This is an UPDATE to my earlier review.
I have now sold the CRDe after owning it for 8 months. Here are some observations about the CRDe. My decision to sell the CRDe was due to three main reasons:
- The steering and vehicle-control at speeds above 80 kmph is
extremely vague. Not only is there minimal feedback, the vehicle tends to ’’wander’’. This makes one feel highly unsafe, especially given that the CRDe does not have ABS or air-bags.
- The brakes, albeit improved over the earlier version, are just not
commensurate with the weight and resultant momentum of the Scorpio - they cannot bring the vehicle to a sure halt in the time and distance required.
- The suspension leaves a whole lot to be desired - the vehicle rolls,
pitches and yaws a bit too much for comfort, resulting in early set-in of driving fatigue on long journeys.
I am quite certain that I will become a Mahindra customer once again at a point in time when the company brings out a high-end version of an SUV that overcomes the above problems... even if it means that one has to pay a lakh or even more.
Other minor improvements that the company can make on the CRDe are:
- The dashboard material needs to be of a softer, more yielding
material - presently, the hard fibre scuffs very easily and makes the interiors look scruffy and déclassé.
- The side view mirrors need to be upsized - it is very difficult to
study the left-side one when driving, since it is relatively too small and also because the vehicle is very wide.
- The clutch pedal must be made softer - maybe even as soft as that of
a sedan. In stop-go traffic, it becomes tiring to drive the Scorpio and the left leg becomes pretty tired.
- When one opens the bonnet of a 6 month-old Scorpio (especially after
the monsoon), one sees too many spots of rust - this is what one expects in an Ambassador or Fiat, not in a relatively more expensive vehicle. Perhaps the rust spots are not of any consequence - it just leaves a poor impression and makes one wonder about the insides that one cannot see!
- The steering needs to be stiffened - it is just too free for
comfort. After all, this is a macho SUV. Besides, it makes one feel very unsafe to drive at higher speeds, since one has to concentrate 100% of the time since a tiny, involuntary twitch of the wrist can take the vehicle off the road (or worse)
- The folding rear seats of the 7 seater need to be fastened more
firmly than the flimsy Velcro strap permits - else, they add to the rattles and noises, especially on not-so-smooth roads.
In stop-go traffic, especially when the tachometer is reading around 1500, the vehicle picks up an unplanned spurt of speed when the turbo kicks in... even when the foot is OFF the accelerator - one has to be very conscious of this characteristic, else it can lead to an accident.
The CRDe must be made available with a higher-end model that incorporates safety features like twin airbags and ABS, EBD, Traction Control. Discerning customers don’t want to sacrifice safety for the sake of price.
Girish Rangan
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