[prakashutosh]

I started a new job which payed me enought to consider an upgrade from my existing mode of travel- The Delhi Metro and the family Swift.

This report outlines the decision making process, the options available, the dealership experience and finally IOE.

I had a budget of about 8.5L on road all inclusive. FOllowing were the options that I had and considered before deciding on the Scorpoio:

1. Maruti Swift VDi/ Dezire VDi- Great Engine, great handling on the Swift. Best front seats in its class. HOwever a 4 month waiting period after consulting 4 dealers left me looking elsewhere
2. Hyndai i20 CRDi- This is not a small car. It may look like one, but the spac and comfort features inside are comparable to a car that is a couple of classes above. (4 months waiting)
3. Hyundai Verna CRDi- Road rocket. Even though I test drove a new verna which had some 12 odd km on the odo, the car was smooth, super responsive. However body roll makes it slightly dodgy at tripple digit speeds. (30 days waiting)
4. VW Vento TDi- Great feel to the car. Solid chunky part and doors, everything sounds and look s like it has been built to last. Engine is also very smooth, I found it a bit sluggish in throttly response, especially compared to the Verna. (3 months waiting)
5. Mahindra Scorpio LX- MONSTER!!! (6 days waiting)

Finally I honed my choices down to the Verna, Vento and Scorpio. I test drove these vehicles thrice each. The Vento and the Verna, whilst are great cars made me feel like a pap with 3 children which I am not. Though they are great cars, I felt, and this is my opinion only and in no way meant to be derogatory to existing drivers of these vehicles, that these cars are for a slightly more mature audience. I am not mature, and I am not a middle aged papa.

The scorpio on the other hand makes you feel like a king of the road. Great power delivery. The engine is smooth and reasonably silent at respectable revs. The pick up is brilliant. The cruising ability astounding, 5th gear 2000 rpm 80 kmph...and you can't hear the engine!!

Pros

1. Size- YOu arent shoved around the road by the BLuelines and the lorries
2. Engine- Gem
3. Cruising- HIghway animal
4. Offroading- Not really offroading but within the city, climbing over pavements and mounds to get out of traffic jams
5. Seating position- Coming from a Swift it feels regal

Cons

1. Braking- I got the LX( The only model that fit in the 8.5 L bracket) which comes without ABS, have had a coule of worrying wheel lock ups. Need to be a liitle perceptive and careful when negotiating city traffic.
2. Body Roll- Nothing overtly wrong for a car this size and hieght. Just feel a lot after the Swift
3. Squeeks and Body Noise- Even though the finish is perfectly respectable for a base model, the fit is a whole seperate issue. I have clocked about 3500 Km and the interiors are already rattling and squeeking. This goes down considerable when there are more people in the car. It is the back seat, the door panels and the good handles...Very very disappointing
4. Gear vibrations- While this should not be a deal breaker, it is a little annoying. But on the plus side, it gives your left arm a good massage.

I had no issues with the Delaer Koncept Motors. They delivered the vehicle with the extras they had promised on the day they had promised at the time.

The only issue taht I had was the car's alighnement was off and it was pulling to the right. Thanks to the Team BHP PDI checklist, this was detected. The dealership said it was a tyre pressure issue, so I took the service engineer to the petrol station and got the tyre pressure checked. Even after this it was still pulling. They said to take the car home and promised that they would rectify the problem the next day. The next day, the car was collecta dn taken to the dealers service centre for alignement and returned the same evening. Unfortunately the problem persisted. I then made a visit myself to the service centre and met the manager and explained the situation. They were very courteous and heard me out. The apologiesd and immediatley tested the car on the road and on the alignment machine. There indeed was a proble. The front right wheel was out to the right by a few degrees which was causing the pull. This was readjusted and then again tested on the road. The problem still perisited.

Later it was discovered that a thin piece of metal, what they aclled a "SIM" was missing from the front right wheel which was causing the problem. They put this SIM near the axle and problem solved.

Now while the persistence and effort of the Koncept motors staff was comendable the quality checks at Mahindra are not.
Brand new car, less than 80 km on the odo and gross problems like this are inacceptable for a 8.5 L car.

However, this should not be a deterent to buying the vehicle, a thorough PDI is ESSENTIAL.
I truely enjoy driving the vehicle. It is fast, solid and can take it pretty much anywhere without thinking twice. Agreed that it has a few niggling problems, but then in contrast to the smile it puts on my face when I turn the ignition key, is incomparable.

Photos will be put up soon...

[ravikn]

Nice review there Prakash,

Congratulations and wish you many more happy miles with the new Scorpio. Please do post some pics of the cars and the interiors

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by prakashutosh

Later it was discovered that a thin piece of metal, what they aclled a "SIM" was missing from the front right wheel which was causing the problem. They put this SIM near the axle and problem solved.

Congrats on your purchase and enjoy at least a million kms of happy motoring with the Scorpio.

By the way it is called a SHIM and not a SIM.

Pl post some pictures as well either here or on the Scorpio pics thread.

[comfortablynumb]

Good choice! I was also leaning towards the LX variant, but stretched my budget and chose the SLE at the last moment, just because it had ABS and the rear wash and wipe feature in it [plus some additional convenience features].

