[Dodge_Viper]

The first 500km highway drive experience:

Went for a trek near Nashik over the weekend so got to know the beast's highway manners. Pune Nashik road is now all the way 4 laned so it has relatively became much stress free than what it was before. Kept a steady speed of 80-90 throughout.

• The cabin is very well insulated from outside noise

• Supremely comfortable ride. Absolutely no fatigue at all

• Rock steady at 100kmph. Didn't go beyond 100kmph though. All rough patch works, minor potholes just disappeared below

• At no point did the ride got unsettled due to painted rumbler strips or the shoddy patch works

• Body roll is well controlled as well

• There was a dam near the fort for which Google maps was showing a long route. However on maps there was a trail which led to the dam, so no second thoughts on taking it. This is the main reason why I preferred this car over anything else

• Average FE was hovering around 12-13kmpl

All 4 laned Pune Nashik highway:



The rough road trail towards the dam. It was quite slushy at few places. No issues for Scorpion N. The primary reason for getting this car



Friend shot this:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=P833FYkI...6JvRSzljoHkJd1

Posing:



A much needed foam wash post the trip:

[Dodge_Viper]

1000 kms service

1000 kms came up in less than a month. As per service schedule nothing is done in the first service. They only check the standard stuff. Service appointment was again a nightmare, by the time I had clocked 500kms more. My only worry was the DEF level. During delivery it was at 87% and post 1500 kms it has gone down till 77%. Not sure if its normal. Since next service is at 10k kms and I have a big Rajasthan trip coming up in December, I might have to get it refilled prior to that. Vehicle was properly washed and cleaned. In fact they had a separate feedback sheet for washing and interior cleaning and was specifically asked to verify if the cleaning is done as per my satisfaction or not .

So far running well. No issues, niggles faced.

Meanwhile the very first simple mod of wrapping the chrome bits on the grille. Did a drive on Kaas road as well.

[Dodge_Viper]

4wd knob jugaad

I had mentioned in my opening post that the placement of 4x4 knob is a risky affair. I had couple of heart in mouth situations where the 4wd was engaged on the move on highway. Luckily for me the road was relatively empty and I could immediately stop safely. However given that such occurrences might be frequent I started to think of some jugaad cover over the knob. Tried to search online for such covers but nothing was available. However image searches threw one interesting find which was for Isuzu but that gave me a DIY idea.


(Image sourced from Google)

I could have tried to order this from somewhere and try it out but unfortunately it was showing currently unavailable on few websites. So I got the measurements and tried to source a plastic box matching the dimensions. Ended up with those small jwellery boxes which ladies use. Painted it black. Cut the bottom based on dimensions and used a double sided tape to stick it over the 4x4 knob panel.

End result:





This looks hideous and ugly no doubt. But soon I am planning to get this 3D printed somewhere by carefully measuring and designing it. For now it works

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

This looks hideous and ugly no doubt.

Hideous yes

Ugly no way. Any DIY to save a 3-4Lac damage to the transfer case, gearbox and front axle is not ugly.

Consider making a cousin of the cute smiley sphere (water bottle I presume?) to cover the round 4wd knob. Try the Oddbods or Minion figuries too.

PS - I am not sure if you are aware of the term Mall-Offroading. You just took it to the next level :-)

[Zanscoot]

Let me know if you need some help getting something designed and 3D printed! I have a printer and have designed some parts for my Gurkha as well.

[Amrit@wheels]

@Dodge_Viper, it does not look ugly or hideous by any means. In fact, I want to thank you for offering such a practical solution to such a serious problem.

[Dodge_Viper]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

H

Consider making a cousin of the cute smiley sphere (water bottle I presume?) to cover the round 4wd knob. Try the Oddbods or Minion figuries too.

PS - I am not sure if you are aware of the term Mall-Offroading. You just took it to the next level :-)

Smiley sphere is a dustbin actually . The issue with circular cover is the curvature around the buttons on the console. Plus it won't cover the 4H and 4L buttons.

