Scorpio, while I was doing ~120Kph. The SUV was driven well and felt composed at that speed, as it went over some road undulations, typically found on fyovers. It was nice to see, though I might never try that on a Scorpio.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

The Scorpio went about without a fuss on the ghat sections around Kumily with about 6 people and the A/C turned on. No sweat.

Part of KK road till Vandiperiyaar was in bad shape. Is it still the same? If so, how was the passenger comfort? I've never traveled long distance on Scorpio.

And one final question. I prefer a laid back seating position far away from the wheel. In Scorpio, everything seem to be so close to you. Also the seat is flat. Does it induce fatigue on long driving

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Irish

Very good write up with all the details.

All three snaps in the previous post are just wonderful. In the last snap - Your bull seems to be the second vehicle on the newly built road?

Or may be you are making your own roads!

Cheers!
Irish

Thanks Irish.

That road is a new road, which was created by cutting through rocks, which explains the rock walls on either side. It was reported in the local newspapers, and we decided to check it out while exploring the place. The work is not completed, and so we hit a dead end a little later down the road.

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

Hi benbsb, I'm sorry I have been following the thread but never made the effort to say congrats . Since you cover more or less the same road to home as I do, I would like to ask a few questions


How comfortable are you at those speeds, compared to your "Mike". On NH7 before Dindigul, I was overtaken by a Scorpio, while I was doing ~120Kph. The SUV was driven well and felt composed at that speed, as it went over some road undulations, typically found on fyovers. It was nice to see, though I might never try that on a Scorpio.

As i had mentioned, i usually stick to a self imposed upper speed of 120 kmph, although the cruising range is between 90-110 kmph. At these speeds, the vehicle is fairly stable, and i dont feel uncomfortable at all. However, as is the case with a high CG vehicle, one should be careful making any sharp cuts at that speed - the resultant feeling can be a lot scarier than what actually transpires.

When loaded with luggage, the Scorpio is a lot less bouncy, and holds its composure quite well.

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

Part of KK road till Vandiperiyaar was in bad shape. Is it still the same? If so, how was the passenger comfort? I've never traveled long distance on Scorpio.

Some parts are still in bad shape, mostly uneven owing to constant patch work. There are a few potholes at places as well. In my case, passengers were limited to the front seat occupants, and one person behind with no complaints.

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

And one final question. I prefer a laid back seating position far away from the wheel. In Scorpio, everything seem to be so close to you. Also the seat is flat. Does it induce fatigue on long driving

As you rightly said, everything does seem quite close on the Scorp, but with the seat pushed back, it doesnt feel as tight. The first time i tried to get into my friend's Scorp, it felt very uncomfortable, but with the seat adjusted i could find my ideal driving position.

Lumbar support is missed, but then that was the case on the Ikon as well. I make do with a small cushion when i feel the need. In terms of long distance driving, i feel the Scorp quite comfortable which explains why its been putting on the miles rather quickly. Wifey too says she prefers the comfort of the Scorp over long drives. She also commented the visibility offerred by it is much better than the Ikon, which is her ride these days.