After years of manufacturing Willy’s Jeeps and their modified versions, Indian auto manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra launched their flagship SUV the Scorpio in the year 2002. More than a decade later, the company gears up for the launch of their first major facelift on the otherwise third generation Scorpio.
The facelifted Scorpio was earlier expected to have been launched at the 2014 Auto Expo held at Delhi, but was put on hold as the company hoped to clear out its earlier stock of the SUV. The market has been abuzz with various speculations about how it would look and whether it would actually replace the old Scorpio. The facelift was expected to hit the markets by mid 2014, and as the year end is just a couple of months away, the advertisements and teasers have just started running.
XUV 500’s interior
The new Scorpio is expected to feature interior cues from the quite popular XUV 500. There is a lot under the wraps about the Scorpio’s facelift, although there has been quite some light shedding done by various magazines and other info-hungry enthusiasts what with their spy shots and “caught on camera” posts and blogs on the car revealing that the front fascia has been completely reworked keeping the characteristics of the original Scorpio well and alive. At the very least this suggests new headlamps, front grille, redone front bumper and tail lamps. There’s a great chance of projectors being offered by Mahindra in place of the regular bulbs and even more so of day time running lights being a part of the headlamp assembly.
Changes to the body include minor surface edits on the sides and otherwise keeping the original side profile intact. We can expect better wheels and tyres and stepping rails will surely be replaced for a better looking ingress/egress. On the inside, there is much more “premium” to be seen and felt with a very modern placement of the cabin elements. The oval-shaped airconditioning vents have been replaced by a chrome lined unit and the grab handle, by twin gloveboxes. The steering wheel will also see a slight shape shift and just the essential buttons and command short cuts would be placed on it as opposed to the keyboard on the previous model.
A large screen sits bang in the centre of the instrument cluster and features a rear view camera display along with satellite navigation. Also present are XUV inspired airconditioning knobs on the sides. Top end variants are expected to get automatic climate control and power window button controls are shifted to the dashboard instead of the doors. This could prove to be more of a hassle again, like the previous centre mounted ones.
Petrol and diesel versions
The facelift is expected to stick to the old powerhouse from the predecessor meaning that the 2.2 litre mHawk engine that pumps out 120 bhp of power and the 2.5 litre m2DiCR that produces 75 bhp will continue to drive the new Scorpio’s petrol and diesel versions, respectively. The transmission too remains the same, with the 5-speed manual, and the 6-speed automatic gearboxes transmitting power from the engine to the wheels in their rear wheel and four-wheel drive layouts.
The new Scorpio is expected to be priced between 9 and 13 lakh rupees and comes on sale next month. Even with the extensive options on SUVs now swarming the Indian market, the Scorpio has a pretty keen fan following and others who are more than eagerly waiting to get a shot at test driving the latest version.
The Scorpio was also the first SUV in the country to have received a Micro Hybrid (Start/Stop) system. The next year will see Mahindra also come up with a hybrid version of the XUV 500 that was revealed at the Auto Expo this year. The hybrid is pretty much the same in appearance as the standard XUV, but will feature a few interior add-ons and other gauges required for the hybrid system along with a selector to toggle between different driving modes. It would also sport a prominent “hybrid” badge and is expected to roll out at a price range of 15-16 lakh.
