[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

Here is a question to the SUV owners.
How would you see below situation :
I always - ALWAYS - drive around 90s, rarely touch 100s even on clean and clear road. I am fairly confient this way when I am in my Indica for all of these years about handling and braking in emergency if I have to.

I am thinking of migrating to either Safari or Scorpio. here is the real problem :
ABS with 4x4 is available only in high end trim; which is beyond my pocket right now. That makes me tilt towards Scorpio LX 4x4.
How would you place ABS on these "oversized" vehicles compared to Altos and Indicas - is it "must have" or "nice to have" as per my driving style. Can I live peacefully while cruising on highways with that speed without ABS?

I obviously cannot test in the TD.

Dont even think of buying a safari or scorpio without ABS. I used to own a Safari LX and the braking on that monster was scary and prone to lock and sideways drift.

Now my scorpio (SLE) comes with ABS and on a couple of occassions, I have realised the value of ABS- more than the speed, it is the sheer momentum of these heavy beasts which can be dangerous when teh wheels lock up. also, 90 kph is not slow by any standards and when you multiply that with a 2 tonne mass- the momentum would need serious retardation power.

[shankar.balan]

Totally agree with himanshu and rjstyles.

I am a born again convert I agree, because it is only these last 6 months that I have personally owned a car with ABS And full safety kit. I have never blessed myself more than when I took that decision to upgrade.

I have of course driven various fully loaded cars abroad and have come to appreciate the amazing -ness of ABS etc when driving on wet slippery roads. The car holds its line under hard braking, does not skid and does not go out of control.

To me, ABS is a real life-saving invention and therefore a must have.
I would supercede Airbags for ABS because ABS is likely to come into play much more than Airbags.

In India, we have a very dangerous set of roads, highways and in-city driving conditions. Forget natural troubles like wet conditions and snow and so on, think of the extreme unpredictability of the other creatures that share our road space!

The Scorpio and Safari are very good utility tools. They are working vehicles with excellent capacities, power, toughness, low maintenance costs and so on. However, they cannot be called 'safe' by any stretch, especially the lower spec versions. Added to that they are both extremely top heavy and in some sense seem to be flawed in their basic design itself. The same goes for the XUV, which is yet to prove itself.

I have had a couple of frightening skidding experiences in my Scorpio on the highway while trying to avoid a puppy and once more when trying to avoid a fool motorbike in the city of Bangalore. My Scorpio had no ABS and no other safety stuff, being an LX. I bought it just before they introduced the version which came with ABS and Airbags and the Mhawk engine. I have had 4 years of use of it and I was very glad indeed to get shot of it I can tell you. Never again that type of vehicle sans safety kit, for me!

4 months ago my wife and I were driving to Madras in my Yeti. Near the big Poonamallee town flyover as I was taking that sweeping left turn at about 90 to 100 kmph, a cow decided to amble along directly into my path. I simply twiddled and twaddled the wheel, slapped on the brakes and steered away. My Yeti and both of us sitting in it, did not even turn a hair! My wife was totally peaceful with the way all the electronic gizmos must have swung into play, ASR, ESP, EBD, ABS etc etc etc. By contrast she was extremely panicked when the earlier puppy avoidance incident happened n the Scorpio on the Mysore highway.
I had to stop, calm myself and her down, drink water, ensure the puppy was safe, put him into a temple nearby and then move on after 20 minutes of rest.

Another time in in December last year, while driving somewhere at night in the Yeti, another small pup darted onto the road and I absolutely un-hesitatingly slammed the brakes. The Yeti stopped dead and the puppy ran off. Without ABS I am quite sure there would have been a different tale to tell and I am extremely glad indeed that I am telling you this tale instead!

All going well, never again shall I go and buy a car which does not have these essential safety features.

If you are buying either a Scorpio or a Safari, please buy those versions which atleast have ABS. You can for the moment eschew Airbags if they are above your budget but ABS is an absolute must have.

[benbsb29]

Advait, i have been using my Scorp LX which comes without ABS for close to a year now, and about 21,500 kms. I am a careful driver and by God's grace not really missed the ABS all that much. However it would anyday be be comforting to know that ABS is present on the vehicle when you need it.

Now, you decide.

[1100D]

If its a scorpio, it has to be with ABS. I have been able to sense it working in many situations, especially during this time of the year when the roads just get fresh showers and are very slippery, moreso when the tyres are past their best.

[advaitlele]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

ABS is a necessity than a mere ornament ...

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Dont even think of buying a safari or scorpio without ABS.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Totally agree with himanshu and rjstyles.

...

To me, ABS is a real life-saving invention and therefore a must have.
I would supercede Airbags for ABS because ABS is likely to come into play much more than Airbags.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

...
However it would anyday be be comforting to know that ABS is present on the vehicle when you need it.

Now, you decide.

Thank you folks for the quick inputs. And I am now more confident of my decision now. I may not be able to use 4x4 to full glory during the lifetime of the vehicle; may be on odd day during vacation. But ABS looking at the thread link shared by RJ and experiences above said it all - is a MUST HAVE.

