SCORPIO GENERATIONS
The Mahindra Scorpio has had a huge fan following over the years, which only keeps growing. We try to trace the bloodline of India’s homegrown SUV
15 years since its inception, Mahindra’s SUV has
come a long way
DDEPENDING ON WHOM YOU ask, the Mahindra Scorpio is either a pretend off-roader capable of only hauling families, or an icon of the brand that carries forward the Indian legacy of the original jeep (or the MM540, to put it more accurately). There is some truth to both assessments, but in reality the Scorpio is a fully paid up member of the Indian-SUV firmament, and one of only two home-grown SUVs that have truly blazed a trail while continuing to remain relevant a decade on. Back in 2002, the Scorpio launched into a market that had no Duster, no Creta, no nothing save for the Safari and the Indian love affair with the SUV had yet to kick off in right earnest. Little wonder it was an instant hit, actually replacing cars in garages of people looking for a tough, rugged but also refined and fun-to-drive SUV that was a world away from the bread box MUVs on sale back then. It proved to be more than capable for weekend getaways while being a decent city run about too. What it also had was its fair shares of troubles – the joke was that all the Indian manufacturers used to leave the last ten per cent of their R&D to customers – but to their credit Mahindra constantly and continuously refined, improved and sorted out the Scorpio into something that is still relevant 15 years and four generations on. But does the fourth generation Scorpio carry over the genes of the very first? We brought all of them together to find out.
First Generation (2002 -2006)
The SUV that started it all but, as it turns out, finding an example of the first generation Scorpio is more difficult than you’d imagine. Everybody we knew with a Scorpio had upgraded to either a newer one or something else altogether. Eventually Amulya Dhanukar reminded us that his gen 1 Scorpio still does duty on his farm and had it brought over to OFF ROAD magazine’s favourite test/shoot location. Amulya’s blue SUV – the white Scorpio craze would come later – has done well over 1.5 lakh kilometres, which is not a huge number considering Scorpios generally do that over two years. But it still ran pretty well and will probably continue to do so over the years to come. The tough as nails Scorpio was one of the most capable SUVs on sale back then with its macho styling, big 2.6-litre diesel engine – a turbo’d unit, not common-rail, and commanding road presence. Today you’d call the interiors drab with grey bits all around and just the basic necessities in terms of switchgear. The seats are flat but firmly padded. What you will find on most old Scorpios (the ones in private hands, not taxis) are aftermarket wheels and heavy duty tyres, and they improve the dynamics to a big extent though even at modest speeds you can hear the wind whistling over those big wing mirrors and tyres which can be rather tiring over long drives. Those wheels added to the macho-quotient of the Scorpio and I have to say even today it does look quite good. It’s
the styling that was the major selling point of the SUV and though often tweaked over the years, the Scorpio remains instantly recognisable.
What I also remember very clearly of that first Scorpio is the ride, and not for the right reasons. It could sting! And the front and rear end did not talk to each other. At the front were soft springs and shocks but the rear had leaf springs giving the Scorpio handling characteristics that could best be described as interesting. Driven with vigour, it would turn your knuckles white as it would bounce over any and everything throwing it all over the place. You really had to be on the ball, though in all fairness the ladder-frame chassis was tough enough to cope with all the bouncing about. The steering while comfortably padded failed to report accurate road info and also hesitating for a split second before responding to your commands.
Unlike the dynamics, the performance wasn’t bad at all. The in-line four made 109bhp, which may not sound like a lot in today’s context, but was a segment leader by some margin back then. Its strong 260Nm of torque, coupled with the five-speed manual transmission enabled the Scorpio to cover long distances effort-
lessly. The engine’s torque really gave the Scorpio good straight-line performance, despite the blocky body. Where it was scary though was the deceleration, or rather its inability to decelerate. The front disc, rear drum brakes took their time to grab on and stop all 2.5 tonnes of the Scorpio.
Second Generation (2006 -2014)
Seeing the hardcore fan following the first generation received, Mahindra reworked and almost completely re-engineered the Scorpio for its second and probably most popular iteration to date. Having realised that many Scorpios were being used as daily drivers, the company focused on making the car easier to live with. Visually, the design was tweaked, with an all-new tail light cluster, the addition of a functional bonnet scoop, new bumpers and even sticker graphics. But the most important change came in the form of heavily reworked suspension. The leaf springs on the rear of the original car made way for multi-link coil overs, which significantly improved ride and no longer made the handling heart-stopping.
A year later after the facelift came another very important update, the original tractor-derived engine was replaced by the 2.2-litre mHawk. With improved refinement, increased power and torque (120bhp, 290Nm), the engine gave the Scorpio added straightline punch. Moreover it was 130 kilos lighter than the outgoing engine, which helped to improve efficiency as well as the agility of the Scorpio. They also added a host of new features like cruise control, tyre pressure monitors, auto headlamps and wipers and a man talking to you. Hidden behind the dash it would welcome you every morning “Welcome to the Scorpio, your car is a powerful vehicle, please drive it carefully,” said the Scorpio every time you started her up! I’m not joking! It would – actually still – tells you when it goes into reserve or a door is open or the handbrake
The engine’s torque really
gave the Scorpio good straightline performance
is engaged while driving. And then a couple of years on they added a micro hybrid badge to the tailgate – which was basically start/stop.
The modernisation of the Scorpio meant it appealed to a much wider audience. You could get it with a forward-facing third row or jump seats. The ride did improve considerably though rear seat passengers still had their kidneys rearranged. It still rolled flamboyantly and couldn’t carry any decent speed round corners but didn’t scare the living daylights out of you. It also got a 4x4 variant. And the Scorpio name meant being able to get to where you want to go when weather or terrain ruled out travel by regular people movers. Its primary purpose still holds true, to provide no-nonsense transport while being tough and reliable. We’ve all got great memories of the second generation Scorpio – the editor did 50,000km on his long-termer over a year, I’ve done many Mahindra Adventure events in them and they still continue to be keep guys like Sushant Kalekar, who owns this particular example, happy.
Third generation (2014 - 2017)
In 2014 the Scorpio received its first major chassis update, with an all-new platform. And it also got a rather in-your-face front end while retaining the familiar silhouette and proportions. Of course styling is subjective and I like the new headlamp cluster that gave the Scorpio a more contemporary look, going well with the dominant front grille and more modern styling touches. The body-on-frame platform was developed in-house and the modular platform formed the basis for other Mahindra vehicles with the flexibility built in to go extended wheelbase or shortened to fit a smaller vehicle. The platform sports a wider front and rear track, while also using anti-roll bars for the first time. The focus was to provide a stiffer chassis and it actually doubled over the earlier Scorpio.