Aug 18, 2005 12:46 PM
16952 Views
(Updated Aug 18, 2005 12:49 PM)
My black Scorpio was looking a bit tired so I thought it was time to trade him in (to me a car is not a girl... its a dude... call me sexist... an MVP or whatever bad names you want to call me... I dont care).
ATTENTION YOU AUTO FREAKS... THIS IS BASED ON A TEST RIDE
phew... glad to get that over with...
The Scorpio had been a great ally and had made distances like Bangalore to Manali a breeze. Its made it safely through some real rough terrain be it ghats or jungle. Its even took a rear end collision from a reckless Honda City without so much as a dent (the foot step at the back got a little dented... the Honda City lost its entire face). Nearly two years and the car still owns the road.
The reason for the thought of an upgrade was the way the Scorpio CRDe was being marketed. An urge to know what all the new features were. And why the price went up by a whopping almost 2 lakh rupees
Before I go on to the test drive part... heres my take on my 2003 - Scorpio DX
Quick Glance: Mahindra Scorpio DX
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The positives
Its a Behemoth: The sheer size and weight makes it a car that even lorries respect.
Its a powerhouse: The 2.6 litre turbo charged diesel engine churns out some serious power (109bhp). I've hit the 160+ mark pretty often and it holds its own.
Its a decent ride: Great clearance, pretty good 5 speed transmission, power steering... the works
The negatives
BRAKING - try slowing down at 100+ kmph and you'll see that you stop a few yards away from where you wanted it to stop.
Second row leg space is the pits.
Why do they make such a wonderful car and compromise on fixtures such as those clunky door handles and weird switches.
In spite of the flaws, the car justified its price tag and gave a decent mileage that averaged 10 kmpl.
Enter CRDe
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Like I said earlier, they boosted the price of the higher end version to around 9.2 Lakhs give or take a few thousands depending on the city. Now you need to have a serious make-over and loads of improvements to justify that price tag. Here are the enhancements:
CRDe technology - yeah... its CRD with an E and not an I. Common Rail Direct Engine! (heh heh... not that it made my life easier). CRDe boosts fuel efficiency and power. This new beast churns out 115bhp compared to the earlier versions 109bhp.
The transmission is much smoother. Shifting between gears is real sweet.
They've chopped the number of seats to increase the leg room on row 2. While this is cool, the boot area is much smaller now. They come in 7 and 8 seater versions now (used to be 8 and 9 seater versions).
The new Scorpio SPEAKS! If your fuel is low or you arent wearing a seat belt, the car tells you to buckle up or fill her up (not in those terms but yes... )
The Interiors have been enhanced. The seats are more comfortable with arm rests. The Dashboard has gone through plastic surgery.
Other features include the bull bar and the ski rack, rear window demister and wipers... oh yes... the dual tone paint job.
The lower end models lose out on the voice alerts, bull bar, ski rack and has a Blaupunkt and not a Kenwood sound system like the higher end one.
Safety features have been upgraded too. They've incorporated crumple zones to protect passengers and the braking has been improved.
Overall
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The ride has improved, the beast looks more intense and beautiful but... I wouldnt pay the near 2 lakh difference for cosmetic changes and a marginal power boost.
Good work Mahindra... now... can you work on the pricing please?
It loses a star for that one factor... the price!
~finis~
my first automobile review... please crucify it.
