Why I chose the Mahindra Scorpio-N over the XUV 700 & Tata Safari

The XUV 700 or Safari being FWD monocoque chassis are better highway cruisers with superb ride quality while the Scorpio-N with RWD BOF 4×4 is a much better go anywhere vehicle.

BHPian arinmech recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Following are my primary thought process and perspective for zeroing on ScorpioN among 3 target SUVs, viz. Safari, XUV700 & ScorpioN.

• XUV 700 or Safari as primarily FWD monocoque chassis are better Highway cruiser with superb ride quality while Scorpio-N with RWD BOF 4×4 is much better go anywhere vehicle. I am at a phase of life (39 years old) where my next few vehicles would provide me best and probably the last (hope not) opportunities to realise all those tough terrain dream drives like Ladakh, Spiti, Chandratal, Northeastern states and many more. I understand that all are doable on FWD, but 4×4 gives that added peace of mind. An out and out highway cruiser can wait for sixties. How many of you think age is an important variable while zeroing on a prospective vehicle buy?

• As it will be my only daily use commute vehicle for the time being, I can't opt for an outright offroader like Thar due to its bodyroll and ride. I need a trade off between off and on road capabilities which Scorpio-N has. Feather light steering will help a lot in low city speed as well. (Safari drawback).

• We are a small family and don't need that 3rd row. Hence, boot and 3rd row related issues are not affecting my decision. I may even remove the 3rd row post purchase.

• Sunroof of any kind is a big no no for tough terrain drive vehicle and also due to our tropical weather. You never know when it will get damaged by a dislodged stone and it unnecessarily heats up vehicle due to greenhouse effect. Wish Mahindra provided an option of "without sunroof" like Tata provided with Safari. I would prefer a load carrier over a sunroof anyday for this kind of go anywhere vehicle.

• ADAS again is not my requirement as I feel even our highways are not yet ready for its effective use, let alone city roads. However, driver drowsiness alert is an useful feature as per my personal experience of an fatal accident due to drowsiness in my previous car Ford Fiesta TDCi, when the vehicle build quality along with airbags saved me. Hence no compromise with any of safety feature and build quality of the vehicle which are my primary criteria.

• Even though I'm yet to take TD, what I understood from numerous reviews, ride and handling of Scorpio-N is leaps and bound ahead of previous iteration and can compete with its FWD rivals.

• Any other vehicle with the similar capability of Scorpio-N will cost me atleast 15 lakhs higher than this.

This vehicle is a bit of everything but master of none which perfectly suit my requirement. And yes, it is a looker and head turner specially in black and deep forest colour.

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