[balenoed_]

Disclaimer: Since this is about something that is being there in the SUV space for close to two decades, tons of articles.. reports.. reviews.. experiences..etc.. must have been already written and shared. Hence this is not a very comprehensive ownership report but instead, sharing a brief ownership experience. Mods and readers, Kindly excuse me for doing that]

Link to Team BHP Official Review (Pre - BSVI Version) : (2018 Mahindra Scorpio Facelift (140 BHP) : Official Review)

All right, so here let me walk you through the latest version of mighty muscular Scorpio, in its most latest avatar:

• Why Scorpio?
• Do they still manufacture Scorpio?
• Did you check XUV5OO?
• Why not Seltos, Creta, Harrier and the likes?
• New Scorpio 2021 is coming. Want to wait?

Hmm..
Those were the questions that I had to deal with while making the decision to buy a Scorpio (will answer those towards the end). While those were from friends (non petrol heads) and others, the family had another set of questions – Won’t it look weird when, say we go for a marriage or a function and get down of this thing when while wearing a Saree? Don’t we look like politicians or goons when we go around in this? (Yes, why not? That’s exactly I wanted, said to myself)

Like said, Scorpio is an iconic vehicle and has been around for close to two decades and has already written a success story. The discussions around Scorpio also must have run its course on this very forum itself with numerous BHPians owning it. So there isn’t anything that needs a “review”, per se. Never the less, here is a late entry to the scene with some pictures speaking as well.



As a matter of fact, I have not known anyone personally who has bought a Scorpio recently or even thinking about buying one. Not even a friends friend or a distant relative. Heck, you do not even see anyone even shortlist this in their purchase list, neither appearing in any conversations of prospective car buyers nor in their shopping list. BUT, talking about sales – Scorpio still sells in decent numbers (~3000+ per month) and with a waiting period of 6 weeks.

However, I know a few ex-Scorpio owners as well as who have had long term ownership with multiple Scorpios and some of them still owning it. I could always double check my decision with them and they confidently affirmed to go for it. Thanks so much to BHPians Kosfactor, comfortablynumb and few other non-BHPian friends who gave some tips and saw through the decision making and still helping around and teaching the nuances of driving a turbo diesel and VGT.

Thoughts of buying a new car:

My Baleno Sedan (2004 model) was doing its duties without any hiccups. The car is at 1.75 Lakhs Kms on ODO, still going strong and there is no question about its performance. Frankly speaking, never had a thought to replace it as I was so obsessed to it to the extent that my TBHP handle also goes by the same name. However, an iota of concern was always there while undertaking long trips due to the not so readily availability of spare parts for the sedan in case a break down happens. The ageing also means that anything could break down just abruptly anytime. Hence a thought of replacement triggered, but really did not have a replacement car in mind. Baleno is not going anywhere and is going to stay along with.



Buying Scorpio was an impromptu decision and it was a wild card entry, though it always used to turn my head. Still remember the mouth-watering dashing picture of it seen in an ad when it was launched. Essentially, I was looking for something with a character.



But that was it, never had a desire to own it. No other car was shortlisted either. However, to scratch the itch of buying a new car landed me into Mahindra show room where the launch of All new Thar was brewing. In fact, I would say Mahindra lured me into the show room with Thar. A pre-booking for Thar was also made much before the actual booking started. And then alas, it launched with a bang. And that’s when I realized a Thar is a Thar. I would blame my desire to own a Thar without realizing how impractical it could be considering as a primary vehicle. I had to let go the legendary 4x4 and there came the thought of why not go for its big brother - The undisputed SUV that ruled Indian roads once upon a time and still doing. If not for Thar, Mahindra got a customer for their another car. There was no question or doubts about what this iconic SUV offers in terms of performance. So the next thing that I checked was the pricing.

Price:

Well, Scorpio is not the old humble Scorpio. Mahindra is all out milking it given its high sales. Now that Thar has already made me to up my budget way above than what I had budgeted for a new car. Thanks Thar.. eeh!! And a couple of more lakhs, you have the Scorpio. The price is so close to the contemporary XUV5OO to make one think why the heck would you buy a body on frame naughty SUV when you have a plush and premium XUV5OO smiling at you. Even the couple of low end variants of XUV5OO were cheaper than top models of Scorpio. All right, Scorpio is a Scorpio, and you have to realize it and there is no point in comparing the prices. Talking about pricing - yes, about 19 big ones on road.

