The quest for higher efficiency in the motoring world has had auto-manufacturers explore every option available. No solution has been considered too exotic and out-of-reach by them. However, even as they do go further into the future, there’s still the present day targets over reducing tailpipe emissions, improving fuel efficiency & driving greater benefits throughout the driving cycle. Take the Mahindra Scorpio for example. This hugely successful SUV from India’s largest home-grown UV manufacturer has always led from the front when it comes to bringing about change in the segment.
Full-hybrid vehicles tend to be priced at the higher range of the market and as such, the suitability would be limited given our Indian scenario. Manufacturers such as Mahindra, have taken it upon themselves to bring about a suitable workaround, that derives some of the necessary efficiency benefits, while keeping costs within reach. The Scorpio’s hybrid technology is what one would place in the category of a ‘mild hybrid’. It uses a start-stop system, a starter motor, a larger spec battery and regenerative braking to drive down fuel consumption.
The Mahindra Scorpio intelli-hybrid technology is also the first instance of such a system being deployed in a SUV that’s sold in India today. The two other vehicles with mild-hybrid capabilities happen to be in the Sedan and MUV segments.
Fuel consumption of vehicles is typically at its peak on city commutes, where one is moving at crawling speeds. It is also due to the fact that people also tend to spend a lot of time idling away while they wait for the signal to turn green. The hybrid technology stops the motor as soon as the car is stationary in neutral gear, thereby driving down fuel consumption. It then starts up as soon as the gear lever is shifted from neutral to first. Energy is also reclaimed through regenerative braking system, thereby further bumping up the efficiency figures. According to the company, the Mahindra Scorpio intelli-hybrid mileage is over 7% higher than the regular engined version. This, for a full-size, 7 seater traditional-built SUV is quite a feat.
Another key advantage in the mild-hybrid Mahindra Scorpio is that the system also kicks in to give that extra bit of a shove during full-acceleration conditions. You’d also be forgiven to think that all this advanced and added piece of gadgetry would have bumped up prices. The truth is that intelli-hybrid variants of the Mahindra Scorpio are in-fact, priced lower than their conventional powered avatar. This magic has been made possible due to the company passing on the benefit of lower taxation levied by the government on vehicles with such ‘green-tech’ systems on board.
Mahindra initially offered the ‘intelli-hybrid’ variant only with the 2,2 litre powerplant combination, but has since then, expanded their offering to the 1.99 litre variant that’s sold in the Delhi-NCR region as well.
