Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag)

Jetblast101 · 9th March 2011, 17:48

We started considering a new vehicle for our garage once our Honda City Gxi crossed 3 years of ownership, it has been an age old tradition in our family to
change cars every 3-5 years. After steep fuel price hikes over the last few months we decided to go in for diesel after much deliberation and argument.

Our budget was around Rs. 14 lakhs and an automatic was a must as we drive long distances in the city. I had shortlisted mainly two vehicles for our requirement the Mahindra Scorpio and the Chevrolet Cruze. Since we had a budget constraint we decided to check out the Scorpio in detail at G3 Motors Nerul(Navi Mumbai).

I had informed the dealership that I would be coming in for a test and they had promptly arranged vehicle for me. The test went well and I enjoyed the view from the drivers seat and the transmission, though being a little hesitant during stationary starts was above satisfactory in most aspects. We booked the a black scorpio VLX AT BS-IV model in December 2010. The sales executive promised us a delivery of February 2011. When the vehicle was finally delivered it was 1 week behind schedule but thats a different story.

Continuing on the delivery we received the vehicle on 20th Feb 2011 and the delivery experience was decent enough but I feel that the vehicle demo could have been better. On road price Rs. 12.3 lakhs (appox.) and add to that the extended warranty for 2 years/100,000kms for Rs.9999. I did not get any discounts on the vehicle but I got some cheap looking transparent mats from the dealer.

Good Bits:
*Equipment levels are very good for this price point
*Automatic transmission is a boon to drive in the city
*Bluetooth enabled audio is very convinient and also allows audio playback via BT
*Steering mounted controls are very useful and lets you control most of the audio functions
*Torquey engine has negligible turbolag
*Seats are comfortable and provides good support for long drives
*Good ground clearance makes tackling bad roads a breeze (esp. after the Honda City)
*Additonal features like cruise control, TPMS, auto lights and auto wipers

Not so good bits:
*Interior fit and finish quality could have been better
*Navigating bad roads has to be done at a lower speeds due to the firm suspension
*Some rattles here and there but nothing too annoying
*Audio quality could have been a lot better, (5/10) rating in my opinion
*Noise levels are a little higher than what I am used to (coming from a petrol car obviously)

Its been a week since I have been driving the Scorpio and till date I have 630 kms on the odometer. Since my usage pattern has been mostly in the city which is like almost 50 kms in dense traffic the AT is a big boon for me. Exterior styling wise I think Mahindra has done an excellent job to make the Scorpio look big and macho, the vehicle certainly has a lot of road presence. The steering is light and this makes it easier to drive around in traffic. Interiors are just about average, the plastics used are quite hard and cheap in certain places and this could have been improved. The a/c is quite effective and cools quite quickly even though I haven't used any sun film yet.
The automatic transmission is satisfactory but I think Mahindra can improve on the initial response which is slighly slow in my opinion, in kickdown mode the transmission is quick to shift down to give that sudden acceleration required during overtaking.

I havent really checked the fuel efficiency yet, but according to my calculations so far it should be around 10-11 km/l. Ride quality is strictly average but ground clearance is good, so no more scraping speed breakers. Since I am in the running in period I have not exceeded 90 kmph so I will probably check out the high speed stablity once I cross 1000 kms. Handling for a vehicle of this height is decent considering the high CG and the body roll is within acceptable limits.

This is my first ownership thread on team-bhp so please let me know if I missed out something.
I am adding some pics of the Scorpio parked in my garage, please excuse the quality.

jkrishnakj · 9th March 2011, 19:37

Heartiest Congratulations on the buy. Am sure you must be all smiles sitting on the wheels. Nice pictures and crisp briefs. 630 in a week !wow !.
Enjoy the ride and safe driving.

DMehta · 9th March 2011, 20:03

Welcome to Tbhp Jetblast! Its literally raining Scorpios on this forum! Scorpio is definitely a great choice and a butch SUV. It is the most VFM car in its class.
How come you started facing rattles so early in the initial stages? Its disappointing. Anyways, enjoy the vehicle as you can practically run over all those annoying rikshaws. :P
Enjoy thr vehicle

Jetblast101 · 9th March 2011, 20:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Heartiest Congratulations on the buy. Am sure you must be all smiles sitting on the wheels. Nice pictures and crisp briefs. 630 in a week !wow !.
Enjoy the ride and safe driving.

