Safari 2.2 v/s Scorpio 2.2 / 2.6

[chau_s79 0]

Hi guys, this is an old one. I'm sure this has debated ever since these two "Beasts" or "Trucks" have been plying on indian roads. But its time for me to make a move up in life and get one of the two in my garage. Lots of questions, and any answers forthcoming would be a great help.

    From what i know, Safari is great for the highways, and a pain in city traffic. And of course the Tata quality issues. Is the vehicle reliable?? Not really looking forward to a lot of trips to the service centre. And 4-5 years down the line, would it be trouble free ownership experience?

   Scorpio - the only thing i have heard being said against is the ride quality (bumpy) and middle row space. 

Please help me out.

Cheers,

Saurav.   

[FuelRunGod 200]

The Scorpio mHawk is quite nice, but not really comfortable and not much room. The ride quality is much better than before, some tendency to bounce remains but tolerable in the mHawk.

 

Suited more for the city thanks to size and turning circle. Engine is very good, better than the Tata's 2.2 in terms of driveability and refinement. If you have to buy the Scorp, go for the mHawk and try to buy before the ugly looking facelift comes out.

 

Coming to the Tata Safari. Much bigger and more comfortable. Ride quality is very good and seats are the best. Not as good on quality as the Mahindra. Some little things do tend to trouble you. I have the 3.0 litre and the problems I have faced are a starter motor issue, not Tata's fault, I turned the starter when the car was sitting in floods. Other problem has been the front discs getting warped the second time. But 2.2 has bigger brakes, so probably won't have the same problem. It does tend to rattle more than the Scorpio too.

 

It all boils down to personal choice, there are hardcore fans for both the Safari and the Scorpio. Hope this helps.

 

FRG

[anjan_c2007 1]

Pricewise the Safari depreciates much faster than the Scorpio. 

[FuelRunGod 200]

That's right, Scorpios hold their value better too.

 

Also, despite the 2.2, there are some bugs that seem to be coming up in a few cars. Not serious, but irritating nonetheless. Thankfully the four year warranty is there to back you up.

 

Out of the two, if you want less hassles, the Scorpio is probably for you.

 

FRG

[chau_s79 0]

Thanx fuelrod.

I am really not looking at resale value of the car. I am sure i am going to keep the vehicle with me for long. The only thing i am looking at is that the performance of the vehicle should not deteriorate, say 5 years down the line.

How long have u had ur 3.0?

And u say some issues are coming up in the 2.2 as well? What exactly?

Cheers.

[CYRUS43 0]

FRG bhai, You forgot to mention the Handling. I know the scorpio's handling is nothing to write home about, But in the case of the Safari, you turn the steering wheel, and then it thinks..."hmm..Someone has turned me!! What should i do next??...Ohh yea...i have to turn the front wheels!!..Ohh but I am too Lazy to do so!!...Ahh What the hell..Ill turn them anyways!"

[thackervijay 2]

FRG bhai' date=' You forgot to mention the Handling. I know the scorpio's handling is nothing to write home about, But in the case of the Safari, you turn the steering wheel, and then it thinks..."hmm..Someone has turned me!! What should i do next??...Ohh yea...i have to turn the front wheels!!..Ohh but I am too Lazy to do so!!...Ahh What the hell..Ill turn them anyways!"[/quote']

he he nice one cyrus  lol... yeah this part was missed by FRG which u completed.

[FuelRunGod 200]

Cyrus the reason I didn't bring the handling bit up was because I think the Scorpio is still a worse handler than the Safari. The steering is too light and the body roll is too much. The Safari isn't great either, but still more confident than the Mahindra. Yes the steering is vague off centre, but the Scorp feels lifeless. Sure it geels nice when parking, but how much of your driving time is spent in parking?

 

I remember some people were having some power steering hoses trouble, there is also a strange vibration at certain engine speeds. Somebody had trouble with the 4x4 but that seems like a one off. Like I said not serious, but irritating.

 

I have had my 3.0 for two years, it has covered 25000kms. Has done Mumbai-Delhi runs without any hiccups, so that should tell you something about the general reliability. Treat her well, and it should be alright.

 

But having said all that, the Scorpio is still a better overall buy.

 

FRG

[raj_5004 0]

@ chau: set up your priorities. if its-

ride, space & comfort- safari is for you.

performance, refinement & reliability- scorpio is for you.

 

@ FRG: till now i have heard that safari offers the better ride whereas the scorpio is a better handler. the scorpio's steering is harder than the safari's!

[lovemycar 1]

the CAR OF THE PROBLEMS.

IT MUST BE GIVEN AWARD OFR ITS EVER GENERATED PROBLEMS

[raj_5004 0]

@ lovemycar: which car are you talking about?!!

