[Ranga]

15 days old Scorpio VLX M Hawk - 1450 Kms on the Odo … Intial Owner ship report


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/introd...bangalore.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...bangalore.html


The above threads speak about my

1.TD of Scorpio & Innova
2.Deciding on Scorpio VLX MHawk
3.Dealership experience – Not that great
4.Bringing my beast home @ last
5.Second thread speaks about my ICE experience
6.The present ICE system in Scorpio
7.Change over to the New ICE system with Photographs


Now for my driving experience with my Scorpio , I took my beast out for 2 long rides

1.Bangalore – Hosur – Salem – Erode and back to Bangalore - Same day 585Kms
2.Bangalore - Mysore – Bangalore today - App 350 Kms


My observations .

Over all look : The M Hawk looks certainly refined then the previous Scorpio. . The Diamond white is what that caught my attention . Black , Brown were also good , but did not want to go for dark colors as cleaning them was a big headache. More over with black interiors they would need the AC on all the time. Mystic purple is also a good color , but would be the odd man out . ( Remember the blue color matiz that was available long long back )

Voice Assisted systems

The voice assisted system is helpful. With so much of work pressure , calls , its better someone speaks and inform us that we are using hand breaks and driving the vehicle around , fasten seat belts , door open , reserve fuel . I have certainly have no issues in a lady having a gentle reminder calls for the above .

The ride
It feels as if I am sitting on a elephant which has drunk bottles of Red bull . That’s the exact feeling I get when I drive my Scorpio . It’s a bull unleashed with lots I of power and asking one to leave her out on a long road . On the Bangalore roads ,its as if this car is begging me to leave her to growl and gallop with all its power . One can see the traffic pretty clearly from all sides and feel as if I am the king ( I am second to the Big bad Hummer of Bangalore roads – the BMTC bus )


Seating

The First two seats are very comfortable . The hand rest is certainly useful in my gear changes and resting position in long drives . The second row is OK and not as comfortable as Innova . The third row is a misery and only can accommodate someone who is less than 5 feet 2 inches …

Steering

I can feel that I am driving a 1 tonne + vehicle for sure . At the same time the steering is comfortable and the Power steering response is pretty good . Seat height adjustments is not available and I did not feel it was needed.

Gear Box

The gear box certainly needs improvement . It’s not as good as my experience in a petrol car and nowhere near to that of what I have felt in Innova . There is some kind of audible sound or the feel when u go to 3rd gear


Handling

I have driven my vehicle only @ a max of 80-90 Kms and did not have any unpleasant experience while cornering .The ride quality also has improved compared to previous scorpios

Cruise control

Wonderful feature and first ever in a 11Lakh SUV . Even Innova don’t have this feature . I did use the Cruise control while travelling between Hosur and Salem . Toll roads with 4 line drive ways really help in selecting the speed . Set it to a desired speed and press the Cruise button and the vehicle takes over . The buttons on the steering help u to either increase or decrease the speed . While coming back from Salem , I was almost on cruise control for more then100Kms This was really stress free driving .

A word of caution . Cruise control helps to take our legs off from the accelerator. This also allows us to listen to the music from ICE , but will also draw our attention out of the road for any sudden crossing in the road ..



Tyretronics

I checked my tyre pressure before taking my car on the long trip . I went to shell to get my tyre pressure checked . Even after the tyre pressure was set for 33PS , the reading show 30 PS in my car ….


Micro Hybrid

I have been advised not to use MH for first 1K Kms


Breaking

For a 120 Horses on the move , with ABS , the breaking can still be better. I am used to the drop dead breaks on my Santro .


Locking – Central Locking

Today when I was above to go to Mysore with one of my colleagues , I had a very strange problem . The odo meter said one of the doors was not closed properly . We tried all doors and still the door open chime and the voice assisted system continued to beep

The car also was not getting locked due to this reason. I had to call Mahindra help and take my vehicle to India garage . The Scorpio team helped me with a Electrician from India Garage . David from India garage checked and found that all doors were working perfectly . The culprit was my bonnet switch which may be due to some hard driving was not making contact .

The central locking now has a new console which I am told now integrates a NFC chip .
The NFC chip works only when we get a key near the central console . Else engine will not work . Engine Immobilizer codes may not be needed . If anyone has any updates on this issue please mail me .


Fuel Economy

During my long trip to Erode where I drove almost for 600Kms , I used the cruise control for almost 150 Kms + . I had tanked my vehicle to the brim the previous day with Shell Diesel ( 37.90 / lt in Blore )

After the trip , the voice assist system informed me that I was running the vehicle on reserve fuel . The new cluster in my vehicle has Fuel indication as a Mobile phone battery charger indicator . The 60 Lts of fuel are indicated in 8 bars . App Each bar indicate 7.5 Lts . When I went for a second fill in Shell bunk after the Erode trip , I could fill my Scorpio with 40 Lts of Diesel . This means I had consumed app 40 Lts of diesel for the 585K ms trip . That means I got app 14.6 Lts / lt on the highway . I feel this vehicle will pass better mileage on high way driving if we do use the cruise control . The reason is that in a cruise control mode ,any vehicle ECU will have a prior info on the speed selected by the driver. This means the ECU will feed the exact fuel needed to run the engine @ this speed .

