Its been a wonderful 2 years & 36k kms with my scorpio. today i am in the mood to sum up some of the most sad & interesting moments with my buddy- the scorp.
2007 end:
My brother buys a safari 2.2 which was just launched a few weeks back. Initial impressions of the safari was great but frankly, i dint enjoy driving this 140bhp monster as much as my older 110 bhp non-crde scorp.
Feb 2008:
Autocar India India reveals the first drive of the mHawk scorpio. Their view was that though the ride & handling has increased only marginally, the engine is a big leap forward in terms of refinement & power delivery. but i was a bit disappointed that its 120 bhp compared to 140 bhp in safari.
April:
Went to a Mahindra A.S.S & TD the mHawk scorpio. While driving the car, a huge grin was visible on my face! i was totally fascinated by the auto wipers/headlights, TPMS, cruise control & such, no matter what others say, i loved it! this car made me smile & my love affair with scorpios continued!
Initial May:
We decided that our older non-CRDe scorpio had run enough (
ownership report) & it has to be sent to kerela & we thought of a replacement. We already had an innova & i suggested the scorpio mHawk, but of course! but my family was more keen on a hatch or sedan since we already had the safari & innova. did some test drives of quite a few cars but nothing could capture my heart the way the scorpio did.
One thing i knew was people would buy the scorpio only & only for its engine. its a gem, as i always say.
Luckily, could convince my parents that scorpio is the best. the low running costs & nil maintainence of the older mahindras supported my claim!
Mid May:
A friend suggested that safari was a much better option as Tata has solved the "turbo lag" issue & the car is much better now. Went to the tata A.S.S. again & TD the safari. i could adjust with the panel gaps, the dash quality (even mahindra is not great in these!) but i simply dint like the engine. it was nowhere as refined or as fun to drive as the scorpio. {if any safari fans are reading this- sorry folks, this is purely my personal opinion.} moreover, my past experience with tatas has not been good. even my brother's 5 month old safari started showing small troubles. So, it was the scorpio for me, again! of course, family thought i am nuts!
24th May:
Went to the mahindra A.S.S to book the scorpio, again did a TD for fun & payed the advance. Wanted a java brown scorpio but mom like scorpio only in diamond white. so next day, along with the balance payment, booked a white top end scorpio VLX. was promised delivery on 31st may.
27th May:
Went to the A.S.S' stockyard to check my car & did a thorough PDI. Gave a thumbs up for the registration.
30th May:
My brother was gifted with a baby boy!
31st May:
I was gifted with a scorpio! I went to the A.S.S in a rickety cab. the driver was driving at a sane 30-40 kmph. i was damn anxious to drive my prized possession & this made me very very irritated. Finally i reached the venue, did the puja & drove off my car. The feeling was amazing. though everything from the driver's seat seemed similar to my older car, the feel was not just the same. it was a totally different scorpio.
Initial days:
I had quite a few memorable events with this car. The initial days were spent in running in the car carefully. I also wanted a nudge guard badly. after a lot of running & searching here & there, i finally managed to get hold of one & installed it in my car. i feel it totally changed the character of my car, for good.
After running in, some of the best drives i had was on the mumbai-pune express highway. IMO, the scorpio feels the most comfortable between 90-110kmph. the car felt rock steady compared to the innova (again my opinion!) & dint have the floaty feeling the innova gave. it was only in the ghats with the tight corners that the innova had an edge. but again, the scorpio with its power easily used to overtake a slow innova. i will not compare my car with my bro's safari on this forum (many know the reason!). so no matter, what people say about a toyota, its quality, space, ride, blah blah blah, i loved my scorpio more... just because it was more involving to drive & dint perform like a taxi, as is the case with innova! also, apart from the space, i found the scorpio's seats to be more comfortable for my heavy build than the innova's "made-for-japs" kind of seats.
Later on:
This car did give me some issues like door squeaking, expansion valve issue, AC issue & the likes. this took out some of the fun from a good ownership experience, but nevertheless, a good drive on this car made up for it. infact, i got so attached to my car that i used to talk to it! every morning, the voice assist used to tell me "welcome to your scorpio...." & i used to wish it back "good morning"!!! {do i need a doc?} anyways, i knew the engine so much that if our driver fills diesel from a different pump other than my usual bunk, i immediately used to know even if i am just sitting in the car, as if the engine complains to me!
Some other points:
1) many complain about the voice assist system. they find it irritating. i dont know why they dont just simply switch it off (mahindra had provided a switch) if they are so irritated? i dont feel its irritating so its kept on in my car.
2) many owners have also complained about the erratic functioning of the auto wipers & TPMS. luckily, in my car, it has always worked perfectly till now with no issues at all.
3) Many friends of mine have ridiculed me for driving a "mahindra" when for the same amount, i could buy a honda or chevy. there are others who never even gave the scorpio a second glance. who would want to drive a mahindra? these friends have changed their opinions after driving my car, some even recommending a scorpio to others! there was one guy who had bought an innova even without TD the scorpio or safari. his comment was "i cant believe this is a mahindra!". now all of them think differently about a "mahindra". all the credit goes to the engine & nothing else.
The good, the bad & the ugly:
I loved the leather seats by G sport-
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-parts/1431-seat-covers-mahindra-scorpio.html
Also i love my ICE, though i desperately need to upgrade it-
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/car-entertainment/57-my-scorpios-rockin-n-reelin.html
I cant forget the day when a thief pierced open my car-
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f.../1658-theft-attempt-mahindra-scorpio-vlx.html
Here i put an end to my story though the rest would continue in due course... picture abhi baaki hain mere dost!
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