Mahindra Scorpio 2WD

If we had one major problem with the current (now, older) version of the Mahindra Scorpio, it was the way it handled bumps at speed. When we’d hit a bump on the highway, it made us feel like we were taking a ride on a trampoline. One might argue that the car was supposed to be more of a bad-road specialist, and not a speed demon. So, do things change with the all-new Scorpio?

The Scorpio you see here is the new, third generation of Mahindra’s popular SUV. It’s built on an all-new platform that is made up of stronger composite materials. We’re also told that, thanks to the newly-incorporated crumple zones, the Scorpio is a safer place to be in. This new chassis will also form the basis for Mahindra’s upcoming vehicles.

Mahindra tells us that the new platform can easily be altered to make a sub-four metre car (Quanto replacement, anyone?), without compromising on structural integrity. Everything in and about the Scorpio is all-new. The lads at the Nashik factory informed us that the only bits that have been carried over from the older SUV are the doors.

There’s tons of ‘Scorpio’ badging all over the SUV. Outside, the Scorpio appears to have borrowed some cues from its bigger cousin, the XUV500  like the grille that looks like it’s been scratched by some animal, a very XUV-like front bumper, the bigger, bolder wheel arches and the snazzy tail-lamps. The face sports a very European look, while the sides look more or less the same. The rear, too, flashes off a new, two-tone appliqué, which has a very aftermarket look to it.

The new Scorpio is offered with 2WD and 4WD with an on-the-fly-shift low ratio case on the latter and in six different variants  - S2, S4, S6, S6+, S8 and S10. The top-of-the-line S10 variant we’re driving here comes loaded with goodies like LED eyebrows on the dual projector lamps, a bonnet scoop and some chrome bits splashed up front, start-stop tech, ABS, tyre pressure sensors, etc. Inside the S10, you get stuff like dual front airbags, a simple touch-controlled six-inch infotainment
system with navigation, climate control with rear AC vents, dual-tone seats and silver and chrome inserts.

The new Scorpio is ergonomically quite sound, with all the operational equipment well within reach. The new, blue-lit, part-digital-part-analogue display looks nice and provides speed, odo, fuel level, engine temperature, trip and gear indication readouts.

But, there are a couple of flaws in the new Scorpio. Once the driver’s side door is closed, it’s nearly impossible to slide your hand down and operate the seat-height adjuster. Also, the quality of the tiny door locks is questionable, because they feel like they’ll break if you don’t use them gently.

The new Scorpio borrows the five-speed gearbox from the recently updated Xylo, with minor changes to the final drive ratio. The steering wheel has been lifted from the XUV500, along with some interior bits such as the chrome lined AC vents.
 
Overall, fit and finish inside the new SUV is definitely a step-up from the versions that came before it, making the cabin a nice place to be in. It’s as airy as it used to be, but this one’s livelier, thanks to the lighter shade of plastic present on the inside.

We didn’t get a chance to drive the 4WD version, so we chose to stick to the road in this 2WD variant. The double-wishbone suspension setup is completely new, with independent coil springs at the front, and a multi-link coil spring employed at the back. Ride quality remains, more or less, the same at low speeds, with the suspension soaking up bumps well. At high speeds, the SUV now feels a little more stable than before, with less pitching under heavy braking. The big difference with
the new Scorpio is the inclusion of an anti-roll bar with bump steps at the rear, which makes cornering hard a little more comfortable.

The new alloy wheels are an inch larger than the previous car’s 16-inchers, which helps over rough patches. It’s not the first time we’ve seen the 2,179cc turbo-diesel do duty in a Mahindra vehicle, and the 120bhp, 280Nm four-pot does a good job of pulling the new Scorpio. The base S2 variant gets 15-inch wheels and the 2.5-litre m2DICR common rail diesel engine under the hood, which is good for 75bhp and 200Nm.

The height and wheelbase of the new Scorpio are exactly the same as that of the outgoing model, but this new one’s marginally longer and wider. Even with the new chassis, the gross weight of the 2WD and 4WD Scorpios remains unchanged at 2,510 and 2,610kg, respectively. However, Mahindra says
that the fuel efficiency of the new SUV has gone up by nearly one kilometre per litre, from the previously-claimed figure of 14.7kpl.

For those of us who had gotten used to the design of the Scorpio, the new car looks like an ode to the current car but with a bit more flash to it. It’s has been significantly revised, and it now feels more confident thanks to the new chassis. The steering feels nicer, and the ride has improved. Though it doesn’t feel like a generational change, it is a clear step-up from the current Scorpio.