Took my Scorpio-N 4x4 to some unpaved forest trails: 6 observations

For the mileage enthusiasts - Got between 12.6 and 13kmpl on the Kolkata - Siliguri stretch both ways. Got about 8.5kmpl on the Siliguri to Siliguri stretch.

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Had a wonderful trip through some unpaved forest trails in North Bengal a few weeks back. It turned out to be fuss free travel due to the absolute ease with which the Scorpio N tackled the terrain.

We enjoyed a relaxing and mostly comfortable drive through some scenic forest roads. Drove through Senchal forest from Baghgora to Chatakpur (10km in around 1 hour), then from Chatakpur we took the forest track to 3rd Mile (11km in around 50 minutes) on our way to Mulkarkha via Kalimpong. Drove up a steep newly stone covered section from Aritar to Mulkarkha Lake . Followed by a drive through some more broken forest roads while driving from Mulkarkha to Lava via Kolakham. Anyone familiar with the above routes will realise a big part of the route planning was to find some difficult as well as less trodden roads to enjoy while testing myself and the Scorpio N. A test the Scorpio N passed with flying colours.

A few notes and observations from the trip (Z8 4x4 AT) -

• For the mileage enthusiasts - Got between 12.6 and 13kmpl on the Kolkata - Siliguri stretch both ways. Got about 8.5kmpl on the Siliguri to Siliguri stretch (about 370kms covered, mostly on hilly roads and decent stretches of broken/stone roads)

• Faced the Android Auto issue where it refuses to reconnect to your phone either wired or wireless, both while driving to Siliguri (after about 8 hours driving) and again on the return leg (after about 4 hours driving). Tried the turn off and turn on trick with a toilet break in between but that didn't help, second step was to reconnect the negative on the battery terminal, which did the trick. Side effect of the same was that it also resets some of the momentary trip meter data such as driving time, average speed, fuel efficiency. Have never faced this issue previously (driven only 9000km over the last 10 months of ownership).

• Another random Android Auto issue cropped up where Google Maps would repeatedly exit navigation mode by itself. Since Music and other normal Google Maps/GPS still worked normally, I initially thought it might be a phone/Google issue, but rebooting the phone didn't help. An ignition cycle helped resolve the issue and things were back to normal. Again, this issue was new having never previously occurred or since.

• Noticed tyre pressure drop due to lower temperatures once we reached Chatakpur. No TPMS warning due to it being within normal range at those temperatures. Could definitely feel the extra sponginess while driving over the stone/rutted forest roads. Topped up a couple psi the next morning and did notice the ride be slightly more jittery while leaving Chatakpur, but felt it was better to have good pressure for the tarmac sections that were to follow.

• Drove through some narrow-steep-winding rutted roads and never felt the vehicle struggle. Some stretches I pre-emptively switched to 4H just to avoid the little bit of wheel spin while taking sharp hairpins over lose terrain. Both ascents to Chatakpur and later Mulkarkha (via the narrow winding climb) seemed like a cakewalk for the N. All done at very conservative speeds without having to worry about maintaining momentum. The 4Low came in handy while descending from Upper Chatakpur. One button press and I was able to easily crawl down a twisty steep descent over undulatated stony roads without the need for brakes. One of the few occasions where I felt justified in my decision to go with a 4x4.

• The gearbox tuning that befuddled me on city and Highway drives for its propensity to hold on to gears for what seemed to be far too long, came into its own when driving through winding mountain roads. The added engine braking was just so useful during the quicker descents on the tarmac sections, that most times no manual intervention was required. When needed manual mode was easy to work. Slow down under twenty, shifter to the left, tug down and you're locked in 1st even when the decline pushes you to 4k rpm the transmission holds onto the gear in manual mode. Reach a gentler slope and nudge it up to get onto 2nd and smooth out the revs. The whole setup just made hill driving so easy, maybe too easy.

• The suspension setup definitely needs praise. Yes there's sideways bobbing (physics has not been defied), yes when alternating ruts creep up on you it can give you quite the shake as you quickly step on the brakes to turn off the chaos, but when the deeper ruts are absent you can maintain a reasonable pace even over broken stony forest roads. The stock tires (Wanderer A/S) too never seemed to struggle or come across as a weak point. Let's see how they age, as there have been reports of premature tread disintegration from a few owners.

Some pictures of the Bruiser, which turned out to be a cruiser, in some of its natural habitats.

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