Mahindra Scorpio-N

The new Mahindra Scorpio-N rests any doubts about its engine and performance by borrowing the same powerplants as the very impressive XUV 700. So you get the two-litre petrol engine and the 2.2-litre diesel that we are driving here. Specs are super impressive with 174bhp and a mammoth 400Nm of torque. Gearbox duties are handles by a six6-speed manual or a six6-speed torque converter automatic. Crank the starter, and the Scorpio-N comes to life with a typical diesel clatter. 

But it quickly settles into a refined grainy idle. Initial throttle response is excellent and the Scorpio-N feels extremely peppy. The torque converter gearbox has been tuned extremely well and there is absolutely no lag even when you stomp down on the accelerator for a quick overtake. What is also impressive is the refinement. There is always the grainy diesel note under acceleration but it’s extremely subdued and once cruising speeds are attained, it’s pretty much negligible.   

If the performance was good in the city, it’s even better on the highways. 400Nm is a lot of torque and its available almost everywhere and that gives the Scorpio-N explosive performance. No matter what speeds, there is always enough power to overtake. It also gets to three digit speeds so quickly that one can unknowingly go over the speed limits. Another thing that we appreciated was how soft the speed warning chimes are.

This department was a major Achilles heels for the last generation Scorpio. But Mahindra has come a long way now and it shows with the new Scorpio-N. Mahindra has stuck to the Scorpio’s roots as a rugged, no-nonsense SUV and hence it sticks to a ladder frame chassis. But this is the latest, third generation ladder frame chassis which is stiffer and lighter. Complementing the chassis is the penta-link rear suspension with a segment-first watts link mechanism. The front gets a double wishbone set-up along with Frequency Dependent Damping technology which you also find in the XUV 700.

Now all this comes together to give the Scorpio-N excellent ride and handling characteristics. Talking about the ride first, the Scorpio-N gets that slight jiggle that is associated with ladder frame vehicles, but it’s extremely well controlled. Ride quality is a little bouncy at slow speeds but then ats higher speeds you can just fly over whatever the road throws at you with the Scorpio-N remaining absolutely unperturbed. The slow speed ride quality improves with a full load but even with a single passenger, the ride quality is just fantastic.

On the handling front, we expected the Scorpio-N to roll considerably considering its ladder frame layout and tall stance, but again Mahindra has done a fantastic job to keep the roll in check. Putting it hard into the corners of Aamby Valley, there is some initial body roll post which the Scorpio-N corners flat thanks to the best-in-class roll arm height. Of course, it isn’t as agile as the XUV 700, but compared to the previous-gen Scorpio this is just leagues ahead. 

The Scorpio-N has absolutely nothing carried over from the older Scorpio when it comes to design. While the older car was boxy and totally in your face, the new car now gets a more rounded appeal. At the front, the large toothy grille along with the twin-barrel LED headlamps give it plenty of aggression. Adding some class are the C-shaped DRLs with tiny LED foglamps. 

On the side, the flared wheel arches provide plenty of muscle and the large 18-inch wheels fill the wheel arches well. You even get a kink on the window line near the C-pillar which is now a signature Mahindra touch. A cool touch is the metallic Scorpio tail element which is seamlessly integrated into the beltline, swinging all the way to the top of the window.

The rear feels a little slab-sided but Mahindra has trieds to counter that with very large Volvo-ish looking tail lamps and a sporty spoiler. Overall, the new Scorpio-N will appeal to a lot more buyers with its mature and muscular design.

Now let’s talk about the insides. While the new Scorpio N looks butch from the outside, it needs to be pampering on the insides so that it can cocoon the family from the elements. Now let’s get one thing straight first, this isn’t the most stylishly design dash., I in fact, it looks almost borderline boring thanks to the conventional straight up design. But it’s the quality and details that catch attention.

The coffee black dual tone colours look great and you also get soft touch materials on the dash which further adds to the premium appeal. The dash also gets aluminium and piano black finish around the infotainment and aircon vents which look and feel great. The buttons and knobs however feel flimsy and lack the tactile feel of the Germans. Even the seats feel fantastic and reek quality.

Pampering the occupants further is a long list of equipment which includes a wide sunroof, powered seats, wireless charging, 12-speaker Sony audio system, front camera, Apple CarPlay and Aandroid Aauto along with built-in Alexa functionality and more.

However, there are a few misses. The eight8-inch infotainment screen feels small and the display is nowhere as crisp as what you see in the XUV700. Also lacking are ventilated seats, 360 degree camera or any sort of ADAS tech.

The seats are extremely comfortable too. Both the front and the middle captain seats offer excellent support however the third row is a big compromise. While getting to the third row is easy thanks to a single click tumble function, once there, space is a big issue. Even with my height of 5’9, there is absolutely no knee room and what makes it worse is that the middle row seats are fixed and cannot be moved fore or aft. Also the floor is quite high due to the ladder frame construction which means the legs are also bent without any kind of under thigh support. At best the third row will be comfortable for kids, but for adults it’s a very tight fit.

Safety is well taken care of too with six6 airbags, ABS with EBD, dynamic stability control, traction control, hill hold control,  hill decent control, roll over mitigation and more.

It's been 20 years since the Scorpio has been around and the new Scorpio-N shows what the right kind of evolution brings to the table. The new car has evolved from something in your face, something a little crude and something dated to something which is a lot more rounded, extremely refined and as high tech as its European and Korean competition.

To make it even more difficult for the competition, Mahindra has even got the price spot on with the base variant starting at 11.99 lakh and going up to 19.48 lakh for the top Two2 wheel drive, manual z8L variant.  The prices for the AT and 4x4 variant will be announced soon. The new Scorpio-N isn't perfect, but it definitely has all the makings of an ideal family SUV.

Pictures by Kaustubh Gandhi