Mahindra Scorpio-N 4x4 MT: Test drive impressions & other observations

I had the chance of experiencing the vehicle as a 2nd row passenger as well as a driver, the former being my first end-user experience.

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Finally got to drive the Scorpio-N Z8L 4XPLORE Manual. I had the chance of experiencing the vehicle as a 2nd row passenger as well as a driver, the former being my first end-user experience. Both drive durations were between 15-20 minutes and happened one-after-another.

I was offered by a family to come along with them for drive as a co-passenger, who were just ahead of me in the queue for test drive and I instantly happily accepted their offer. The family had a 4.5 years kid with them who occupied the middle seat in 2nd row.

My experience as 2nd row co-passenger:

• 2 six footers sit back to each other comfortably with about 4-6 cm of knee room.
• Bottom side (seating side) of 2nd bench is about an inch shorter than the XUV700.
• Most passengers will climb up by using Side Foot Step (SFS).
• 2nd row passengers sit high and taller ones would be able to see the road ahead through the gap between ceiling and top of front seat.
• Tyre noise does come into the cabin but not so intrusive that it bothers during conversations or low volume music.
• The small potholes do not filter through the cabin, however, larger potholes cause some amount of lateral movements in cabin, however, it is well contained, also the vehicle never bottomed out and the kid in the vehicle was very comfortable.
• Sharper turns still throw passengers sideways and body roll will be felt however that throw is well contained.
• I could see the roofs of all the private vehicles on road.
• 2nd row feels very airy and all co-passengers in both the drives enjoyed the test drives and did not feel any discomfort at anytime.

When I got to drive, one family requested to accompany me and I let them be my co-passengers during the drive. They had about an 18 month old kid with them which restricted the way I had originally planned to take the test drive. However, I still tried few things after checking on with my co-passengers' comfort levels each time and always kept them informed about the things I will do next and any care that they need to take. At all points, I made sure the the kid is safe and comfortable. The cute baby slept by the time we returned to the showroom.

Now to observations as a driver:

Driver's cabin:

• I climbed up to driver seat by using SFS and A-pillar grab handle was pretty useful and here I found the driver seat to be an inch shorter in size than XUV700.
• It took no time to find my correct driving position - I was set to drive within a min.
• Ergonomically the vehicle looked sorted, I had no struggle in reaching for any buttons and I found all controls at their intuitive places or usual places.
• Clutch is light and gears slotted perfectly each time but clutch travel is long which I got used to quickly.
• Steering is light and precise and responded on slightest of input.
• Wing mirrors are large and so do all rollable windows providing excellent view of surroundings.
• I was sitting possibly at the lowest seat settings but still I could see the bonnet edges well and that along with the light steering and good visibility in the cabin makes manoeuvring such a large vehicle easy and almost effortless, including parking it.

Driving:

• Though SAs are claiming that turning radius is 5.1 metre (M) but for a 4.662 M vehicle that seems unrealistic however, it definitely seems to be turning in about 5.5 M, hence, U-turns in this will not be daunting.
• The engine pulls vehicle's weight well without any acceleration input - please recall that 4 adults were onboard here but it still pulled - I forgot to observe the the speed but in 2nd gear it seemed to be about 15-16 and it was still pulling itself in 3rd.
• The engine almost always had power available on demand and seemed to be best in power delivery in about 1500 to 3500 RPMs range, however, there wasn't much to extract after 4000 RPMs except the cluttering sound.
• No jerks come through steering column when driving through potholes or speed breakers at 40kmph and cabin remains settled with minimal lateral movements however, vertical movements can be felt.
• This car does have noticeable body roll: After taking permissions from my co-passengers I swayed the car for about, may be, 3-4 seconds, and then the tail was making screeching sound and was willing to be thrown around; I stopped right there and did not continue swaying.
• Later I drove through two queues of parked cars taking sharp turns forming shape of numeral eight at 30-40kmph and here too the tail was being thrown around making screeching sound and rear passengers were getting unsettled. I stopped after making one eight shape.
• Given the above two points, I would never take a sharp manoeuvre in this car beyond 80kmph, it may topple at high speeds. My SA also agreed that it can happen but he stated 150kmph as possible speed but I would not believe that and keep this car below 81kmph for any sharp manoeuvring.
• Brakes felt good and precise but I could not test them properly as I had a kid on board.
• I touched 130kmph twice and the car was planted and I found steering to be light to my liking but it is something which I got used to soon.
• The headlights have average throw and may be good for speeds upto 100kmph which was way below my expectations given the headlights XUV 700 is equipped with; in these lights I would not drive beyond 80-85kmph.

I will have few more drives in coming days as I did not have the kind of drive which I was looking for. However, still, this drive made me aware about it's few limitations and I am sure that there are some more waiting to be discovered.

Since I was at a showroom, I inspected the XUV700 to confirm on the earlier stated possibility of quality miss.

And the possibility I mentioned in my earlier post turned into reality, the XUV700 is worse in that regard. One just needs to be at eye level lower than the glovebox housing of the XUV700. I wonder what challenges M&M have in properly finishing a product, especially when fixes are as primitive as providing an appropriate plastic housing/cladding? Their argument of barring kids from front co-passenger seat looks an escapist's argument to me.

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