[shankar.balan]

Scorpio LX Crde Turbo 2.6 – 2000 km driven – update on performance

Long distance trip Bangalore-Coorg-Bangalore last weekend in theScorp – with quite a bit of internal Coorg running around too.

Route: Bangalore-Mandya-Srirangapatna-Hunsur by pass, to Coorg. Back via Madikeri, Kushalnagar, Bylekuppa, Periyapatna etc. Roads were good for the most part on the highways. Several stretches within Coorg itself which were very bad, bumpy, potholed and very muddy and rutted on account of rains. The exiting Periyapatna road is very bad for about 20kms or so. Full of ruts and pot holes.
Engine/Pickup etc: As usual, fantastic feel, pickup, performance at high speeds with the Turbo Whine etc. Did 140-145-kmph top speed on the BMIC road on several stretches on the way out and on the way back, but only for short distances because of the ever present dangers of people/ animals suddenly crossing the road. This Scorp is really and truly an effortless MILE MUNCHING MONSTER and I absolutely love the vehicle!
Load: Wife in front seat, and a friend in the back seat plus luggage and golf bags etc. Also had the 2 steel wheels as ballast.
Comfort: Front seat absolutely no trouble as usual. Back seat was comfortable according to my friend – he was strapped in so the effects of inertia and other movement was minimized. He said the rear suspension was far better than the earlier Scorpios. Also said that the seating position at rear is improved in the new Scorp compared to the old Scorp. He is about 5.9-5.10 in height and had no problems with leg space. Rear AC vents gave sufficient throw and kept him cool too. Brakes also were first class. Great stopping power.
Hill Drive and Bad Road Performance: Was going pretty fast in the hills around 60-80kmph on average on most of the journeys, while cornering, the rear passenger felt a bit thrown around because of the tight sharp bends, but was held comfortably by seat belt. Absolutely no body roll from the vehicle communicated itself though, to me as the driver. Luggage also remained intact in the back. The Scorp’s tight, compact proportions and good low end grunt felt fantastic while zipping up and down the tight bends in the hills. The power of this engine is really great. And I say again, this car does not handle like a boat – it feels really nice to drive in the hills.
Most of the bumps and potholes were absorbed beautifully by the suspension and of course good tyres and alloy wheels. High ground clearance is a dream to experience! The stability around corners with the alloys was absolutely fantastic. Only on a few stretches of really bad roads did I slow down but I still took most bad bumpy stretches at about 40 kmph . I had to slow down a few times to a dead halt and further progress in first gear. But all in all, I treated the vehicle more or less the same as last week, when we drove bad roads to Ooty and back.
Rattles and Squeaks etc:The jeep was and is not rattling at all even after this type of harsh treatment- only the golf club heads were rattling about inside the bags on the journey!
Some Observations:
Mud splashing: This jeep has the regular stock tyres with 16 inch Aura Alloys. Since they stick out a bit from the sides of the vehicle, while going through mud and water, the vehicle sprayed itself quite liberally.
Water splashing onto bonnet: Plus since this vehicle has only the stock bumper without the extending flanges in front, while going through deep water patches, the water gets splashed onto the bonnet and the windscreen – causing temporary visibility chaos – but very soon put right if the wipers are on.
Outside Rear view Mirrors vibrating: One thing is that while driving on unevenly surfaced roads and even at medium/high speeds on highways, I find that the external rear view mirrors tend to vibrate/ shake – they don’t make any noise but when you see traffic behind you, the image of the vehicles in the mirror tends to jerk and rattle about a bit – this could be avoided by each mirror being fitted with some kind of vibration damping mechanism – one should ideally be able to read the number plate on the vehicle coming up behind one, when one is on the highway – in the current scenario one is not able to do that!
KMs covered/ FE etc: 730 odd km. Had a full tank before leaving. Filled up 35 litres in Coorg. Reached Bangalore and when we went to the bunk there was still around 7-8 litres in the tank. Used AC throughout the drive back. Used it occasionally on the way out and very seldom within Coorg itself. Only when it poured with rain did I put on the heater very low. Therefore I infer that the FE is approx 10-11kmpl – more than enough in my opinion, given my driving style.
Alignment/Balancing/ Air Pressure issues noted while driving back (if any): I didn’t feel any wheel mis-alignment or other trouble when I was returning on the BMIC highway unlike when we were coming back from Ooty. Vehicle felt good. We used only normal Air in the tyres, not Nitrogen. Filled up Air when we reached Coorg – the front tyres had dropped 1 PSI each and the rear left had dropped 2, rear right had dropped 1. Before leaving again we checked the 4 tyres – all had maintained pressure despite being driven fast over bad roads the previous night and again the same morning.
Work done on the Scorp after returning:
Tyre Balancing check: some small weights had fallen off – re-balanced all 4 tyres.
Tyre Rotation: Again rotated all 4 Tyres in a simple X formation.
Air Pressure: Off by only 1 point in each of the 4 tyres. Topped up again with Air.
Wheel alignment check: Checked alignment also – very slightly off – by 1-2 points, so got the wheels re-aligned.
Inference: The tyres are definitely likely to become un-balanced and the wheels are likely to get mis-aligned if the vehicle is driven at higher speeds over rough roads, since this Scorp is after all almost 2 tons in weight and even more with passengers and luggage. However, my fixing the balancing and alignment after each long driving trip to the hills and back is more of a habit and an obsession since I like maintaining my Tyres to the best possible extent. If one checks and fixes the balancing and alignment once every few thousand kms it is more than sufficient according to the Tyre people.
Battery check: So far so good.
Coolant check: Also so far so good.
Oil levels etc: Engine Oil Dipstick levels ok. Brake fluid ok.

