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Got a Mahindra Scorpio Classic: Buying journey to initial impressions

19th June 2025, 13:46 by Deepankar Sadekar

It is also very easy to navigate the car through tight and narrow roads, atleast when compared to the Ciaz.

BHPian Scorp_8910 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

It was the evening of 24th May 2025, when we had booked our Scorpio. As we wanted the captain seat option our variant choice was nil and we could only choose the colour
of our car. The booking the was done over phone as the salesman was a known of ours.

Then came the 26th of May, the delivery day. It was the day I had my last board exam, so I was happy not only for the completion of my exams but also for the delivery of our new travel partner. I finished my exam went home and quickly took a bath and had lunch, as my excitement was over the roof My mother was at the dealership already as she had to get the insurance and other documents.

Pictures clicked by our SA before we arrived.

Then at around 4'oclock I had my first glance of the car

Then the car was parked in the showroom to start the delivery procedure

(Not attaching any delivery pictures because the lighting of the showroom was inadequate and all of our faces were blurry: on)

The next Morning we went out to do a pooja of our car in the nearby temple (couldnot click pictures as there was a crowd)

Then came the day of 28th March, I went to the dealership for the fitment of the number plate and the accessories

Now during the time of delivery Mahindra Had various offers on all the variants of the Scorpio Classic and even gave free accessories worth 25000 in the S11 trim and 85000 in the base S trim along with cash discount.

Accessories Installed:

Seat Covers
Rubber mats
Reverse Camera
Illuminated Scuff Plates
Rain visors

All of these accessories were given free of cost and there total was about 24300, So we had 700 rupees left.

Now onto the pricing:

Ex-showroom Price: 17,71,998
RTO: 1,77,199
Insurance(SBI): 65,000
Total: 20,14,197
Less: Cash Discount: 80,000
On-road Price: 19,34,197

The cash discount does not include the free accessories. So the total discount is 1,05,000.

Other Cars Considered

1.Thar 3-Door

My mother's personal favourite

Likes:Proper 4wd and the option for Automatic Transmission, My mother really liked its Soft top Variant and so did I

Dislikes:In adequate Boot Space, Not a family car in my opinion and Just before we booked the Scorpio my mother had a change of heart and suddenly started to dislike the Thar

2.Scorpio-N

The most sensible car (under 20 lakhs) for a family that loves to travel

Likes: Features, More Powerful M-hawk engine and Road Presence. The variant of choice was Either the Z8S M/T or the Z6 A/T both in Diesel Engine option

Dislikes:Reliability issues, Fuel efficiency and my mother had a feeling that if we got stuck in a remote area it would be impossible for a local mechanic to fix it

3.Bolero Neo Plus

It has the same engine as the Scorpio Classic and is cheaper

Likes: Same engine as the Scorpio Classic and similar on features, Top Variant also has a nice set alloys and I always liked the TUV 300.

Dislikes: Suspension was very bouncy, No Cruise Control even in the top variant (available in the Normal Bolero Neo) and Its driving position was kind of weird, it was not relaxed neither was it commanding it was something it the middle

Now while we checked out the cars we also kept a check on its price and asked whoever we knew owned any of these cars, Most of the Thar owners said that they bought the Thar due to its Size, It is a Sub 4m car so it is easy to drive in the city traffic and in tight places, My friend who owns a Scorpio-N disliked it and even sold it, his variant was Z8 M/T in Diesel, he faced various issues like his trip computer usually shows inaccurate info regarding distance covered and distance to empty, his car once also caught on fire when it was stationery, Mahindra was prompt in fixing these issues but they kept returning. These issues really pulled me away from the Scorpio-N. Sadly I didn't know any Bolero Neo Plus owners, But it was rejected mostly due to its suspension. Now even before we checked these cars we had finalised the Classic in our minds, So that might be another reason to choose it over the others.

