Mahindra Scorpio-N petrol AT test drive impressions: Booked diesel AT

Mahindra were not kidding when they claimed to have benchmarked it against the Ford Endeavour.

BHPian nerd1200 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Test drove the car today (for a very very brief period: 5-10 minutes), It was a Z8L Petrol AT. Although I want a completely different powertrain, my chief intention was to test out the ride quality over good, bad and ugly sections of tarmac, and check the body roll and the overall manoeuvrability of the car (coming from a compact SUV). Here is my feedback:

1. The ride quality is better than most BOF SUVs I've driven/ridden in. M&M were not kidding when they claimed to have benchmarked it against the Endeavour.
2. Steering is uber light on the petrol car - lighter than my Yeti, Polo, or previous Laura (you get the gist). But it's precise. The car reacts to steering inputs predictably.
3. Not a perfect way to test body roll, however, tried slalom manoeuvres at slow speeds. There's roll, but controlled - don't disturb the composure of your co-passengers.
4. Ride quality is top-notch. It just obliterates bad and broken patches while keeping its occupants unfazed - it's eerily good.
5. Although there isn't a lot of engine noise inside the cabin, the A/C blower sound is relatively audible. The rear blower is loud by modern standards. The throw of air is better than I'd expected.

I'd reserve my feedback on other aspects of drivability until such time when I can drive the car properly without an SA breathing down my neck to conclude the drive.

A couple of additional points to my initial impressions about the car:

• In the XUV700, a gripe I had was about the position of steering column stalks (indicator/wiper) - they were too distant from the steering. One has to extend the fingers to operate them, not very convenient when you have to indicate every single lane change or face the ADAS system's wrath. Thankfully, they've fixed that with the Scorpio. The stalks fall to hand optimally.
• Another XUV700 gremlin fixed - The drive mode change UX was stupidly executed in the 700. Press the toggle switch in the console and tap the mode on a fairly large upright screen - quite irritating to do it while driving. Scorpio's switch acts as a proper toggle between modes. Thank heavens!
• The area underneath the glovebox is an eyesore!! Also, notice the gaps in the centre console and dashboard panels.

Anyway, I did that "Add to Cart" thingy for a Z8 4x4 A/T in Deep Forest. The final decision would be based on the prices TBA on 21st, I think.

I was told by an M&M representative that they'll accept only one booking per customer (tracked by email/Phone number I suppose) to avoid overbooking which apparently caused a lot of inconvenience during the 700 roll-outs.

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