Mahindra Scorpio10 Months of Driving My Lovely Red Scorpio

Mahindra Scorpio10 Months of Driving My Lovely Red Scorpio

Last year Mahindra gave its best-selling SUV Scorpio a facelift which gave a new lease of life to the vehicle. At the year end, I was too searching for an SUV and heard of Mahindra launched a new Scorpio. It took me a minute or two to make my mind as I am fond of this car very much. I gave my nod to the Molten Red color which still turns head on the roads. I will begin by stating about the looks and interiors of this car and then come to the performance later. In terms of appearance, the homegrown carmaker has not played around too much and the car still looks quite familiar to the next-gen model launched way back in 2014. At the front, there is new seven-slot grille which replaces the earlier blade-looking chrome slats. The projector headlamps have been slightly tweaked so the bumper along with new fog lamps and new skid plates to lend it a fresh look. One of the awesome changes which I wasn't expecting is the indicators integrated into the ORVMs, it gives the car a more modern look. The car now rides on new 5-spoke alloy wheels. The rear profile has been entirely tuned with the all-new tailgate and Mahindra doing away with the plastic applique which used to surround the number plate. The tail lamps which were already pleasing to eyes now get better with new red theme. Coming to the interiors, here the changes are minute with seats, steering wheel and gear lever wrapped in faux leather. Apart from this, the car gets new parking camera which will display visuals on the same 6-inch touchscreen infotainment. But what I really disliked is Mahindra has still not included Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support which is there in XUV500. Rest everything remains identical in the car. The seating position offers a commanding view of the road ahead. In terms of performance, this is the area where this car shines. The 2.2L mHawk engine has always been darling of the enthusiast with its refined engine and the great drivability it offers. However, in the earlier model, the engine ran out of breath when revved hard and top-end performance was also lacking. Mahindra has addressed this feedback from the customer and has returned the engine giving the car a power bump of 20PS and 40Nm of extra torque (Now 140PS/320Nm torque) which has really put this car in the league of XUV500. As I have driven earlier Scorpio also, I can say that the newer one feels more energetic and lively. Right from initial acceleration to top end performance, all have been improved. With 10 months of driving, I can say this car has really improved over the years and its my best companion both on and off roads.