Thanks, its a great feeling to be sitting up high after driving the city for three years, the ease of driving despite its size is quite surprising and yes being an AT helps

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMehta

Welcome to Tbhp Jetblast! Its literally raining Scorpios on this forum! Scorpio is definitely a great choice and a butch SUV. It is the most VFM car in its class.
How come you started facing rattles so early in the initial stages? Its disappointing. Anyways, enjoy the vehicle as you can practically run over all those annoying rikshaws. :P
Enjoy thr vehicle

Yeah you are right

, no rickshaw dares to overtake me especially from the left which was quite annoying before. The rattles are quite minimal maybe I have too keen a ear

. VFM is always a very important factor when I choose vehicles.

thedreamcatcher · 9th March 2011, 20:30

Congratulations on the buy. Looks stunning in black.

The one thing that I have found very odd about this SUV, is the tall and weird looking gear lever. Second, for the price you pay, the seat fabric quality is way below par. The least they could have done is come up with a decent colour.

Hence, first things first. Put on some good seat covers. Beige should look really good and accentuate the interiors

raj_5004 · 9th March 2011, 20:38

Congratulations on the scorpio buddy.

I guess they changed the colour of the centre console from carbon black to silver. have fun with the powerful beast.

happy motoring.

Jetblast101 · 9th March 2011, 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedreamcatcher

Congratulations on the buy. Looks stunning in black.

The one thing that I have found very odd about this SUV, is the tall and weird looking gear lever. Second, for the price you pay, the seat fabric quality is way below par. The least they could have done is come up with a decent colour.

Hence, first things first. Put on some good seat covers. Beige should look really good and accentuate the interiors

Yeah I agree a shorter gear lever would have looked much better, seat covers are definitely on the cards but a few months later maybe

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Congratulations on the scorpio buddy.

I guess they changed the colour of the centre console from carbon black to silver. have fun with the powerful beast.

happy motoring.

thanks, I hope its a change for the better

Mr.Beat · 9th March 2011, 21:41

Welcome to team-bhp, and congrats for the car. Scorpio is that car which is truly VFM. It looks awesome in black. By the way, which part of Navi Mumbai you are from?

Jetblast101 · 9th March 2011, 22:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Beat

Welcome to team-bhp, and congrats for the car. Scorpio is that car which is truly VFM. It looks awesome in black. By the way, which part of Navi Mumbai you are from?

thanks, black was not my first choice initially but whit had become too common. I stay in kharghar what about you.

Schoudhury · 9th March 2011, 22:05

The car looks really nice in black.
This is one of my dream ride to own.
Near our flat we have a family who owns a white scorpio , and boy that looks smashing.
Anyways congrats on your new acquisition.
Also look like you are pretty fond of black as i see a black I20 also parked .
Any upgrades planned or already done .
How is the ride quality, i never traveled in a scorpio but one of my friend told me that the ride is very bumpy, is that true.

Drive safe and enjoy your new ride .

Cheers

Jetblast101 · 9th March 2011, 22:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

The car looks really nice in black.
This is one of my dream ride to own.
Near our flat we have a family who owns a white scorpio , and boy that looks smashing.
Anyways congrats on your new acquisition.
Also look like you are pretty fond of black as i see a black I20 also parked .
Any upgrades planned or already done .
How is the ride quality, i never traveled in a scorpio but one of my friend told me that the ride is very bumpy, is that true.

Drive safe and enjoy your new ride .

Cheers

thanks buddy, yeah black is definitely my favorite color in fact what you cant see in the background is my black pulsar 200 also in the garage

Scorpio ride quality is satisfactory i cant say that its as good as sedans but yes the bumpiness can be avoided by maneuvering at slower speeds on bad roads but no it is not 'very bumpy'.

dr_anurag · 9th March 2011, 23:36

Welcome to the Scorpio club. I recently bought a manual VLX BSIV with airbags in 4X4 mode. Driving it is such fun that my other cars are feeling a bit neglected.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

How is the ride quality, i never traveled in a scorpio but one of my friend told me that the ride is very bumpy, is that true.