And no, I honestly don't know what is mall-offroading. If it means people who buy 4x4 to visit malls then I am definitely not the one .

Originally Posted by Amrit@wheels

@Dodge_Viper, it does not look ugly or hideous by any means. In fact, I want to thank you for offering such a practical solution to such a serious problem.

Thank you!

[__Beamer-Guy@07]

@Dodge_Viper this is such an awesome and practical solution.
Out of curiosity au you mentioned it was a Z8 with all the practical bells and whistles why doesn't it have alloy wheels or am I missing something
Thank you in advance.

[Dodge_Viper]

Originally Posted by __Beamer-Guy@07

@Dodge_Viper this is such an awesome and practical solution.
Out of curiosity au you mentioned it was a Z8 with all the practical bells and whistles why doesn't it have alloy wheels or am I missing something
Thank you in advance.

Thats Mahindra for you. Not giving alloys on a 22+ lakhs rupees car . Z8 4x4 AT has alloys. Mine is MT.

[Dodge_Viper]

Devil's very first road trip

Did a fantastic road trip with the ScorpioN. I had a destination wedding to attend in Chittorgarh Rajasthan so decided to club a road trip as well. Since the DEF level was at 65% and I had to cover almost 3k+ kms, decided to top it up. This was my first ever 9 day long road trip. I was confident doing long distances in this as compared to my i10. Hence decided to do Pune-Chittorgarh in a day.

This was the trip meter at the end of day 1 . My highest ever in a day


Absolutely stunning Rajasthan roads.


Sadly one cannot visit the Pokhran site




Visited Tanot, Longewala and Indo Pak border








At the end of trip. Covered 3500kms.


Post this trip I have come mighty impressed with the ScorpioN. Each and every penny spent is worth it. I am in absolute love with this car. The way it handled all sorts of roads, speeds was just unbelievable. The confidence inspiring brakes, handling, ride comfort are all top notch. Even the passengers (3 adults and 2 kids) were supremely comfortable. During the entire trip managed to get max FE of 13.46 full tank to full tank method. This is quite impressive given that the car was heavily loaded with 4 trolley bags, 4 backpacks, 4 crates of water bottles and other things. All throughout it was sort of spirited driving with speeds definitely not in 80/90s. Also ended up paying speed fines thrice in this trip. 2 in Rajasthan and one in Navi Mumbai .

Niggles:
DTE sometimes gets stuck with 999. This doesn't change by restarting the car. It only changes on filling up fuel again.

Android Auto disconnection issue which was not there till this time has started to crop up in between now.

[SidTheChamp]

Wonderful. In last week of December I visited Jaisalmer. Because of days limitation, could not visit Longewala but had a trip to War museum, 13 kms from Jaisalmer.

While maximum outstation cars were DL and HR registrations, was excited to see a few MH cars made the trip.

And yes, had first time experience of offroading in Mahindra Thar at where else That desert Sam sand dunes. The drivers take the bumpy desert hill road over there to give the riders a thrill.

The place i.e Dunes is literally lined with hundreds of Thar at sunset along with the camels and quad bikes. What a sight

[BB311]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Can the third row be removed entirely from the car leaving a fully flat boot?

This is how the boot feels after removing the last row. Boot space becomes 1.5x

[wooka]

This is precisely what I've done! I've got no kids and no extended family. We are generally 2-3 people in the car. Don't need the rear bench seats. Poof! Now I can move sofa chairs cross country =)

Please let me know if and when you have a nice cover design printed. Have a cat that hops all over the place and keeps engaging 4H when I'm on the highway.

[ask99]

Originally Posted by BB311

This is how the boot feels after removing the last row. Boot space becomes 1.5x

Do you happen to remember what size wrench was used to remove the seats? I noticed a star kind of pattern on the nuts holding the last row in place, would be nice to know the proper tool to use to take them out when required.

[BB311]

I have no idea about the spanner being used, I was attending an office call from front seat when this was happening.