We’re great fans of the Scorpio, not the first lot that rolled out of Nashik but the more recent ones, especially the coil sprung CRDe which we ran for a year and clocked over 40,000kays. We took her all across the country, loaded her to the gills, drove her flat out, mud-plugged a bit and even forgot too service her a couple of times. But not once did she burp or let us down – a resounding did she burp or let us down – a resounding step in the right direction. Every successive variant (we’re on the fifth and that’s not counting, the Getaway pick-up) has seen certain key weakness of the original Scorpio (ride, handling, braking, emissions, cooling, comfort etc) being set right. She’s now at a level where one can seriously consider her over either a car or even the Innova. And of all the changes wrought to the original, the Hawk, by far, is the most significant because we’re now talking about an all-new engine to replace the old tractor-derived unit.
STYLE & HANDLING
Sticker job and a functional bonnet scoop…
Visually the Scorpio Vlx remains changed save for the m-Hawk badging and a chequered-motif sticker job on the right front door, wing and bonnet and on the left rear door, wing and tailgate.
On the black of our test car the shimmer-effect stickers do look very good but then again shouldn’t sticker jobs be left tot the after market? It started off with bumper appendages and Christmas tree tail lamps on the CRDe and now we have stickers! At least the bonnet scoop is no longer a dummy stuck on but actually feeds in air to the engine, which we’ll come to shortly.
Everybody's going beige for their interiors these days, prompting M&M to go back to classic black and that honestly make he Scorpio’s cabin look up market The dashboard remains unchanged though the subtle sprinkling of red and the carbon the central console looks classy and it’s mated to seat fabric.
M&M has been nothing if not generous in kitting out the Scorpio. On the left of the steering wheel hub are volume controls for the stereo (that takes an SD card and also has a USB input) while on the right are the cruise control switches. The Speedo console gets neat red-on-black graphics and also incorporates a tyre pressure monitor that displays pressure and temperature tyre and emits a warning if either parameter drops to below 75 per cent of the recommended norm.
What should also have been included are track forward and reverse buttons on the wheel and a display that indicates when cruise control has kicked in (or a switch to turn off) for it is all too easy to hit the switch and active cruise control. The switches too are very cheap and tacky.
The front seats retains those superb foldable armrests but now have more under thigh support making for an even more comfortable long distance mile-muncher. More importantly you can specify two captain chairs instead of the middle bench which results in almost Innova levels of luxury.
The seats are on rails so middle passengers get ample knee room to stretch out though this results in almost negligible legroom for passengers in the rearmost bench. The seats are also not very generous on shoulder room and large framed passengers could feel a little cramped.
Back to the features list which (apart from the regular voice warnings for seat belts, low fuel, door ajar etc, follow-me-home headlamps, footboard lighting and plethora of cup holders) also includes rain sensing wipers, automatic headlights, anti pinch power windows which won't go up if an obstacle is detected, 16-inch alloys and parking sensors that incorporates a distance countdown (120cm to stop) and location-of-obstacle display on the rear-view mirror. Works brilliantly.
Not only that, she also gets anti-lock brakes which puts to rest any niggling questions of her stopping ability. I can't understand why those ridiculous air-con vents can't be replaced by something that can actually direct air flow in the desired direction? And the rear vents (behind the handbrake) are still inadequate for cooling passengers right at the back. The mirrors too flap away wildly on flat-out runs and do need looking into.
ENGINE & TRANSMISSON
Power remains same but performance improve ...
The biggest change to the Scorpio VLX lies under the hood, the old 2.6-litre tractor derived push rod engine making way for an all-new 2.2-litre engine designed with AVL of Austria. Displacing 2179cc, the long stroke engine (8Smm bore, 96mm stroke) develops 121.7PS of power at 4000rpm and 280Nm of torque between 1800rpm and 2800rpm. While these figures are only slightly better than the old 2.6-litre engine's ratings, what is hugely significant is that the engine is 130 kilos lighter thanks, among other things, to the aluminium cylinder heads.
