. The new Facelift version look much better than the older Indigo, do check this one before making an opinion about looks.
. Mileage has been around 10 Kmpl, +-0.5 because of city driving, A/C use etc.
. Front two seats have height adjustment feature.
. Glove box chiller is quite efficient and does chill a water bottle very well.
. 1.4 engine is probably just about ok for city driving. rarely happens (but does) when you feel a slight lack of power in second gear. First and Third work as expected. This is experience from drive all the way up to Nandi Hills (1500m above sea level from around 900m above sea level).
. Lacks ABS and airbags, which lower cost 2-box cars have started offering now (Indica i10).
. I think TATA is aware of the brand building part and that is why in race to buy Jaguar and Landrover from Ford.
. Overall very good value for money, specially comparing with other 5.5L - 7L segment choices.
It is not a good news for industry but it is true. Cars sales in India drops with a great extent.
The main reason's behind this according to analyst in India and auto experts is high interest rates and steps taken by reserve bank to reduce liquidity in the system.
According to Times of India , which is India's leading english newspaper "Rising inflation and interest rates, and lower availability of finance have pushed auto into skid row as sales for most car companies remained flat in July"
According to the sources the cars sales of various companies in India is given below :
Maruti Suzuki, car market leader :- 0.1% up at 52,911 units in comparison to 52,839 last year
South Korean major Hyundai Motor India :- 0.4% up at 15,066 in July against 15,003
Tata Motors :- decline of 14% at 14,652 in July this year against 17,629
MARUTI SUZUKI SWIFT DZIRE will be available in both petrol and diesel variants.It comes up with 4 cylinder 1.3 litre multijet engine.The overall interior space will be 400 liters more than that of MARUTI SWIFT hatchback.It has security features like ABS and twin Airbags. Prices of Swift Dzire in Delhi on 22 july 2008 :-
The scorpio has shape characteristic of SUVs, its big, its chunky and has loads of road presence. This design has been an eye-catcher among SUVs and has bagged many an award for its styling. The new Scorpio has an air input duct on the bonnet – do not get excited, this duct does not make the Scorpio as powerful and efficient as those American cars – this duct is pseudo, sealed shut and is meant for just looks. There are also changes done to the rear end of the Scorpio; it now has a huge tail lamp cluster running all the way from the roof to the bumper – this too is pseudo because the top part of these lights does not work! These towered tail lights also call for slightly different rear panels.
The new Scorpio also boasts about “Air extractor”. When we asked about these from the incompetent sales person of Swami Automobiles, he showed us what this gizmo was. Damn! It was a piece of plastic around the last of the side windows, with a whole lot of holes – hey come on! there are better ways to fool not so intelligent consumers.
Other minor cosmetic changes include a new style bumper with air dams! Add on spoiler and ski racks to boot. Perhaps now, Scorpio owners will finally benefit from the extensive wind tunnel testing of the Scorpio which rendered the bonnet scoop completely shut! We don't mean to be hard on the Mahindra engineers and their redesign effort. It definitely is good and we are glad to know that they have fast tracked their development program, unlike their competitors. But, we really hope that the marketing guys at Mahindra exercise a little more discretion in their promotion efforts.
The interiors have tried to incorporate many things all at once. There are so many holes in this dashboard. There are holes underneath the rear AC vents! meant to hold big bottles, of water perhaps. But, all these holes and cubby holes are there no doubt and Im sure serve a purpose too, but one felt Mahindra engineers have spent much thought to incorporate this. But, perhaps these holes should not have been so many that the whole design seems like it was done just to please some design requirements; not to serve much purpose. Also –the legroom and seating comfort are as pathetic as ever.
Engine and Transmission The engine has remained an excellent positive for the Scorpio since its inception. Originally a turbocharged indirect injection later upgraded to a common rail unit which Mahindra calls CRDe. This 2600cc 4stroke turbo-charged inter-cooled common rail develops a very credible 115bhp at 3800rpm and 28.3kgm of torque between 1700-2200rpm. Couple this with the 2510kg kerb weight and Mahindra Scorpio turns out to be a very heavy vehicle.
The Scorpio has an excellent bottom end, it pulls extremely well from low down, but it gets even better once that turbo kicks in. There is a surge of power with the 2.5 ton behemoth lunging forward eagerly. There is one thing though, the tachometer is calibrated till 8000rpm, but the Scorpio can barely manage 4500. We agree its a diesel and that it isn't meant to rev all that much, perhaps then they should have had the tachometer calibrated to 5000rpm or so.
The Scorpio has a 5 speed manual gearbox that is a little weird. The gear lever is at an angle to the dashboard. For some strange reason, the Scorpio has all its gears at an angle. Mahindra could have done without such a system. The gear ratios are well selected and can keep the engine on the boil, but overtaking may requires some down shifting. The clutch is very progressive and petrol car drivers may cause the engine to whine while getting off the clutch, but its light and easy which makes it that much more easy to use, especially in city conditions.
Ride and Handling Originally, the Scorpio had leaf spring suspension; leaf springs are the same as those you will find in the original Maruti 800, but in recent times; only truck and buses. The modern technology offers much better in terms of suspension. Mahindra has teamed up with world leaders lotus UK for including a coil spring suspension. Scorpio now riding on its new set of coil springs and anti roll bars is excellent. The new suspension has also helped improve the overall handling however only marginally. The major improvement can be felt by those who have experienced the last row of the Scorpio during a long drive.
Our Verdict The Scorpio has always been fun to drive, it has commanded every ounce and more all the road presence it deserves. It definitely is built for the Indian road conditions, it will eat potholes at will and munch miles like a glutton. Don't let the marketing guys fool you that the new air dam and air scoop will boost the aerodynamics of this car. To know how much work has gone into this car, just take both the old and new Scorpio for a spin.
