Scorpio Lx Crde Turbo 2.6 - 2000 km performance update

Scorpio LX Crde Turbo 2.6 - 2000 km driven – update on performanceLong distance trip Bangalore-Coorg-Bangalore last weekend in the Scorp – with quite a bit of internal Coorg running around too.Route: Bangalore-Mandya-Srirangapatna-Hunsur by pass, to Coorg.  Back via Madikeri, Kushalnagar, Bylekuppa, Periyapatna etc.  Roads were good for the most part on the highways. Several stretches within Coorg itself which were very bad, bumpy, potholed and very muddy and rutted on account of rains. The exiting Periyapatna road is very bad for about 20kms or so. Full of ruts and pot holes. Engine/Pickup etc: As usual, fantastic feel, pickup, performance at high speeds with the Turbo Whine etc. Did 140-145-kmph top speed on the BMIC road on several stretches on the way out and on the way back, but only for short distances because of the ever present dangers of people/ animals suddenly crossing the road. This Scorp is really and truly an effortless MILE MUNCHING MONSTER! Load: Wife in front seat, and a friend in the back seat plus luggage and golf bags etc. Also had the 2 steel wheels as ballast. Comfort: Front seat absolutely no trouble as usual. Back seat was comfortable according to my friend – he was strapped in so the effects of inertia and other movement was minimized. He said the rear suspension was far better than the earlier Scorpios.  Also said that the seating position at rear is improved in the new Scorp compared to the old Scorp. He is about 5.9-5.10 in height and had no problems with space. Rear AC vents gave sufficient throw and kept him cool too. Brakes also were first class. Great stopping power.Hill Drive and Bad Road Performance:Was going pretty fast in the hills around 60-80kmph on average on most of the journeys, while cornering, the rear passenger felt a bit thrown around because of the tight sharp bends, but was held comfortably by seat belt.  Absolutely no body roll from the vehicle communicated itself though, to me as the driver. Luggage also remained intact in the back.  The Scorp’s tight, compact proportions and good low end grunt felt fantastic while zipping up and down the tight bends in the hills. The power of this engine is really great. And I say again, this car does not handle like a boat – it feels really nice to drive in the hills. Most of the bumps and potholes absorbed beautifully by the suspension and of course good tyres and alloy wheels. High ground clearance is a dream to experience! The stability around corners with the alloys was absolutely fantastic. Only on a few stretches of really bad roads did I slow down but I still took most bad bumpy stretches at about 40 kmph . I had to slow down a few times to a dead halt and further progress in first gear. But all in all, I treated the vehicle more or less the same as last week, when we drove bad roads to Ooty and back.Rattles and Squeaks etc:The jeep was and is not rattling at all even after this type of harsh treatment- only the golf club heads were rattling about inside the bags on the journey! Some Observations: Mud splashing: This jeep has the regular stock tyres with 16 inch Aura Alloys. Since they stick out a bit from the sides of the vehicle, while going through mud and water, the vehicle sprayed itself quite liberally.  Water splashing onto bonnet: Plus since this vehicle has only the stock bumper without the extending flanges in front, while going through deep water patches, the water gets splashed onto the bonnet and the windscreen – causing temporary visibility chaos-– but very soon put right if the wipers are on. Outside Rear view Mirrors vibrating: One thing is that while driving on unevenly surfaced roads and even at medium/high speeds on highways, I find that the external rear view mirrors tend to vibrate/ shake – they don’t make any noise but when you see traffic behind you, the image of the vehicles in the mirror tends to jerk and rattle about a bit – this could be avoided by each mirror being fitted with some kind of vibration damping mechanism – one should ideally be able to read the number plate on the vehicle coming up behind one, when one is on the highway – in the current scenario one is not able to do that! KMs covered/ FE etc: 730 odd km. Had a full tank before leaving. Filled up 35 litres in Coorg. Reached Bangalore with 7-8 litres in the tank. Used AC throughout. Only in coorg in the rain did we use heater. About 10-11Kmpl returned, so that s ok by me.

Alignment/Balancing/ Air Pressure issues noted. -

Comfort, Driving Pleasure, Performance, Power, Speed, Handling,ToughnessFuel Economy could be slightly better - but Im not sure if it was my driving.