The intercooler for the turbo is mounted on top of the engine, the bonnet scoop feeding air directly into it (and doing some work for a change!). Second generation common-rail injection (supplied by Bosch) ensures conflicting demands of performance, fuel efficiency and emission compliance are met.
I liked the old engine was her surprising eagerness to rev; blipping the throttle at rest used to rock the engine (and by extension the SUV) from side to side hinting at some serious performance. That enthusiasm has been damped in the new engine which has a heavy flywheel effect though the benefits in terms of refinement and noise suppression are well worth it. Even turbo lag is reduced and drive ability is much improved.
The transmission remains unchanged and still requires a firm shove to get it going, especially from cold. The throws are long though shift action is precise and acceptable by SUV standards.
Currently there is no four-wheel-drive option on the m-Hawk though the Borg Warner shift-on-the-fly 4WD transfer case will be offered as an option in the months to come.
PERFORMANCE, BRAKING & FUEL EFFICIENCY
Weight reduction improves matters massively...
While power and torque figures haven't gone up considerably, kerb weight has gone down and that gives the Scorpio m-Hawk an improved power-to-weight ratio of 65. 78PS/ ton, which in turn translates into far quicker acceleration figures. The 0-100kmph now comes up in l5.62sec, almost three seconds quicker than before. The 0-400-metre sprint takes 19.71sec while the kilometre comes up in 36.8 seconds.
Even though gear ratios remain the same there are dramatic gains in driveability, 40-100kmph in 5th gear taking 15.89sec. Top speed remains unchanged at l56kmph though.
The biggest improvement though is in the braking, the ABS-equipped Scorpio coming to a dead halt from 80kmph in 31.50 metres, while from 100kmph she takes 55.98 metres. ABS is perfectly sorted and doesn't kick in too early like on some other SUVs and this reduces stopping distances by a whopping 40 percent when compared to the old non ABS vehicle (the weight reduction does also help matters). Control and modulation are also perfect.
Not only does the new engine make the Scorpio a quicker beast, her fuel efficiency has also gone up and on the highway run the m-Hawk returned 15.43kmpl, an increase of almost one kmpl. The city figure has similarly increased, going up to 10.5kmpl resulting in an overall efficiency of 11.73kmpl and a range of over 700km.
RIDE & HANDLING
Handles better than she rides ..
In keeping with Mahindra's off-road roots, the chassis is the age-old body-on-Iadder frame construction making the Scorpio rugged and almost bomb-proof. The suspension 'set-up too remains unchanged with double wishbones and coil springs at the front and a five-link set-up at the rear with coil springs. She's equipped with anti-roll bars front and rear.
Slight retuning of the springs and dampers has been done to account for the reduced weight and it does reflect in the improved ride quality that has. She does a better job of soaking in small undulations though over larger bumps and ruts the rear does that typical Scorpio jump and hop act that can make passengers uncomfortable. Ride isn't plush but isn't back breaking either.
With all the weight reduction happening over the front axle, the springs and dampers can now do a better job that reflects in the marginally improved handling. Cornering grip has increased and you now need to be doing at least 10kmph more round corners to get the 235-section 16-inch rubber howling. The steering is well weighted (though it's not speed sensitive and does feel heavy at crawling speeds in the city) but there's no feel and she still can't compare with cars for corner carving capabilities. In isolation though she's actually quite good and among UVs and SUVs is only bested by the Innova.
SUMMING IT UP
The Hawk is good - of that there's no question. Not only has the new engine improved performance and fuel efficiency but dynamically too she's moved up the ladder making for an even more accomplished mile-muncher. And then there's the equipment list that's extraordinarily comprehensive, ultimately attracting buyers drawn by the value-for money proposition.
For sure though, at Rs 9.33 lakh the Scorpio is no longer a cheap SUV. Not only is she bang in Innova territory but there are also cars like the Optra and Octavia vying for the same buyer.
That's serious competition and M&M is not only brave but mighty ambitious in tackling the premium end of the segment. The Hawk's success depends on whether she can best the other SUVs in this segment, notably the Safari 2.2. Read on…