scorpio rising - Mahindra Scorpio

scorpio rising
I
It’s been twelve years
since Mahindra launched what
has since become its seminal
passenger vehicle, the Scorpio.
There were previous successes
with the likes of the Bolero, but the Scorpio
put the company in a different orbit altogether.
It’s an interesting target group to think about,
the Scorpio customer. On the one hand,
132
evo India | January 2015
you’ve got the inter-city tourist taxi and longdistance private commuter, bullying their way
past motorists in regular cars sitting three
feet below their line of sight. On the other,
you’ve got the urban consumer, genuinely
interested in the space and some of the rough
road capability of this home-grown SUV. If
you believe the marketing, that’s the primary
audience for Mahindra.
Success has come for Mahindra and the
Scorpio thanks to packaging. It was never
the most comfortable SUV available. Or the
most stable handler. Or the quickest, best
built, feature packed or efficient. But it did a
bunch of these things well enough to appeal
to a large swathe of customers, with the bonus
of a huge service network. Even if you can’t
find a Mahindra service spot where you are,
Mahindra Scorpio Generations
The 2014 Scorpio is well endowed to keep
pace with the changed times
Wo r d s by tus h a r bu r m a n | P h oto g r a p h y by a b h i j eet a n a n d
chances are your local mechanic, cobbler or
blacksmith can jugaad a fix for your troubles.
But this is 2014. The value-conscious customer
remains, but the benchmarks have changed.
Whereas we were content to hustle a massive
SUV around with playstation-class power
steering in the past, today we demand feel,
ergonomics and handling. Mahindra has kept
up with minor facelifts and feature additions
over the years. But the 2014 Scorpio represents
the biggest leap forward yet for the brand.
You don’t even need to start the vehicle to get
a sense of how much the game has changed.
The interior of the new Scorpio is leagues
ahead of its predecessors. Where previous
Scorpios ticked the boxes, they did it only just
and with questionable taste. The new one has
a proper dash with reasonable quality plastics
and a slightly edgy, but functional design.
Controls fall to hand fairly well, though the
vertical, almost leaning-forward console is
still a pain to use on the go. The new Scorpio
(as we tested it) came with a touchscreen
infotainment system that is actually very
practical and easy to use, once you twist
your head to the right angle to make up for
its vertical stance and awful viewing angle.
ThrillOfDriving.com |
evo India
133
The steering controls are sensibly laid out,
if a little light to the touch. They’ve got little
raised nubbins on them so you can feel your
way around the controls without taking your
eyes off the road. Nice. There’s a multifunction
display in the centre of the clocks reading out
range, speed etc, switchable by a mode button.
There’s even cruise control. This is not what
I expect from a Scorpio and I’m pleasantly
surprised.
The original Scorpio and the generations
that followed were basic body-on-frame
designs with suspensions that wallowed and
swayed but did the job. The 2014 model is
significantly more advanced, using a semimonocoque design and updated springy
bits (independent front, multi-link rear).
The result is a surprisingly planted, stable
ride unlike that of previous Scorpios, which
always felt a bit like driving a double-decker
bus. Once again, it is the overall package
rather than large leaps forward in specific
functions that effect the difference. Steering
feel, combined with the updated suspension
3
Engine
Transmission
Power
Torque
Weight
0-100kmph
Top speed
Price(ex-showroom, Mumbai)
134
2014 Mahindra Scorpio
2002 Mahindra Scorpio
In-line, 4-cyl, 2179cc
5-speed Manual
120bhp @ 4000rpm
280Nm @ 1800-2800rpm
1820kg
14.0 seconds
170 kmph
` 11.46 lakh
In-line, 4-cyl, 2600cc
5-speed Manual
105bhp @ 3600rpm
270Nm @ 3600rpm
1910kg
NA
NA
` 5.0-7.0 lakh
evo rating: ;;;;2
evo rating: ;;;22
evo India | January 2015
and general ergonomic refinement makes for
a much more car-like drive. That said, while
it’s flatter around corners, I still have no idea
what the front or rear are doing mid-corner.
Even the gearbox is new, replacing the vague
and rubbery old unit with something that feels
positive, modern, with a well placed shifter
and is pleasant to use.
Going around those corners is a bit safer now
thanks to the cornering lamps that illuminate
blind spots effectively. The projector
headlamps themselves are automatic and sense
darkness quickly enough to illuminate tunnels
at speed. The tail lamps are now LED units and
look quite a bit better than the twin Christmas
trees of old. The whole rear of the Scorpio
Mahindra Scorpio Generations
1
the 2014 Scorpio represents
the biggest leap forward yet
for the brand
2
4
is a bit overwrought, however. Kind of like
Mahindra did with the XUV. Someone forgot
to yell “that’s enough” in the studio. The large
black cladding seems almost unnecessary, and
at first glance I thought it was some sort of test
mule camouflage. The front end has no such
problems, thankfully. The new headlamps
are rakish and give the Scorpio a bit more
character. In fact, the entire body is now
longer, while retaining the same wheelbase.
It looks less like something mocked-up in Lego
and much more contemporary.
The powerplant remains unchanged for the
2014 Scorpio, using the same 2.2-litre m-Hawk
generating 120bhp and 280Nm of torque in all
but a single base variant, which uses a 75bhp
direct injected motor. We haven’t had a chance
to do fuel runs on the new Scorpio yet, but in
mixed city/highway runs, it appears to be quite
efficient. Certainly more so than some other
behemoths we have in the fleet right now.
I’m not a Mahindra fanboy like our
perennially muddy assistant editor, Ouseph. I
enjoy being able to converse with passengers
in the car. I like it when I press the right pedal
to overtake, and do. I appreciate a decent
infotainment system that works with my
mobile phone. These are things we take for
granted in modern cars. Things that gave
me the opportunity to point and laugh at my
fanboy friends. Now I fear I may have to rise to
the occasion and join their ranks. L
1: Centre console houses a
touchscreen infotainment
system which is easy to use, but
hard to see while driving 2: The
old clocks vs the new hexagonal
dials 3: The firs-gen Scorpio
made do with a 1-DIN head
unit 4: To my eye, the slightly
longer rear overhang of the new
Scorpio looks nicer than the
stubby old shape
ThrillOfDriving.com |
evo India
135