In the recent past, the demand for Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) has increased in India. The 2013 has been a bad year for the Indian car market as sales have dropped continuously for a number of months. However, SUV segment has done well during these times and compact SUVs have performed beyond expectations. Mahindra & Mahindra, along with Tata Motors, has been one of the leaders of the SUV segment. Mahindra Scorpio is among those vehicles that gained immense popularity among the masses in a really short span of time. It has been a favourite among SUV enthusiasts for long but the arrival of a few contenders has brought a decline in its sales. The launch of Ford EcoSport has been a major development for the Indian car market in 2013. Introduced in competition to the Renault Duster, the Ford EcoSport took the market by storm, receiving 30000 bookings in just 17 days. The success of the EcoSport has severely impacted the sales of its competitors, which includes the likes of Mahindra Quanto, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and the Mahindra Quanto.
The diesel version of Ford EcoSport is fitted with a 1.5 litre powertrain giving an output of 91 bhp and a torque of 204 rpm. This engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Mahindra Scorpio is equipped with 2179 cc mHawk CRDe DI engine that offers a maximum power of 120 bhp at 4000 rpm along with peak torque of 290 Nm. It comes with five-speed manual and a six-speed automatic transmission options. When it comes to fuel efficiency, Ford EcoSport is counted among the most fuel-efficient SUVs in the market. The 1.0-litre petrol engine gives a mileage of 16 kmpl while the diesel engine delivers about 18 kmpl. On the contrary, Mahindra Scorpio gives a mileage of 14 kmpl, which is less in comparison to Ford EcoSport.
On comparing the exteriors of these two SUVS, Scorpio has a rugged and muscular look while Ford EcoSport is a refreshing and sporty Utility Vehicle with a stylish and trendy appearance. The key exterior features of the EcoSport include rear spoiler, chrome roof rails and body coloured bumper with chrome air-dam. The main highlights of the exteriors of the Mahindra Scorpio are embossed side cladding, multi-focal headlamps and body coloured power adjustable ORVMs.
EcoSport comes with leather interiors primed with lavishness. It comes with a modernized dashboard that is better than the one present in the Scorpio. The EcoSport comes with inner door compartments, dynamic instrument cluster and gear shift knob with chrome finish. Mahindra Scorpio has technology features in its interiors, such as body pressure absorbing seats that caters to the passengers' comfort. The three rows offer enough space to the occupants and dual AC vents facilitate climate control option. Other features of the Scorpio are head restraints for all three row seats, glove box compartment and first, second and third row centre arm-rests.
The major factor which gives EcoSport an upper hand is the price range that starts from Rs. 5.99 lakh while Mahindra Scorpio has a starting price is Rs. 7.74 lakh. In order to uplift its sales, Mahindra Scorpio has recently announced that it would be coming up with a special edition of the SUV, which is said to be similar to the 2010 special edition model. People who prefer sporty looks, fuel efficiency and budget are likely to go for Ford EcoSport whereas for those who keep performance and rugged appearance as priority would go for Mahindra Scorpio.
