Small potholes and bad patches were handled easily by the car. There wasn’t much up and down movement that I felt while going through them.
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So I went to the showroom on the 1st to check if they can give a longer drive. Though they still said that you can drive on the demarcated area, I talked to the SA I met last time and told him I want to book and finalize either the XUV700 or the Scorpio-N top end petrol model, but only after getting longer drive or going on bad roads to see the comfort of the vehicle. The SA was kind enough to arrange the same for me and though the route was no way longer, but it wasn’t on the highway and I drove through some bad patches. Here are the observations (please note that I went alone this time to check on them and I can’t give feedback of the second row):
- Small potholes and bad patches were handled easily by the car. There wasn’t much up and down movement that I felt while going through them. And while it may not be as good as my current Innova in terms of comfort, it was good in terms of cabin composure, didn’t feel unsettled yet.
- The drive was with ease, riding on the broken roads in the residential area was not a problem, and faster I went on the potholes, the smoother it felt (though that was only to be judged on TD vehicle and I generally go slow to moderate on broken/uneven roads).
- There was a patch wherein I did not take the XUV700 in the last TD, nor my Innova afterwards for comparison as I did not go that far on that patch so I cannot compare as of now, but that patch of road hardly had any proper road left, it was all broken, stones/bricks coming out unevenly, I felt a lot of sideways movement and body roll on that patch in the Scoprio. I was going slow, not sure if I would have faced lesser body roll at higher speeds, but I maintained low speed as I would have maintained in my normal drive, and it kind of made me move a lot in my seat (I’m tall and heavy built for reference).
- Someone recently asked about the AC in hot conditions, the temperature that time was about 40 degrees and AC was very effective for the first row. And even the second row AC was on which cooled the cabin quickly and I actually increased the temperature as I was feeling a little cold while driving. For reference, when I turned on the AC of my Innova while leaving from the dealership, it took much more time to cool down the cabin and I had to use higher blower speed too but then again, it’s an older vehicle and second row ACs are switched off in my car when there is no one sitting. But overall, the AC for the first two rows of the Scorpio is very effective and much better than XUV700 if compared for the first two rows only.
- The SA told me that the Z8L petrol AT in Scorpio or XUV700 AX7L petrol AT if booked should both be available in 4-5 months of time. So there is no need to worry for people who are looking for top end petrol variants in terms of waiting times. He also told me that the chip issues are getting better and I assume that due to bogus bookings and cross shopping as well as priority of company to deliver the top models now, there should not be an issue with people waiting for 4-5 months.
I went in considering the waiting time would be more than a year, so would have booked either one of these vehicles, though the SA assured me on my asking that if I book both the vehicles, he’ll adjust the booking amount of the other vehicle (which I would cancel) with the other vehicle (which I would buy).
Now considering that the waiting time is only 4-5 months, I have decided to hold the booking as of now and thinking if I should continue with the Innova as I love the hassle free ownership and let the initial niggles get sorted or shall I book the car. Mind says XUV700, but the heart says Scorpio-N (adding to it that lesser electronics might also mean lesser niggles maybe?). Driving would mostly be in city and as a daily drive, but the real need would arise during the rainy season and going through occasional bad patches that come due to rains as I would not take out my sedan during the high rainy season.
Keyword: Mahindra Scorpio-N: Observations after driving the SUV on bad roads