Of course loads of mud was liberally be-spattered all over the vehicle and underneath it and it had become quite dry and encrusted so as usual I took it for a good bath both inside and outside which the dear old Scorp probably was really looking forward to!

All in all guys - I am very very clear in my mind now after 2 hard driving trips that there is no other SUV type vehicle at the price point of 8- 10 lacs, than the Mahindra Scorpio. I dont think that other vehicles like the Safari or anything else even comes close and as far as I am concerned, I am glad I made the Scorpio my preferred choice, given the kind of use that I regularly put my vehicles through.cheers:

[anupmathur]

Great review, Shankar!

Only one little thing that I'm finding a bit curious:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Mud splashing: This jeep has the regular stock tyres with 16 inch Aura Alloys. Since they stick out a bit from the sides of the vehicle, while going through mud and water, the vehicle sprayed itself quite liberally.

The tyres on my vehicle do not stick out at all. The alloys are the OEM ones that M&M supply.
I feel the Aura alloys have given an offset to your wheels.

[KMT]

The roads must be a mess with the rains.
Where did you stay in Coorg?
I am surprised that you have come away without any squeaks/ rattles.
Your alignment is sure to be shot on those roads though!
Anyways there is no use mollycoddling a Jeep is there?

[adc]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I dont think that other vehicles like the Safari or anything else even comes close and as far as I am concerned, I am glad I made the Scorpio my preferred choice, given the kind of use that I regularly put my vehicles through.

Normally I dont get drawn to these never ending Safari-Scorpio-Innova "mine better than yours" talk on this forum but then you have progressed fast to that after giving some sincere and wonderfully good "my impressions" posts - and thats precisely why I am responding. Enjoy your ride and to each his own.

Now do I have Safari 2.2 VTT-TMT and was it driven real hard in these 7 months??

[shankar.balan]

yes actually
the regular steel wheels are 5.5 to 6 inches wide or so whereas the Aura alloys are 6.5 inches wide - they have certainly begun to stick out a bit. Same thing happened when I changed to Aura from Stock Steel wheels with my Bolero.
however, the vehicle stability has certainly increased because of the wider stance and footprint. so one can corner casually without feeling unstable.

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Great review, Shankar!

Only one little thing that I'm finding a bit curious:


The tyres on my vehicle do not stick out at all. The alloys are the OEM ones that M&M supply.
I feel the Aura alloys have given an offset to your wheels.

[shankar.balan]

roads are a hell of a mess
stayed at Cottabetta guest house - Tata Coffee
no squeaks or rattles from the dear old scorp - it is arguably the best built SUV this side of 10 lacs
alignment was shot up -but there certainly is no use in mollycoddling a jeep as you say
cheers

Originally Posted by KMT

The roads must be a mess with the rains.
Where did you stay in Coorg?
I am surprised that you have come away without any squeaks/ rattles.
Your alignment is sure to be shot on those roads though!
Anyways there is no use mollycoddling a Jeep is there?

[shankar.balan]

point well taken man
i agree to each his own
its just that this Safari-Scorpio thing has gotten a bit out of hand going by many of the earlier posts on this site
even I am not normally keen on getting drawn into these battles- so I completely agree with you.
However, I thought I d simply even things up a bit for the poor Scorpio whose owners largely appear to be a quiet lot!
As far as Im concerned anyway, for reasons earlier submitted, I am a firm Mahindra believer, so lets just keep it like that
However, in all respects, since this is a pretty professional car forum, I think it only fair to post fair and unbiased reviews on it.
cheerio

Originally Posted by adc

Normally I dont get drawn to these never ending Safari-Scorpio "mine better than yours" talk on this forum but then you have progressed fast to that after giving some sincere and wonderfully good "my impressions" posts - and thats precisely why I am responding. Enjoy your ride and and to each his own.

