Ok Guys ,
The problem with me has always been ...that I ve know a litle more about cars ( CERTAINLY NOT MORE THAN OUR SUPER INTELLIGENT NASTY NIEL BLAH BLAH)and my 1st choice was a bolero..But once again family pressures ...I ve travelled almost every whre in india by road and I do have a penchant for road travel and hence ive preffred these 2 cars as they are great highway runners.
Any way I own th e innova as well as the scorp. lets begin with the scorp.
Its a GREAT car with reasonably good amount of abilities to drive beyond the tarmac as well.
The ride is truly great and I think is the vehicle for mumbai roads .. becoz driving in mumbai these days is as good as offroading .the coil sprung scorp is really improved ... I can say that becoz I ve been testing a scorp right since the time it was launched and ive changed 3 cars since then but never touched a scorp. Let me tellu the car actually glides over potholes with ease while other cars are gasping for breath. I have driven this car almost every where but the roads .. so much so that seeing me drive on the pavements , stones and ditches etc, The other scorps have started following me ( Thanks to the dug up roads in mumbai)
Tthe new Scorp is much better than the earlier one. The Rear seats have been pushed back ( I own a DX 7 seater) for better space. There is also lots aplace for holding bottles, cds , mobiles etc The ride height is good the engine it could be more refined but noise levels truly acceptable for a diesel and yes this does not move like a diesel .
iam not comparing the figures to any of the Cruisers , Prados or the Hummers etc of the world like the way OUR SUPER INTELLIGENT NASTY NIEL had mentioned in his reviews.
The car is a great highway and clearly pulls u on from any gear at any speed , reason being the torquey engine. I touched 165Kph on the speedo on the expressway with 6 people and AC full blast. Lets consider a speedo error of 15kph ( whichis immpossible) and still it has managed its top speed .As per the auto journal AUTO CAR INDIA THE TOP SPEED FOR THIS CAR IS 152KPH. Its better in the city as it is quite compact and the design leaves no blind spot obstructing the driver’s vision. The AC is very good with options LO and HI which was not present earlier. I have not felt a turbo lag but yes at times u feel sluggish but HELLO its not becoz of the turbo but its I guess becoz of the drive by wire technology for the throttle. the sensor takes a little to react or a tall 3rd gear thats it.
One major flaw , which was the handling, has been improved but still has a way to go.. But once again its a matter of getting used to. I do feel the shocks on the steering wheel when u run on an uneven surface but whn u hit a runway then its different breed altogether. a tough shell, rigid chasis makes u feel secured. The straight like drive of this car is great but the moment u try ur cut and thrust tactics . it feels uncomfortable ..Once again I tellu its the way U acclamatize urself to this car and I have started driving this like the way I used to drive my IKON 1.6 becoz I ve understood wht this baby needs and how it needs to be handled. ( pls dont try this unless u feel ur car obeys u)
The new car did come with a few electrical snags but I guess one can over look this and I think im really happy that Ive gone for this car.But Guys if u are thinkin to BUY A SCORP NOW... HOLD ON FOR A COUIPLE OF MONTHS AND WAIT FOR A 2.2 LITRE , TWIN CAM.4 VALVES PER CYL, 140 BHP ENGINE TO BE LAUNCHEDIN JAN which is about 70 kgs lighter than the current one But then u have to take a chance ..new engine , teething probs etc 70 kgs lighter engine would surely eliminate some of the handling issues but trust me even the current one is way ahead than the other cars.DID THE SUPER INTELLIGENT NASTY NIEL EVER KNOW THAT MAHINDRAS .. WHO WERE TRADERS IN THE PAST HAVE DEVELOPED A CAR FROM CONCEPT TO MARKET AT A COST OF JUST 600CRORES ..WHICH IS OTHER WISE SPEND BY THE AUTO GIANTS JUST ON THE DESIGN TABLE.
If u want me to talk anbout INNOVA.. Then listen . Its a great car too but the engine runs out of steam beyond 110 kms .the engine becomes hoarse .the ride is stiff TO GIVE U A BETTER HANDLING space is lavish and u get pampered, the highway manners are superb but driving on pavements is a no no , AC is great. But the new ones smoke a bit so owners please check with dealer to reprogamme ur ECU . last but not the least my INNNOVA squeezes 12 kms a litre of diesel in mumbai while my scorp gives about 9 and I guess on the highway they would be more or less at par as the scorp has taller gearing . the gear throw in an INNOVA is long but well slotted and the gear in the scorp is well slotted too , but the throw is short and quick.
the interiors are class apart in an innova compared to the scorp but then if u comare the scorp to others the the scorpo wins hands down. it feels chunky and indestructible.
women find driving a scorpio easy too.
The braking in an innova is far superior to scorpio .SCORPIO brakes tend to grab as mentioned in the journals but again if u know the knack of braking then u neednt worry at all.
One more flaw is the 3rd gear ina scorp ...its too tall ...great for the highway but not for stop gap city trafic.
A FEW KNOW THAT A SCORP NEEEDS AN OILCHANGE AT 15000KMS AND THE AIRFILTER CHANGE AT 30000KMS WHILE THE OTHER DIESELS NEED OILCHANGE AT 5000. IT IS RECOMENDED THAT AN INNOVA CAN RUN FOR 10000 KMS TILL THE NEXT CHANGE BUT THE DEALERS INSIST A CHANGE AT 5000... WHY AM STILL WONDERING.....THEY ALSO PUSH U TO USE NORMAL DIESEL AND NOT TURBO JET. .
BUT I USE THE TURBO JET INSTEAD.... EARLIER THERE WERE SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE VISCOUSITY OF THE FUEL AND IT USED TO DAMAGE THE FUEL PUMPS OF OTHER CARS, BUT NOW THE PROBLEMS ARE HISTORY SO GUESS TURBO JET IS SAFE.
THE DEALERS ALSO PUSH U FOR A RUST TREAT MENT..BUT..ALL CARS ARE TROPICALIZED BEFORE TOUCHING INDIAN SHORES
In one of the reviews one gentle man had mentioned that the scorpio gives drivers a fatigue on long drives, but ...let me clarify its not like that any longer . That gentle man too had a seirra .. SIERRA hmmm...I wish it comes back.I ve driven a TATA Sierra from mumbai to Dehra dun ( 1750 kms ) non stop and I was fresh as ever. the beauty of a sierra was the leg room , head room , steering place ment so that u r shoulders to dont get strained but sierra is history now.
To sum up . Both scorpio and innova are great cars to be in and drive and both have their sides to their story.
IM CHARGED AFTR WRITING THIS REVIEW, I GUESS IM GOING FOR A DRIVE FOR A FEW 100KMS BUT WHT DO I TAKE INNOVA OR SCORP .. IM GOING ALONE , SO I GUESS THE SCORP..
DID I TELLU, IM 6FT 3 INC TALL. & BOTH CARS ACCOMODATE ME WEL.