Mahindra Scorpio-N diesel MT: A Duster owner shares his impressions

The clutch was reasonably light compared to my Duster and the manual gear shift was also very smooth.

BHPian Ulysses recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Today I got to TD the Scorpio N at India Garage, Mysuru. Initially, I got a message from the sales guy that Z4 MT 4WD is available, but when I reached the dealership for TD, it was mysteriously absent. When inquired, I was told that the vehicle has gone for service. Anyway, since I wanted to experience how the MT works in the Scorpio N, I drove the Z4 diesel MT version in green color.

Before the TD, I did a few measurements with a measuring tape:

• GC at the bottom of the lower arm of the front suspension is exactly 200mm. Hence, GC will be a bit higher for other parts of the body.
• The floor of the vehicle is 2 feet high up from the ground. Hence elderly people and anyone with mobility issue must keep that in mind. Also, during ingress and egress in wet or slippery conditions, one should be careful not to slip and fall.
• The driver and passenger seats are 21 inches wide (end to end) and about 16 inches of back support (balance is the side contour). Hence, people with a wider body like me, finds it uncomfortable to seat in these seats for long time as the side contour was pressing against my rib cages. In a long drive situation, it may be a serious problem. I measured the seats of XUV 700 and it has got about an inch or inch and half extra space, which makes the seats more comfortable.
• The inside width of the car was exactly 5 feet or 1524 mm (door to door) in front and middle rows. In the third rows it was less (about 1300 mm, approximately, as I could not measure from inside).

Now coming to the drive experience:

• The clutch was reasonably light compared to my Duster and the steering was also light. The manual gear shift is also very smooth. Overall, it is not at all straining.
• There was minimal noise inside cabin. I did switch off the AC and ICE to see cabin noise.
• Apparently there is no bad or broken road nearby the showroom (as told by the sales person) because of which I could not check the suspension on bad road. But they said, they are going to have an off road track somewhere in Mysuru soon, where all these features could be tested.
• Although on even roads the suspension is smooth, the vehicle shuddered with a thud on a couple of potholes where I could take the vehicle on at about 40km speed. I would say the Duster negotiates such potholes a bit more smoothly.
• Also, even with 370 nm of torque, I could not experience the pressed-back-to-seat kind of pulling effect, while speeding up in low gears. It pulls, but rather uneventfully. Here also the Duster 110 PS is a bit more exhilarating.
• Taking a U Turn was not much of an issue, although I could not test it on a narrow street. However, I could reverse park it at a very narrow and tricky space at the dealership (the sales guy was visibly scared, when I told him I am going to park the vehicle myself at the dealership parking bay). The reverse camera is not great (a bit grainy) and I had to trust the ORVM to park.
• The guy said diesel would give about 11/12 kmpl and petrol would give 8 or 9 kmpl. Not a very impressive figure for petrol, especially for those thinking of long drives.
• Apparently, the Mysuru dealer has already got 300+ inquiries (add to cart) and about 100 payments. Impressive numbers if he is correct. However, that means, if M&M, goes by their promise of price protection of the first 25K, It is quite a bleak chance to get it.

I have also booked a Suzuki GV Alpha All Grip. I have not seen the car yet, but reading reviews here are some pros and cons (although it may seem insane to compare these two).

Pros (GV AWD over Scorpio N-petrol):

• Better mileage.
• Availability of 4WD/AWD in Petrol (Scorpio N only has 4WD in Diesel).
• Lesser cost vis-a-vis features (e.g. panoramic sunroof etc.).
• Similar or slightly more GC.

Cons:

• Street presence (Sleek horse vs Big Bull).
• Build quality, toughness (Scorpio N is a BoF) and possibly bad road ability (although I have not driven GV, but Scorpio's suspension seems tough).
• Under powered engine. Although it promises 100 PS, but nothing compared to Scorpio. Same on torque numbers, although it can only be ascertained after driving.

May be BHPians who have already seen GV can add more insight to this.

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