Now do I have Safari 2.2 VTT-TMT and was it driven real hard in these 7 months??

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by KMT

Anyways there is no use mollycoddling a Jeep is there?

I wouldn't quite go as far as to call the Scorpio a JEEP!
We all know what it is: a good, reliable soft roader. Though it does have ladderonframe.

[adc]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

point well taken man
i agree to each his own. its just that this Safari-Scorpio thing has gotten a bit out of hand going by many of the earlier posts on this site
even I am not normally keen on getting drawn into these battles- so I completely agree with you.
However, I thought I d simply even things up a bit for the poor Scorpio whose owners largely appear to be a quiet lot!
As far as Im concerned anyway, for reasons earlier submitted, I am a firm Mahindra believer, so lets just keep it like that
However, in all respects, since this is a pretty professional car forum, I think it only fair to post fair and unbiased reviews on it.
cheerio

Yes everyone is passionate about their ride and it does not take much to be drawn into the vortex and we then all end up airing subjective views - like the way it is projected that the Scorpio is a boat or something and you negated it objectively and perfectly.


Remember this guy's post explaining his confusion and the dilemma.

Originally Posted by mhafeez_13666

Friendly Mods,

Every time someone asks me or anyone these days about any cars or which car to buy etc then they are most likely to be directed to team-bhp. It is said that the experts are in this forum and will guide you accordingly.

But here is the catch, not everyone here are the experts (for example, I am a newbie and even I can post my opinion). So how does one conclude after reading all these posts?

Most comments here by newbies(like me also) are judgmental etc. How can anyone say that this Car is hopeless and other comments like this Car is no "value for money" eg. SX4 Vs NHC. How can anyone say what money can buy and its value?

All this in my view is disturbing the person who is confused as to what car to buy. Who are the actual TEAM-BHP experts whom we should look forward to?

Anyway, going back to the thread, congrats for the successful journey and it does feel good to see that you, like any owner, loving and enjoying your ride and being proud of it.

[shuvd]

A nice, heartfelt update. Good to see a Scorpio update. Congrats Shankar Balan, a mean looking ride you have there.

[shankar.balan]

more like generic usage
sometimes we refer to it as a car, sometimes as a jeep
most of us who graduated from gypsies and mahindra vehicles tend to refer to the new mahindras like the bolero and scorp as jeeps I find - of course the bolero is definitely a 2wd jeep but you re right, the scorp is a 2wd monster soft roader - ladder chassis helps in that description but it is certainly a sort of jeep-ish beast
cheers

Originally Posted by anupmathur

I wouldn't quite go as far as to call the Scorpio a JEEP!
We all know what it is: a good, reliable soft roader. Though it does have ladderonframe.

[shankar.balan]

thanks adc
i agree - good to be passionate etc
however it is best to remain objective in ones evaluation - all the good points and bad points (whatever one notices) must be objectively written about.
i think that way Ive tried to be fair in my evaluation and hope it helps someone else who is in the same dilemma that I was in, 2 months ago!
cheerio

Originally Posted by adc

Yes everyone is passionate about their ride and it does not take much to be drawn into the vortex and we then all end up airing subjective views - like the way it is projected that the Scorpio is a boat or something and you negated it objectively and perfectly.


Remember this guy's post explaining his confusion and the dilemma.




Anyway, going back to the thread, congrats for the successful journey and it does feel good to see that you, like any owner, loving and enjoying your ride and being proud of it.

[shankar.balan]

thanks
each time I cross somekind of milestone I will continue to post the good and the bad about the vehicle!
cheers

Originally Posted by shuvd

A nice, heartfelt update. Good to see a Scorpio update. Congrats Shankar Balan, a mean looking ride you have there.

[zenopio]

dude nice write up man,enjoy your ride

yes scorpio interiors never rattels,my scorpio till now clocked 98k in 3 years and now also not even a single rattle.......and the engine feels the same way as it used to be when it was new.....

[shankar.balan]

thats some driving man!
98k in 3 years!
lets see how many klicks my scorp manages in the same period!
Going by my Bolero I d just crossed 25 k in 3 years - pretty poor show, despite several long trips, hill drives etc etc.
I suppose it is all about the time available and the inclination to buzz around in that time!
cheers

Originally Posted by zenopio

dude nice write up man,enjoy your ride

yes scorpio interiors never rattels,my scorpio till now clocked 98k in 3 years and now also not even a single rattle.......and the engine feels the same way as it used to be when it was new.....