Many congratulations and wish you a million miles of safe & happy driving!

Cheers,
Vikram

[anantu2001]

Congrats prakashutosh. Indeed a great VFM SUV. Scorpio and Safari are two vehicles that changed the way people think about SUV's. Great choice I must say.

Wishing you many years of Happy Motoring.

Please post some pictures so that we can appreciate even more

[Bhargava_sr]

Congrats on your new Scorpio, Even Iam planning for Sle version shortly just waiting for 2011 model.

Very Nice Initial report, Happy and safe Driving

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by prakashutosh

The Vento and the Verna, whilst are great cars made me feel like a pap with 3 children which I am not. Though they are great cars, I felt, and this is my opinion only and in no way meant to be derogatory to existing drivers of these vehicles, that these cars are for a slightly more mature audience. I am not mature, and I am not a middle aged papa.

...

Congrats. Waiting for the pics eagerly. I found the above lines funny, though i don't endorse it.

Cheers,
Amit

[(Alok)]

Congratulation for new vehicle. It gives the peace of mind that service center guys attended you in good manner and alignment problem solved. It can be understood that how small issues irritate bigger when we bought a new vehicle.
Wishes for successful Journeys.

Why didn't you wait for 2011?

[Reinhard]

Hey Prakashutosh, welcome to TBHP. And hearty congratulations on your mHAWK! Do post finer details and regular updates. And yes its an offense to post without the pictures do post them as soon as possible. We are all waiting.
Btw, how much was the price difference between the LX and the next nearest ABS equipped variant? Was it too much? A vehicle with the Scorpio's dynamics and weight would be better with ABS. Yes as you said, better be careful not just in the city but also on highways. Like they say in a tire tv ad, "The roads are full of idiots". They'll suddenly turn / cross when they feel like doing that...(You must be aware of this since you've already been driving.)

Wishing you unlimited safe and happy miles with your Hawk.

[klassics45]

Welcome to the scorpio club. Im sure you would be surprised how easy it is to drive in cities and would give you more peace of mind than swift.

@reinhard, its about a lakh more than LX. it would have been an apt choice, 'cos ABS gives more confidence in scorpio than any other vehicle. I think his budget has limited with less options.

[getsurya]

Prakashutosh,

Congratulations on your new Scorpio! Welcome to the Scorpers' club!

Happy Motoring!

More pictures to go in this thread please!!

[Dry Ice]

Prakashashutosh,
Firstly congratulations on getting the Scorp home!

LX truly is an awesome VFM deal, plus you get to do the customization as per your taste, time and budget. Good choice.

OT: I really wish the manufacturers start offering basic safety features like ABS, Airbags etc. atleast as an option!

[TaureanBull]

Congrats for the vehicle. Happy and safe driving. I am not sure if really did it intentionally, but your write up was humorous in parts.. one example already cited above.

Originally Posted by prakashutosh

I started a new job which payed me enought to consider an upgrade from my existing mode of travel- The Delhi Metro and the family Swift.

Offroading- Not really offroading but within the city, climbing over pavements and mounds to get out of traffic jams

BTW its nice to see that the new job pays you enough to consider a 8.5L Scorpio, more so as you seem to be young and not middle aged papa.

This style of offroading as part of pros is first time I heard. You reminded me of Delhi traffic and people's tactics. This one seemed right from the heart.

Do post the pics.

[2500cc]

Welcome to T-Bhp and Congrats on your possession buddy. May the Scorpio lots of Smiling miles in your life.

Cheers,
Rajesh

[diwakarmuthu]

Congragulations on your new buy and wish you all the very best. I also own a LX scorpio and share your same concerns.

The scorpio on the other hand makes you feel like a king of the road. Great power delivery. The engine is smooth and reasonably silent at respectable revs. The pick up is brilliant. The cruising ability astounding, 5th gear 2000 rpm 80 kmph...and you can't hear the engine!! - Absolutely correct. If you get a free stretch in the city, I just love to let the vehicle fly

Cons

1. Braking- I got the LX( The only model that fit in the 8.5 L bracket) which comes without ABS, have had a coule of worrying wheel lock ups. Need to be a liitle perceptive and careful when negotiating city traffic. - You will need some control while crusing at high speeds. I haven't experienced it, but definetely a point to be noted to fellow owners
2. Squeeks and Body Noise- Even though the finish is perfectly respectable for a base model, the fit is a whole seperate issue. I have clocked about 3500 Km and the interiors are already rattling and squeeking. This goes down considerable when there are more people in the car. It is the back seat, the door panels and the good handles...Very very disappointing - True, I have a few squeaks coming from the left rear and I found the jump seats not fitted properly. It got corrected after the first service
3. Gear vibrations- While this should not be a deal breaker, it is a little annoying. But on the plus side, it gives your left arm a good massage. - You also need to ensure your shoulder doesn't get displaced LOL

I think this could be a bulid problem. I also had a similar issue and the wheel alignment was done once again during first service. I will need to look at the tyre wear to figure out if the alignment works