The main reason why we got the Scorpio Classic over the other cars was because it felt complete, it gave a sense of security the N could not give, If I had bought the N, it catching fire or breaking down in the Middle of nowhere would always be in the back of my mind, with the Thar it would be an issue of space and practicality and with the Bolero Neo Plus it would be a comfort issue.

Now onto the overall impressions of the interiors[Looks, Fit and Finish,kit etc]

Fit and finish is not a quality of M&M, atleast with cars like the Bolero and Scorpio Classic, Quality of the materials are not the most premium, other cars in this segment will offer more plush interiors and materials even at lower prices, but if I am spending almost 20 lakhs I would expect atleast a DTE gauge and TPMS, these were features which were present in the previous models but omitted as the stereo was replaced by an Android player. Mahindra should have integrated these features in the speedometer like other cars instead of omitting them. That said, the overall layout of the interior has my heart, everything is easily accessible for the driver, Bottle holder placement is fine according to me, we can keep 2 bottles in the front cupholders and in the rear we can keep 2 500ML bottles in the bottle holder near the rear AC vents and a 1L bottle on both the rear doors, unlike other cars this does not get bottle holders in the front doors which I believe are not given to increase legroom in the front.

Driving Impressions [Braking, Ride, Handling etc]

The commanding driving position is a very big plus point of the car, the visibility from the drivers seat is better than the visibility of the Scorpio N's, There are absolutely no blind spots, courtesy of the large windows and orvms, but the view from the irvm gets blocked if the third row seats are up. That said the ride of the Scorpio really shines, I was terrified by watching the Youtube Reviews claiming that its ride is very bumpy and that there is body roll but just after a TD I was certain that Mahindra did improve the suspension of the Scorpio, its ride is even better than the Scorpio N at speeds like 60-80 kmph (which my cruising speed). My Grandmother usually got back pain the day after travelling in any of our previous cars (except the ECOSPORT) but that was not the case with the Scorpio once we had travelled 500+ kms on a single day and she did not even complain one bit neither was she tired. High-speed Braking of the car can be improved, under 100kmph the brakes do not take much time to stop the car but at speeds like 120 I feel a bit unconfident about the brakes. The tires which came from factory are the ECOPIAS, I would rate them 8 on a scale of 10, but when they wear out I am getting Geolandar G055 for sure. The engine is a gem whether it comes to drivability in the city or Fuel Consumption, the clutch is also lighter than the one in the VLX and Older S11, I have driven a 2012 VLX 2wd and a 2020 S11 M/T both in city and highway conditions, so it was easy for me to compare them and have a verdict.

In terms of cornering ability it does not feel nervous at all, Till now I have seen most people complain that if a car has a high centre of gravity there are chances of it toppling over, but that is not the case with the Scorpio, Once you get the hang of the speed and suspension and most importantly the steering, Cornering at speeds like 60, 80 kph are a piece of cake its like the weight of the car guides it through the turn, Now on hairpin bends I usually reduce my speed to 40 kph as I don't want to test my luck there and neither do I think I would be able to control the car on a Reverse Curve or a Hairpin turn. That being Said I feel that the car is actually more fun to drive on hills and twisty roads as opposed to Highway, don't get me wrong it is a mile muncher I can easily cover 200+ kms without any stop due to its seats and ride comfort, But in hilly roads this car becomes a different breed, it feels like it is built for them. I haven't done any extreme offroading in it and neither do I plan to.

