Walked into the showroom with all my kids.
Saw one Audi TT, one Hummer T3, 2 units of Honda Elysion and finally 2 units of white Mahindra Scorpio SUV. Also greeted by the salesman. I was the only customer there. Hm......
Told the salesman I tried to come twice but the showroom was closed, both on Saturdays around 11:00am.
In the showroom:
- "Stared" at the SUV - not bad looking.
- Sat at the drive seat - seat was high but all round a bit cram.
- Console - basic and a bit plasticky.
- Gear stick and box - one W(et) and N(ormal) switch. Gear with a M mode (engine braking) but no manual shift to 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 gear (total 6 speed).
- 2nd row with 2 captain's seat - not bad, still all round a bit cram (but I am 6ft 1 inches tall).
- Last row for 3 person - my head cannot rest on the head rest since my head touches the roof edge.
- Rear door - open sideways. Not much room for storage or luggage.
- Rear spoiler - paint coming off at the edge of the spoiler.
- Bonnet - opened the bonnet. The bonnet opening hook was scratching on the mounting causing the white paint to come off (but this is a CBU unit from India. What happened to the quality?)
- Height - very tall. Much taller than my Renault Kangoo.
- Hook - the rear comes with a towing hook (standard).
- Ski rack - a standard item.
- Body panel - feel tough plastic mold.
- The body metal - tough heavy metal.
- Feeling - rugged and coarse. Maybe for heavy use.
Test Drove the SUV. Was given another white unit, Auto for test drive. There are 3 colors available - white, back and silver.
Test site was within the compound and not to open public road. Quite a big compound USF-HICOM has. However, cannot drive fast. Anyway SUV is not for speed. And of course the drive was pleasant (for me. Not expert tester :) ).
While test driving, saw quite some ready stocks around (Scorpio, Elysion...) This is what I like, no need to wait to get your new ride. However I felt sad cause I do not think the compound is fully and properly utilized. What happened to USF-HICOM???
Was told this is the warranty site for all USF-HICOM vehicles sold. How come I did not see customers waiting for their cars to be serviced? Not Saturday? I did not look carefully? Basically the place looked "dead".
Collected the brochures and price list before leaving. BTW, finance was 3% from AmBank.
Forgot to:
- Ask to look at the maintenance interval and maintenance costs.
- The warranty terms and condition.
Basically like the SUV. Why?
- Cheap.
- Looked rugged.
- Have yet to see one on the road (My ride will look different). :)
But,
- No resale value.
- Worry about parts availability.
- The commitment from USF-HICOM (looked dead) and thus DRB-HICOM (who will be assembling VW Passat and Jetta in the next few years. Where is the commitment then?)
- Only value and take my Kangoo for RM13,000.00!!!!!!!!!!
So how? Put on hold 1st ...........
Any how, the following are the scanned brochures not in order :
There you have it.......
