You don’t need an introduction to the Scorpio and if you do, you are probably not an Indian Citizen. One of the biggest names in the Indian car industry is the Mahindra Scorpio. First launched in 2002, tagged as the first Indian urban SUV, it has won millions of hearts since its launch. It has been one the biggest success of the Mahindra group. Indians have drooled over the Scorpio for years for its spacious cabin, hunky design, road presence, practicality and the charisma it brings it to its owner. It wouldn’t be false to call it the India’s gangster car, thanks to Bollywood. But even after all these years, three generations and numerous facelifts, the Scorpio has not slowed down in any form. It is Mahindra’s second highest selling car in the market today. Today, the competition in the Indian automobile market is more fierce than ever. With manufacturers doing their everything to make their mark.
But the Scorpio has indeed started to show its age. Competitors like the Creta, Seltos, Harrier, Hector etc offer better engines, interiors and features. The Scorpio is offered with a 2.2 litre, 4 cylinder Diesel engine that produces 140 horses which frankly is not enough looking at what the competition offer. For reference, the Tata Harrier’s 2.0 litre turbocharged engine makes out almost 168 horses. Not only is it about the horsepower, but the the Scorpio’s engine doesn’t come close to the competition in terms of refinement either. Putting all this together, the Scorpio definitely needs a more powerful and refined engine to put up with the competitors.
Coming to the interiors and features of the Mahindra Scorpio. Things aren’t very mellow here either. When the Scorpio came out, its interiors weren’t something that people got gaga over. Even at that time it was a very functional and decent interior to look at with a just adequate feature list. But we are talking about 2014 here, its 2021 today and the automotive world has gone through a massive change in all these years. Now, the Scorpio’s interior is just as lifeless as my dead granny. With hard plastics everywhere, Scorpio’s interior just feels disappointing. Even some of the entry level hatchbacks have better interiors to offer. Also disappointing is the feature list, with competitors offering technology of the aliens, the Scorpio doesn’t even offer a push button start. The scorpio lacks the very trending features like a good audio system, a sunroof, smart entry, digital instrument cluster and the list just goes on.
All this criticism doesn’t mean that its all bad news for the Scorpio. There are plenty reasons behind why it sells so much. The strongest point of the Scorpio according to me is how it looks. It is easily one of the most rad looking SUV out there especially in black. With 7 seats to offer, it is very comfortable and practical as well. And yes, it doesn’t offer any fancy features but that’s what makes it so reliable as well. You don’t need to treat it like a barbie, you know you can treat it like the way it is supposed to be treated, harsh and rugged. The scorpio can easily take you through most of the roads in India and if you want to make it a go to anywhere vehicle, it is also offered in 4 wheel drive option.
MY VERDICT
This blog was indeed a harsh on the Scorpio. But it is a fact that Scorpio is in a dire need of a new generation. And the good news here is that Mahindra is expected to launch the new gen Scorpio somewhere in the end of 2021 or in 2022. But till then, Scorpio will remain the most outdated machine in its segment, no matter what its sale figure says.
The CarGuy 