City traffic may still be ok (there are hardly any patches I touch even 50 when going to office) but, when someone is cruising on highways on 90s or touching 100 mark on speedo, sudden braking would lead to a terrible situation on these vehicles.

Why do they make ABS as an "extra gadget" on such behemoths and not a hygiene requirement? Why can't we have LX with ABS on Scorp or EX with ABS on Safari? 4x4 on these trims would be welcome of course.

Safari is available with ABS only with GX trim; that too optional and Scorpio only in SLE

Thanks folks again. Picture is clearer now.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

ABS with 4x4 is available only in high end trim; which is beyond my pocket right now. That makes me tilt towards Scorpio LX 4x4.
How would you place ABS on these "oversized" vehicles compared to Altos and Indicas - is it "must have" or "nice to have" as per my driving style. Can I live peacefully while cruising on highways with that speed without ABS?

I obviously cannot test in the TD.

The Scorpio SLE too has ABS but no 4wd. If you do not have the need for a 4wd, you could look at the Scorpio SLE as well. The SLE has much better appointments on the interior and a wider choice of colors as well

The Scorpio LX does NOT have ABS.

[advaitlele]

Thanks everyone.
It's got to be SLE Scorpio or Gx with ABS Safari for me. VLx or 4x4 is out of budget for me. Have been scouting for it for last 2-3 months; but it has to wait for some more time.

Back to the original thread. sorry for hijacking.

Pls keep the updates coming.

[gypsyFreak]

Originally Posted by karizma9292

Hey guys , here's how it all started...

Noticed that your alloys are offset, isn't this causing water splashes on the body. Have you done anything to rectify this?

[karizma9292]

Originally Posted by gypsyFreak

Noticed that your alloys are offset, isn't this causing water splashes on the body. Have you done anything to rectify this?

Water does splash onto the body , i don feel the need to rectify that . Wheels are hardly 2" out of the body . The wheel specs of mine are 0 -ve offset , the alloys are 7.5 J , thats what making it to pop out .

[gypsyFreak]

Originally Posted by karizma9292

Water does splash onto the body , i don feel the need to rectify that . Wheels are hardly 2" out of the body . The wheel specs of mine are 0 -ve offset , the alloys are 7.5 J , thats what making it to pop out .

Actually, I took delivery of my Scorpio LX 4wd last week. Got EVO alloys fitted the next day. These are 8 J, so wheels pop out predominantly. Since there is no side claddings the wheels stand out. When i enquired with the alloys dealer (Autoshop) he said they can fit rubber mud flaps as in Trax.
But what i have observed is that LX does not come with mud flaps, if we mud flaps from VLX, it would pretty much cover the offset. So just wanted to check if you had thought about this.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by gypsyFreak

Actually, I took delivery of my Scorpio LX 4wd last week. Got EVO alloys fitted the next day. These are 8 J, so wheels pop out predominantly. Since there is no side claddings the wheels stand out. When i enquired with the alloys dealer (Autoshop) he said they can fit rubber mud flaps as in Trax.
But what i have observed is that LX does not come with mud flaps, if we mud flaps from VLX, it would pretty much cover the offset. So just wanted to check if you had thought about this.

VLX mudflaps would not directly fit a cladding less wheel arch, since they take into account the additional width due to the cladding, besides the front mudflap on VLX is integrated into the footstep.

[karizma9292]

Hey guys , planning to upgrade the suspension for better ride quality and highway handling with IRONMAN Shock absorbers . Will Upgrading ironman dampers help for those ?

[HighwayofLife]

Originally Posted by karizma9292

Hey guys , some interior pics , few pics from new year trip to coorg with wifey and few pics of the music system & HELLA red grill horn which were installed

Attachment 866661

I know this was an old post, but I've got a question on your tweeter mounts, since this is something that vexing me about my LX 4x4. My Blaupunkt Component Speaker tweeters are mounted on the dash and IMO look horrible, though the sound quality with their current placement is just superb, given that this is the first time I've been able to listen effectively to Mozart while driving (I'll be posting a separate thread reviewing my ownership of the LX 4x4).

Do you have provision to mount the tweeter in this manner in the Scorpio LX, or did you have to cut into the door panel?

[karizma9292]

Originally Posted by HighwayofLife

I know this was an old post, but I've got a question on your tweeter mounts, since this is something that vexing me about my LX 4x4. My Blaupunkt Component Speaker tweeters are mounted on the dash and IMO look horrible, though the sound quality with their current placement is just superb, given that this is the first time I've been able to listen effectively to Mozart while driving (I'll be posting a separate thread reviewing my ownership of the LX 4x4).

Do you have provision to mount the tweeter in this manner in the Scorpio LX, or did you have to cut into the door panel?

Its just simple buddy , make a hole on the door pad as per the tweeter size and fix it , different tweeter has a different kinda way to fix it . I had to use a little 3M double side tape to fix it

[lifebuoy]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

Thanks everyone.
It's got to be SLE Scorpio or Gx with ABS Safari for me. VLx or 4x4 is out of budget for me. Have been scouting for it for last 2-3 months; but it has to wait for some more time.

Why not consider the Safari Storme ?