Test Drive:

When checked upon, none of the dealers had a test drive vehicle. Rented out a Scorpio couple of times from MyChoize and Revv and drove around for few days. Hit the highways and zipped through the city traffic. Instantly fell in love with it. The driving pleasure that resembled by Baleno. The low end torque, the punch and the direct feel of steering – All and only thing that I always wanted. The very reason that I still didn’t let go the Baleno. Felt all of those in Scorpio. Now once I got on to the driving seat, there is not going to be a turning back and there is absolutely no question of finding another one too (*in this price bracket). So the decision is ultimately made right away. It is now only to convince the rest of the the stake holders at home.

A rented Scorpio (from MyChoize rentals):



(A quick review here about self drive rentals: While MyChoize gave me a very new vehicle which was in great condition, Revv provided something poor and in a very bad state. In a way, that helped me to test two extreme conditions.)

Passenger comfort:

Yeah, all good with the driving seat. Well, what about the passengers, especially at the rear – the Achilles heel of Scorpio.

The horror stories of rear passenger dis-comfort left a big question mark. Now it is a matter of trade off. This being a heart over head decision, now there is no turning back. Took the chance of compromising the rear seat comfort as after all the comfort is a subjective thing. To be honest, the latest Scorpio is much refined in terms of handling and performance. I am yet not sure about the technicalities, but the anti-roll protection that they claim to have incorporated is doing its job and feeling good cornering stability as well. There isn’t any great discomfort at the rear as against how notorious it was being said earlier.

The second row (if opted for an 8 seater), gets a 60:40 split, recline and slide able seats and also a center arm rest which is cool:



The third row is anyway not going to see any passengers, so is mostly going to serve as an extended luggage space:


Fold, double fold or remove all together.

Graduating from my existing Baleno sedan to Scorpio was a big shift in all aspects. From a low slung monocoque to a tall body on frame vehicle; From an NA petrol to a turbo diesel; From a front wheel drive sedan to a rear wheel drive SUV; From worrying to load luggage fearing belly scrape to asking hey, do you want to move your house.. and so on.. but one thing remained the same, the sheer driving pleasure!!

Engine performance and driveability:

mHawk needs no introduction. The refinement of this considerably huge engine is commendable. You wouldn’t even realize the engine is ON while idling. Such smooth is the engine and NVH levels. But you have 140 horses under the hood rearing to go on a rampage and press the throttle and there comes the horses pouncing.

Unlike earlier, now all the 4 variants that are sold gets the same tune and displacement of the engine. The 2,174 CC mHawk puts out 140 BHP @ 3,750 rpm and 320 Nm of torque @ 1,500-2,800 rpm. One heck of an engine with great driveability. It is paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Left fender gets a mHawk and D140 badging for all variants:



A few major updates on the latest generation:

• All variants gets a 6-speed gear box
• No 4X4 options anymore
• No Automatic transmissions anymore

Gearshift & clutch:

Slotting to third seemed very hard in the first few days but is now getting smoother but I don’t think it would go any smoother. Clutch is a looong throw. Mind you – if you are coming from a petrol hatch or sedan back ground, you got to learn a lot here. To learn to let go off the clutch and then apply accelerator in a smoother manner. Else the clutch is not going to last more than 30K kms. Though the clutch can take abuse, the soft you are on it, the more it would last.

Overall NVH levels and smoothness:

Crank the engine, and if your hand is on the gear lever, you will see it dancing. A mild jerk towards right and then left, there fires up the engine. From then on, you would wonder if the Engine is still ON. If you are a sane driver, the next you would know the engine was ON is when you switch it OFF when the whole thing jerks again a bit. Such is the smoothness and refinement. An engineering beauty!

Fuel efficiency:

The computer calculation always hovers around 14-16 kmpl, but I haven’t crossed yet 13.5 kmpl in my calculations. (In a mix of highway and city traffic)

Interiors:

Though the SUV looks beefy from outside, the interiors are not so. Mahindra has refreshed it and given minor upgrades time to time and made it a nice place to be in:







The dials are very decent and extremely pleasing to the eyes:



Suspension & ride quality:

To be honest, extremely honest, the ride quality is way better than how Scorpio has been known for all these years. I am not sure what exactly Mahindra has done, but if we were to believe their claim of having new anti roll bars installed, then it is doing its job. The suspension is also tuned well that it just eats the pot holes on the way. You don’t even have to slow down anywhere unless you want to stop.