So a 60 Lt fuel can help us to go up to 877 Kms for a fuel average of 14.6 Lts / Lt .


Driving stress free ?

In mad Bangalore traffic sometimes controlling this beast is a task . But this is a beauty on any Highway . For bumper to bumper traffic , hard clutching on second is needed to make sure this vehicle doesn’t stop . The torque is very much felt in second ,third , fourth gears to overtake on highways .

I will post more photographs later .



cheers ..

[anjan_c2007]

Ranga nice write-up!Many things that we experience in everyday driving are here in print.Happy Driving!Like to see more pictures of course.

[Ramsagar]

You have made a good choice in owing the high end model. How are auto headlamps wipers working? heard of some problems with the these. Pls confirm.

Seems to be u r folding both legs & sitting while Cruise control doing the job. This is of great use with the sort highways we drive today. And not mention the FE is great.
Hats-off to Mahindra for incorporating this feature for a SUV below 15L.

Pls post some interior pics. Happy motoring.

[shishir_bn]

Very good explanation Ranga, I was following your thread from the day you created it and started penning it down. Nice to see that all the new features mentioned in the vehicle are working fine as per intended function. So if you post some snaps then it will be a good summing of your trip.

[Ranga]

Dear Ram ,

My First two threads do have all the photographs of the Scorpio. Please check

[Ranga]

I forgot to write about the reverse parking sensor available in the Scorpio .

Reverse Parking sensor

This is one of the very useful features which i failed to mention in my above thread . This is used while parking my car . The VLX model has this feature and an another reason i suggest others to buy VLX . For SLE versions , the auto dealers are passing low cost versions available in the market . This is not as integrated as the one as a part of the VLX model .

Tyre
VLX comes with Bridges tone 235 and the Tyre sound @ high speeds is very negligible . SLE models come with JK tyres . I have read in the forums that they make a lot of sound while driving on high ways .

[vijaythacker]

Ranga, congratulations on your scorpio ownership.some of the good features this car has in sub 15L category.Hope the quality improves along with gear shift and body roll as well in coming years as they have improved till now.Keep updating and do post a picture in this thread as well.Enjoy your ride.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by Ranga

Tyre
VLX comes with Bridges tone 235 and the Tyre sound @ high speeds is very negligible . SLE models come with JK tyres . I have read in the forums that they make a lot of sound while driving on high ways .

Ranga My LX variant(April 2009 model) has OE Bridgestone Dueler tyres. I had demanded that and the salesman helped earmark one for delivery with this brand of tyres for me.To get Bridgestone, the sales guy must be told about it plainly.The average buyers do not bother about tyres but as bhpians our awareness levels are a bit higher.So assertion and patience pays to get your choice of tyres.

[Ranga]

Yes u are right . I had informed Seerish that i need Bridgestone only for my vehicle. I have used Bridgestone in my santro for 5 years with no headaches .

Changing the tyres is not a easy task as now all parts in a Scorpio have the chassis no earmarked on it . I was told in Seerish that its not easy to change the tyres if at all if the batch doesn't have it . I feel u are pretty lucky to get Bridgestones for your LX model .

One of my friends who bought Scorpio recently ( SLE version ) has got JK .

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by Ranga

Changing the tyres is not a easy task as now all parts in a Scorpio have the chassis no earmarked on it . I was told in Seerish that its not easy to change the tyres if at all if the batch doesn't have it . I feel u are pretty lucky to get Bridgestones for your LX model .

It is hard to believe that tires have chassis no earmarked on them.

[.anshuman]

Auto headlights are nothing great but auto wipers are superb in a slow drizzle.

[Ranga]

I strongly feel that the headlights provided for Scorpio is not enough . We need to add a bull bar in front with Hellas . The looks might not be that great after adding a bull bar.


I was also recommended with a Australian brand for headlights . This brand has a throw distance of 1200mts ( 1.2 Kms )

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Ranga

I strongly feel that the headlights provided for Scorpio is not enough . We need to add a bull bar in front with Hellas . The looks might not be that great after adding a bull bar.


I was also recommended with a Australian brand for headlights . This brand has a throw distance of 1200mts ( 1.2 Kms )

Now that could have multiple meanings. But if it is "effective" for 1200mts, I doubt it really exists unless it is an aircraft light or something like that.

HIDs are the best upgrade you could go for but they are a bit expensive. Other options include the usual 90/100 nightbreakers or the Philips Rallye in 100/130.

[getsurya]

Ranga, YOU ROCK!

Good reporting style with all details. Welcome aboard the Scorpers club! I cannot vouch more than what you said about each feature by feature.

I have been a scorpio fan for almost 5 years + now with a crde SLX earlier and an VLX from last 1.5 years. The feeling everyday in my ride is SUPERB!

Regarding spot lights, I have a Hella Rallye 1000 pair in the front on a specially fabricated beam which fits into the crash gaurd.

Also, I advise you to go for installing relay's to your OEM fog lamps and the Head Lamps. This has considerably improved my cars lighting. I opted for BOSCH relay units.

[tanwaramit]

Congratulations on buying and owning the beast. no doubt one of the best vehicle in this price range.

Share your buying experience, also beast pictures in this thread. This headlight throwing beams upto 1.2 Kms, can you throw some more light on that ?