Cheers

The ride is very good except that it does have body roll when pushed around corners.

Jetblast101 · 9th March 2011, 23:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr_anurag

Welcome to the Scorpio club. I recently bought a manual VLX BSIV with airbags in 4X4 mode. Driving it is such fun that my other cars are feeling a bit neglected.

The ride is very good except that it does have body roll when pushed around corners.

Yup you are right body roll is definitely present but for a vehicle of this height its obvious. Driving the automatic is definitely addictive, no more clutching for me

octane78 · 10th March 2011, 00:37

Hi Jetblast101,

Welcome to the Scorpio club and congrats on the beast. Black looks smashing love the colour.

We purchased a Scorpio BS4 VLX with air bags in white as according to my mom black is supposed to be inauspicious for my astrological sign.

Here is the link to my ownership thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...omes-home.html

mdsaab · 10th March 2011, 01:31

At 12.3 lakhs you really get a lot of car for your money.
Lots of useful features and the convenience of an AT. Topping it off with a reliable and powerfull diesel mill. I mean what more could you ask for. Its the best buy in its segment and the only choice if you are looking for an AT suv at this price point.
Congratulations on your wise decision.
Wishing you many miles of joyful motoring with your black AT beast.
Drive safe!

9th March 2011, 17:48	#1
Jetblast101 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 54 Thanked: 10 Times	Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) We started considering a new vehicle for our garage once our Honda City Gxi crossed 3 years of ownership, it has been an age old tradition in our family to change cars every 3-5 years. After steep fuel price hikes over the last few months we decided to go in for diesel after much deliberation and argument. Our budget was around Rs. 14 lakhs and an automatic was a must as we drive long distances in the city. I had shortlisted mainly two vehicles for our requirement the Mahindra Scorpio and the Chevrolet Cruze. Since we had a budget constraint we decided to check out the Scorpio in detail at G3 Motors Nerul(Navi Mumbai). I had informed the dealership that I would be coming in for a test and they had promptly arranged vehicle for me. The test went well and I enjoyed the view from the drivers seat and the transmission, though being a little hesitant during stationary starts was above satisfactory in most aspects. We booked the a black scorpio VLX AT BS-IV model in December 2010. The sales executive promised us a delivery of February 2011. When the vehicle was finally delivered it was 1 week behind schedule but thats a different story. Continuing on the delivery we received the vehicle on 20th Feb 2011 and the delivery experience was decent enough but I feel that the vehicle demo could have been better. On road price Rs. 12.3 lakhs (appox.) and add to that the extended warranty for 2 years/100,000kms for Rs.9999. I did not get any discounts on the vehicle but I got some cheap looking transparent mats from the dealer. Good Bits: Equipment levels are very good for this price point Automatic transmission is a boon to drive in the city Bluetooth enabled audio is very convinient and also allows audio playback via BT Steering mounted controls are very useful and lets you control most of the audio functions Torquey engine has negligible turbolag Seats are comfortable and provides good support for long drives Good ground clearance makes tackling bad roads a breeze (esp. after the Honda City) Additonal features like cruise control, TPMS, auto lights and auto wipers Not so good bits: Interior fit and finish quality could have been better Navigating bad roads has to be done at a lower speeds due to the firm suspension Some rattles here and there but nothing too annoying Audio quality could have been a lot better, (5/10) rating in my opinion *Noise levels are a little higher than what I am used to (coming from a petrol car obviously) Its been a week since I have been driving the Scorpio and till date I have 630 kms on the odometer. Since my usage pattern has been mostly in the city which is like almost 50 kms in dense traffic the AT is a big boon for me. Exterior styling wise I think Mahindra has done an excellent job to make the Scorpio look big and macho, the vehicle certainly has a lot of road presence. The steering is light and this makes it easier to drive around in traffic. Interiors are just about average, the plastics used are quite hard and cheap in certain places and this could have been improved. The a/c is quite effective and cools quite quickly even though I haven't used any sun film yet. The automatic transmission is satisfactory but I think Mahindra can improve on the initial response which is slighly slow in my opinion, in kickdown mode the transmission is quick to shift down to give that sudden acceleration required during overtaking. I havent really checked the fuel efficiency yet, but according to my calculations so far it should be around 10-11 km/l. Ride quality is strictly average but ground clearance is good, so no more scraping speed breakers. Since I am in the running in period I have not exceeded 90 kmph so I will probably check out the high speed stablity once I cross 1000 kms. Handling for a vehicle of this height is decent considering the high CG and the body roll is within acceptable limits. This is my first ownership thread on team-bhp so please let me know if I missed out something. I am adding some pics of the Scorpio parked in my garage, please excuse the quality. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