Scorpio craves for being loaded. The more load you have got, the better off you are on the road.

Bumper:

There was time a when Scorpio was complete only with a massive bull bar. But now with safety concern and rules in place, the bull bars are off the shelves. There comes Mahindra with an accessory to bring in some sportiness to an otherwise bland bumper:



Handling, on-road behavior, stability, body roll & turning radius:

Scorpio is naughty. It scares the heck out of the on coming vehicles with its aggressiveness. If not in control, Scorpio can completely go haywire is what I guess. Yet to experience any out of control behavior. For such a massive SUV, the less turning radius is just brilliant. So far I haven’t faced a problem owing to its large size. It just fits wherever I would have otherwise parked any other car. Scorpio is notorious for body roll, thanks to the BOF chassis and that is expected. But again, it is all subjective and how you drive, is what the Mantra is!

Off road traction:

Probably I am yet in the learning curves, but Scorpio disappointed me once while getting out of a soft mud. The rear wheels were on a hard mud but the front wheels were on a soft mud. While doing the reverse there, the rear wheels kept spinning with no signs of pulling the vehicle back. I learnt that it could have happened due to the weight transfer or less weight at the back and the rear wheels not having enough traction. This is something that I am still learning. I am sure Scorpio is surely a capable vehicle here. Like said, probably its me who hasn’t got it yet.

Front profile:

The easiest way to differentiate the latest gen Scorpio with all its previous generations is this 7-slat grill. It gets chrome'd in the top variant, silver in the mid variants and plastic in the base variant:


(grill resembles Jeep Compass huh?)

[Note: Black is notorious. It looks so clean only when washed and wiped]

Rear profile:

Typically, the rear brings in mixed opinions. For some it looks bland, for some it looks aggressive. For me personally, the high over hang gives it a stunning go anywhere outlook. This rear looks to have gone through several evolutions and here it is in the latest form:



Steering:

I wouldn’t have bought it if it was not hydraulic. And there it goes, Scorpio comes with hydraulic power steering. The steering is neither light, nor hard – just apt to have the feel of the tarmac. Cosmetic wise, the steering is something that is superior and on par with the plush contemporary vehicles out there. Of course, it shares the same XUV5OO wheel. So cannot go wrong in terms of classiness.

Braking:

I love to brake hard. You know why? To see the lovely nose dive. That really grabs attention that no other vehicle can boast of. Fun apart, The brakes have bite and the massive SUV comes to halt as expected and inspires confidence.

Random snaps:

You feel like the king of the road. The hydraulic steering gets your direct response and you feel connected to the tarmac. Eventually, you will feel that the Scorpio is actually a go anywhere vehicle and you will be sure of returning home safely no matter what kind of terrain you prefer to choose.

Stands tall and steers the way with power:



The SUV gets on a jack during the first service, to get a 3M under body anti rust coating done:



There are actually fuel lids on both sides... err, just one side. The other one is for DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid). The petrol bunk attendants often gets confused and wonders which side he should attend to.



The LED eyebrows and fog lamps themselves gets you enough light to crawl on. The projector headlamps are ready to throw the rest.


Thank god, there is no DRL as the manufacturers are going crazy on DRL designs these days

SUV for all seasons:



By the lake:



By the sea:



The boys out there:



At family meet up, both people and vehicle:



Got bhp? Dedicated to all the posts and authors of various thread on Scorpio on Team bhp:



Variant:

S9 8 seater - Front facing third row, which is not really going to see any passengers. So essentially it is going to be a bigggg 5 seater with loads of luggage space.

Upgrades done:

Got a set of alloy wheels. The top end variant (S11) comes with alloys, but to seriously get rid of the Auto head lamp, Auto wiper, TPMS features that it comes with, I chose a variant lower and added alloys to it. Needed the least number of electronics and sensors.

Also upgraded was to put leather steering wraps. This again, the top variant comes as by default:


A staff of Trend seat covers, HSR, Bangalore at work on that

Upgrades planned:

Paying close to rupees 2 million for the vehicle, and you get a mediocre audio system. Want to add in an amplifier and sub woofer, probably an under seat sub. The stock sound quality is so bad. Any suggestions, welcome.

