Team-BHP - Mahindra Scorpio-N Review

The on road price for the Z8 AT 4x4 will cost me around 26L-27L ish in my city and no way I will be spending that amount on a Mahindra product, that is not tested to the T. I will happily buy the 2-3 years old, BS4 Fortuner 4x4, in MT mode with that money. And I can sell it at the same price after 5-6 years of use in Delhi NCR. Master stroke!

Pity there is no petrol 4x4. But on a more serious note, even with a little bit of headroom for inevitable price increases, it will still be at par with the top-end Safari with way more features (including 4x4). I can't see why anyone should choose the Safari over this one now.

I expect the Safari 4x4 will magically see the light of the day, along with the Petrol variants, any time now :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by iTNerd (Post 5363142)

Delhi NCR is going to ban BS4 diesel very soon.rl: Your BS4 fortuner may become nightmare pretty quick lol:

But why no 6 seater with 4wd and why 6seater only with automatic and why no 18 inch alloys on manual, really beyond my understanding as a 4wd lover and manual lover a big bummer, and if I want 6 seats then safari is a better option all of a sudden, dreams shattered of a perfect 4wd suv

A 30 lakhs OTR Bangalore Scorpio! Never thought I’ll see that.

But I think there is some method to this madness. As others have pointed out, Mahindra has always been “reasonable” with their new car prices, including the XUV700 and Thar.

BUT, every car company that has aspirations to become .. well .. aspirational needs to, over time, stretch the price to features/specs ratio of their cars. This will change perceptions in customers in a manner that they will be willing to pay more for less just because it’s a Mahindra. In effect, some part of the money they pay will not be for any features or speciations, but will be just for the brand and what it stands for. Something like what a VW commands. This is paving the road to a 50 lakh Mahindra in the future.

I feel Mahindra has chosen the Scorpio(-N), their strongest brand to do this. My prediction is that will work out in the long term.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Passiautonate (Post 5359464)

Driven Scorpio N, Z8 Diesel automatic at Sireesh Auto Bangalore today. Below are my observations ...

- Speed breakers were no match to the car suspension but road adulterations and imperfections were really unsettling at low speeds. Second-row seat occupants were getting tossed around even at low speeds. Comparable to Fortuner but HEXA is still the benchmark here. TATA please bring the HEXA back, it will definitely be valued more now.

Being a proud and Happy Hexa XTA owner since 2018, this observation, quite simply, Made my Day mate!! Incidentally, tomorrow, 22nd July my Beast completes 4 years. And with 70000 kms already done on the Odo both the Owner and his Beast look forward to the next 70000 at the very minimum.

Trust me Gentlemen when i say this, that till this day, every single time i take this vehicle out for a spin, be it on the open highway or in dense unruly city traffic of Delhi, i never fail to feel a rush of pure endorphins coursing through my bloodstream! :loveit

If only Tata would listen to the voice of its customers!! :Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordrayden (Post 5363163)

BUT, every car company that has aspirations to become .. well .. aspirational needs to, over time, stretch the price to features/specs ratio of their cars. This will change perceptions in customers in a manner that they will be willing to pay more for less just because it’s a Mahindra

Strongly disagree. Brand positioning is a time taking incremental process. Have you seen a mass market brand to become aspirational overnight?

This strategy is more related to their unwillingness or inability in volume production of 4WD ATs and trying to make profit from hefty margin than any brand repositioning effort. If it was otherwise, they would have equipped ScorpioN with every feature possible (as they have technology with them) and then price accordingly to claim premium.