[Crazy cat 0]

I think lovemycar is talking about the Safari(probably old 2.0TCIC) for all its niggling problem

[raj_5004 0]

but here the comparison is with safari 2.2, not the old 2.0 safari. anyways, even the 2.2 safari is not free from issues.

[arindam_sg 0]

I hear Tata is planning to launch a new version GX which is between EX & VX... any news on this? When? The console/ interiors are sad for the Safari

[bluesapphire 1]

FRG bhai' date=' You forgot to mention the Handling. I know the scorpio's handling is nothing to write home about, But in the case of the Safari, you turn the steering wheel, and then it thinks..."hmm..Someone has turned me!! What should i do next??...Ohh yea...i have to turn the front wheels!!..Ohh but I am too Lazy to do so!!...Ahh What the hell..Ill turn them anyways!"[/quote'] Well i dont know that its true or not, but it was Really FUNNY....

[FuelRunGod 200]

@ FRG: till now i have heard that safari offers the better ride whereas the scorpio is a better handler. the scorpio's steering is harder than the safari's!

 

I disagree, the Safari is a more confident handler than the Scorp. The problem with the Scorpio is that the suspension has trouble dealing with a series of bumps at high speed. If you hit one mid corner, the rear steps out quite easily.

 

Both the Scorpio and Safari have considerable body roll. But I disagree that the Scorp's steering is harder than the Safari's. The Scorpio's steering doesn't have that vagueness like the Safari has just off-centre, but is definately lighter and has always been. We have mentioned about it time and again. While good for the city, it feels lifeless at highway speeds.

 

I drive both the Safari and Scorpio regularly and have to say I prefer the Safari most of the time. But if I have to be confined in the city, I'd take the Scorpio over the Safari.

 

FRG 

[rssh 59]

I quiet agree with FRG the paint job of the safari still  looks great FRG just saw it a couple of days ago .The scorpio is cramped in the middle the interiors in safari 2.2lt are still better looking especially in vx varient atleast.

[raj_5004 0]

@ FRG: buddy, i have both the scorpio as well as the safari. so i feel the scorpio's steering is harder than the safari.

 

also, i think you are talking about the 2.6 non-crde scorpio which cannot handle bumps in corners, no such issues with the scorpio mHawk.

[mehul_bhp 0]

i have driven the safari 3000 cc...it feels as if you are navigating an elephant in cities...this suv has all truck like characterstics...handling has been decribed by cyrus which is atrocius !!! the only good part of safari is its comfortable seats,spaciousness and road presence.

so driven the scorpio as well and the engine response is quiet good and its proven cause its the fastest suv below 12 lakhs....the urgency with which it moves initially is surprising bt braking is quiet poor with the vehicle's tail alwaysz threatening to go the wrong way and gear shifts which i found quiet awful !!!

if i were to choose between safari and scorpio i will buy the scorpio because safari is a maintainance heavy and troublesome car and also who wants to be a truck driver !!!!mehul_bhp2009-02-28 09:44:39

[FuelRunGod 200]

Like I said before, if you have to drive in the city, go for the Scorpio, it is far easier to drive. But out on the highway at higher speeds, the Safari is still better.

 

The mHawk has improved a lot over the CRDe in terms of ride and handling. But take it to a series of bumps (rumble strips in particular) and watch the rear end give way. It handles the bumps much better than before, but there's still more scope for improvement.

 

But to each his own.

 

FRG

FuelRunGod2009-02-28 11:23:06

[raj_5004 0]

@ FRG: i agree to that. at highways, safaris are better because it boasts of better ride quality than the scorpios. add to that, the spacious cabin. but if we consider the driver, he will enjoy driving the scorpio more.

 

i had put it like this: scorpio is the driver's car, safari is the passengers's car. what say?

[FuelRunGod 200]

I would agree with you to some extent. The Scorpio has a gem of an engine in form of the mHawk. It responds really well and has a lot more kick to it. The Safari is good but can't match the Scorp on engine flexibility despite having 20bhp more.

 

FRG

FuelRunGod2009-02-28 17:57:06

[BonFre 0]

I find FRG's views a little more realistic, apart from other things, Scorpio suffers from Taxi image, which means extra stoppages at almost all checkpoints!

[FuelRunGod 200]

Oh I believe the Safari too has the taxi image in some northern states.

 

FRG

[BonFre 0]

Safari doesn't suffer from image problem in the North, rather people buy it for its status symbol image. It finds favour among rich Agriculturists, NRI's, POP music singers, etc. Whereas people resist from Scorpio due to large no. of them plying as taxis.