Pune, in the monsoon-soaked highways — Mahindra Scorpio N (pitted roads) Not all potholes the size of small ponds nestle beneath murky puddles and impromptu streams start cutting across tar bridges from time to time. Only in this sense, the Mahindra Scorpio N opens its true personality when racing at its limits which is fundamentally Indian.
In this terrain between perfect and terrible, the Scorpio N is as at home as you can get not only at peace but enjoying it too.
The new Scorpio N? Well, you could go to Australia and understand what test driving is actually for? Twenty Years after the original Scorpio had already rewritten the rulebook for Indian SUVs, Mahindra has finally rolled out its most significant step in evolution.
The Scorpio N, among others, is not an update but rather the inspiration generation rethink of what an Indian SUV can and ought to be today.
It begings with the chrome pronounced on its template that makes it a more evolved in all aspects version of its predecessor,and carries the hard, raw DNA which will never change.
Mahindra Scorpio N: A Design Fortissimo
The silhouette is unmistakably that of a Scorpio silhouette: boxy and upright is what it wants. Touch the real design, however close, and find underneath all that the new year.
It is this very duality that makes the Scorpio N look more premium and capable than it did before.
A new grille seen up front houses six slats (Mahindra signature) it also has been revised with prominent chrome embellishments and flanked by the striking dual-chamber LED headlamps sporting C-shaped DRLs.
The hood skin has well sculpted character lines giving the impression of substantial strength and front bumper has a skid plate that suggests how the SUV is an off-road vehicle.
INSIDE: A Quantum Leapward
When the exterior changes are substantial, the inner- metamorphosis is epidalamic. It is a cabin that discretely reflects neither its utilitarian, plasticky roots nor is it any longer pursuit of sterility and comfort-softwareed out.
Dashboard layout is horizontal with a higher central console to lower controls that someone sitting or standing puts them in reach.
Materials have much improved, the dashboard and door panels are covered in soft-touch plastics on the mid and high trims, but your everyday grit will not help hard plastics in less protected areas.
At the heart is an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Mahindra’s AdrenoX user interface — a touchscreen interface that offers both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built in mapping, plus connected car services through the BlueSense Plus app.
Performance wise it is responsive to inputs and menu structures are organized well, but places where a function requires clicks more than two is a less than ideal in some cases.
The split-bottom setup of digital setup, while somewhat less distracting are the animations its not as bad as a fully digital setup. The bottom end steering wheel is well-dampened textured buttons for audio, phone and cruise control functions.
Powertrains: Option & Performance
In the mechanical bay, Mahindras give you couple of engines from mHawk series viz a 2.0 LTC Petrol/ 2.2 L T DIeprom soon to be added on in BL Mate with Mano or Auto depending on variant.
Diesel is two states of tune diesel; 132 PS/270 N.m for lower specification variants and 175 PS/400 N.m (that increases to 370Nm with manual) for the bigger ones.
This is the most powerful engine option with 203 PS and 380Nm from petrol. Transmission options are 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter auto, and the latter surprisingly shifts well for a gearbox type generally known for its slothfulness.
Drive dynamics: On Road, and Off Road
A particularly unexpected quality of the Scorpio N is how it is more comfortable on road, and yet more capable off-road than its predecessor (usually a difficult balancing act that needs dedicated chassis tuning to manage very well).
The new ladder-frame chassis (internally coded Z101) has serious improvements in the torsional rigidity, as the suspension — consisting of double wishbones up front and penta-link rear — guarantees what amounts to an unassuming, impact sound that lets you through in whatever degree.
Frequency Dependent Damping (FDD) dynamically gives the ride a firmer pitch during your skilled driving but melts on cracked surfaces.
Steering in this department also greatly improved. The electrically assisted rack provides a decent level of feedback and loads up progressively in higher speed, but it never commits to being interactive.
Keeping The Promise Of Safety And Technology
There has been a much better improvement to safety gears with the incorporation of six air bags, ABS with EBD pressure control system, electronic stability control, hill hold control, hill descent control for higher furnitures.
Lower trims ride on dual airbags in lieu of the class-leading safety specification, thus okay for minimum regulatory obligations.
There is a decent range of driver aids, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) found in the Mahindra’s XUV700 lack but includes some good such as Tire Pressure Monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, and a reversing camera with dynamic lines as seen on our Scorpio N.
The low light contrast has some way to go in terms of camera resolution but is adequate for parking moves.