Deeper Observations

Engine

The engine has ample power and torque for my driving style, now I am not a driver who puts his foot to the floor everytime I get in a car but, I do like to push the car on free roads (probably once a month), but not always as I usually like to keep my wallet fat and I know for a fact that under high speeds the M-hawk does not take sips of diesel but inhales everybit that is available in the tank, that being said I have been getting a combined FE of about 16-17 kmpl, which is great considering its dimensions and weight. The engine is silent when driving under 1500 rpm above 2000 rpm is where its Diesel Clatter is heard. That being said the engine actually sounds like a petrol engine when cruising at 60 kph in the 6th gear. Unlike the older Scorpios there is no movement or vibration in the gearknob during startup, but the car does get a sideways movement during shutdown and startup. One thing I noticed was there there is actually minimal turbo lag, this is probably due to the VGT turbo. The older Scorpios had a functional hood scoop as the intercooler was mounted above the engine but the Classic has a Front mount Intercooler due to this the hood vent has remained as a cosmetic Item. Now I do not know whether top mount intercoolers are better or front mount intercooler are better, but having a functional hood vent definitely sounds cool.

Interiors

The interior of the car is very beautiful, and due to the wooden accents introduced with the Classic trim it feels more upmarket than before, then there are the glossy touches and black accents the older Scorpios had matt finished A/C dials and silver finished Steering and glovebox accents these were changed to Glossy black along with the door accents, it would have been better if they had also given the glossy black treatment on the inner door handles and levers. The colour of the interior has also changed, the beige is more beigey. I have noticed one thing though the cruise control light on my steering is very dim when compared to the other lights and sometimes does not even glow. The seats are comfy but I have noticed that the seat belt buckle of both the rear captain seats pinch into our body if unfastened (maybe a safety feature, to prevent occupants from travelling without wearing rear seat belts). That being said the mats that are provided with the car donot have a opening for the 3rd row seatbelt buckle, as the buckles are floor mounted they need to travel through the mats to get to the rear seat. The stereo is a android player from Nippon the output from the stock stereo and speakers are adequate for me, but my bass loving friend usually insists on keeping the volume high, I like to keep the volume at 4 or 5 in order to hear my surroundings.

In this picture you can see that the set button is not lit, it gets very dimly lit at speeds above 60kph, but it does not become as bright as the other steering mounted controls.

After Sales

The Mahindra Service Centre is only about 2km from my residence. I am yet to experience Mahindra's after sales, as I have only done the first service till now, but according to my friend they are prompt and take customer feedback really seriously.

Dislikes

Omission Of Essential Features
Fit and Finish

Likes

Presence
Engine
Ease of Driving
Ride

With the facelift Mahindra decided to omit TPMS, DTE, Navigation etc, this was possible due to the addition of the Android Player, the stereo is not laggy unlike the previous stereo, but has absolutely no features, to access navigation you will need to download an app Known as Carbit Link and take a subscription there, now you can also use Google maps but, unlike other cars with android auto where Google maps can be used independently in this stereo it is actually run by screen mirroring, this is very annoying. Also, Mahindra Decided to remove the rain sensing wipers and auto headlamps. The car also does not have a external temperature icon or display.

Fit and finish is always a drawback of owning a Scorpio, the front fender cladding and bumper are unaligned and even the driver door does not Sit completely flush, but I was aware of these issues as I have seen other Scorpio's with similar fitment issues.

The 2.2L M-hawk needs no introduction, it is perhaps Mahindra's most popular engine, in the Classic it produces 130bhp and 300 Nm Torque, these figures might seem low, but the delivery of power and torque is such spot on that the engine is never out of breath.

It is also very easy to navigate the car through tight and narrow roads, atleast when compared to the Ciaz, the driving seat has a commanding position and the steering wheel is precise, but under 10kph it feels a bit heavy, it took me sometime to get used to a HPS as I have mostly driven cars with EPS.

The ride has really been sorted out, it feels more stable and composed than before. I was the passenger in this car only once when my Mother was driving from Dibrugarh to Tinsukia, through the newly constructed A.T. Road bypass, but that gave me a vague idea of the ride as a passenger. Its ride mimics that of a Crysta to some extent. One thing to mention is with more people on board the car becomes more planted at low speeds but becomes a bit bouncy at high speeds.

Pictures I have taken along our journeys

My most favourite one and also my Lock Screen