[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan;
Thanks for your detailed comments - i submit the following points in answer.

In the Safari, in traffic and before taking a speed breaker, I wasnt able to take that speed breaker in 2nd at all - the car felt laggy and uncomfortable so I had to go to 1st.

[B

Thats a very good observation - i feel like that too- you cannot pick up on a roll if the tacho is anywhere close to 1000rpm on 2nd. You either have to rev up before picking up on 2nd or downshift to 1st else the safari feels laggy.![/b]

4.The gearbox is mushy - vague and it felt rather like I was wading around in a bowl of porridge to me. - yes a very big bowl of porridge.
5 and 6.Yes, in such a tall car you cannot do the same stunts as you might in a sports car- I appreciate that, but suppose one is on a highway and one is trying to avoid say a motorbike or a Cow or maybe a walking/ cycling human being who appears suddenly, one will tend to swerve - I was just trying out how it would feel - frankly I was frightened at the roll. -happens when you swerve a baby pachyderm(safari) at high speeds, takes geting used to, likewise in a scorpio.

9.I ve talked to several people who have owned the Safari (even the 3 litre Dicor and their feedback was that it can be expensive to maintain) - My dad's Indica DLG Turbo is also pretty expensive because of constant niggles. Its not expensive for the 1st 4 years with the extended warranty - just routine services should do the job.
cheers

good safari observations

[shankar.balan]

thanks very much
so since we ve pretty much agreed across the table that "elephants cant dance", let us not try swerving or chicaning around too much in these type of vehicles eh?

cheerio

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

good safari observations

[bglsrini]

Hi,
I am comfortable with My safari.I dont feel any problem in turbo lag too. In regard to the sighur gahts.I did it on 4th april uphill and on 7th april downhill.I enjoyed my drive and I did not feel any roll.May be,I did not feel because of my attachment to my BULL Or I am used to big trucks from sierra days.

Originally Posted by suman

I'd say that its a compliment to the Innova, what would you say Doc?

its a compliment to the innova, but slightly patronising to the SUV enthusiast who demands better handling!

there's nothing wrong in expecting/wishing an SUV to handle well.
not sportscar like or even sedan like. but atleast body roll should not scare one away.

saying that, its pretty easy to get used to the body roll. my brother's endeavour used to scare me a lot initially, but a few days in it and I'm back to my regular antics on the highways. its the same with the safari.

w.r.t the turbo lag in 2nd(happens in almost all turbo diesels with slightly tall gearing), that goes away too, once the driver starts to use the momentum of the car properly after getting used to it.

also- the safari rarely ever needs to slow down for a bump, unlike the other SUVs.

[shankar.balan]

i agree completely- a good SUV will handle well regardless of the terrain. Body roll should not scare people away too. Look at the Pajero and Land Rover etc, their technology ensures that Body Roll is minimized to a huge extent!
But, having said that, it would not be fair to expect any SUV whose Centre of Gravity is so high and which is typically quite tall and heavy, to handle the same way that a sports car would!
Anyway, to put an end to this sub topic, let me try my new Scorp on hill roads at some reasonable speeds this coming weekend and then share with you the details about body roll, handling etc.
Cheers

Originally Posted by rippergeo

its a compliment to the innova, but slightly patronising to the SUV enthusiast who demands better handling!

there's nothing wrong in expecting/wishing an SUV to handle well.
not sportscar like or even sedan like. but atleast body roll should not scare one away.

saying that, its pretty easy to get used to the body roll. my brother's endeavour used to scare me a lot initially, but a few days in it and I'm back to my regular antics on the highways. its the same with the safari.

w.r.t the turbo lag in 2nd(happens in almost all turbo diesels with slightly tall gearing), that goes away too, once the driver starts to use the momentum of the car properly after getting used to it.

also- the safari rarely ever needs to slow down for a bump, unlike the other SUVs.

[wanderlust]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

I know roll and pitch will be present, but yaw ...are you sure ???

Well, my year-old-14000km experience with the 3L DICOR has had a few pitch and yaw (especially over large humps, like the ones in Bangalore), but I havent experienced any rolls! Yup, I have thrown the beast around almost like my old Zen, but I could not get it to roll! Pretty sturdy and stable fellow this is.

To add to this, I had been to Ooty last week from Bangalore, pretty fully loaded with 5 ppl. Everyone was comfortable at the end of the trip. Had one problem on the Masinagudi ghats though - after the initial 3-4 hair pins, the beast was struggling in 1st gear. Looked out of the rear mirror and noticed it was puking white smoke. The temp gauge was edging towards the center mark (normally stays around 1.4). So I brought it to the side and idled for a few minutes and then turned the engine off. Started again after about 10 minutes, the engine was shuddering and the idle rpm was slightly higher, I let it idle for a minute and then magically everything came back to normal. I allowed it to idle for a few more minutes and then cautiously took off. No more glitches throughout the trip! Round trip mileage came to around 11 kmpl.

Folks, any idea what could have happened?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by wanderlust

Folks, any idea what could have happened?

Happened to me once on the 3.0 (without the white smoke - I just lost boost) - on stray occassions the ECU may not automatically adjust to lower air pressure at higher altitudes. You just have to switch off and start again and it will recalibrate to the lower air pressure - however I've been to higher altitudes thereafter without facing the same issue.