The saga of Scorpio
The super hit product of Mahindra
Mahindra has done mastering in manufacturing tough & off road vehicles & the legacy has always been in the DNA of Mahindra. They’ve made some iconic off road vehicles since the beginning, like Jeep 540, Marshall & Bolero. But these machines were getting outdated, so Mahindra had to design a new SUV, which they did & named it after a poisonous species “Scorpio”
Everyone one is familiar with the name of this macho SUV.
It was the year 2002 when Omni’s, 800’s & Esteem used to run on the road & the coolest SUV for the time was Tata Safari, until Mahindra came in & launched SCORPIO. When this vehicle came into the limelight everyone fell totally in love with it.The huge road presence & modern styling gave Scorpio a huge fan base & it became one of the most recognizable name among people.
What made Scorpio so interesting? Well.. the looks,capabilities,interior space & ease of driving, this was the recipe of Mahindra behind the success of Scorpio, apart from that they did a fantastic job in marketing Scorpio in terms of Slogans, Advertisement & Paper printing. It became very popular among people.
With the high standing bonnet & muscular presence, it was a modern looking car back in the day with rear wheel drive or 4X4 on offer, which gave it superior capabilities on & off road.
& I don’t know why but for some reason when you drive Scorpio the people around you will assume that either you are a pure white collar guy or a total maniac.. There’s no in between. And whenever I drive it,for some reason it gives me a feeling to bully everyone around me…
I own a 2006 Scorpio & can assure you that its a fabulous vehicle with a gem of an engine.
Starting under the bonnet: It has a Turbo 2.6 liter [CRDe] Common Rail Diesel Engine & being a diesel it has great low end pull with the kick of Turbo boost providing enough torque to do a wheel spin in 3rd gear & enhance the drama. But what about driving dynamics?
Well.. its not a GT3RS with active aerodynamics which helps you go through the corner, neither its a slab on wheels.. Or is it?
It handles okay for being an SUV, it sits up quite high above the ground,so it has a great volume of body roll,but it is balanced & easy to control.
Seating position:
It is a great place to sit in & have a look at the dirty tops & cracked sunroofs of the cars around you. You sit very high from an average car & I’m not exaggerating but Scorpio is higher than Fortuner. Whenever Fortuner comes beside me I have to bend my neck at a certain angle to look at the face of Fortuner driver, but unfortunately I cant see them cuz most Fortuners are tinted. Right…..The seats in Scorpio aren’t drilled onto the floor like a normal car,rather they are kept like a chair on the floor giving you an upright seating position.
Even the back seats have loads of knee room & great head room(so that your hair won’t get messed up)…further the comfort is enhanced by the reclining rear seat & AC vents.Its a spacious car: you have tons of room in the interior, so while driving you can jump from driving seat to 3rd row in no time at all.
But like every other car it has some flaws.
The electrical issues: the wiring harness of Scorpio isn’t that great & it burns quite often, same with the fuse..
Being a Mahindra it has some amount of roughness in power delivery & gear shifting,but that seems okay to me cuz its a tough vehicle designed to handle all the abuse you give to it.
It has some great features too:
The suspension is supremely soft which gives you a bouncy ride but in a comfort way, you don’t feel that harshness while gliding through the bumps.
Apart from electronics, the engine is dead reliable & is always ready to take the abuse given by you. My car is umm let me do the math……yah almost 17 years old but it still has that sparkle which brings a curve on your face while driving.
Verdict:
Scorpio became a very crucial product for Mahindra which gave company the pillars to stand on and if you want a simple, tough, off road vehicle with no nonsense & computer stuff, adopt a Scorpio cuz NOTHING ELSE WILL DO!!!
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