9th March 2011, 19:37	#2
jkrishnakj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,667 Thanked: 4,139 Times	Re: Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) Heartiest Congratulations on the buy. Am sure you must be all smiles sitting on the wheels. Nice pictures and crisp briefs. 630 in a week !wow !. Enjoy the ride and safe driving.
	() Thanks

9th March 2011, 20:03	#3
DMehta BANNED Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Mumbai Posts: 232 Thanked: 4 Times	Re: Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) Welcome to Tbhp Jetblast! Its literally raining Scorpios on this forum! Scorpio is definitely a great choice and a butch SUV. It is the most VFM car in its class. How come you started facing rattles so early in the initial stages? Its disappointing. Anyways, enjoy the vehicle as you can practically run over all those annoying rikshaws. :P Enjoy thr vehicle
	() Thanks

9th March 2011, 20:30	#5
thedreamcatcher Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Dubai Posts: 1,204 Thanked: 66 Times View My Garage	Re: Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) Congratulations on the buy. Looks stunning in black. The one thing that I have found very odd about this SUV, is the tall and weird looking gear lever. Second, for the price you pay, the seat fabric quality is way below par. The least they could have done is come up with a decent colour. Hence, first things first. Put on some good seat covers. Beige should look really good and accentuate the interiors
	() Thanks

9th March 2011, 20:38	#6
raj_5004 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai Posts: 5,238 Thanked: 3,139 Times	Re: Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) Congratulations on the scorpio buddy. I guess they changed the colour of the centre console from carbon black to silver. have fun with the powerful beast. happy motoring.
	() Thanks

9th March 2011, 21:41	#8
Mr.Beat BHPian Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 383 Thanked: 243 Times	Re: Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) Welcome to team-bhp, and congrats for the car. Scorpio is that car which is truly VFM. It looks awesome in black. By the way, which part of Navi Mumbai you are from?
	() Thanks

9th March 2011, 22:05	#10
Schoudhury Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Blore/Dallas-TX Posts: 1,066 Thanked: 479 Times View My Garage	Re: Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) The car looks really nice in black. This is one of my dream ride to own. Near our flat we have a family who owns a white scorpio , and boy that looks smashing. Anyways congrats on your new acquisition. Also look like you are pretty fond of black as i see a black I20 also parked . Any upgrades planned or already done . How is the ride quality, i never traveled in a scorpio but one of my friend told me that the ride is very bumpy, is that true. Drive safe and enjoy your new ride . Cheers
	() Thanks

10th March 2011, 00:37	#14
octane78 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 141 Thanked: 28 Times	Re: Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) Hi Jetblast101, Welcome to the Scorpio club and congrats on the beast. Black looks smashing love the colour. We purchased a Scorpio BS4 VLX with air bags in white as according to my mom black is supposed to be inauspicious for my astrological sign. Here is the link to my ownership thread. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...omes-home.html
	() Thanks

10th March 2011, 01:31	#15
mdsaab Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 1,624 Thanked: 453 Times	Re: Enter the Black Beast Mahindra Scorpio AT (BS4 with Airbag) At 12.3 lakhs you really get a lot of car for your money. Lots of useful features and the convenience of an AT. Topping it off with a reliable and powerfull diesel mill. I mean what more could you ask for. Its the best buy in its segment and the only choice if you are looking for an AT suv at this price point. Congratulations on your wise decision. Wishing you many miles of joyful motoring with your black AT beast. Drive safe!
	() Thanks