4x4 Action Group

I went to have a look at the revised Scorpio today & was left a little disappointed.

The new S11 looks very similar to the slightly older S10, but with some improvements. The main improvement is too the 2.2 MHawk motor output, up from 85 kw to 103 kw & from 280 Nm to 320 Nm. Basically the same output as the newer Pickup. It also has a rear autolocker.

It’s got a decent level of spec including sat nav, tyre pressure monitor, reverse cam, etc. Trim improvements include the faux leather seats instead of cloth. Price is damn good at R320k.

But there are 2 major issues that let it down.

Firstly, it doesn’t have traction control, only ABS & EBD. In this day & age, all vehicles should have traction control. Even econo boxes have TC these days. Even with the locker, the lack of TX in an off-roader is a serious deficit.

Secondly, it supposed to be an 8 seater, but with the middle seat positioned to have some leg room, it leaves the rear seat passengers with basically zero leg room whatsoever. So it’s a poor seating layout. They should have put 2 jump seats in the boot & made it a 7 seater instead. The front seats are fantastic & have dual arm rests.

It could have been a seriously good package, but I think they’ve stuffed up the design by not addressing some of the basics.

It’s such a pity.

For a certain section of the population(poor people like me ) it will still be a good option. What is the overall quality of the Scorpio?

Manny it’s very easy to pop the back seat out to make it a 5 seater, but they would have improved matters by making it with 2 jump seats, like they have in India.

It is indeed cheaper than a Jap 7, but they should have copied the Japs more closely. It’s got colossal space, but badly layed out seating.

Chris the quality is good & not as cheap looking as you’d imagine. One thing about the Indians is that they have to have robust vehicles for their road conditions.

Price, ability & market positioning wise, I’d place it above a soft roader but below your usual 7 seater SUV suspects.

Manny it’s also cheaper even than a Jap 5 seater

Are you sure he doesn’t have the S10?

Because that didn’t have the autolocker that I’m aware of. Only the Pickup & S11

But as a AWD, I think there are much better softies. Even the XUV500 won’t compete with the S11 offroad. Mainly because it’s not got LR or a centre Lock

I’m not a fan of DC 4x4s but for the R400k that they want for the XUV, most bakkies would be more capable.

Well, it’s comsiderably bigger than the Duster & even bigger than the usual SUV 4x4s. Plus it’s got a low range transfer case, unlike the Duster.

It’s looks have indeed improved over their earlier versions

I like the look of it.

Engine output is much the same as my old diesel NP300.

It has some bell and whistles, but the LSD is a deal breaker. Mind you, my NP300 also only had a LSD and I managed.

We had one in our team at RFAD.

The LSD/Locker works pretty well, the only issue is that there has to be a difference in wheel speed of 120rpm for it to lock up. It's an Eaton G80 LSD.