Product or service value creates perception and perception creates "Brand Value", not the other way around during initial days. Pricing a 22-23 lakhs worth ScorpioN 30 lakhs will most probably backfire, let's see while booking starts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by theZULU (Post 5363176)

Trust me Gentlemen when i say this, that till this day, every single time i take this vehicle out for a spin, be it on the open highway or in dense unruly city traffic of Delhi, i never fail to feel a rush of pure endorphins coursing through my bloodstream! :loveit

If only Tata would listen to the voice of its customers!! :Frustrati

Amen to that! :cool:

Quote:

Originally Posted by RijuC (Post 5360945)

From YT video, it seems a convoy of Scorpio N is going to Ladakh via Manali, arranged by Mahindra adventure. I am waiting for the full report/ videos. However, all vehicles are 4x4 variant (as reported by the youtuber DDS Ravi). The weather reminds me my last year's work from mountains in Keylong and a small trip upto Jispa. My tiny hatchback served me well, without any trouble. Someone rightly said, even an Alto can reach me through such terrains if I know the correct skills.

Spot on!! At the end of the day it's 'The Man behind the Machine' that matters!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsian (Post 5363209)

Can anybody please clarify if there is 4WD option available in Z4 MT trim? Or is the 4WD confined only to AT models?

4WD available only in MT trim.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arinmech (Post 5363148)

Delhi NCR is going to ban BS4 diesel very soon.rl: Your BS4 fortuner may become nightmare pretty quick lol:

I will happily take the chance with a BS4 than to always worry about DPF issue, filling adBlue etc. with BS6. And if the ban on BS4 do comes into effect in Delhi, it won't matter much to me as I stay in NCR Noida and I don't commute much in Delhi. I would start worrying if the ban for BS4 is enforced on NCR by NGT. Until that time, I would continue using BS4 and enjoy the stress free ownership without worrying DPF, adblue and whatever restrictions are put on newer diesel cars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Passiautonate (Post 5359464)

Driven Scorpio N, Z8 Diesel automatic at Sireesh Auto Bangalore today.

To summarize- XUV 700 trumps Scorpio N in all departments of practicality. What goes in favor of Scorpio-
Interiors (Coffee brown beats White of XUV);
4WD- Perceived proper off-roader and RWD setup;
Imposing looks and road presence, XUV feels MUV in comparison

I agree to the points you have mentioned and I've noticed that in the quality of materials used, M&M has a long way to go. In terms of Scorpio vs XUV, XUV 700 seems to be a more sorted product and most VFM in AX5 variant. Both the cars had a mix of Ford and Benz(if you see the steering wheel(looks similar to 2020 Ford Focus ST) infotainment screen, backlit window switches and ADAS in XUV700).

I felt both cars were not so ergonomic to enter the 3rd row

However 2 things which Mahindra could have made changes are sliding 2nd row seats. Even a 7L rupee car has this option. Another one is bootspace. With all seats put to use, one can hardly keep a couple of laptop bags.

My 4.5 year old EcoSport feels much more premium and ergonomically sorted despite daily usage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iTNerd (Post 5363142)

Buddy, there is absolutely no chance that you’ll find someone selling a 2-3 year old Fortuner for 26-27L, even 30L. And the 4X4 MT is a pretty rare variant in itself!

If any 2019-20 4X4 MT is available they all have an asking price of above 33 Lakh!

2-3 year old BOF Toyotas always command a very high premium in the used car market and are a bad buying decision, simply because the owners are trying to sell the car at almost the same price at which they bought it!!

What am I missing here?

The pricing-

ScorpioN Z4 MT 2WD- 13.99L
ScorpioN Z4 MT 4wd- 16.44L
The difference is Rs- 2.45L

ScorpioN Z8 MT 2wd- 17.49L
ScorpioN Z8 MT 4wd- 19.94L
The price difference is Rs 2.45L

The engine specs from Mahindra Website. 97 kW = 130 BHP, 128.6 kW = 172 BHP

Now the Z4 2wd come with a 130 BHP engine, but the Z4 4wd comes with a 172 BHP engine, whereas the Z8 2wd & 4wd both comes with a 172 BHP engine.

So the price of a 130 BHP engine and a 172 BHp engine are same?

The only point I can think off is the extra MLD, Brake traction control and the drive modes (Xplorer) which are missing in the Z4 4wd, but present in Z8 4wd compensates the difference.
Or is there anything more to it?