Customer Care:

If there is one area that Mahindra has to improve on first if they want to up the game and be on par with the foreign counter parts is this. The folks who picks the calls should know a thing or two about automobiles. The emails to customer care takes days to respond and the respond doesn’t really solve your problem. The response would be that they will respond shortly with a resolution and that email gets forwarded to some guy who rarely checks his emails it seems to be. Mahindra, please wake up – this is one of the easiest problem to solve.

Purchasing experience:

Was initially committed a waiting period of 1 month. But November delivery moved to December. As I sensed it is not going to happen soon and dealer acting helpless, I had to pull strings and escalate a bit through all possible channels. I didn't actually want a December registered one, not at least the Dec last week registered 2020 model. The ASM acted on it promptly and ensured the delivery on the revised committed date of December 1st week. All together, it took 6 weeks. I needed the vehicle so badly before x-mas holidays that I was tracking it so closely that even the whereabouts of transporting truck was tracked. Took about 4 days in transit from Nashik plant to Bangalore.

A snap when the vehicle was unloaded at the stock yard:



Kudos to Mahindra in dispatching it on time and the dealer for making a smooth and memorable delivery experience thereafter.



Likes and Dislikes:

Well, Scorpio is no saint. There are several things to easily dislike:

As this post sums up the USP's, let me not call it out again but just touch base on dislikes. These are personal dislikes apart from what the vehicle is infamous for:

• Too pricy. In 19 Lakhs bracket, you could close your eyes and pick from plethora of other superior options out there.
• Panel gaps - After a wash, you also will have to wipe a bit in the interiors as water gets through all the 5 door panels. This additional cleaning is time consuming and rust prone.
• Black is incredibly difficult to maintain. However, the color is a personal choice, but not many color options though. Where is that charming blue beauty Mahindra?
• Yet to experience the after sales. So far it is a mixed opinion, given that I had to do multiple visits to simply fix a rear cam issue
• Not much of storage space. Oh, you need to open the door to get your water bottle stuffed there.
• Mediocre sound quality.
• Discontinuing providing Club Mahindra vouchers just when I bought the car.
  

Value for Money: Certainly, not! But again, it appeals for a different set of buyers. And then you also do not have many "actual" SUV's below 20L!

Coming back to answering the earlier questions:

Why Scorpio?
Why not Scorpio!
To be honest, I have got a chance to drive most of the cars out there and never liked to own any of those. Needed something unique, needed something odd. Needed something as raw as possible. Needed the pleasure that Baleno gave. Needed something that can go anywhere. The less number of electronic gizmos and sensors, the better. And finally, the urge to experience the mighty muscular Scorpio.

Do they still manufacture Scorpio?
Yes, in good numbers. In fact one among the top selling Mahindras still. You have a waiting of more than a month.

Did you check XUV5OO?
A great vehicle, but not my personal liking.

Why not Seltos, Creta, Harrier and the likes?
Again, certainly great vehicles and appreciate them, but I never can digest connecting to those.

New Scorpio 2021 is coming. Want to wait?
I need something now, cannot wait. The current one offers what I need. ABS, Air bags, Cruise control, Projector head lamps, Cornering lamps, Generous boot space, Follow me home headlamps, Front arm rests, Hydraulic assisted bonnet, 7” infotainment, Android Auto/Apple car play and a plethora of features.. and a great & proven jewel of an engine.. Well almost everything what you basically need!



That’s it for now and closing with a short video of the the Scorpio getting on to a trail. Not really an “off-road”, but just getting off the road. As how its DNA is, it moves on as if nothing happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqTNgKdRkmQ

Will post more as I unlock more drives.

[88_TANK_88]

Congratulations on the purchase.
Reason to buy and shortlisting the scorpio are very similar to what I had done while purchasing my Duster AWD.

[comfortablynumb]

Loved the crisp and no nonsense review. Scorpio really does look good in Black.

With a plethora of options in the 10-20 lakh bracket, it's quite rare to see someone on the forum buying a new Scorpio these days. But clearly, you knew what you wanted and got it.

Congratulations and wish you a million miles of safe and happy journeys!

[Sanidhya mukund]

Congratulations on owning one of the best looking SUVs in India! Looks menacing in black!
I know quite a few people who recently bought Scorpios, and when asked about the rationale behind their purchases, almost all of them had the same response: "Scorpio hai. Isse zyada kya kehna?". (It's a Scoprio. What else should I say?")
The charm of this car is such that if you have your heart set on it, you wouldn't even be able to look at any other option. I'd be lying if I said that I don't want one.
It is almost like the Enfiled Bullet of the car world. The kind of brand recall and cult following that this car has is simply unmatched.
Once again, congratulations and wish you many happy miles!

