I was driving a Honda City for a very long time and thought of replacing it with a better car. My budget was 10 to 14 lakhs. I have considered Skoda, Corolla, Civic, Sonota for the new cars and also looked at second hand Camry and Accord. I was not too keen on Scorpio as our one off experience with Scorpio (that my friend had) was not too good when we went on a long drive. However, a new dealership opened in February about 200 meters from my home and I walked in oneday to check them out. In display was this all new Scorpio VLx and the sales person convinced me to take a test drive.
The moment I turned on the Ignition, I knew this is way different from other versions. For the starters, the engine was very quiet. Pick up was amazing and really hard to beleive that it is a diesel car. I took the test drive on the national highway and the cruise control worked so well. Seating comfort (whcih was an issue in the older versions) was addressed as well with lot better material for the cushions. I immediately booked the car and it was ready for delivery in 2 weeks time. I got the Java Brown 7 seater. I really loved the Park assistant.
I added a reverse camera and the combination is so great that I never have to turn my head and see what’s behind :-) (Which generally results in lots of honking from others as they think that I am reversing without checking what’s behind). The aftersales service was excellent. Each and every feature of the car was explained in detail and periodic feedback was sought. I took it for 2 long drives so far with my family and we really enjoyed the drives. During one of the trips, while we were crossing a stationary bus, an old woman ran across the road barely 10 feet from us and we were at 80kmph at that time, I slammed the brakes and the car stopped literally in its traks just 3 to 4 feet from that old lady. The bus driver commented saying that the braking was fantastic. We were so thankful to the ABS (which definitely made the difference to the life of that old lady). I have driven so far 3000 kms and am getting about 11.5 kmpl in City and I get 2 kmpl more when on highways.
Best Things about mHawk
Extremely quiet engine. Whether it is the City Driving or the highway, the engine is extremely quiet. Especially on highways, the engine noise was definitely lower than my petrol cars.
Absolutely powerful - Pick up is tremendous. You can overtake effortlessly even in the 5th gear. moving on from 80 to 100 is childs play for the car
Cruise Control - You will appreciate this when you have to drive really long distances. I work in Chennai which is 425 kms from my native place and the drive on GQ from Chennai to my native was never better. I could use Cruise control for more than 300 kms without any issues. I got ample rest for my legs
Audio controls on the steering wheel - This is amazing as you do not have to take your hands off the steering wheel and your eyes off the road. Great feature
Audio System - Comes with a slot for Memory card, CD and USB for Ipod. I loaded the system with all and did not have to touch the system in the 6 hour journey. We did not hear any song the second time
Automatic lights - This feature is something some of the pricey cars do not offer. I did not switcn on/off the lights even once. This is pretty nice, only problem is that the extra helpful passers by point out to the lights (when you park and leave, the lights come on for about 30 seconds. Very use ful in ill lit areas)
Road view - The driving position does not get any better. Clear view of the road (some times you can see over the top of cars infront of you).
Parking Sensors and Park Assistant - I have a parking place where I always have to park in reverse. Considering the fact that Scorpio is a big vehicle, it would need some one to guide me for parking and I found parking assistant really assisting me all the time. As I said, I also added the reverse camera that I bought from US to make this a fool proof and totally reliable one.
Fuel Efficiency - Eventhough the dealer claimed 14 kmpl in the city, I knew it would not be possible. I drive to and fro to work (7 kms each way) and close to 150 kms over the weekend. I get about 11.5 kmpl. I even tried the Extra Mile diesel but did not see any improvement in either the mileage or the handling. When I took it out on highway, I got close to 14 kmpl (13.8 to be precise)
I can go on and on, but I better stop now :-) Now some of the problems that I had
Noisy clutch - Clutch started making weird noises in a very short time, dealer informed me that it is lubrication issue and will be taken care of during the first service
Wind noise - While on the highways, the wind noise was unbearable sometimes. Took it to the dealer, and they found some problem with the beading on the door. Still the problem is not fully resolved (reduced for sure, but not eliminated)
Gear Shift - Sometimes the gear shift becomes too tight and needs a lot of cajoling for it to accept and oblige you. The problem is very accute when it comes to the reverse gear.
Vibrations - Too much of them (May be because I moved from extra smooth Honda :-()
Overall I am very happy about this car and I am glad I bought this.