[knrn]

If I have to describe your thread in a sentence, and picking from your own thread;it would be-
It is raw, unique, odd, muscular, pleasurable and clearly a sum of desires that come from the depths of heart.

I loved your thread and your purchase. What I can make out while reading is that you are a person who likes and prefers the mechanical feel of the vehicle, engine, handling and suspension and not the electronic bits of it. The Baleno sedan first and now the mighty scorp. Something that I myself prefer. It was a joy to read and even more joyous trying to imagine your emotions when you must have bought and now drive it.
It is a truly capable vehicle built for abuse with some modern touches thrown in as well. Heck Scorpio is a vehicle I see very commonly nowadays in Punjab. Especially this new model. Happy driving. Had a good time reading. Thanks.

[adi.mariner]

Congratulations on owning the 2020 Scorpio. Wish you lakhs of safe kms with it. My cousin brother also got one in December 2020 albeit the S5 7- seater variant. He was fixated on buying the Scorpio only. Weirdly there was no test drive vehicle available with any of the 3-4 dealers in Pune and we only got to sit in one which had come for a Customer Delivery. All the sales executives were pushing to buy the Base variant as the engine and safety features from the Base to Top variant were the same (which wasn't the case earlier) and add whatever accessories we want to later. Also there was a healthy cash discount of 48000 on the base variant.

[RedTerrano]

I have always maintained, the two biggest joys in life are
1) Knowing what you want
2) Getting what you want

In your case you have firmly ticked both the boxes.
Many congratulations on the newest addition to your stable. Looking forward to your travelogues where you let your beast prance free.

[warrioraks]

You have an amazing clarity of thought. Clearly reflects in your thread and the choice of car.

Also I have heard so many people claim on this forum about the preference for a mechanically sorted car over frills and gizmos that manufacturers seem to be pushing these days. YOUR STORY IS AN EPITOME OF THIS!

[Kosfactor]

Congratulations!!

Not something in the usual shopping list but then not everyone can be defined as the usual. Wish you lots of adventures ahead with Scorpio!

Quite a character this thing is, it's going to get to you

[saikarthik]

Congrats! Looks stunning.

Scorpio is close to my heart. I enjoyed the pictures, recollecting every special moment related to it. So, thank you for that. I will PM you why.

S9 is a wise choice. Enjoy the beast, specially the boost post that turbo spool.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

For a 20-year old design, I must say that the Scorpio still looks hot, especially in black. Your car is going to our homepage today .

[mohansrides]

Congratulations Sir. Cars come and go; not the Scorpio though. It is the number one car in Mahindra’s arsenal. The sales numbers are there to prove it.

Talk about safety (or convenience or refinement) all you want. But in the end, it is undoubtedly the styling that makes people sign on the dotted line. The Scorpio is an unpretentious and unapologetically butch car. So many contenders have come and gone. But none of them have been able to match, let alone exceed, the Scorpio’s masculinity. If I had the money to spare, I would buy one without a second thought.

Your car looks fabulous. Enjoy in good health.

[Sankar]

Congratulations! Black looks good on Scorpio

I wanted to buy a Scorpio (4x4 base) in 2015 but the dealer (TVS & Sons) was least interested in making that sale. Maybe because it was 4x4 base? The dealer experience was so worse that we were not even attended to during our second visit to confirm the model and make the booking, this was after the test drive. Of course he gave me the test drive (2WD top) and a Scorpio coffee mug only because I registered for the test drive through Mahindra website. Anyway now we have a new M&M dealer in our city.

This is my Scorpio

[procrj]

Congratulations! The Scoprio is a beast and should easily take you just about anywhere. The joy of driving a RWD 2.2 Ltr beast is unparalleled Enjoy the drive.

[ashis89]

Many congratulations for your new ride and wishing you many happy years with it!

Old design or not, a Scorpio on the road, that too a black one, always makes me take a second glance if not more.

The current refresh model is one handsome car for sure. I am happy you went with your heart with this purchase!

O.T.
As I had mentioned earlier on a different thread, I don't see any new posts by you complaining about Bangalore roads.